tfor He founding of a College in: this Colony* • ILIIIBIK^OTr • Bought with the income of the Henry W, Scott, Jr, Fund This book was digitized by Microsoft Corporation in cooperation with Yale University Library, 2008. You may not reproduce this digitized copy of the book for any purpose other than for scholarship, research, educational, or, in limited quantity, personal use. You may not distribute or provide access to this digitized copy (or modified or partial versions of it) for commercial purposes. Ci* ^^V (^ and under tibe Jhfronsrr/r o/S N /-> Sill OF UTE ) Co??tpris6?^" 3&"f) Sy ^Iw&tzrd Gamwn,J?sq''.v Cf_J) '. S2&fyc&£a#v£' lfe/t-ees//j C-yy trapse ^ i,j-r f/rrffCj. DL c GENERAL ORDERS. HORSE GUARDS, 1st January, 1836. His Majesty has been pleased to command that, with the view of doing the fullest justice to Regi ments, as well as to Individuals who have dis tinguished themselves by their bravery in Action with the Enemy, an Account of the Services of every Regiment in the British Army shall be pub lished under the superintendence and direction of the Adjutant- General ; and that this Account shall contain the following particulars, viz. : — The Period and Circumstances of the Original Formation of the Regiment ; The Stations at which it has been from time to time employed; The Bat tles, Sieges, and other Military Operations in which it has been engaged, particularly specifying any Achievement it may have performed, and the Colours, Trophies, &c, it may have captured from the Enemy. The Names of the Officers, and the number of Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates Killed or Wounded by the Enemy, specifying the Place and Date of the Action. a 11 GENERAL ORDERS. The Names of those Officers who, in con sideration of their Gallant Services and Meritorious Conduct in Engagements with the Enemy, have been distinguished with Titles, Medals, or other Marks of His Majesty's gracious favour. The Names of all such Officers, Non-Com- missioned Officers, and Privates, as may have specially signalized themselves in Action. And, The Badges and Devices which the Regi ment may have been permitted"^ to bear, and the Causes on account of which such Badges or Devices, or any other Marks of Distinction, have been granted. By Command of the Right Honorable GENERAL LORD HILL, Commanding-in- Chief. John Macdonald, Adjutant- General. Ill 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 accomplish ment 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 ex amples 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 «2 IV PREFACE. of praise and admiration to which they are entitled. On extraordinary occasions, the Houses of Parlia ment 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 prac tice (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 obtain ing, particularly from the old Regiments, an authen tic 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 PREFACE. V long a period, been undisturbed by the presence of war, which few other countries have escaped, com paratively 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 enter prise 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 main tained 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 yi PREFACE. 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 can not 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 un shaken fortitude. It is presumed that a record of achievements in war, — victories so complete and surprising, gained by our countrymen, our brothers, PREFACE. Vll 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 testify ing 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 num ber, so that when the whole shall be completed the Parts may be bound up in numerical succession. INTRODUCTION 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 con tains 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 Caesar with a Roman army, on which occasion the undaunted Britons rushed into the sea to attack the Roman soldiers as they de scended from their ships ; and, although their dis cipline and arms were inferior to those of their adversaries, yet their fierce and dauntless bearing intimidated the flower of the Roman troops, in cluding Caesar's favourite tenth legion. Their arms consisted of spears, short swords, and other weapons of rude construction. They had chariots, to the INTRODUCTION 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 Caesar's legions : in the course of time a military system, with dis cipline 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 Intro duction 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 pro portion of men appeared on foot, and, although these were of inferior degree, they proved stout hearted Britons of stanch fidelity. When stipen diary troops were employed, infantry always con stituted a considerable portion of the military force ; TO THE INFANTRY. 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 im perfect 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 acqui sition to every army, even as late as the sixteenth century. During a great part of the reign of Queen Eliza beth 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. Xli INTRODUCTION 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 re commended by an English military writer ( Sir John Smithe) in 1590 was ; the colour in the centre of the company guarded by the halberdiers ; the pike men 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 mus keteers, and the harquebusiers (whose arms were much lighter than the muskets then in use) in equal proportions on each flank of the company for skir mishing.* 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. Nume rous improvements were eventuallyintroducedinthe 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 seven teenth century : bows and arrows also fell into dis use, and the infantry were reduced to two classes, viz. : musketeers, armed with matchlock muskets, * A company of 200 men would appear thus : — 20 20 20 30 2 0 30 20 20 20 arquebuses ' Archers i Muskets. Pikes. Halberds. Tikes. Muskets. Archers. Harquebuses. The musket carried a ball which weighed ^th of a pound ; and the harquebus a ball which weighed ^th of a pound. TO THE INFANTRY. Xlll 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 contain ing 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 form ing 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 com pany 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 INTRODUCTION 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 (ex cepting 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 1 702.* 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 gre nades ; and the regiments were directed to lay aside their third colour: the corps of Royal Artillery was first added to the Army in this reign. About the year 1745, the men of the battalion companies of infantry ceased to carry swords ; during * The 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. TO THE INFANTRY. 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 rate 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 Bo hemia, 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 INTRODUCTION Philip, prisoners. On the 25th of October, 1415, King Henry V., with an army of about 13,000 men, although greatly exhausted by marches, pri vations, 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 mo narchy, which commenced in 1578 and terminated in 1648, the British infantry in the service of the States- General were celebrated for their uncon querable spirit and firmness ;* and in the thirty years' war between the Protestant Princes and the Emperor of Germany, the British Troops in the ser vice of Sweden and other states were celebrated for deeds of heroism.f 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 * 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. t Vide the Historical Record of the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot. TO THE INFANTRY. XV11 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 eva cuate that country ; also the services of the gallant Troops during the arduous campaigns in the Pen insula, 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 Govern ment. 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 obe dience to his superiors. These qualities, united with an excellent system of order and discipline to regu late 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 b XV111 INTRODUCTION arms.* 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 com mands of their Sovereign have required them to proceed in the execution of their duty, whether in * " 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 conside ration 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 suc cessful 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." TO THE INFANTRY. XIX active continental operations, or in maintaining colo nial 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 move ments of this arme, as at present practised, while they are adapted to every species of warfare, and to all probable situations and circumstances of service, are calculated to show forth the brilliancy of military tactics calculated upon mathematical and scientific principles. Although the movements and evolutions have been copied from the continental armies, yet various improvements have from time to time been introduced, to ensure that simplicity and celerity by which the superiority of the national military cha racter 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 inte resting. HISTORICAL RECORD THE SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY: CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT In 1777, AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES To 1852. COMPILED BY RICHARD CANNON, ESQ., ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, HORSE GUARDS. ITIuStratrtr toitt) Pate*. LONDON: PRINTED BY GEORGE E. EYRE AND WILLIAM SPOTTISWOODE, HUNTERS TO THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE. PUBLISHED BY PARKER, FURNIVALL, AND PARKER, 30, CHARING CROSS. 1852 THE SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT BEARS ON THE REGIMENTAL COLOUR AND APPOINTMENTS THE WORD " HINDOOSTAN," IN COMMEMORATION OF ITS DISTINGUISHED SERVICES WHILE EMPLOYED IN INDIA FROM 1780 TO 1797 ; THE WORDS " CAPE OF GOOD HOPE," FOR THE CAPTURE OF THAT COLONY IN JANUARY 1806; THE WORDS " ROLEIA," " VIMIERA," " CORUNNA," " FUENTES D'ONOB," " ALMARAZ," " VITTORIA," " PYRENEES," " NIVE," " ORTHES," AND " PENINSULA," IN TESTIMONY OF ITS GALLANTRY IN THE SEVERAL ACTIONS FOUGHT DURING THE WAR IN PORTUGAL, SPAIN, AND THE SOUTH OF FRANCE, FROM 1808 TO 1814 ; AND THE WORD "WATERLOO," IN COMMEMORATION OF ITS DISTINGUISHED SERVICES AT THAT BATTLE ON THE 18TH OF JUNE 1815. THE SEVENTY-EIRST REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. CONTENTS OF THE HISTORICAL RECORD. Year. Page. Introduction - - - -. - xiii 1777. Formation of the Seventy-third regiment, afterwards numbered the Seventy-first Regiment - -2 „ John Lord Macleod appointed colonel of the regiment - ib. 1778. War with France - - - - 3 „ Removal of the regiment from North Britain to Guernsey and Jersey - - - - - ib. „ Proceeded to Portsmouth - ... ;j. „ A second battalion added to the regiment - - ib. „ Names of officers - - ... 4 1779. The first battalion embarked for India - 5 „ The second battalion removed from Scotland to Plymouth ib: „ Siege of Gibraltar by the Spaniards ... jj. 1780. The second battalion embarked for Gibraltar - 6 „ The first battalion arrived at Madras — 7 „ War with Hyder Ali - - - - ib. „ The first battalion formed part of Major-General Sir Hector Munro's army - - - - 7 „ Siege of Arcot - - - 8 „ Action at Perambaukum - - - 9 „ The survivors of the British troops engaged in this unequal contest conveyed to Hyder Ali - - - 11 „ Attempts of the Spaniards against Gibraltar - 12 1781. Progress of the War with Hyder Ali - - 13 „ Battle of Porto Novo - - 14 „ Presentation of silver pipes to the first battalion by Lieut- General Sir Eyre Coote for its gallantry on that occasion ib. „ Tripassoor retaken by the British - - - 13 „ Second action at Perambaukum, and defeat of the enemy - 16 „ Relief of Vellore - - - - - 17 „ Battle of Sholingur - - - - ib. „ Gallant defence of Gibraltar - - - 18 „ Sortie of the garrison - 20 a3 vi CONTENTS. Year. **&¦ 1782. VeUore blockaded by Hyder Ali - - - 22 „ Advance of the British through the Sholingur Pass, and relief of VeUore - *• „ Battle of Arnee - - - . - 24 „ Decease of Hyder Ali - - 25 „ And succession of his son Tippoo Saib - _ - •*¦ „ The combined attempts of France and Spain against Gibraltar - ... - 26 „ Employment of red-hot shot by the garrison - ib. „ The expedient successful - - - 28 „ The garrison honored by His Majesty's approbation - 29 1783. Termination of the siege of Gibraltar - 30 „ Peace concluded between Great Britain, France, and Spain ib. „ The second battalion sailed from Gibraltar for England 31 „ Progress of the war with Tippoo Saib " - - - ib. „ Siege of Cuddalore - - - - ib. „ Unsuccessful sortie by the enemy - 33 „ Intelligence of the general peace received in India - ib. „ The second battalion disbanded - - ib. 1784. Peace concluded with Tippoo Saib - - - 34 „ Restoration of the officers and men who had been made prisoners at the action of Perambaukum - - ib. 1785. The regiment stationed at Madras - - ib. 1786. The numerical title changed from Seventy-third to Seventy- first Regiment - ... ib. 1787. Stationed at Wallajohabad and Chingleput 35 1788. Embarked for Bombay ... ib. „ Returned to Madras - - ib. 1789. Major-General the Honorable William Gordon appointed colonel of the regiment - - - ib. 1790. Hostilities commenced by Tippoo Saib - - - 36 „ The regiment marched towards Trichinopoly - ib. „ Siege of Palghautcherry - - - 37 „ Darraporam captured by the enemy - - - 38 1791. Reviewed by General the Earl Cornwallis - - 39 „ Action near Bangalore - - - 40 „ Capture of Bangalore by the British - - - 41 „ Advance towards Serinfiasaiam - - 42 „ Action with Tippoo's troops .... ib. „ Return of the army to Bangalore - - 43 „ Capture of Nundydroog by the British - 45 „ of Savendroog - - - - 46 „ of Outredroog, Ram Gurry, and Sheria Gurry - 47 1792. Second advance of the British towards Seringapatam - ib. „ Successful attack upon the enemy - - 48 „ Siege of Seringapatam - - - - 49 „ Peace concluded with Tippo Saib, and his two sons deli vered as hostages - - - 50 „ Return of the regiment to Madras - - 51 1793. The French revolution, and declaration of war by the National Convention against Great Britain and Holland ib. „ The flank companies engaged in the siege and capture of Pondicherry - - - - - 52 CONTENTS. vji Year- Page. 1794. Contemplated expedition against the Mauritius - - 52' „ The design relinquished, and march of the regiment to Tanjore - . . . . ,-j, 1795. Holland united to France, and styled the Batavian Republic ib. „ The flank companies embarked for Ceylon - - ib. „ Capture of the Island - - . 53 1796. The regiment marched to Wallajohabad - - ib. 1797. The regiment inspected by Major-General Clarke, and complimentary order on the occasion - - ib. „ Embarked for England - - 54 1798. Disembarked at Woolwich ... . #. „ Proceeded to Scotland ... . ib. „ Authorized to bear the word " Hindoostan " on the regi mental colour and appointments - . " ib. 1800. Marched from Stirling, and embarked for Ireland 55 1802° f Stationed in Ireland - - - 56 1803. Major-General Sir John Francis Cradock, K.B., appointed colonel of the regiment - - • ib, 1804. A second battalion added to the regiment . - - ib. 1805. The first battalion embarked on a secret expedition under Major-General Sir David Baird - - - 57 „ Arrival at the Cape of Good Hope - . ib. 1806. Action at Bleuberg - - - 58 „ Surrender of the colony to the British - 59 „ Authorized to bear the words " Cape of Good Hope " on the regimental colour and appointments - - ib. „ Expedition to the Rio de la Plata - - - 60 „ Surrender of Buenos Ayres - - - 61 „ The city retaken by the enemy - - -62 „ The first battalion taken prisoners and removed into the interior of the country - - - - 63 „ Escape of Brigadier-General Beresford and Lieut.-Colonel Pack - - - - - ib. 1807. The second battalion removed from Ireland to Scotland - ib. „ Convention entered into by Lieut.-General Whitelocke, and release of the first battalion - - - 64 „ The first battalion arrived at Cork - • ib. 1808. The second battalion embarked for Scotland - • ib. „ Presentation of new colours - - - - 65 „ Address of Lieut.-General John Floyd on that occasion - ib. „ The first battalion embarked for the Peninsula - - 67 „ Authorized to bear the title of Glasgow Regiment, in addi tion to the appellation of Highland Regiment - • ib. „ Battle of Roleia - - - - 68 „ Authorized to bear the word " Roleia " on the regimental colour and appointments .... ib. „ Battle of Vimiera .... - 69 „ Authorized to bear the word " Vimiera " on the regimental colour and appointments - - - 70 „ Convention of Cintra - ib. „ March of the troops into Spain - - - .71 „ Joined the army under Lieut-General Sir John Moore - 72 a4 Viil CONTENTS. Year. Page. 1808. Retreat on Corunna - - - - 72 1809. Lieut-General Francis Dundas appointed colonel of the regiment - - - - - ?3 „ Battle of Corunna ... - ib. „ Authorized to bear the word "Corunna" on the regi mental colour and appointments - - 74 „ The thanks of Parliament conferred on the troops - ib. „ The first battalion arrived in England - - - 75 „ Formed into a Light Infantry Regiment - - - 76 „ Expedition to the Scheldt - - ib. „ The first battalion embarked at Portsmouth - - ib. „ Action on landing - - - 77 „ Attack and capture of Ter Veer - - 78 „ Siege and capitulation of Flushing - - - ib. „ Occupation of Ter Veer by the first battalion - 79 „ Return of the battalion to England ... ib. „ Loss of the battalion on this expedition - - - ib. 1810. Permitted to retain such parts of the national dress as were not inconsistent with light infantry duties - - ib. „ The first battalion again ordered for foreign service - 80 „ Embarked for Portugal - - - 81 „ Joined the army under Lieut. -General Viscount Wellington ib. „ Actions at Sobral - - - - 82 „ Occupied a position in the lines of Torres Vedras - - ib. „ Marshal Massena retired to Santarem - 83 „ Advance of the first battalion - • • - ib. 1811. Pursuit of Marshal Massena - - 84 „ Battle of Fuentes d'Onor - ... ib. „ Authorized to bear the words " Fuentes d'Onor " on the regimental colour and appointments - - 85 „ The second battalion removed from Leith to South Britain 86 „ The first battalion formed part of the army under Lieut- General Rowland Hill ... . ib. „ Affair of Arroyo-del- Molinos - - - 87 „ The royal approbation conferred on the troops engaged - 88 „ Operations consequent on the preparations made by Vis count Wellington for the recapture of Ciudad Rodrigo 89 1812. Third siege of Badajoz - - ib. „ Capture of Badajoz - - - ib. „ Destruction of the enemy's bridge of boats at Almaraz - 90 „ Authorized to bear the word " Almaraz " on the regi mental colour and appointments - 91 „ Subsequent operations - - 92 „ Battle of Salamanca - - - 93 „ Retreat from Burgos ... ib. 1813. Attempted surprise of Bejar by the French - 94 „ March of the first battalion to Bejar - - ib. „ The second battalion returned to North Britain - 94 „ Battle of Vittoria - ... ib. „ Death of Colonel the Honorable Henry Cadogan, Lieut- Colonel of the Seventy-first Regiment - 95 „ Authorized to bear the word " Vittoria " on the regi mental colour and appointments - - - 96 „ Advance on Pampeluna - - - 97 „ Skirmish at Elizondo ... . ib. CONTENTS. iX Year- Page. 1813. Occupied positions in the Pyrenees - • - 97 Action at Maya ... . - ib. near Eguaros - ... fa at the Pass of Dona Maria - - 99 Authorized to bear the word " Pyrenees " on the regi mental colour and appointments - - . 100 Encamped on the heights of Roncesvalles - - - 101 Gallant repulse of the French by a small party of the Seventy-first on the heights of Altobispo - - ib. Advance to the French territory - - fa Battle of the Nivelle - - - - 102' Passage of the Nive .... fa Authorized to bear the word " Nive " on the regimental colour and appointments - - - 103 1814. Skirmishes at St. Hellette, heights of Garris, and St Palais .... . 104 „ Action at Sauveterre - - - fa „ Battle of Orthes - - - - - ib. „ Authorized to bear the word " Orthes " on the regimental colour and appointments - - ib. „ Affairs at Aire and Tarbes - - - - ib. „ Battle of Toulouse ... fa „ Termination of the Peninsular War, and general order by the Duke of Wellington - ... 105 „ The first battalion embarked for England - - fa „ Authorized to bear the word " Peninsula " on the regi mental colour and appointments - - - 106 „ The first battalion arrived at Cork - - ib. „ The second battalion remained in North Britain - - ib. 1815. Return of Napoleon to Paris, and renewal of the war - 107 „ The first battalion embarked for Ostend - - ib. „ Battle of Waterloo - - - - - 108 1815. Honors conferred on the army for the victory - - 110 „ Authorized to bear the word " Waterloo " on the regi mental colour and appointments - - - ib „ The first battalion marched to Paris - • - ib. „ The second battalion disbanded - 111 1816. Presentation of the Waterloo medals to the regiment - ib. „ Address of Colonel Reynell on that occasion ib. 1817. Presentation of new colours by Major-General Sir Denis Pack, K.C.B., and his address to the regiment - 1 13 1818. The regiment returned to England - - - 114 1819. Inspected at Weedon by Major-General Sir John Byng - 115 1820. Inspected by the Adjutant-General - - ib. 1822. Embarked for Ireland ... - fa 1824. Lieut-General Sir Gordon Drummond, G.C.B., appointed colonel of the regiment - - - - 116 „ The regiment embarked for Canada - - ib. 1825. Formed into six service and four depot companies - - ib. 829. The depot companies proceeded to Berwick-on-Tweed - 118 Major-General Sir Colin Halkett, K.C.B., appointed colonel of the regiment .... ib. X CONTENTS. Year. Page. 1831. The service companies proceed from Quebec to Bermuda - 118 1834. The Tartan Plaid Scarf restored to the Seventy-first Regiment • - - - - 119 „ The service companies arrived at Leith ... ib. 1835. The regiment stationed at Edinburgh - - - ib. 1836. Embarked for Ireland .... fa 1838. Major-General Sir Samuel Ford Whittingham, K.C.B., appointed colonel of the regiment ... fa „ The service companies embarked for Canada - - ib. 1839. The depot companies removed from Ireland to North Britain ..... fa 1841. Lieut-General Sir Thomas Reynell, Bart., K.C.B., ap pointed colonel of the regiment - - - 120 1842. The regiment formed into two battalions - - ib. „ The Reserve battalion embarked for Canada - • ib. 1843. The first battalion removed from Canada to the West Indies ..... - ib 1846. The first battalion embarked at Barbadoes for England - 121 1847. Arrived at Portsmouth, and proceeded to Glasgow - ib. 1848. Lieut General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B., appointed colonel of the regiment .... fa „ The first battalion proceeded to Ireland - 122 1849. Lieut-General Sir James Macdonell, K.C.B., appointed colonel of the regiment - - - ib. „ The reserve battalion employed at Montreal in aid of the civil power ... . - ib. 1852. Conclusion ... ... 123 SUCCESSION OF COLONELS THE SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT. Year. Page. 1777. John Lord Macleod .... 125 1789. The Honorable William Gordon - - - 126 1803. Sir John Francis Cradock, G.C.B. - - 127 1809. Francis Dundas .... . 129 1824. Sir Gordon Drummond, G.C.B. - - 131 1829. Sir Colin Halkett, K.C.B. ... . ib. 1838. Sir Samuel Ford Whittingham - - ib. 1841. Sir Thomas Reynell, Bart., K.C.B. - - - 133 1848. Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. - - - 140 1849. Sir James Macdonell, K.C.B. and K.C.H. - 141 APPENDIX. Page. Memoir of Captain Philip Melvill - - - - 143 Memoir of General the Right Honorable Sir David Baird, Bart, G.C.B. - .... 144 Memoir of Major-General Sir Denis Pack, K.C.B. •¦ 151 General orders of the 18th of January and 1st of February 1809, relating to the battle of Corunna and the death of Lieut- General Sir John Moore - - - - -161 List of regiments which composed the army under Lieut-General Sir John Moore - - .... 165 British and Hanoverian army at Waterloo on the 18th of June 1815 - .... - 166 PLATES. Colours of the regiment .... to face 1 The two sons of Tippoo Saib delivered as hostages to General the Earl Cornwallis ..... 50 Costume of the regiment - - - . 124 INTRODUCTION HISTORICAL RECORD SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. During the last century several corps, at successive periods, have been borne on the establishment of the army, and numbered the seventy-first ; the following details are therefore prefixed to the historical record of the services of the regiment which now bears that number, in order to prevent its being connected with those corps which have been designated by the same numercial title, but whose services have been totally distinct. 1. In the spring of 1758 the second battalions of fifteen regiments of infantry, from the 3d to the 37th, were directed to be formed into distinct regiments, XIV INTRODUCTION. and to be numbered from the 6 1st to the 75th suc cessively, as follows : — Second Battalions. 3d foot constituted the 6 1st regiment. 62d „ 4th jj 8th >> 11th » 12th j> 19th j) 20th >? 23d »> 24th » 31st >» 32d f> 33d j? 34th j> 36th » 37th » 5J »»> 69th 63d64th 65th 66th 67th 68th 70th „ „ 71st 72d 73d 74th „ „ 75th „ .The 71st, 72d, 73d, 74th, and 75th regiments, thus formed, were disbanded in 1763, after the peace of Fontainebleau. 2. Several other corps were likewise disbanded in 1763, which occasioned a change in the numerical titles of the following regiments of Invalids, viz. : — The 81st reg' (Invalids) was numbered the 71st. 82d „ „ „ 72d. 116th „ ., „ 73d. 117th „ „ „ 74th. 118th „ „ „ 75th. The 71st, 72d, 73d, 74th, and 75th regiments, thus numbered, were formed into independent companies INTRODUCTION. XV of Invalids in the year 1769, which increased the number of Invalid companies from eight to twenty ; they were appropriated to the following Garrisons, namely, four companies at Guernsey, four at Jersey, three at Hull, two at Chester, two at Tilbury Fort,, two at Sheerness, one at Landguard Fort, one at Pendennis, and one in the Scilly Islands. 3. These numerical titles became thus extinct until October 1775, when another seventy-first regiment was raised for service in America by Major-General the Honorable Simon Fraser, which consisted of two battalions, and which performed eminent service during the war with the colonists. In December 1777, further augmentations were made to the army, and the regiments, which were directed to be raised, were numbered from the seventy-second to the eighty- third regiment. The army was subsequently increased to one hun dred and five regular regiments of infantry, exclusive of eleven unnumbered regiments, and thirty-six inde pendent companies of Invalids. The conclusion of the general peace in 1783 occasioned the disbandment of several regiments, commencing with the seventy-first regiment ; the second battalion of which was disbanded on the 5th April 1783, and the first battalion on the 4th June 1784. 4. In 1786 the numerical titles of certain regiments, retained on the reduced establishment of the army, were changed, viz. : — The seventy-third, which had been authorised to be XVI INTRODUCTION. raised by John Lord Macleod in 1777, was directed to be numbered the seventy-first regiment. The seventy-eighth, which had been authorised to be raised by the Earl of Seaforth in 1777, was directed to be numbered the seventy-second re giment. The second battalion of the forty-second, which had been authorised to be raised in 1779, was directed to be constituted the seventy-third regiment. These corps were denominated Highland regi ments, and have since continued to form part of the regular army. The details of the services of the present seventy- first regiment are contained in the following pages ; the histories of the seventy -second and seventy-third regiments are given in distinct numbers. SEYJEETY MI FOR GAMMONS MILITARY RECORDS . MtuUtyTith'3 Pffl/uu/tpn ¦ StStreatdr HISTORICAL RECORD or THE SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY; ORIGINALLY NUMBERED THE SEVENTY-THIRD REGIMENT. The war between Great Britain and her American 1777. Colonies had, towards the end of the year 1777, assumed an aspect which was beheld with great interest by the European powers. France, although abstaining at this period from entering into the contest, privately encou raged the colonists, and several French officers proceeded to join the American standard. The influence of the British ministry then became employed in encouraging voluntary efforts for the raising of troops. Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, at their own expense, each raised a regiment of a thousand men, and several independent companies were levied in Wales. The livery of London and corporation of Bristol did not follow this example, but the naonied interest in the metropolis showed its attachment to the administration by opening a subscription for procuring soldiers. Fifteen thousand men were by these patriotic efforts raised and presented to the state ; of this number up wards of two thirds were obtained from Scotland, and 2 historical record of the seventy-first 17 77. principally from the Highland clans.* The hardy mountaineers of North Britain had been long cele brated for their military prowess, and the annals of warfare of subsequent years have added to their former renown, by affording them opportunities for sustaining their character for intrepidity and valour. The present Seventy- first, Highland Light Infantry, was one of the regiments which owes its origin to the foregoing circumstances, and was raised under the following royal warrant, dated 19th Decem ber 1777, addressed to John Mackenzie, Esquire, com monly called John Lord Macleod, who was appointed its colonel. " George R. " Whereas we have thought fit to order a High- " land regiment of foot to be forthwith raised under " your command, to consist of ten companies, of five " serjeants, five corporals, two drummers, and one hun- " dred private men in each, with two pipers to the " grenadier company, besides commissioned officers, " these are to authorise you, by beat of drum or other- " wise, to raise so many men in any county or part of " our kingdom of Great Britain as shall be wanting to * Regiments raised in the spring of 1778 : — 72d regiment, or Royal Manchester Volunteers - disbanded in 1783. 73d Highland regiment - - numbered the 71st regiment in 1786. 74th Highland regiment ... disbanded in 1784. 75th Prince of Wales's regiment - disbanded in 1783. 76th Highland regiment - disbanded in 1784. 77th regiment, or Atholl Highlanders - - - disbanded in 1783. 78th Highland regiment numbered the 72d regiment in 1786. 79th regiment, or Royal Liverpool volunteers - disbanded in 1784. 80th regiment, or Royal Edinburgh volunteers disbanded in 1784. 81st Highland regiment - - - • disbanded in 1783. 82d regiment- - - disbanded in 1784. 83d regiment, or Royal Glasgow volunteers - disbanded in 1783. Two of these twelve regiments have been retained on the establish ment of the Army, namely, the seventy-third and seventy-eighth, -which are the present seventy-first and seventy-second regiments. regiment, highland light infantry. 3 " complete the said regiment to the above-mentioned! 77 7. " numbers ; and all magistrates, justices of the peace, " Constables, and other our civil officers, whom it may " concern, are hereby required to be assisting unto " you, in providing quarters, impressing carriages, and " otherwise, as there shall be occasion. " Given at our Court at St. James's, this 19th of " December 1777, in the eighteenth year of our reign. " By His Majesty's command, " Barrington." " To our trusty and well-beloved John Machenzie, " Esq., (commonly called John Lord Macleod), " Colonel of a Highland Regiment of Foot to be "forthwith raised, or to the Officer appointed by " him to raise Men for our said Regiment." In February 1778 the Court of France concluded 1778. a treaty of defensive alliance with the American colo nies, and Great Britain became involved in a war with France. Lord Macleod's efforts in raising the regiment were so successful that in April 1778 it was embodied at Elgin, under the denomination of " Macleod's Highlanders," and was numbered the " Seventy-third Regiment." In May the regiment, eleven hundred strong, em barked at Fort George, under the command of Colonel Lord Macleod, and proceeded to Guernsey and Jersey, in which islands it was stationed for six months. The regiment was subsequently removed to Portsmouth, and was cantoned during the remainder of the year in the neighbouring villages. On the 24th of September, 1778, Colonel Lord Macleod received orders to raise a second battalion to the regiment. Each battalion was to consist of fifty serjeants, fifty corporals, twenty drummers and fifers, two pipers, and a thousand privates. At this period the following officers had been ap pointed to the Seventy-third Highland Regiment. A 2 historical record of the seventy-first 1778. First Battalion. Colonel, John Lord Macleod. Lieut.-Colonel, Duncan McPherson. John Elphinston. Majors. James Mackenzie. Captains. Hugh Lamont. Hon. James Lindsay. David Baird. George Mackenzie. Alexander Gilchrist. John Shaw. Charles Dalrymple. Captain Lieutenant and Captain, David Campbell Lieutenants. A. Geddes Mackenzie. Hon. John Lindsay. Abraham Mackenzie, Adjt Alexander Mackenzie. James Robertson. John Hamilton. John Hamilton. Lewis Urquhart. George Ogilvie. Innes Munro. Ensigns. James Duncan Simon Mackenzie. Alexander Mackenzie. John Sinclair. Chaplain, Colin Mackenzie. Adjutant, Abraham Mackenzie. Quartermaster, John Lytrott. Surgeon, Alexander MacDougall. Simon Mackenzie. Philip Melvill. John Mackenzie. John Borthwick. William Gunn. William Charles Gorrie. Hugh Sibbald. David Rainnie. Charles Munro. George Sutherland. James Thrail. Hugh Dalrymple. Second Battalion. Colonel, John Lord Macleod. IJeut.- Colonel, The Hon. George Mackenzie. Majors. Hamilton Maxwell | Norman Macleod. Captains. Mackay Hugh Baillie. Hon. Colin Lindsay John Macintosh. James Foulis. Robert Sinclair. Stair Park Dalrymple. David Ross. Adam Colt. regiment, highland light infantry. Lieutenants. 1778. Norman Maclean. John Irving. Rod. Mackenzie senior. Charles Douglas. Angus Macintosh. John Fraser. Robert Arbuthnot. David MacCullock. Rod. Mackenzie junior. Phineas Macintosh. John Mackenzie senior. Alexander Mackenzie. Phipps Wharton. Laughlan MacLaughlan. Kenneth Mackenzie. Murdoch Mackenzie. George Fraser. John Mackenzie junior. Martin Eccles Lindsay. John Dallas. David Ross. William Erskine. Ensigns. John Fraser. John MacDougal Hugh Gray. John Mackenzie. John Forbes. JEneas Fraser. William Rose. Simon Fraser, Adjf. Chaplain, .ZEneas Macleod. Adjutant, Simon Fraser. Quartermaster, Charles Clark. Surgeon, Andrew Cairncross. In January 1779 the first battalion of the regiment, 1779. commanded by Colonel Lord John Macleod, embarked 1st bat. for the East Indies. The second battalion, one thousand strong, embarked 2d bat. at Fort George in Scotland, in March 1779, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. George Mackenzie (brother of Lord Macleod), and proceeded to Ports mouth, from thence it went on in transports to Ply mouth, where the battalion landed, and was encamped upon Maker Heights until the 27th of November following. The Court of Versailles had now engaged that of Madrid to take a part in the contest, and on the 16th of June 1779 the Spanish ambassador had presented a manifesto at St. James's, equivalent to, a declaration of war, and immediately departed from London. During the summer the siege of Gibraltar was commenced by the Spaniards, the reduction of that important fortress A 3 6>. HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 177 9. being one of the principal objects of Spain in becoming a party to the war. 1st bat. The vessels conveying the first battalion formed part of a fleet escorted by Rear -Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, which on the passage touched at Goree, upon the coast of Africa. Goree being evacuated by the French for the purpose of fortifying Senegal, which had been captured by them early iu the year, was occupied by a British force, left for that purpose by Sir Edward Hughes. After quitting Goree, the fleet proceeeed to the Cape of Good Hope, at that time in possession of the Dutch, and there landed the sick. The fleet was detained for three months in Table Bay, for the pur pose of refreshment and recovery of the sick, after which it sailed for India. 1780. After the breaking up of the camp on Maker 2d bat. Heights, the second battalion embarked for Gibraltar in transports, under convoy of Admiral Sir George Rodney. When in the Bay of Biscay, the British encountered, on the 8th of January 1780, a valuable Spanish convoy belonging to the Caracca company,. consisting of fifteen merchantmen, with a ship of sixty- four guns, and two frigates, the whole of which were Captured. Sir George Rodney being compelled to em ploy many of the crews of the ships of war in manning the prizes, called upon Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. George Mackenzie for the services of the second battalion of the regiment as Marines. In a few days after the men were distributed for this purpose, the fleet de feated, on the 16th of January, off Cape St. Vincent, a squadron of eleven sail of the line, commanded by Admiral Don Juan de Langara. One Spanish ship of seventy guns blew up in the beginning of the action. The Spanish admiral's ship of eighty guns, and three of seventy, were taken; one of seventy guns ran on shore, and another Avas lost on the breakers. REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 7 Nothing further transpired during the remainder of J 780. the voyage, and on the 18th of January 1780 the second battalion disembarked at Gibraltar, then closely blockaded by the Spaniards, who had despatched Don Juan de Langara to intercept the British admiral. The first battalion had, in the meantime, continued on 1st bat. its voyage to India, and on the 20th of January 1780 anchored in Madras Roads, being twelve months from the time of leaving England. The battalion landed immediately at Fort St. George, and after remaining there about a month was removed to Poonamallee. The intricate politics of India gave rise to a war in that country. Hyder Ali, the son of a petty chief in the Mysore, had risen to the chief command of the army of that state, and when the rajah died, leaving his eldest son a minor, Hyder assumed the guardianship of the youthful prince, whom he placed under restraint, and seized on the reins of govern ment. Having a considerable territory under his control, he maintained a formidable military establish ment, which he endeavoured to bring into a high state of discipline and efficiency. Hyder, now Sultan of Mysore, formed a league with the French, and entered into a confederacy with the Nizam of the Deccan, the Mahrattas, and other of the native powers^ for the purpose of expelling the British from India. In July 1780, Hyder Ali, having passed the Ghauts (as the passes in the mountains on both sides of the Indian peninsula are termed), burst like a torrent into the Carnatic, while his son, Tippoo Saib, advanced with a large body of cavalry against the northern Circars, and the villages in the vicinity of Madras were attacked by parties of the enemy's horse. These events occasioned the first battalion of the regiment to be ordered to proceed to join the army which was being assembled at St. Thomas's Mount, under the command of Major-General Sir Hector A 4 8 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1780. Munro, K.B., consisting entirely of the troops of the 1st bat. Honorable East India Company, with the exception of the Seventy-third, then about 800 strong. Sir Hector Munro's army amounted to upwards of 4,000 men, and was thus composed : — T Infantry - - 1,000 European< Artillery - - 300 (.Dragoons - - 30 Native J Infantry - - 3,250 I Dragoons - - 30 Total - 4,610 With the army were also thirty field-pieces and howitzers, together with four battering twenty-four pounders. The Anglo-Indian army marched to Conjeveram, sixty miles westward of Madras, where it was to be joined by a detachment from the northward, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Baillie. At this period the Sultan of Mysore was engaged in besieging Arcot, the capital of the Carnatic, which was invested by the enemy on the 21st of August. The movement of Sir Hector Munro's force caused Hyder Ali to raise the siege ; he then detached his son, Tippoo Saib, with a large body of horse and foot, amounting to 24,000 men and twelve guns, to inter cept Lieut.-Colonel Baillie, whose junction with the main army had been ordered. In this manoeuvre Tippoo Saib succeeded, and Major- General Sir Hector Munro was compelled to detach Lieut.-Colonel Fletcher with a thousand men to rein force Lieut.-Colonel Baillie. The flank companies of the first battalion of the Seventy-third formed part of this detachment ; the grenadier company was commanded by Lieutenant the Honorable John Lindsay, and the light REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 9 company by Captain, afterwards General the Right 1780. Hon. Sir David Baird, Bart, and G.C.B.* 1st bat. On the 6th of September, Lieut.-Colonel Baillie was attacked at Perambaukum by the division under Tippoo Saib, and on the 9th of that month was joined by the detachment under Lieut.-Colonel Fletcher. On the following day they were attacked by Hyder's whole army, and the officers and men of this ill-fated de tachment were either killed, taken, or dispersed. The following graphic description of this unequal contest with Hyder's whole army, the division under Tippoo Saib acting in concert, is given by Captain Innes Munro, of the Seventy-third, who published a " Narrative of the Military Operations on the Coro- mandel Coast from 1780 to 1784 :"— " Lieut.-Colonel Baillie could but make a feeble " resistance against so superior a force ; but his little " band yet gallantly supported a very unequal fire, until " their whole ammunition had either been blown up " or expended, which of course silenced the British " artillery. Hyder's guns upon this drew nearer and " nearer at every discharge, while each shot was at- " tended with certain and deadly effect. Lieut.- " Colonel Baillie's detachment, seeing their " artillery " silenced and remaining inactive while exposed to " certain destruction, very naturally became dismayed ; " which the enemy no sooner perceived than they " made a movement for a general charge and advanced " on all quarters to a close attack. At this dangerous " and trying juncture, sufficient to damp the spirits of " the most intrepid, all the camp-followers rushed in " confusion through the ranks of every battalion, and " in an instant threw the whole into disorder. The " black troops, finding themselves in this calamitous * A memoir of General the Right Honorable Sir David Baird, Bart., G.C.B., is inserted in the Appendix, page 144. 10 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1780. "situation, relinquished every hope of success; and, 1st bat. " notwithstanding the extraordinary exertions of their " European officers, were no more to be rallied. But " such of the Europeans as had fallen into disorder by " this irregularity, quickly united again in compact " order, headed by their gallant commander, who was " at this time much wounded ; and, being joined by all " the Sepoy officers, planted themselves upon a rising " bank of sand in their vicinity, Avhere they valiantly " resolved to defend themselves to the last extremity. " History cannot produce an instance, for fortitude, " cool intrepidity, and desperate resolution, to equal " the exploits of this heroic band. In numbers, now <( reduced to five hundred, they were opposed by no " less than one hundred thousand enraged barbarians, " who seldom grant quarter. The mind, in the con- *' templation of such a scene, and such a situation as " theirs was, is filled at once with admiration, with " astonishment, with horror, and with awe. To behold " formidable and impenetrable bodies of horse, of in- " fantry, and of artillery, advancing from all quarters, " flashing savage fury, levelling the numberless instru- " ments of slaughter, and darting destruction around, " was a scene to appal even something more than the " strongest human resolution ; but it was beheld by " this little band with the most undaunted and im- " movable firmness. Distinct bodies of horse came on " successively to the charge, Avith strong parties of " infantry placed in the intervals, whose fire was dis- " charged in showers ; but the deliberate and well- " levelled platoons of the British musketry had such a " powerful effect as to repulse several different attacks. " Like the swelling waves of the ocean, however, when " agitated by a storm, fresh columns incessantly poured " in upon them Avith redoubled fury, which at length " brought so many to the ground, and weakened their " fire so considerably, that they were unable longer to REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 11 "Avithstand the dreadful and tremendous shock; and 1780. " the field soon presented a picture of the most inhuman 1st bat. " cruelties and unexampled carnage. " The last and aAvful struggle was marked by the " clashing of arms and shields, the snorting and kicking " of horses, the snapping of spears, the glistening of " bloody sAvords, oaths and imprecations ; concluding " with the groans and cries of bruised and mutilated " men, wounded horses tumbling to the ground upon " expiring soldiers, and the hideous roaring of ele- " phants, stalking to and fro, and wielding their " dreadful chains alike amongst friends and foes. ***** " Lieut.-Colonel Fletcher and twenty-nine European " officers, with one hundred and fifty-five European " rank and file, were killed ; Lieut.-Colonel Baillie, " with thirty-four officers, and almost all the European " privates, were miserably wounded ; sixteen officers " and privates, from a Divine protection, and the ge- " nerous clemency of the French hussars, remained " unhurt, Avho, Avith the rest, were all made prisoners. " The whole of the sepoys were either killed, taken, " or dispersed." The flank companies were almost annihilated. Captain Baird received seven wounds, and Lieutenant the Hon. John Lindsay nine ; both were made prisoners. Lieutenant Philip Melvill * was totally disabled by his wounds, and was conveyed to Hyder's camp, where many other wounded prisoners were crowded together in one tent, so as to prevent a moment's ease or rest. They Avere afterwards confined at Bangalore, where they endured the greatest suffering for three years and a half, when, peace being concluded, the captives were released. Lieutenent William Gunn, of the grenadiers, and • See memoir of Captain Philip Melvill in the Appendix, page 143. 12 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1780. Lieutenant Geddes Mackenzie, of the light company, 1st bat. Avere killed. These were the whole of the officers serving with the two companies. Of the non-commissioned officers and privates only two men joined the battalion, and those were found in the jungle desperately wounded. The melancholy fate of these companies rendered it necessary for Colonel Lord Macleod to form two neAV flank companies from the battalion. After the defeat of Lieut-Colonel Baillie, Major General Sir Hector Munro retired with the army to Chingleput, much pressed on the march by the enemy. The wounded and sick being left at Chingleput, the army went into cantonments on Choultry Plain for the rainy season, Avhich had set in. The troops in the retreat had suffered severely from fatigue and want of provisions. Captain Alexander Gilchrist, of the grenadiers, whose ill-health prevented him from being Avith his company when Lieut.-Colonel Baillie was attacked, died at this period*, and Lieutenant Alexander Mackenzie was wounded, together with several soldiers, in skirmishes Avith the enemy. 2d bat. After the British fleet had departed from Gibraltar the Spaniards renewed the blockade by sea, and * The following allusion to Captain Gilchrist is made by Captain Munro, in his Narrative : — " Here our regiment had the misfortune of burying Captain Gil- " christ, a brave and experienced officer, whose loss the seventy-third " had much cause to lament, he having always acted as a mentor to the " young and inexperienced gentlemen of his corps. This veteran had " the honor, when a subaltern, of witnessing the exploits of General " Wolfe upon the plains of Quebec, and was now at the head of our " grenadier company ; but, having exerted himself too much upon the " march to Conjeveran, he was seized at that place with a fever, which " disabling him from conducting the grenadiers upon the detachment " under Lieut-Colonel Fletcher, affected his mind so deeply, particularly " when he heard of their dismal fate, that a delirium came on during " this march, of which he died, regretted and justly lamented by all." REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 13 attempted to destroy the vessels in the harbour by 1780. fire-ships, but failed. Towards the close of the year 2d bat. provisions again became short. A limited supply was occasionally obtained from the Moors. The effects of the scurvy were mitigated by cultivating vegetables on the rock; and the brave defenders of the fortress main tained their attitude of defiance to the power of Spain. Mr. Laurens, late President of the American Con- gross, having been captured in his passage to Holland by the British, papers were found on him showing that a treaty of alliance was on the point of conclusion be tween the Americans and the States General. Great Britain in consequence declared war against Holland on the 20th of December, and thus became engaged with a fourth enemy, exclusive of the hostile powers in India. Upon the 17th of January 1781, the army being re-1781. assembled, took the field under the command of Lieut.- ist bat. General Sir Eyre Coote, K.B., Commander-in-Chief in India. At this period the strength of the first battalion did not exceed five hundred men. Hyder Ali was then in the Tanjore country, committing every species of outrage and devastation. On the 1st of June, 1781, Colonel Lord Macleod received the local rank of Major-General in the East Indies. In June Sir Eyre Coote moved the army along the coast southerly, towards Cuddalore, Avhere his out posts were attacked by Tippoo Saib, who Avas repulsed. The British commander afterwards marched his whole force to Chillumborem, upon the Coleroon, Avhere the enemy had a large magazine of grain. The pagoda was attacked by the piquets under the command of Captain John Shaw, of the first battalion, but the detachment was repulsed, and that officer wounded. Hyder Ali, being apprehensive for the safety of Chillumborem, mdVed his army in the direction of that place from Tanjore and Trichinopoly, Avhile Lieut.- 14 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1781. General Sir Eyre Coote, with the view of obtaining 1st bat supplies from the shipping, proceeded towards Cudda- lore. Hyder, by forced marches and manoeuvres, had nearly surrounded the British on the plains of Porto Novo, about two days' march to the southward of Cuddalore. At four o'clock in the morning of the 1st of July, Sir Eyre Coote put his army of about 8,000 men in movement, while that of the enemy, computed at 100,000, was observed to range itself in order of battle. The army of Lieut: -General Sir Eyre Coote formed on the plain in two lines ; the first battalion was com manded by Colonel James Craufurd* (Lord Macleod having returned to England), and had its station in the first line under the orders of Major General Sir Hector Munro. Major General James Stuart commanded the second line. The action commenced by an advanced movement of the English troops, and the contest was sustained with great spirit by both parties until night, when the firing ceased, and the British remained masters of the field. The veteran chief, Sir Eyre Coote, was so well pleased with the conduct of the battalion upon this occasion that he was heard to exclaim, addressing him self in the heat of the battle to one of the pipers, " Well done, my brave fellow, you shall have silver pipes when the battle is over!" The general did not forget his promise, and in addition to a general order expressive of his sense of the gallantry and steadiness of the bat talion in the battle of Porto Novo, he presented a handsome pair of silver pipes (value one hundred pago- dasf) to the corps, upon which was engraved a suitable inscription ; this he desired might be preserved as a * Lieut-Colonel James Craufurd, of the seventt-thikd regiment, was promoted to the local rank of Colonel in the East Indies on the 22d March 1780. t The value of a pagoda is seven shillings and sixpence. REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 15 lasting monument of his approbation of its conduct in 1781. that battle, the result of which enabled Sir Eyre Coote 1st bat. to reach Cuddalore, the point of destination, on the 4th of July. Shortly afterwards the army was moved to St. Thomas's Mount. On the 3d of August the force from Bengal, under the orders of Colonel Pearse, arrived and formed a junction with Sir Eyre Coote's army at Pulicat, to which place the army had moved in order to facilitate that important object. The British force now amounted to twelve thousand men. The first brigade, composed entirely of Europeans, was commanded by Colonel Craufurd, of the present Seventy-first regiment, and had its station generally in the centre of the line. Major General Sir Hector Munro commanded the right wing, and Colonel Pearse the left. In August, Major James Mackenzie of the battalion died, universally regretted. His exertions in the early part of the campaign had brought on illness, which ter minated his career. ¦ On the 16th of August the preparations that had been carried on for the siege of Arcot, which had been " taken by Hyder Ali in the previous year, and for the relief of VeUore being completed, the Anglo-Indian army was put in movement. On the 20th of August Tripassoor was retaken, by which capture a very large supply of grain fell into the hands of the British. The camp of Hyder's main army was at Conjeveram, and every exertion Avas made by his detachments to inter rupt the progress of the British troops. The British, on the 27th of August, came in sight of the enemy, draAvn up in order of battle upon the very ground where Lieut.-Colonel Baillie had met his defeat, a position which the religious notions of Hyder Ali induced him to consider fortunate. Thus encouraged or 16 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1781. inspired, he seemed determined to hazard a second lstbat. general action, and accordingly commenced the attack by a smart cannonade, when an obstinate contest ensued, which lasted the whole day, and which terminated in his defeat, and his being forced to retire from all his positions. There was a circumstance peculiar to this field of battle which stamped it with aggravated horrors. It is ably and feelingly described by Captain Munro in his Narrative, from which the following is extracted."* " Perhaps there come not within the wide range of " human imagination scenes more affecting, or circum- " stances more touching, than many of our army had " that day to witness and to bear. On the very spot " where they stood lay strewed amongst their feet the " relics of their dearest fellow soldiers and friends, who " near twelve months before had been slain by the " hands of those very inhuman monsters that now ap- " peared a second time eager to complete the work of " blood. One poor soldier, with the tear of affection " glistening in his eye, picked up the decaying spatter- " dash of his valued brother, with the name yet entire " upon it, which the tinge of blood and effects of weather " had kindly spared. Another discovered the club or " plaited hair of his bosom friend, Avhich he himself had " helped to form, and knew by the tie and still remain - " ing colour. A third mournfully recognised the feather " Avhich had decorated the cap of his inseparable com- " panion. The scattered clothes and wings of the flank " companies of the Seventy-third were everywhere " perceptible, as also their helmets and skulls, both of " Avhich bore the marks of many furrowed cuts. These " horrid spectacles, too melancholy to dwell upon, while * A Narrative of the Military Operations on the Coromandel Coast, against the combined forces of the French, Dutch, and Hyder Ali, from 1780 to 1784, by Captain Innes Munro, of the Seventy-third or Lord Macleod's Regiment of Highlanders. REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 17 " they melted the hardest hearts, inflamed our soldiers 1781. with an enthusiasm and thirst of revenge such as 1st bat. " render men invincible ; but their ardour was neces- " sarily checked by the involved situation of the army." Upon this horrid spot the army halted tAvo days, and it then retired to Tripassoor, to secure provisions. At this period the health of Major-General Sir Hector Munro compelled him to leave the army. On the 19th of September, Lieut.-General Sir Eyre Coote made a movement towards VeUore, the relief of Avhich place Hyder Ali appeared determined to oppose, by occupying in order of battle the Pass of Sholingur, at the same time making very spirited attacks against the fortress of Vellore. Upon the 27th of September, Colonel Craufurd, nOAV second in command, received the orders of the Com mander-in-Chief to move the British army to the front.* Hyder, confident of success, made a forward movement to meet his opponents, Avhen a general action commenced. A detachment, commanded by Colonel Edmonstone, (of which the flank companies of the first battalion formed part,) succeeded in turning the left flank of the enemy, and fell upon his camp and rear. The day closed by the total defeat of Hyder's troops, Avho Avere pursued by the cavalry until sunset. Under circumstances the most distressing and un- * The following is extracted from a letter, dated 28th January 1782, from Lieut-General Sir Eyre Coote, K.B., then at Fort George, Madras, addressed to the Earl of Shelburne, one of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State : — " Colonel Craufurd, of His Majesty's Seventt-thied regiment, " having had my leave to return to Europe, will have the honor of " delivering your lordship this letter. " I should do injustice to the high sense I entertain of Colonel " Craufurd's merit as an officer, did I omit on this occasion mentioning " how much he has acquitted himself to my satisfaction, and with honor " and credit to himself, in the whole course of a most trying campaign. " He was next in command to me at the battle of Sholingur, on which " occasion his conduct was deserving of the highest applause." B 18 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1781. promising, but with the hope of obtaining the supplies 1st bat. 0f provisions of which the army was quite destitute, and for which no previous arrangement had been made by the Government, Lieut. General Sir Eyre Coote, on the 1st of October, boldly pushed through the Sholingur Pass, and after a march of two days en camped at Altamancherry, in the Polygar country. Here, by the friendly aid and kindness of Bum-Raze, one of the Polygar princes, the troops were well sup plied with every requisite. The British camp was moved on the 26th of October to Pollipet, and the sick and wounded were sent to Tripassoor. VeUore was also relieved. This desirable object being effected, and the army reinforced by Colonel Laing with a hundred Europeans from Vel- lore, it proceeded to the attack of Chittoor, which, after a gallant resistance, capitulated. With a view to get the British from a country so very inaccessible, Hyder Ali proceeded to the attack of Tripassoor, and on the 20th of November Sir Eyre Coote retired out of the Pollams, through the Naggary Pass, which obliged the enemy to raise the siege of Tripassoor, and to retire to Arcot. The campaign closed by the recapture of Chittoor by the enemy. On the 2d of December, the monsoon having set in, the army broke up its camp on the Koilatoor Plain, and the different corps marched into cantonments in the neighbourhood of Madras. During the campaign of 1781, the battalion was commanded by Captain John Shaw. 2d bat. While the first battalion had been thus actively em ployed in India, the second battalion was engaged in the gallant defence of Gibraltar, the garrison of which was again relieved, in April 1781, by the arrival of a numerous fleet under Vice- Admiral Darby. The Spaniards, relinquishing all hope of reducing REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 19 the fortress by blockade, resolved to try the power 1781. of their numerous artillery. Scarcely had the fleet 2d bat. cast anchor, when the enemy's batteries opened, and the fire of upwards of one hundred guns and mortars enveloped the fortress in a storm of war; a number of gun-boats augmented the iron tempest which beat against the rock, and the houses of the inhabitants were soon in ruins. On the 8th of May, Captain James Foulis, of the second battalion of the regiment, was wounded in the lines. On the night of the 17th of September the following incident relating to the battalion occurred in an attack of the enemy, the account of which is extracted from the " History of the Siege of Gibraltar," by Colonel John Drinkwater, of the late Seventy-second Regi ment, or Royal Manchester Volunteers: — " A shell during the above attack fell in an embra- " sure opposite the King's lines bomb-proof, killed one " of the Seventy-third, and wounded another of the " same corps. The case of the latter was singular, and " will serve to enforce the maxim, that, even in the " most dangerous cases, we should never despair of a " recovery whilst life remains. This unfortunate man " was knocked down by the wind of the shell, which, " instantly bursting, killed his companion, and mangled " him in a most dreadful manner. His head was " terribly fractured, his left arm broken in two places, " one of his legs shattered, the skin and muscles " torn off part of his right hand, the middle finger " broken to pieces, and his whole body most severely " bruised, and marked with gunpowder. He presented " so horrid an object to the surgeons, that they had not " the smallest hopes of saving his life, and were at a "loss what part to attend to first. He was that " evening trepanned, a few days afterwards his leg " was amputated, and other wounds and fractures " dressed. Being possessed of a most excellent consti- B 2 20 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1781." tution, nature performed Avonders in his favour, and 2d bat. " in eleven Aveeks the cure was completely effected. " His name is Donald Ross, and he long continued to " enjoy his sovereign's bounty in a pension of nine- " pence a day for life." On the 4th of November, Lieutenant John Fraser, of the second battalion, had his leg shot off on Mon tague's Bastion, and two of the soldiers of the battalion were likewise wounded by the enemy's fire. General Eliott, aftenvards Lord Heathfield, which title Avas conferred for the services performed by him Avhen Governor of Gibraltar, in order to free himself from the contiguity of the besiegers, resolved to make a sortie. The favourable opportunity presented itself; and, on the evening of the 26th of November, the following garrison order Avas issued : — " Countersign, Steady. — All the grenadiers and " light infantry in the garrison, and all the men of the " Twelfth and Hardenberg's regiments, with the officers u and non-commissioned officers on duty, to be imme- " diately relieved and join their regiments ; to form a " detachment, consisting of the Twelfth and Harden- " berg's regiments complete ; the grenadiers and light " infantry of all the other regiments ; one captain, three " lieutenants, ten non-commissioned officers, and a hun- " dred artillery ; three engineers, seven officers, ten " non-commissioned officers, overseers, with a hundred " and sixty workmen from the line, and forty workmen " from the artificer corps ; each man to have thirty-six " rounds of ammunition, with a good flint in his piece, " and another in his pocket ; the whole to be commanded " by Brigadier-General Ross, and to assemble on the " red sands, at twelve o'clock this night, to make a " sortie upon the enemy's batteries. The thirty-ninth " and fifty-eighth regiments to parade at the same " hour, on the grand parade, under the command of REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 21 " Brigadier-General Picton, to sustain the sortie, if 1781. " necessary." 2d bat. The flank companies of the second battalion, consist ing of eight officers, ten serjeants, and 202 rank and file, formed part of the centre column. The moon shone brightly as the soldiers assembled on the sands at mid night. Between tAvo and three o'clock darkness over spread the country, and the troops issued silently from the fortress. They were challenged and fired upon by the enemy's sentries, but the British soldiers rushed forward with their native ardour, overpowered the Spanish guards, and captured the batteries in gallant style. The enemy's soldiers, instead of defending the works, fled in dismay, and communicated the panic to the troops in their rear. The Avooden batteries were soon prepared for fire ; the flames spread with astonish ing rapidity, and a column of fire and smoke arose from the works, illuminating the surrounding objects, and shedding a fiery lustre upon this unparalleled scene. In an hour the object of the sortie was effected; trains were laid to the enemy's magazines, and the soldiers withdrew. As they entered the fortress, tremendous explosions shook the ground, and rising columns of smoke, flame, and burning timber proclaimed the de struction of the enemy's immense stores of gunpowder to be completed. General Eliott declared in orders, " The bearing and conduct of the whole detachment, " officers, .seamen, and soldiers, on this glorious occa- " sion, surpass my utmost acknowledgments." For several days the Spaniards appeared confounded at their disgrace. The smoke of the burning batteries continued to rise, and no attempt was made to extin guish the flames ; but several executions took place in their camp, probably of persons who fled so precipitately from the batteries. In the beginning of December they began to arouse themselves, and a thousand workmen B3 22 . HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1781. commenced labouring to restore the batteries, in which .2dl>at. they were retarded by the fire of the garrison. While the besiegers were thus employed, the gallant defenders of the fortress were equally indefatigable; every serjeant, drummer, musician, officer's servant, and private soldier, used the musket, shovel, and pick axe, as his services were necessary. 1782. At the opening of the campaign in India, in the 1st bat. beginning of 1782, the army did not muster a larger force than at the commencement of the former ' year. The first and most important object in view was the relief of VeUore, kept in strict blockade by the enemy. The safety of this fortress was of paramount conse quence, being the only key the British possessed to the Passes of the Ghauts, through which an invasion of the enemy's country could be accomplished ; and the army being put in movement, pushed through the Sholingur Pass, and by the 11th of January the relief of VeUore, with a supply of rice for six months, was fully effected. After the accomplishment of this object the army retired, and on the 20th of January arrived at Poona- mallee, having lost upon this expedition six officers and about thirty Europeans, with one hundred sepoys, killed and wounded. The following anecdote is extracted from the narra tive of Captain Munro, relating to the fall of John Mackay, a corporal of the battalion, in one of the skirmishes with the enemy, when the army, was on the march to Vellore : — " For the satisfaction of my High- " land friends, I take this opportunity of commemo- " rating the fall of John Mackay, alias Donn, a corporal " in the Seventy-rtliird (now Seventy-first) regir " ment, son of Robert Donn, the famous Highland " bard, whose singular talent for the beautiful and " extemporaneous composition of. Gaelic poetry was " held in such esteem by the Highland Society. This REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 23 " son of the bard has frequently revived the drooping 1782. " spirits of his countrymen upon'the march, by singing istbat. " in a pleasant manner the humorous and lively pro- " ductions of his father. He was killed by a cannon " ball on the 13th of January, and on the same even- ei ing was interred by his disconsolate comrades Avith " all the honors of Avar." For the first three months of the year 1782, the army of Lieut.-General Sir Eyre Coote was kept in a state of inactivity at St. Thomas's Mount, where it would appear the Government of the presidency, apprehensive for its own safety, had detained this force, while a judicious movement to Porto Novo might have pre vented the junction of the forces under Tippoo Saib with the strong reinforcement of French troops that had arrived from Europe on board the fleet of Admiral Suffrein, or at all events have prevented the loss of Permacoil and Cuddalore. At length Sir Eyre Coote, having been reinforced by the Seventy-eighth, afterwards the Seventy-second regiment, recently arrived from England, was permitted to put the army in movement. In the beginning of April he marched in a southerly direction by Carangooly and Wandewash towards the enemy, encamped upon the Red Hills of Pondicherry. The object, which the Commander-in-chief appeared to have in view, was to separate the French and Mysorean troops, and he manoeuvred accordingly between Chitaput and Arnee, until Hyder Ali, apprehensive for the safety of the latter place, where he had established magazines, made a rapid movement on the 2d of June, so as to overtake and attack the rear-guard of the British, commanded by Lieut. Colonel John Elphinston*,of the Seventy-third, Avho maintained his ground with great spirit and intre- * Major John Elphinston, of the Seventy-thied regiment, was pro moted to the local rank of lieutenant-colonel in the East Indies on the 2 3d of May 1781. B 4 24 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1782.pidity until the line had completed its formation. The 1st bat. troops were ordered to advance immediately upon the enemy's guns, the action became very warm, and the foe was soon forced across the river of Arnee, and in the pur suit several tumbrils were taken by the Honorable Cap tain James Lindsay, of the battalion. This gallant and intelligent officer, perceiving an enemy's battalion en deavouring to extricate the tumbrils in the bed of the river, dashed fonvard at the head of his grenadier com pany, supported by the remainder of the corps under Major George Mackenzie's command, and, quickly dis persing all opposed to his progress, took possession of his prize. This movement of the Seventy-third "was supported on the left by a battalion of Bengal Sepoys, who had captured one of the enemy's guns, and both corps, equally animated by success, pushed on, driving the enemy before them as long as pursuit Avas prudent. The conduct of Captain the Honorable James Lind say, although he had acted without orders, received all the praise it merited from the commander-in-chief, Lieut.-General Sir Eyre Coote. At the battle of Arnee the staff of the regimental colour was shattered by a cannon ball, and the ensign severely wounded. The army encamped for the night on the field of battle, and on the following morning took up a position before Arnee ; but a scarcity of grain compelled the general to retrace his steps towards Madras, and on the 20th of June he arrived at St. Thomas's Mount. In the months of July and August the army made tAvo expeditions, one to Wandewash, in which it was foiled by the active and politic Hyder, the other for the relief of VeUore, in which it was more fortunate, having succeeded in throwing a large quantity of grain into that fortress. The siege of Cuddalore having been determined on, the army moved on the 26 th of August in a southerly direction, and on the 4th of September halted on the REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 25 Red Hills of Pondicherry. Deserters reported the 1782. garrison of Cuddalore to consist of 800 Europeans, 300 ls* bat. Africans, and 600 Sepoys, who, having expelled the inhabitants, and covered the walls with cannon, were resolved to defend the place to the last extremity. The failure of the supplies, which Sir Eyre Coote had been led to expect from Madras by the fleet, excited so much anxiety and disappointment in the veteran's mind, that a severe illness ensued, which obliged him to quit the army, and ultimately to proceed to Bengal for the benefit of his health. The command then devolved upon Major-General James Stuart, who commenced his retreat in the evening of the 10th of October. On the 15 th of October, the monsoon set in with unusual severity, and the army Avent into canton ments in the vicinity of Madras. Hyder Ali, at the same time, took up his old position near Arcot. Shortly after, Rear Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton, with a large fleet from England, came to anchor in Madras roads, having on board considerable reinforcements for the army, which was joined in the cantonments by the Twenty -third Light Dragoons, the 101st and 102d British regiments, and the Fifteenth regiment of Hano verian Infantry. In the month of December occurred the decease of that extraordinary man, Hyder Ali, who Avas suc ceeded, Avithout any of the commotions usual in the East on such occasions, by his son, Tippoo Saib, to • Avhom he left a kingdom of his own acquisition, which made him one of the most powerful princes in India. All ordinary means of attack appearing to be una- 2d bat vailing against the resolute garrison of Gibraltar (of which the second battalion of the regiment formed part), stupendous preparations Avere made on a neAV principle, and floating batteries were constructed with great art and labour. These were accounted the most perfect 26 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1782. contrivance of the kind ever seen. The combined 2d bat. power of France and Spain was directed against the fortress. The Duke of Crillon assumed the command of the besieging army, and was assisted by a celebrated French engineer, Monsieur d'Arcon, and by Admiral Moreno, and a French army arrived to take part in the siege. A crisis was evidently approaching, and in the spring and summer of 1782 the garrison of Gibraltar made preparations Avith cool determination for the hour of trial. The officers and soldiers appeared to be im pressed with their peculiar situation ; an important fortress was confided to their protection ; • they had defended it against the efforts of the Spanish army and navy upwards of two years ; and the eyes of all Europe were directed towards them. The damaged works were carefully repaired, new ones were constructed, extensive subterraneous works were prepared, and forges for heating red-hot shot were got ready. Every serjeant, drummer, musician, and officer's servant, as well as the corporals and private soldiers, used a shovel, pickaxe, or musket, according as their services were required. The effect of the red-hot shot was proved on some of the enemy's wooden batteries on the sands, which were speedily destroyed. The Duke of Crillon anticipated the most signal success from the extensive preparations he was making. His camp was visited by princes of the royal blood of France, by Spanish nobility, and other dignified cha racters of Europe, who came to be spectators of the fall of the fortress, under the heavy fire of artillery which was about to be opened upon it. The new bat teries on shore were unmasked, and fired a volley of sixty shells, which was followed by the thunder of one hundred and seventy guns of large calibre. Thus was Gibraltar assailed by a storm of iron, which threatened to reduce the fortress to a heap of ruins, and this wa3 REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 27 only a prelude to the tremendous fire which was after- 1782. wards opened upon the garrison. Lieutenant Phipps 2d. bat. Wharton, of the second battalion, was dangerously wounded by the enemy's fire. On the 13th of September, the ten battering ships took their station before the fortress, in the presence of the combined fleets of France and Spain. The enemy's camp and neighbouring hills were crowded with spec tators from various parts of Europe, to witness the effect of these stupendous vessels, and such a storm of war was opened upon the garrison as was probably never heard before since the invention of cannon. The bat teries of the fortress answered this tremendous fire with vigour, and the deafening thunder of four hundred pieces of heavy artillery was heard for many miles. For some hours the attack and defence were so equally well supported as scarcely to admit any appearance of superiority in the cannonade on either side. The wonderful construction of 'the battering ships seemed to bid defiance to the heaviest ordnance ; shells re bounded from their tops, and a thirty-two pound shot scarcely seemed to make any impression on them. The effect of the red-hot shot was doubted ; sometimes smoke came from the ships, but the fire-engines within soon occasioned it to cease, and the result Avas uncer tain. The fire was, however, persevered in, and incessant showers of red-hot bullets, shells, and carcases flew through the air. In the afternoon the effects of the red-hot shot became apparent, and volumes of smoke issued from the flag-ship ; the Admiral's second ship was perceived to be in the same condition, and confu sion prevailed. The Spaniards expected that the firing 6f red-hot bullets could not be persevered in beyond a few rounds ; but the fire was continued Avith the same precision and vivacity as cold shot. The effects of the hot balls occasioned the enemy's can nonade to abate, and about eight o'clock it almost totally 28 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST .1782. ceased. The battering ships made signals to inform the 2d bat. combined fleets of their extreme danger and distress, and several boats were sent to their aid. At this period the fire of the garrison produced great carnage, and the most pitiable cries and groans were heard, as the incessant showers of shot and shells Avere poured into the floating batteries. Soon after midnight one ship was in flames, and by two o'clock she appeared one sheet of fire from head to stern ; a second was soon in the same state ; the flames enabled the British artillery to point their guns with precision, and soon after three o'clock six more ships exhibited the effects of the red- hot shot. The burning ships exhibited one of the grandest spectacles of destruction ever beheld; and amidst this dreadful scene of conflagration, the British seamen in boats were seen endeavouring to rescue the Spaniards from the blazing ships. They preserved between three and four hundred ; and while they were thus engaged, one of the ships bleAV up with a dreadful explosion ; four others met the same fate before seven o'clock, and another shortly afterwards, and the re mainder burnt to the water's edge, their magazines having been inundated ; not one could be preserved as a trophy. Thus did the mighty efforts of France and Spain end in defeat and destruction, and the gallant efforts of the brave soldiers Avho defended Gibraltar elicited the ad miration of the nations in Europe. In England the most enthusiastic applause was universal; illuminations and other modes of testifying the joy of the people followed the receipt of the news of the destruction of the boasted invincible battering ships, and every family which could claim a defender of Gibraltar belonging to it was proud of the honor. The loss of the garrison, on the 13th and 14th of September, was limited to one officer, two serjeants, and thirteen rank and file killed ; five officers and sixty-three rank and file wounded ; REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 29 that of the enemy exceeded two thousand officers and 1782. soldiers. Captain Alexander Mackenzie, of the second 2^ bat. battalion, was one of the officers wounded. Although the enemy gave up all hopes of reducing Gibraltar by force of arms, yet some expectation was entertained, that, if the blockade Avas continued, the garrison might be forced to surrender from the want of provisions ; the combined fleet therefore remained in the bay, the besieging army continued in the lines, and about a thousand shots were fired every day from the Spanish batteries. The garrison was encouraged to continue resolute in the defence of the fortress by assurances of their Sovereign's favour and high appro bation. The principal Secretary of State, Avriting to General Eliott, stated, — "I am honored with His " Majesty's commands to assure you, in the strongest " terms, that no encouragement shall be wanting to the " brave officers and soldiers under your command. His " royal approbation of the past will no doubt be a " powerful incentive to future exertions, and I have the " King's authority to assure you, that every distinguished " act of emulation and gallantry, which shall be per- " formed in the course of the siege by any, even, of the " lowest rank, will meet with ample reward from his " gracious protection and favour." On the 4th of October Lieutenant Kenneth Mackenzie, of the second battalion, was wounded in the communication from the King's to the Queen's lines. In October the combined fleet was much damaged by a storm, and soon afterwards a British naval force arrived, and the garrison was again relieved, Avhen two regiments, the Twenty-fifth and Fifty-ninth, landed to take part in the defence of the fortress. On the 23d of November Lieutenant John Mac kenzie, of the second battalion, was dangerously wounded by the enemy's cannonade. 30 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1783. At the opening of the campaign of 1783, Tippoo Saib lstbat. encamped his army upon the plains of Arnee, where he was joined by a strong detachment of French auxiliaries from Cuddalore. Major-General Stuart put the British army in move ment, having first in view the demolition of the useless fortresses of Wandewash and Carangooly. He arrived at the latter place on the 6 th of February, and, leaving there all heavy baggage and encumbrances, proceeded lightly equipped towards Wandewash, the works of which were accordingly destroyed. The army then returned to Carangooly, which experienced the same fate as Wandewash, and on the 23d of February arrived at Poonamallee. 2d bat. Meanwhile, the siege of Gibraltar had terminated, hostilities having ceased in February 1783, in conse quence of the preliminaries of the treaties between Great Britain, France, and Spain having been signed at Versailles on the 20th of the preceding month. The second battalion during the siege was commanded by Lieut. -Colonel the Honorable George Mackenzie. lstbat. . Notwithstanding private information having been received from respectable sources, overland, of a peace having been concluded between Great Britain and the other belligerent powers in Europe, still the Madras Government was determined to persevere in its original plans for the attack of Cuddalore. With this view, Major-General Stuart put the army in movement on the 21st of April, marching by brigades in a southerly direction. Major-General Stuart's army consisted of the present Seventy-first and Seventy-second regi ments^ the 101st regiment, a considerable body of native troops, and a detachment of Hanoverians under Colonel Wangenheim. Brevet Lieut. -Colonel Elphin- ston, of the first battalion of the regiment, took the lead, with the fifth brigade, to the command of which he had been appointed, in consideration of his REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 31 distinguished conduct and important services in the 1783. field. istbat. Lieut. -Colonel James Stuart, of the Seventy-eighth Highlanders (the present Seventy-second regiment), commanded the first or European brigade, of which the first battalion of the Seventy-third (now the Seventy- first) regiment formed part, and which amounted to sixteen hundred men. Brevet Lieut-Colonel Elphinston, in his advance, possessed himself of Permacoil ruins, from whence could be plainly distinguished the enemy's advanced parties upon the Red Hills of Pondicherry. The re mainder of the army joined at Permacoil on the 2d of May. About this period accounts were received of the decease of Lieut.-General Sir Eyre Coote, which in telligence threw a peculiar gloom over those officers and men who had had the honor to serve under his com mand in India. Major-General Stuart succeeded to the command of the forces in India for the time being. After leaving Permacoil, the army advanced to Killi- noor, and from thence directed its course towards the Red Hills of Pondicherry. In May 1783, the second battalion embarked in 2d bat. transports, and sailed from Gibraltar for Portsmouth, where it landed in July following. On the 4th of June, Major-General Stuart placed the lstbat. British camp close to the Pannar River, about five miles west of Cuddalore, behind which the French army was descried in an entrenched camp. The British crossed the Pannar River on the 6th of June, without being molested, passed the Bandipollam Hills, and took up a strong position not more than two miles from the south face of the fortress of Cuddalore, having their right flank covered by the sea, and the left by the Bandipollam Hills. The enemy, commanded by 32 HISTORICAL record of the seventy-first 1783. General de Bussy, had in the meantime been occupied lstbat in throAving up works along his front. On the 12th of June, Major-General Stuart had de termined upon attacking Monsieur de Bussy in his pre sent position, and issued preparatory orders accordingly. At four o'clock in the morning of the 13 th of June, the action commenced by a movement from the British left upon the right flank of the enemy. A very obstinate and sanguinary contest ensued, and continued without intermission until the evening, when both armies re mained upon the field of battle, and consequently each claimed the victory. In this action the first battalion of the regiment highly distinguished itself, having wrested from the enemy, in the course of the conflict, seven different redoubts. The loss sustained by the battalion was very severe, amounting in killed and wounded to 13 officers and 272 men, being one half of the gross number in the field. The battalion in this action Avas commanded by Captain Hugh Lamont. The battalion had to regret the loss of Captains the Honorable James Lindsay and Alexander Mackenzie, Avho were killed. The former officer commanded the Grenadier company. The folloAving flattering compliment formed part of the general orders issued by the Commander-in-Chief at the conclusion of the battle : — " I am also grateful " to Captain Lamont and the officers under his com- " mand, Avho gallantly led the pi-ecious remains of the " Seventy-third Regiment through the most perilous " road to glory, until exactly one half of the officers " and men of the battalion were either killed or " wounded." On the 17th of June the English and French fleets fought their last battle during this war. The former commanded by Rear- Admiral Sir EdAvard Hughes, and the latter by Monsieur Suffrein. The contest was per fectly in view of both armies. The result obliged the REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 33 British admiral to proceed to Madras, while, to the 1783. great embarrassment of the army under Major-General Jst bat. Stuart, the French fleet Avas enabled to anchor in Cud dalore Roads, and to afford supplies and reinforcements to their troops. The British prosecuted the siege of Cuddalore with vigour, and on the 25th of June the first parallel was completed. On that day the enemy made a sortie but was repulsed, after a severe contest, with consider able loss. The commander of the party, Colonel the Chevalier de Damas, was among the prisoners taken on this occasion. On the 1st of July a frigate arrived in Cuddalore Roads, confirming the former intelligence, and bringing the official accounts from England of a general peace having been concluded. Hostilities in consequence ceased. The English and French interchanged visits, congratulations, and compliments, and became appa rently as cordial friends as they had before been deter mined enemies. By the 2d of August the British army had received the supplies of which it stood greatly in want, and the camp Avas immediately broken up, the troops proceeding towards Madras, Avhere they arrived on the 16th of that month, at St. Thomas's Mount. The army shortly afterwards went into winter quarters, the Seventy-third occupying the fort and cantonment of Arcot. In Auo-ust the second battalion marched from Hilsea 2d bat barracks to Stirling, Avhere it was disbanded on the 3d of October ; and the officers belonging to the second battalion, who were regimentally senior to those servino- with the first, had the option afforded them of joining that battalion in the East Indies, at their OAvn expense, of which some availed themselves. On the 11th of March 1784, a general peace Avas ra- 1784. tided between the Honorable East India Company and 34 historical record of the seventy-first 1784. Tippoo Saib, and, shortly afterwards, the officers and men, who had been made prisoners in the action fought by Lieut.-Colonel Baillie, on the 10th of September 1780, were restored to their friends, after having en dured captivity in irons in an ungenial climate, and most of them suffering from severe wounds. The regiment had the gratification to' receive Captains David Baird and the Honorable John Lindsay. The commission of the latter, as captain, ha"d been antedated to the 12th of September 1780. Both of these officers had recovered from their wounds. During the remainder of the year the regiment con tinued at Arcot, and was only employed, beyond the usual routine of duty in quarters, for a short time in quelling a mutiny which broke out in the native cavalry at Arnee. The regiment at this period was commanded by Lieut.-Colonel William Dalrymple. 1785. In the course of the month of June the regiment was removed from Arcot to Fort St. George at Madras, Avhere it was joined by certain officers of the late second battalion. Lieut.-Colonel Dalrymple having returned to Great Britain, the regiment was commanded by Brevet Colonel the Honorable George Mackenzie. The regiment continued in quarters during the re mainder of the year at Fort St. George, and in the town at Madras. 1786. In the year 1786 the numerical title of the regiment Avas changed from Seventy-third to Seventy-first ; and new colours were received from England, bearing the number Seventy-first, which designation it has since retained. The regiment changed its quarters, in March, to Wallajohabad and Chingleput, having nine companies cantoned at the former station, and one at the latter under Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Hamilton Maxwell. 1787. On the 4th of June 1787, the commanding officer, Colonel the Honorable George Mackenzie, died, after a regiment, highland light infantry. 35 short illness. His body was sent to Madras, and there 1787. interred with the military honors due to his rank. The senior major, Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel John Elphinston, succeeded to the lieutenant-colonelcy and to the command of the regiment. Captain David Baird was at the same time promoted to the rank of major. The commissions of these officers were dated 5th of June 1787. During the year 1787 no change of quarters took place, and the regiment remained in cantonments at Wallajohabad and Chingleput. In February 1788, in consequence of some dis-1788. turbance or alarm at the Bombay Presidency, the Seventy-first marched to Madras,, and immediately embarked on board the Company's ships for Bombay. The regiment was commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Elphinston, and was about eight hundred strong. After a favorable passage, the ships arrived at Bombay in April, when the regiment immediately dis embarked and went into barracks, where it remained for six months. The Seventy-fifth and Seventy-seventh regiments having, in this interval, arrived at Bombay from England, the services of the Seventy-first became no longer necessary at that Presidency, and the regiment proceeded in October to Madras, where it arrived in December. Five companies, under Lieut.-Colonel Elphinston, occupied the barracks in Fort St. George, and the other five companies proceeded to Poonamallee. Major-General the Honorable William Gordon was 1789. appointed colonel of the Seventy-first regiment on the 9th of April 1789, in succession to Major-General John Lord Macleod, deceased. In the course of the year 1789, the five companies at Poonamallee were removed to Tripassoor. On the 16th of March 1790, the companies at Madras 17 90. and Tripassoor received orders to join a force which c 2 36 historical record of the seventy-first 17 90. was assembling at Wallajohabad, under the orders of Colonel Thomas Musgrave, of the Seventy-sixth, in consequence of the hostilities which Tippoo Saib had commenced against the Rajah of Travancore, a faithful British ally. The Seventy-first arrived at Walla johabad on the 18th of March, and joined the other troops, consisting of the nineteenth light dragoons, fifty-second, and Seventy-first regiments, the third and fourth native cavalry, the first battalion of coast artillery, and the second, fourth, ninth, four teenth, and twenty-fifth coast sepoys. This force was put in movement on the 29th of March, and proceeded towards Trichinopoly, which it did not reach until the 29th of April, and found there the following corps, under the command of Colonel Brydges : — two King's regiments, the thirty- sixth and seventy-second ; the second and fifth native cavalry; the first, fifth, sixth, seventh, sixteenth, twentieth, and twenty-third coast sepoys. At the same time Colonel Deare, with three companies of Bengal artillery, joined, the whole being under the orders of Major-General Musgrave, to which rank he had been promoted on the 28th of April 1 790. The army was immediately divided into brigades and wings; Lieut.-Colonel James Stuart, of the Seventy- second Highlanders, was appointed to command the left wing, and Colonel Brydges, of the East India Com pany's service, the right; the Seventy-first and seventy-second regiments, and first East India Com pany's European battalion, formed the second European brigade, under Lieut.-Colonel Clarke, of the Company's service. The whole of the cavalry and the advance were com manded by Lieut.-Colonel, afterwards General Sir John Floyd, of the nineteenth light dragoons, since disbanded. On the 24th of May, Major-General (afterwards Sir William) Medows assumed the command, and re- regiment, highland light infantry. 37 vieAved the army, which on the 26th of that month 1790. was put in movement towards the Coimbatore country. The army reached Caroor, a fortified place, on the 15 th of June, which the enemy abandoned on the approach of the British, who remained in this position, strengthening. Caroor, and collecting grain, until the 2d of July, when they moved for ArriA'acourchy, arriving there on the 5th, and continuing their route by Tooramboddy, arrived on the 10th of July at Dara- poram. At this latter place was found a large supply of grain and other necessaries, which had been left by the enemy. During the march to Coimbatore, where the British arrived on the 22d of July, Tippoo's irregular horse Avere very active in hovering around, for the purpose of picking up stragglers and baggage. The army halted at Coimbatore, and detachments were sent off to reduce Dindigul, Errode, and Pal- ghautcherry. The flank companies of the Seventy- first regiment, commanded by Captains Phineas McIntosh and James Robertson, were employed upon the latter service. In August the whole of the cavalry and the advance had been pushed forward to the Boovany, near to the Gudzelhetty Pass. Tippoo Saib, profiting by the divided state of the British force, descended with his whole army, and after a very severe conflict obliged Lieut.-Colonel Floyd to fall back. The troops from Coimbatore had marched to his support, and on the junction being effected, Tippoo retired. The British returned to Coimbatore on the 23d of Sep tember. Upon the inarch of the main body, the flank com panies of the Seventy-first and Seventy-second were withdrawn from the siege oiPalghautcherry, and ordered to take post in the fort of Coimbatore; and on the return of the army they rejoined the regiment. C 3 38 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1790. The army was again put in motion on the 29th of September, proceeding towards the Boovanyby Shawoor and Coopachitty-pollum, where the troops arrived a few hours after Tippoo had left it. Some elephants, bullocks, and camels loaded Avith rockets, fell into the hands of the British. On the 4th of October the army arrived at Errode, the enemy keeping a respectful distance during the march ; and on the 6th of that month it was ascertained that he had arrived with his whole force at Darraporam, against which he opened his batteries on the 8th. The fort had no cannon mounted, and the garrison, consisting of a hundred Europeans and two hundred sepoys, capi tulated on honorable terms, to which the enemy strictly adhered, • The British army moved on the 5th of October, and on the 15th encamped in the neighbourhood of Coim batore, where Lieut.-Colonel Stuart joined from Pal- ghautcherry, after having taken the place, and left it in a tolerable state of defence. On the 20th of October, all the heavy baggage having been deposited in the fort of Coimbatore,' the army recommenced movingj directing its march towards Errdde^ by Avinochy and Perentore, where it arrived on the 2d of November. On the 8th the army proceeded in the direction of Bovaneore, and thence to a ford about three miles below Errode, the Avhole crossing the Cavery on the 9th and 10th, while Tippoo marched with his entire force to attack a division under the orders of Lieut.-Colonel Hamilton Maxwell, of the Seventy-fourth Regiment, then in the Bharamahl country. On the 11th of November the army moved by Sankerrydroog for the Tappoor Pass, and ascended on the 14th, encamping at Adamancottah, in the Bharamahl country ; marched again on the 15th, and on the 17th effected a junction with Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell at Darrampoury. This REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 39 officer had under his orders the Seventy-fourth and 17 90. Seventy-sixth King's regiments, the fourth battalion of Madras Europeans, the third, seventh, thirteenth, four teenth, twenty-first, twenty-sixth, and twenty-seventh Bengal sepoys. The Seventy-fourth joined the Seventy-first and Seventy-second Regiments in the second brigade ; and Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell assumed the command of the left Aving in the place of Colonel Brydges, who was appointed to command at Trichinopoly. On the 18th of November the army moved by Coveri- porum to the Tappoor Pass, when the advance fell in with the rear of Tippoo's force, but could make no impression. It was now ascertained that the enemy, whose move ments were always sudden, varied, and perplexing, was directing his course to the Carnatic by Namacul and Trichinopoly. The British in consequence pursued by Malusundrum, arriving on the 23d at Vavoor ; the 27th at Jaloor ; on the 6th of December at Munsa- rapett; and at Terany on the 31st of December. On the 1st of January 1791 the army arrived at 1791. Terrimungulum, and on the 12th at Arnee. During this long and fatiguing march, the Anglo- Indian troops frequently encamped upon the ground from which the enemy had removed in the morning, but the efforts made to overtake him were not suc cessful. The sick and heavy guns having been placed in the fort of Arnee, on the 14th of January the advance and right wing marched for Velhout, where they arrived on the 27th, followed by the left wing. On the 29th of January the army was reviewed by General Charles the Earl Cornwallis, K.G., Avho had arrived from Bengal to assume the command, and who expressed great satisfaction at the appearance of the troops. His lordship was at this period Governor- General and Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies, C 4 40 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1791. and had quitted Bengal on the 6th of December of the previous year, and landed at Fort St. George, Madras, on the 30th of the same month. In the course of the foregoing campaign the Seventy- first Regiment lost few men in action, but many fell victims to climate and fatigue. The army, being refreshed and equipped, commenced moving in a westerly direction on the 5th of February, by Perambaukum and Sholingur, arriving on the 1 1th in the vicinity of Vellore. The troops were ordered into the fort, and on the 14th they marched to Chittipet, turning suddenly to the right by Chittoor towards the Muglee Pass, where they arrived on the 17th of Fe bruary. On the 18th the advance, followed by the park and stores, ascended the ghauts, the whole army en camping on the day following at Palamnaire, in the Mysore country, without having seen anything of the enemy. During the time the British army remained at Velhout, Tippoo pushed to the southward, and summoned Cuddalore, but upon learning in what direction Earl CornAvallis had moved, the Sultan hastened to the Shangana Pass, where he arrived too late to oppose the troops at the Muglee Pass. On the 24th, the British inarched for Colar, which was abandoned on their approach ; from thence the army moved to Ouscotta, Avhich place Avas immediately carried by a battalion of sepoys. The enemy displayed a part of his force on the 4th of March, and on the following day opened a cannonade upon the troops moving towards Bangalore, whilst his horse attempted to attack the stores and baggage, but without success. About sunset on the 5th of March, the army encamped within shot of the fort of Banga lore, and shifted its ground on the day folloAving. The pettah (the suburbs of the toAvn) was then attacked by the thirty-sixth and seventy-sixth regiments, with some REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 41 battalions of sepoys, and carried, after a very resolute 1791. resistance on the part of the defenders. From this period to the 14th of March, nothing mate rial occurred, but every preparation for the approaching siege was carried on with diligence and activity. On the 15th, the batteries being completed, opened a fire upon Bangalore ; and on the 17th the fines were can nonaded by the enemy, while at night the camp was much disturbed by his rockets. Forage became very scarce, and none could be pro cured beyond the advanced piquets. The siege, how ever, proceeded, and the enemy continued to harass the British until the 21st March, when the breach being considered practicable, an attack was ordered. The storming party consisted of the grenadiers of the thirty-sixth, fifty-second, Seventy-first, seventy- second, seventy-fourth, and seventy-sixth regiments, followed by their respective light companies, and led by Lieutenant James Duncan of the Seventy-first, and Lieutenant John Evans of the fifty-second, with a forlorn hope of thirty chosen men ; the whole sup ported by the battalion companies of the thirty-sixth, seventy-second, and seventy-sixth, with some battalions of Bengal sepoys. The corps of attack were com manded by Lieut.-Colonel MaxAvell of the seventy- fourth ; the flankers immediately by Major Skelly ; Major-General MedoAVS was present on the occasion. The grenadier company of the Seventy-first Avas commanded by Captain the Honorable John Lindsay, who, upon entering the breach, directed his men to throw away their priming, and trust entirely to their bayonets. The light company was commanded by Cap tain James Robertson, son of the celebrated historian. With the aid of scaling ladders, and after encoun tering very formidable obstacles, Bangalore was carried. From the 6th of March to the conquest of Bangalore, 42 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE. SEVENTY-FIRST 1791. the Seventy-first had six privates killed, and fourteen wounded. On the 28th of March, a strong garrison being left in Bangalore, the army moved to Deonhully, the birth place of Hyder Ali, where it arrived on , the 30th, and on the 1st of April at Chinnaballaporam, both of which places were abandoned by the enemy. The army reached Connapelly on the 12th of April, and on the following day effected a junction with the Nizam's force, which had been sent to co-operate with the British, and which amounted to about fifteen thousand cavalry. The army arrived at Venkatagherry, on the 18th of April, where a large detachment of Europeans, under Colonel Oldham, joined from the Carnatic, and on the 22d of April again encamped near Bangalore. During this march, the object of which was chiefly to procure supplies, the enemy's irregular horse were noAV and then seen in small detached bodies. The British commenced their march on the 4th of May towards Seringapatam, the capital of Tippoo Saib's territory, and on the 13th of that month arrived at Arakerry, on the Cavery, about eight miles below Seringapatam, which derived its name from the god Serung, to whom one of the pagodas was dedicated. The enemy was discernible in front, with his right resting on the river, and his left on a high hill named the Carighaut. During the night of the 14th of May the troops marched with a view to surprise the enemy, but owing to the badness of the weather and roads, together with the jaded state of the gun-bullocks, little or no progress was made during the night ; but on the following day, after having undergone great fatigue, they were brought into action, when the enemy was driven from his strong position, and forced across the river into the island upon which the capital, Sering- REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 43 apatam, is situated, where he was protected by his 1791. batteries. In this affair four guns and several standards were taken. The Seventy-first had Lieutenant and Adjutant Roderick Mackenzie and seven rank and file killed ; Ensign John Stuart and seventy-four rank and file Avere wounded. The army rested upon the field of battle, and was again in movement on the 18th of May, and arrived on the 20th at Canambaddy, situated on the Cavery, some miles above Seringapatam. It was noAv ascer tained that the season was too far advanced for under taking immediately the siege of Tippoo's capital, and it was determined accordingly to withdraw. The batter ing train was destroyed ; all the ammunition and stores were buried, which could not be removed, and on the 26th of May the army marched in the direction of Bangalore. Before commencing their retreat, the soldiers were thanked in orders for their conduct throughout these services; and it was added: — " So long as there were " any hopes of reducing Seringapatam before the com- " mencement of the heavy rains, the Commander-in- " chief thought himself happy in availing himself of "their willing services; but the unexpected bad " weather, for some time experienced, having rendered " the attack of the enemy's capital impracticable, until " the conclusion of the ensuing monsoons, Lord Corn- " wallis thought he should make an ill return for the " zeal and alacrity exhibited by the soldiers, if he " desired them to draw the guns and stores back to a " magazine, where there remains an ample supply of " both, which was captured by their valour ; he did not, " therefore, hesitate to order the guns and stores which " were not wanted for field service to be destroyed." In the course of this retreat the British were joined by the Mahratta army, under Hurry Punt and Purseram 44 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1791. Bhow, consisting of about thirty-two thousand men, chiefly cavalry, and thirty pieces of cannon. Of the approach of this large force, the British had been kept in total ignorance, by the active manner in which the communications were interrupted by Tippoo's irregular troops. Captain Little, having under his orders two battalions of Bombay sepoys, joined with the Mahratta army, and the supplies were now abundant. On the 11th of July, after marching by Alcotta, Goodyanelly, Outredroog, and Sankerry-droog, the army arrived at Bangalore. The enemy made no attempt whatever to interrupt the march. By this time the Nizam's cavalry had become unfit to keep the field, and were allowed to return to their own country. Purseram Bhow also, with a large detachment of the Mahrattas, proceeded into the Sera country; but Hurry Punt, with the remainder, continued attached to the British army. On the 15th of July the whole of the sick, and onejialf of the tumbrils belonging to the field-pieces, were sent into the fort of Bangalore, and the army moved towards Oussoor, where it arrived on the 11th of the following month. The fort of Oussoor was abandoned by the enemy, after he had blown up the angles. In this place were found the bodies of three Europeans who had been put to death by Tippoo's orders. One of these unfortunate persons, named Hamilton, had been an officer in the British navy. On the 12th of August the army moved from Oussoor, and on the 23d arrived at Bayeur. About this period Major Gowdie, of the Honorable East India Company's Service, was detached with some troops for the reduction of the strong hill fort of Nundy- droog, Avhich it was found required regular approaches. The flank companies of the thirty-sixth and Se- venty-first regiments, under the command of Captain REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 45 Robertson, of the latter corps, marched on the 17th of 1791. October to join the detachment under Major Gowdie, and, upon their arrival, were immediately placed in the last parallel. On the 18 th of October, General the Earl Cornwallis, with the whole army, made a movement towards Nundy- droog, and in the evening of that day the troops were told off for an assault upon the two breaches, which had been pronounced practicable. The attacks com menced at eleven o'clock at night, the grenadiers assaulting the right breach, and the light companies the left. The forlorn hope of the right attack con sisted of twenty grenadiers, volunteers from the thirty- sixth and Seventy-first, led by Lieutenant Hugh Mackenzie of the Seventy -first, formerly paymaster of the regiment. The same number of light infantry, headed by Lieutenant Lewis Moore, of the Seventy- first, formed the left attack. The grenadier com pany of the regiment, in support, was commanded by Lieutenant James Duncan ; the light company, by Lieutenant Kenneth Mackenzie ; the whole under Captain Robertson's orders, as before stated. Captain Robert Burne supported, with the thirty- sixth grenadiers, the right attack, and Captain William Hartley, with the light company of that regiment, the left attack ; Major-General Medows, as usual, animat ing the whole with his presence. Both breaches were carried without much resistance from the enemy, and the gateway of the inner wall being soon secured, the fort fell into the possession of the British. Many of the enemy were killed, and several, in attempting to escape, were dashed to pieces over the precipices. It was an additional source of gratification, that this important service had been achieved without the loss of a British soldier. In a few days subsequently to the fall of Nundy- droog, the army retraced its route to Bangalore. 46 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1791. On the 4th of December the troops were again put in movement, directing their march towards Saven- droog, a fortress situated on the side of a mountain, environed by almost inaccessible rocks. The fort beiiig reconnoitred, a detachment under Lieut.-Colonel James Stuart, of the Seventy-second regiment, was selected, and ordered to reduce the place. On the 17th the British were enabled to open upon the fort a battery of six eighteen-pounders and three twelve-pounders, with considerable effect. The flank companies of the Seventy-first and seventy-sixth regiments joined the detachment under Lieut. -Colonel Stuart on the 20th of December, and on the following day the flank companies of the fifty- second, Seventy-first, seventy-second, and seventy- sixth, were selected for the attack upon Savendroog (in which a practicable breach had been effected), and formed under Lieut.-Colonel Colebrook Nesbitt, of the fifty-second regiment. The storming party, commanded by Lieut-Colonel Nesbitt, was directed to four different attacks. Captain James Gage, with the grenadiers of the fifty-second and flank companies of the seventy-sixth regiment, to gain the eastern hill to the left ; Captain the Honorable William Monson, with the light company of the fifty- second, to scour the works towards the western hill on the right; Captain the Honorable John Lindsay and Captain James Robertson, with the flank companies of the Seventy-first, to separate, and attack the works or parties they might discover in the chasm or hollow between the hills ; the fifty-second and seventy- second regiments were to follow the flank companies ; parties were detached under Lieut.-Colonel Baird and Major Petrie round the mountain, to draw the attention of the enemy from the main object, and to endeavour to prevent his escape. At eleven o'clock in the morning of the 21st of REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 47 December, on a signal of two guns being fired from the 1791. batteries, the flank companies, in the order described, followed by the fifty-second and seventy-second regi ments, advanced to the assault ; the band of the fifty-second playing " Britons, strike home /" while the grenadiers and light infantry mounted the breach. Immediate success followed the attempt, the fort being carried without the loss of a man. The troops were thanked in general orders for their gallant con duct, in which it was stated, — " Lord Cornwallis thinks himself fortunate, almost " beyond example, in having acquired by assault a " fortress of so much strength and reputation, and of " such inestimable value to the public interest, as " Savendroog,* without having to regret the loss of a " single soldier." In the course of a short time afterwards, the follow ing places surrendered, with trifling loss, to detachments of the British army ; namely, Outredroog, Ram Gurry, and Sheria Gurry. The army subsequently moved towards Outredroog, a hill fort about thirty miles west of Bangalore, where a general hospital was established. On the 31st of January 1792 the army underl792. General the Earl Cornwallis was reviewed by the Poonah and Hyderabad chiefs, and on the following day commenced its march towards Seringapatam, passing by Hooleadroog, Tajilly, and Carrycode. The troops came in sight of Tippoo's capital on the 5th of February, and encamped at the French Rocks. The enemy's horse showed itself on the 4th and 5th, but attempted nothing hostile. The entrenched camp of Tippoo was reconnoitred on the 6th of February, and at dark the army Avas formed in three columns of attack. The right, under Major General Medows, consisting of the thirty-sixth and * Droog signifies a fortified hill or rock. 48 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1792. seventy-sixth King's regiments. The centre, under the Commander-in-chief, General the Earl Cornwallis, consisting of the fifty-second, Seventy-first, and seventy-fourth King's regiments. The left, under Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell of the seventy-fourth, was composed of the seventy-second regiment. The native troops were divided among the three columns. By eight o'clock in the evening of the 6th of February the three columns were in motion. The head of the centre column, led by the flank companies of the respec tive corps, after twice crossing the Lokany river, Avhich covered the enemy's right wing and front, came in con tact Avith his first line, and immediately forced through it. The British flankers, mixing with the fugitives, crossed the north branch of the Cavery, at the foot of the glacis of the fort of Seringapatam. Captain the Honorable John Lindsay collected the grenadiers of the Seventy-first upon the glacis, and attempted to push into the body of the place, but was prevented by the bridge hems; raised a few moments before he reached it. He Avas soon after joined by some of the light company of the fifty-second and grenadiers of the seventy-sixth, Avith whom he forced his way down to the famous Llal Baugh, or " Garden of Pearls" where he was attacked most furiously, but the enemy Avas repelled in a very spirited style with the bayonet. Captain Lindsay was afterwards joined by the seventy-fourth grenadiers, and attempted to drive the enemy from the Pettah, but could not succeed, from ' the numbers which poured on him from all sides. This gallant officer then took post in a redoubt, Avhere he maintained himself until morning, and then moved to the north bank of the river, where the firing appeared very heavy. He was there met by Brevet Lieutenant- Colonel the Honorable John Knox, of the thirty-sixth regiment, and by Lieut.-Colonel Baird, with the grenadiers of the fifty-second, and the light company REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 49 of the Seventy-first, together with some of the 1792. troops that composed the left attack. During these occurrences the battalion companies of the fifty-second, Seventy-first, and seventy-second regiments forced their way across the river to the island, overpoAvering all that opposed them, when Captain Archdeacon, commanding a battalion of Bengal Sepoys, being killed, that battalion was thrown into confusion, falling back upon the Seventy-first. Major Stair Park Dalrymple, wishing to prevent the Sepoys intermingling with his men, ordered the regi ment to oblique to the left, an operation that by chance brought him in contact with the Sultan's redoubt, Avhich was instantly attacked and carried. The charge of the redoubt Avas given to Captain Hugh Sibbald, of the Seventy-first, with his company, who on the following morning was killed, nobly defending it against repeated and desperate attacks from the enemy. The commander-in-chief, General the Earl Cornwallis, in compliment to the memory of this officer, had the name of the redoubt changed to " Sibbald." In the evening of the 7th of February three thousand of the enemy's horse attacked the British troops on the island, but were repulsed by the Seventy-first regiment and the first Coast Sepoys. In the course of these operations the regiment had Captain Sibbald and Lieutenant Daniel Bayne killed ; Ensign Duncan Mackenzie Avas wounded ; about one hundred rank and file were killed and wounded. The enemy's loss was very severe, being estimated at 20,000 hors-de-combat. Eighty pieces of cannon were taken by the British. On the 9th of February the army took up its final position for the siege of Seringapatam, and on the 15th Major-General Robert Abercromby joined with the Bombay force, consisting of the seventy-third, 50 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1792.seventyrfifth, and seventy-seventh regiments, besides native troops, making a total of about 6,000 men. The Seventy-first regiment, commanded by Major Dalrymple, crossed the south branch of the Cavery at nine o'clock at night on the 18th of February, and in two hours after attacked by surprise a camp of the enemy's cavalry, of whom great part were slain, and the remainder dispersed in all directions. This move ment was designed to cover the operation of opening the trenches, which took place at the same time, within eight hundred yards of the fort. Until the 24th of February the approaches were carried on with the greatest activity, when the general orders announced that the preliminary articles of peace had been signed, and in consequence all hostile measures immediately ceased. On the 26th of February the two sons of Tippoo Saib, Abdel Kalek and Mooza-ud-Deen, the former ten years of age, and the latter eight, were brought to the British camp, as hostages for the due performance of the preliminary articles.* In consequence of some obstacles which had been opposed by Tippoo to the arrangement of the definitive treaty, working parties were ordered, and the guns re placed in the batteries on the 10th March. This state of suspicion and preparation lasted until the 15th of March, when it was discontinued, and on the 18th of that month, the definitive treaty being duly executed, * In 1794 Tippoo received back his sons, and immediately commenced secret negotiations with the French, who were then at war with Great Britain, in order to renew measures for " utterly destroying the English in India." This animosity ended only with the death of the Sultan, which took place on the 4th of May 1799, while defending Seringapatam against his former opponents. His body was found amidst heaps of slain, and was interred in the mausoleum which he had erected over the tomb of his father, Hyder Ali, a portion of the victorious troops attending the ceremony. <3 REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 51 and signed, was delivered by the young Abdel Kalekl792. to each of the confederates. On the 20th the counter part was sent off to Tippoo Saib. Thus terminated a war in which the confederates wrested from the enemy seventy fortresses, eight hundred pieces of cannon, and destroyed or dispersed at least fifty thousand men. By the articles of the treaty, Tippoo was bbund to pay a large sum of money, and to cede one half of his dominions. The Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in India granted from this money a sum equal to six months' batta for all ranks, and the Court of Directors afterwards made a similar grant. • On the 2 6th of March, the exchange of the definitive treaty being completed, the British commenced moving towards Bangalore, from whence they proceeded to the Pednaigdurgum Pass, where the Bengal troops were ordered to their own presidency. , < Early in May the army descended the Ghauts, arriving soon after at Vellore, where the Commander-in- Chief arranged the cantonments of the troops, and proceeded to Madras. The Seventy-first received orders to march to the southward, and in the month of June arrived at Warriore, near Trichinopoly, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Baird, who during the campaign had been absent from the regiment in com mand of a brigade. Eight companies were stationed at Warriore, and two were detached with Major Dalrymple to Dindigul. In this situation the regiment continued for the remainder of the year. In March 1793, the eight companies under the com- 1793. mand of Lieut-Colonel Baird proceeded from Warriore to Secundermally, in the neighbourhood of Madura. Meanwhile the events of the French revolution had involved England in another contest, the National Con vention of France having declared war against Great Britain and Holland, in February 1793. The neAvs of D 2 52 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 17 93. this event arrived in India in May following, when the siege of the French settlement of Pondicherry, on the Coromandel coast, was determined upon. Lieut.- Colonel Baird, of the Seventy-first, Avas appointed to command a brigade on this service. In July the flank companies of the regiment were ordered to join the force about to besiege Pondicherry, and marched for that purpose, being 'followed soon afterwards by the battalion companies. The place sur rendered on the 22d of August, and the Seventy- first returned to Secundermally and Dindigul, where the regiment continued during the remainder of the year. 1794. An attack upon the Mauritius was in contemplation at the commencement of the year 1794, and troops for that service were assembled at Wallajohabad. The Seventy-first, having received orders to join this force, marched to Wallajohabad, where the regiment remained only a short time, having been ordered to return to the southward, in consequence of the pro jected expedition being relinquished. The regiment marched accordingly, and arrived at Tanjore in June, where it was stationed for the re mainder of the year, having two companies detached, under Major Dalrymple, at Vellum. 1795. Holland became united to France in the early part of 1795, and was styled the Batavian republic. Upon the arrival of this information in India, an expedition was fitted out against the island of Ceylon, where the Dutch had several settlements. Major Dalrymple, with the flank companies, marched to the coast, and embarked at Negapatam, for the purpose of co-operating with the troops destined for Ceylon, under the command of Colonel James Stuart, of the seventy-second, who was promoted to the rank of Major-General at this period. The fleet arrived on the coast of Ceylon on the 1st of August, and two days afterwards the troops landed four REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 53 miles north of the fort of Trincomalee . The siege of 1795. the fort was commenced as soon as the artillery and stores could be landed, and removed sufficiently near to the place. On the 26th of August a practicable breach was effected, and the garrison surrendered. The fort of Batticaloe surrendered on the 18th of September, and the fort and island of Manaar capitulated on the 5th of October. After these services were performed, the flank companies returned to Tanjore in the month of Octo ber, having lost eleven men in killed and wounded. Captain William Charles Gorrie, of the grenadier com pany, was desperately wounded in this expedition. In May 1796, the regiment marched to Wallajo-1796. habad, where it was stationed during the remainder of the year. On the 2d of January 1797, the regiment was in-1797. spected by Major-General Clarke, who issued the following general order : — " Major-General Clarke has experienced infinite sa- " tisfaction, this morning, at the review of His Majesty's " Seventy-first regiment. " He cannot say that on any occasion of field " exercise he ever was present at a more perfect " performance. " When a corps is so striking in appearance, and so " complete in every branch of its discipline, little can " occur to the Commander-in-chief to particularize. " He cannot but notice, however, that the Seventy- " first regiment has excited his admiration for its " expertness in those parts of its exercise which are " most essential, and most difficult to execute. He " alludes to its order and regularity when moving in " line ; its extreme accuracy in preserving distances, " and the neatness and promptitude that are so evident " in all its formations. So much perfection in a corps, " whose services in India will long be held in remem- d3 54" HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1797." brance does the greatest- honor to Lieut. -Colonel " Baird and all his officers, to whom; and the corps at . " large, the Commander-in-chief desires to offer his best "thanks." The regiment remained in the cantonment of Walla johabad until the month of October, when orders were issued for its return to Europe. It was accordingly'' drafted, giving five hundred men to the seventy- third and seventy-fourth regiments, and then marched from Wallajohabad, under the command of Colonel Baird,' with the non-commissioned officers, drummers, and' invalids, to Madras, and immediately embarked on board of Indiamen for Great Britain. The fleet sailed from Madras Roads on the 17th of October, and was at sea during the remainder of the year.* 1798. Early in January 1798, the fleet arrived at the Cape of Good Hope, where the commanding officer of the regiment, Colonel Baird, was detained upon the staff, having been appointed brigadier-general. After re maining a few days in Table Bay, the fleet sailed, and1 reached St. Helena in February, where it was detained' three months waiting for a convoy. v The fleet sailed on the 1st of May from St. Helena, without a convoy, and in July, in consequence ,pf contrary winds, was compelled to put into Cork Har bour. ' It sailed from thence for the Thames, and on the 12th of August the regiment disembarked at Wool wich, where it remained for a few days, and then re- embarked in smacks for Leith. After ¦ landing, the regiment proceeded to Stirlingi ¦••; As a mark of indul gence, a general leave for two months was granted to' • * On the 23d of May 1821, His Majesty King George the Fourth was graciously pleased to authorise the Seventy-eibst to bear on the regi" mental colour and appointments the word " Histdoostan," in commemo ration of its distinguished services in the several actions in which it had been engaged, while in India, between the years 1780 and 1797. REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 55 the officers and men of the Seventy-first, to enable 1798. them to visit they: friends and families, after a long absence from their native country. At the expiration of this period, the whole assembled at Stirling, with the addition of several recruits. Immediately afterwards, the whole of the officers and non-commissioned officers, with the exception of the staff, and a feAv at head quarters, were sent out to recruit the regiment. During the year 1799, the head-quarters remainedl799. at Stirling, and the recruiting went on but slowly. In May 1800, the strength of the regiment amountedl800. to about two hundred rank and file, when a route arrived changing the quarters to Paisley, but soon after the march an order arrived for its proceeding to Ireland. In June the regiment reached Portpatrick, and crossed immediately to Donaghadee, from whence it marched, under the command of Colonel Dalrymple, to Newry, and in a few days afterwards was removed to Dundalk. In July the regiment received six hundred volun teers from the Scotch Fencible corps serving in Ireland, and remained at Dundalk until the close of the year, when a route for Dublin was received. At this period, Colonel Dalrymple was appointed brigadier-general, and the command of the regiment devolved on Brevet Lieut-Colonel John French. On the 6th of December Major Denis Pack was pro moted from the fourth Royal Irish dragoon guards to be Lieutenant-Colonel in the Seventy-first regiment, in succession to Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable John Lindsay, who retired from the service. The regiment, early in the year 1801, marched from 1801. Dundalk to Dublin, and occupied the barracks in the Palatine Square. On the 24th of April, Lieut.- Colonel Pack joined, and assumed the command of the regiment. d4 56 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1802. In March 1802, in which month the Peace of Amiens was concluded, the regiment proceeded from Dublin, and was cantoned in the county of Wicklow. The corps was so divided, that at ArkloAV, the head quarters, there were only two companies. In this situation it continued for the remainder of the year. 1803. The regiment proceeded, in March 1803, in three divisions, to Ballinasloe, where it remained for a few days, and afterwards marched to Loughrea. Major-General Sir John Francis Cradock, KB., was appointed colonel of the Seventy-first regiment on the 6th of August 1803, in succession to General the Honorable William Gordon, who was removed to the twenty-first Royal North British Fusiliers. The regiment continued at Loughrea, but the light company was detached to Limerick, to join a light battalion which was being formed at that place. 1804. In May the regiment proceeded from Loughrea to the county of Limerick, the head-quarters being sta tioned at Rathkeale ; one detachment at Newcastle, another at Tarbert, and a third at Askeaton. While the regiment was stationed in Ireland, war had recommenced with France, and Bonaparte having made preparations for invading Great Britain, additional measures of defence to those of the former year were adopted by the Government;* and under the "Additional Force Act" passed on the 10th of July 1804, a second battalion was added to the Seventy-first regiment, which was to consist of men to be raised for limited * In consequence of the renewal of the war with France, in May 1803, the British Government introduced the "Army of Reserve Act," which was passed in July following, for raising men for home service by ballot, and thus caused certain regiments to be augmented to two battalions. Volunteer and yeomanry corps were also formed in every part of the kingdom, in order to preserve Great Britain from the threatened invasion. REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 57 service in certain counties of North Britain. The 1804 second battalion was formed at Dumbarton in October, 2d bat. to the command of which Lieut.-Colonel Lord George Beresford was appointed. Its establishment was fixed at 23 serjeants, 22 drummers, 20 corporals, and 380 privates. In March 1805 the first battalion, under the com- 1805. mand of Lieut.-Colonel Pack, proceeded to Bandon in lstbat. the county of Cork, and was stationed at that place until July, when it marched to Cork, and immediately afterwards to Monkstown, where it embarked in trans ports, having been selected to form part of a secret expedition under its former commander, Major-General Sir David Baird. In the beginning of August the embarkation was completed, and on the 5th of that month the fleet sailed, convoyed by three 64-gun ships, two frigates and gun-brigs, under the orders of Commodore Sir Home Popham ; and on the 28th of September the fleet, after a very boisterous passage, arrived at Madeira. On the 3d of October the fleet left Madeira, and on the 12th of November arrived at St. Salvador, in the Brazils, where an opportunity Avas afforded of refreshing the men, landing the sick, and procuring some horses for the cavalry. The fleet again put to sea on the 28th of November, and directed its course towards the Dutch colony of the Cape of Good Hope, then in possession of the Bataviau Government, which was united with France in hostility to Great Britain. The fleet arrived at the high table-land of the Cape 1806. of Good Hope on the 4th of January 1806, and shortly afterwards came to anchor. The whole of the following day the surf upon the shore of the bay was too violent to admit of any attempt to land. Brigadier-General William Carr, afterwards General Viscount, Beresford, was de- 58 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1806.taehed, with such bf the cavalry as had horses> and the lstbat. thirty-eighth regiment, to Saldanha Bay.* In the morning of the 6th of January a landing was effected by the Highland brigade, under the command of Brigadier-General Ronald Craufurd Ferguson, in the performance of which service Lieut.-Colonel Pack, the commanding officer of the Seventy-first regiment, was wounded. The following day was devoted to land ing the supplies and the remainder of the army. Early in the morning of the 8th of January Major- General Sir David Baird formed his troops in two columns, and moved up to the heights of Bleuberg (Blue Mountain), from whence the enemy was seen, drawn up in order of battle, in two fines,, with twenty- three pieces of cannon, his numbers being calculated at 5,000, of which a large proportion was cavalry. The British lines were formed with promptitude and correctness, and the enemy was attacked with the utmost spirit. He maintained his ground with some firmness, until a charge of the Highland brigade dis lodged and completely routed him, with the loss of three guns and 700 men. * Number of men which arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in January 1806, under Major General Sir David Baird. Number landed, 1 Brigades. Regiments. including Recruits for India, attached. 1st. Commanded by f Twenty-fourth 600 Brigadier-General < Thirty-eighth -/ 900 Beresford. 1. Eighty-third 800 2d. Under Briga- r 'Seventy- first, 1st battalion 800 dier General Fer-< Seventy-second 600 guson. ! Ninety-third - 800 Fifty-ninth - 900 Company's recruits 200 Seamen and marines 1,100 Artillery - - 200 Twentieth light dragoons - Total - 300 7,200 REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 59 In this affair the Seventy-first had Brevet Lieut.- 1806 Colonel Robert Campbell wounded. Five men wereistbat killed, and two serjeants and sixty-four rank and file were wounded. The troops halted for the: night at the Reit Valley, and on the 9th of January .the army moved towards the Salt River, where it was intended to take up a position previously to the attack of CdperTown, when a flag of truce appeared from the town, which produced some negotiations, that terminated in its surrender to His Majesty's arms. Lieut.-General Janssens, the Governor of the colony, after his defeat at Bleuberg on the 8th, had retired towards the interior of the country by the Hottentot Holland Kloof, or Pass, from whence, on the 19th of January, he signed and ratified the treaty that placed the whole of the Cape of Good Hbpe and its dependencies in the possession - of Great Britain, under whose sway it has since continued. The Royal authority was subsequently granted for the Seventy-first to bear the words " Cape of Good Hope " on the regimental colour and appointments, to commemorate its distinguished gallantry at the capture of that important colony.* * The lofty promontory of Southern Africa received the name of " Cabo de bonne Esperanza" (Cape of Good Hope), from King John H. of Portugal, upon its discovery, in 1487, by Bartholomew Diaz, .in. consequence of a good hope being entertained of discovering the long- wished for passage to India, which ten years afterwards was realised by Vasco de Gama, who doubled the Cape, and continued the voyage to the Malabar coast. For more than a century' the Cape continued as a tem porary rendezvous for European mariners. lit July 1620, Humphrey Fitzherbert and Andrew Shillinge, two of the East India Company's commanders, took formal possession of the place; in the name of King James I., but no settlement was formed. In 1650 the government of the Netherlands resolved to colonize the Cape,s which, remained in pos session of the Dutch until July 1795, when it was taken by the British for the Prince of Orange, but was restored to its former possessors by the Peace of Amiens, concluded in 1802. It was again captured by the British in 1806, in whose possession it has since remained. . 60 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1806. As the following . letter from Brigadier General 1st bat. Ferguson to . Major-General Sir David Baird is very creditable to the regiment and to its commander, it is here inserted. (C q " Cape Town, \9th January 1806. " As in the affair of Bleuberg, on the 8th instant, " chance placed two of the enemy's guns in possession of " the Highland brigade, I hope you will be pleased to " order the allowance usually granted on such occasions " to be issued, and shared amongst the 71st, 72d, and " 93d regiments. " Although the guns fell into our hands in front of " the 71st regiment, Lieut.-Colonel Pack (desirous that " the three regiments should be considered as one " family) has most handsomely withdrawn the prior " claim His Majesty's 71st regiment might have made, " and to which the situation of the guns, when taken, " would have entitled that most excellent corps. " I have, &c. " (Signed) R. C. Ferguson, " Brigadier General. " Major-General Sir David Baird." The Seventy-first went into quarters at the can tonment of Wynberg, about seven miles from Cape Town, on the road to Simon's Bay, where the battalion re mained until the 1 2th of April, when, most unexpectedly, an order arrived for its immediate embarkation on an expedition to the Rio de la Plata in South America, which had been planned by the British commanders, naval and military, at the Cape. The Seventy-first was the only corps of the Cape garrison destined for this service, with the addition of a few dragoons and some artillery. At this period the strength of the bat talion amounted to eight hundred rank and file, having received some recruits from foreign corps at the Cape. The troops were to be commanded by Brigadier-General REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 61 William Carr Beresford, afterwards General Viscount 1806. Beresford. 1st bat. The battalion was embarked in line-of-battle ships and in transports, and on the 14th of April the fleet sailed from Table Bay, directing its course to the west ward until the 20th, when, in consequence of unfavour able weather, and having parted company with one of the transports, in which were three companies of the Seventy-first, the signal was made to rendezvous at St. Helena, at which island the fleet arrived on the 30th of April, with the exception of the missing transport. Here the force under Brigadier-General Beresford re ceived an augmentation of two hundred men from the . St. Helena regiment, making a total of a thousand and eighty-seven rank and file. On the 2d of May the fleet sailed from St. Helena, and after a tedious voyage arrived at Cape St. Mary's, at the entrance of the Rio de la Plata, on the 8 th of June, where it met with the missing transport. The troops that had sailed in the line-of-battle ships were transferred on the 16th of June to the transports, which proceeded up the river, and on the 24th of that month came to anchor opposite the city of Buenos Ayres. On the 25th, at night, the Seventy-first, with the other troops, effected a landing without any opposition. The following morning they pushed forward, and met the enemy at the village of Reduction, who made a trifling stand, and then retired towards the city. On this occasion Captain Henry Le Blanc of the Seventy-first lost his leg, and a serjeant and five rank and file were wounded. The British troops continued to advance in pursuit of the enemy, and on the morning of the 27th of June forced their passage across the Chualo. Some skirmish ing followed this movement, but the city of Buenos Ayres almost immediately surrendered. In the evening the town and fort were taken possession of by the first 62 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1806. battalion. of the Seventy-first and detachments of lstbat. Marines and St. Helena Regiment. The Seventy-first occupied barracks in Buenos Ayres, and remained undisturbed until the beginning of August, by which time the, enemy had collected. a force of about 1,500 men, under a leader named Pueridon, at five leagues from the.city. Brigadiers-General Beresford, : in consequence, moved out with three hundred of the Seventy-first, fifty from the St. Helena Regiment, and six field pieces; attacked and dispersed the enemy, taking, all his artillery, namely, ten pieces of various calibre* The battalion had only five men wounded in this operation. ¦ About this period, a. body of the enemy, headed by. Colonel Liniers, a French officer in the;service of Spain, crossed from Colonna to Concher, evidently with hostile intentions. Forming a junction with the force under Pueridon, the whole marched upon Buenos Ayres. On the 10th of August the enemy commenced opera- tionsj by ,the massacre of a serjeant and his guard of the Seventy-first Regiment, who were posted at a place in the suburbs where the bull-fights were usually exhibited. On the following day much skirmishing ensued in the putskirts of, the city, the enemy -taking possession of the tops of houses, from which he kept up a galling and destructive fire. During this time the main body of the British force took up a position in the Grand Square, but afterwards retired into the fort of Buenos Ayres. Being now bereft of all resources, and without hopes of reinforce ment, there appeared no alternative but to capitulate, and about one o'clock on the 12th of August hostilities ceased, and the fort was surrendered. The troops marched out with the honors of war, and laid down their arms in the Square. The Seventy-first were now prisoners ; the offi cers were allowed their parole, and quartered upon the regiment, highland light infantry. 63 inhabitants ; the men were confined in the prisons of the 1806. city. 1st bat. In these melancholy proceedings fell Lieutenant William Mitchell and Ensign Thomas Lucas. Both had much distinguished themselves. The battalion lost in killed and wounded ninety-one men. In August 1806 the second battalion embarked at 2d bat. Glasgow for Ireland, and arrived at Belfast on the 1st of September. About the middle of September, the Seventy-first 1st bat. were removed from Buenos Ayres into the interior. Bri gadier-General B^esford, with his staff, and Lieut.- Colonel Pack, were placed at Luxon, from whence they subsequently effected their escape, uppn learning that the removal of the prisoners still further up the country had been ordered. Lieut.-Colonel Pack was thus enabled to join the 1807. troops which had landed near Monte Video in January 1807, under the command of Brigadier^General Sir Samuel Auchmuty, and to- afford assistance in the im portant operations then being carried on. Sir Samuel Auchmuty, at Lieut.-Colonel Pack's request, directed a board of naval and military officers to inquire into the particulars of his escape, by whom it was unanimously approved, and he was declared free to serve.* The second battalion was removed from Ireland to 2d bat Scotland in January 1807, but returned to Ireland in June following. In May 1807, a further removal to the interior of the lstbat. prisoners took place. The officers were collected at a college belonging to the Jesuits, about forty leagues to the northward of Cordova, and entirely separated from their men. In this situation they remained until August following, Avhen, just as they were ordered to prepare for a transfer to a station still more remote, the accounts * Lieut-Colonel Pack's narrative of his escape is inserted in the Appendix, page 158. 64 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1807. of the convention entered into by Lieut.-General John lstbat. Whitelocke were received, by which it was stipulated that the prisoners should be restored to liberty, on condition that all the British forces should be with drawn. It is scarcely necessary to remark, that the prospect of being restored to liberty and friends was greatly damped by the military events which produced it, and which completely extinguished the ardent hopes of success that had been entertained from the arrival of the last British force in South America. In September the whole of the officers and men were re-conducted to Buenos Ayres, from whence they were conveyed in boats to Monte Video, and there embarked in transports, with a view of returning to Europe. It is a circumstance highly creditable to the charac ter of the soldiers of the Seventy-first, that although so many and powerful allurements were held out to induce them to remain in South America, still not more than thirty-six individuals were found to swerve from their duty and allegiance to their king and country. The fleet sailed immediately, and after a tedious and rough voyage of three months the transports having the Seventy-first on board put into Cork Harbour in December, and on the 27th of that month the whole were landed, without uniform, clothing, arms, or accou trements, and marched to Middleton, under the com mand of Major Henry Tolley, Lieut.-Colonel Pack having previously returned to England from South America. 1808. In March 1808, the regiment proceeded from Mid dleton to Cork, where its equipment in every respect was completed. 2d bat. The second battalion embarked at Londonderry for Scotland on the 9th of April 1808, after transferring 200 men to the first battalion, which raised the strength of the latter to nearly 900 rank and file. REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 65 On the 26th of April, whilst in garrison at Cork, 1808. new colours, to replace those left in South America, i st bat Avere presented to the Seventy-first by Lieut.- General John Floyd, Avho had commanded the cavalry and advance in the campaign of 1790 in the East Indies. The following animating and soldierlike address was made by the gallant general on the occasion : " Seventy-first ! ! " I am directed to perform the honorable duty of " presenting your colours. " Brave Seventy-first, the world is well acquainted " with your gallant conduct at the capture of Buenos " Ayres, in South America, under one of His Majesty's " bravest generals. " It is Avell knoAvn that you defended your conquest " with the utmost courage, good conduct, and discipline " to the last extremity. When diminished to a handful, " hopeless of succour, and destitute of provisions, you " were overwhelmed by multitudes, and reduced by the " fortune of war to lose your liberty, and your well- " defended colours, but not your honor. Your honor, " Seventy- first regiment, remains unsullied. Your " last act in the field covered you with glory. Your " generous despair, calling upon your general to suffer " you to die with arms in your hands, proceeded from " the genuine spirit of British soldiers. Your beha- " viour in prosperity, — your sufferings in captivity, — " and your faithful discharge of your duty to your " King and country, are appreciated by all. " You Avho now stand on this parade, in defiance of " the allurements held out to base desertion, are en- " deared to the army and to the country, and your " conduct will ensure you the esteem of all true soldiers, " — of all worthy men, — and fill every one of you with " honest martial pride. E 66 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1808. " It has been my good fortune to have witnessed, in lstbat. " a remote part of the world, the early glories and " gallant conduct of the Seventy-first regiment in " the field ; and it is with great satisfaction I meet you " again, with replenished ranks, with good arms in your " hands, and Avith stout hearts in your bosoms. " Look forward, officers and soldiers, to the achieve- " ment of new honors and the acquirement of fresh " fame ! ! " Officers ! be the friends and guardians of these " brave fellows committed to your charge ! ! " Soldiers ! give your confidence to your officers. " They have shared with you the chances of Avar ; they " have bravely bled along with you; — they will always " do honor to themselves and you. Preserve your " regiment's reputation for valour in the field and re- " gularity in quarters. " I have now the honor to present the " Royal colour. " This is the King's colour ! I " I have now the honor to present your Regi- " MENTAL COLOUR. " This is the colour of the Seventy-first regiment. " May victory for ever crown these colours ! ! !" The Peninsula was at this period the centre of poli tical interest. Portugal, deserted by her government, and Spain betrayed, the people of each rose in arms to recover the national independence. Dissensions had arisen in the royal family of Spain, occasioned by the sway of Emanuel Godoy, who bore the title of Prince of Peace. This minister was dismissed, but the court was unable to restore tranquillity. In this emergency, the French emperor was solicited to be umpire, and Napoleon ultimately placed the crown of Spain on his brother Joseph, who was transferred from the throne of Naples. The Spaniards flew to arms in conse quence. The British government resolved to aid the REGIMENT, highland light infantry. 67 Spanish and Portuguese patriots, and a British army 1808. was ordered to proceed to the Peninsula, under the com- lstbat. mand of Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley. The first battalion of the Seventy-fikst regiment formed part of the force selected on this occasion. The first battalion of the Seventy-first regiment embarked at the Cove of Cork on the 17th of June 1808. Its strength consisted of fifty-two serjeants, twenty-two drummers, and eight hundred and seventy- four rank and file. In June 1808 His Majesty King George III. Avas pleased to approve of the Seventy-first bearing the title of Glasgow regiment, in addition to the appellation of Highland regiment. In the first instance, the Seatenty-first were brigaded Avith the fifth, thirty- eighth, and fifth battalion of the sixtieth regiment, under Brigadier-General Henry Fane, and sailed for Portugal, in conjunction with the forces destined to aid the Spaniards and Portuguese, on the 12th of July. After a favourable passage, the troops anchored in Mondego Bay in the beginning of August, and a landing was effected in the vicinity of the village of Frejus. Early in the morning of the 4th of August a small piquet of the enemy stationed in the neighbourhood fell back, and the operation of disembarking the troops was carried into effect without opposition. The army then moved on to a position across a deep sandy country, where it halted, and encamped for the night. At this period a change took place in the arrange ment of the brigades, and the first battalion of the Seventy-first was placed, with the thirty-sixth and fortieth regiments, in that commanded by Major- General Ronald Craufurd Ferguson. The division under Major-General Sir Brent Spencer, K.B., from Cadiz, consisting of about four thousand men, joined on the 8th of August ; and, after a short e 2 68 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1808. halt, the army Avas again put in motion to occupy a .lstbat more forward position, where it remained for some days. On the 17th of August the enemy, com manded by General Laborde, was encountered near Roleia. The position was attacked, and carried Avith great loss to the French, who retreated on Torres Vedras. The light company of the Seventy-first was the only part of the regiment engaged, the remainder being employed in manoeuvring on the right flank of the French. The light company suffered a trifling loss, having but one man killed and a few wounded. The Seventy-first subsequently received the royal authority to bear the word " Roleia " on the regi mental colour and appointments, in commemoration of this victory. Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, after the battle of Roleia, did not pursue the enemy by the high roads, but keeping to the right near the. sea, marched to Vimiera, to cover the landing of a brigade commanded by Major-General Anstruther, which was effected on the 20th of August. The morning of the 21st of August was given up to the troops, in order to prepare and repose themselves. The men were engaged in washing and cleaning their equipments, when the approach of the enemy, moving to the left, was discovered at eight o'clock in the morning, and the brigades commanded by Major- General Ferguson, Brigadier-Generals Nightingall, Acland, and Bowes, Avere consequently moved across a valley from the heights on the west to those on the east of Vimiera. Marshal Junot, Duke of Abrantes, moved on his army to the attack of the position, and commenced it on the British centre, where the fiftieth regiment was. posted, moving along the front gradually to the left, until the whole line became engaged. REGIMENT, highland light infantry. 69 A short time previously to this, the soldiers of the 1808. brigade were ordered to sit down, with their arms in 1st bat their hands, keeping their formation. The enemy in the meantime cannonaded the whole line, and pushed on his sharpshooters and infantry. To oppose the former, Major-General Ferguson ordered the left sec tions of companies to move forward and skirmish. Upon the retreat of the enemy's sharpshooters, the action became general along the front of this brigade, and the whole moved forward to the attack. Nothing could surpass the steadiness of the troops on this occasion, and the general and commanding officer set a noble example, which was followed by all. The grenadier company of the Seventy-first greatly distinguished itself, in conjunction with a sub division of the light company of the thirty-sixth regi ment. Captain Alexander Forbes, who commanded the grenadier company, was ordered to the support of some British artillery, and, seizing a favorable opportunity, made a dash at a battery of the enemy's artillery immediately in his front. He succeeded in capturing five guns and a hoAvitzer, with horses, caissons, and equipment complete. In this affair alone the grenadier company had Lieutenants John Pratt and Ralph Dudgeon and thirteen rank and file wounded, together with tAvo men killed.* The French made a daring effort to retake their artillery, both with cavalry and infantry; but the gallant conduct of the grenadier company, and the ad vance of Major-General Ferguson's brigade, finally left the guns in the possession of those who had so gallantly captured them. * Lieut -General Sir Harry Burrard landed during the action, but did not assume the command. Lieut-General Sir Hew Dalrymple landed on the following day, and took command of the army. The force under Lieut-General Sir John Moore was also disembarked during the nego tiation, which subsequently took place, making the British army to amount to thirty-two thousand men. E 3 70 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1808. George Clark, one of the pipers of the regiment, lstbat. and afterwards piper to the Highland Society of London, was wounded in this action, and being unable to accompany his corps in the advance against the enemy, put his pipes in order, and struck up a favourite regimental air, to the great delight of his comrades. This is the second instance in which the pipers of the Seventy-first have behaved with particular gallantry, and evinced high feeling for the credit and honor of the corps.* During the advance of the battalion, several prisoners were taken> among whom was the French general, Brennier. Corporal John McKay, of the Seventy- first, Avho took him, was afterwards promoted to an ensigncy in the Fourth West India Regiment. The result of this battle was the total defeat of the enemy, who subsequently retreated on Lisbon, with the loss of twenty-one pieces of cannon, twenty-three ammunition waggons, with powder, shells, stores of all descriptions, and 20,000 rounds of musket ammunition, together with a great many officers and soldiers killed, wounded, and taken prisoners. The conduct of the battalion, and of its commanding officer, Lieut-Colonel Pack, was noticed in the public despatches, and the thanks of both Houses of Parlia ment were conferred on the troops. The folloAving officers of the Seventy-fiRst were wounded in the battle of Vimiera : Captains Arthur Jones and Maxwell Mackenzie ; Lieutenants John Pratt, William Hartley, Augustus McIntyre, and Ralph Dudgeon ; Ensign James Campbell, and Acting Adju tant R. McAlpin. The Seventy-first subsequently received the royal authority to bear the word " Vimiera " on the regimental colour and appointments, in commemoration of this battle. The " Convention of Cintra" was the result of this * Vide page 14. REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 71 victory, and it was signed on the 30th of August. By 1808. its provisions the French army evacuated Portugal, lstbat. which country became freed from its oppressors. The British army Avas ordered to move fonvard to Lisbon, some of the reinforcements for it having pre ceded it by water, and occupied the forts at the mouth of the Tagus. The French army having by this con vention fallen back on Lisbon, the British proceeded to the vicinity of Fort St. Julien, and encamped. All the objects of the expedition being carried into effect, and the French troops embarked for France, the British army remained for some time at Lisbon and its vicinity. At this period (September) Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, having assumed the command, made dispositions for entering Spain. The first battalion of the Seventy-first was now brigaded with the thirty-sixth and ninety-second regi ments under Brigadier-General Catlin Craufurd, and placed in the division under the command of Lieut.- General the Honorable John Hope, afterwards the Earl of Hopetoun. On the 27th of October the division was put in motion, and after a short stay at Badajoz resumed the march, proceeding by Merida, Truxillo, Jaraicejo, Puerto-de-Merivette, and crossing the Tagus at the bridge of Almaraz, directed its route upon Talavera- de-la-Reyna. From this town the column proceeded to the Escurial, seven leagues to the north-west of Madrid. Intelligence was here received of the enemy's ap proach towards Madrid, and two companies of the Seventy-first, under Major Archibald Campbell, were pushed forward to occupy the important pass in the Guadarama Mountains, which separate Old from New Castile. After a halt of a few days, the division was put in motion over the Guadarama Pass to Villa Castin, at which place Lieut.-General the Honorable John Hope, in consequence of the intelligence which he re- E 4 72 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1808.ceived of the enemy's movements, made a night march to 1st bat the left, by Avila and Peneranda, and finally proceeded to Alba-dc- Tormes. At the latter place a junction was formed with a detachment from the army under Lieut.- General Sir John Moore, then at Salamanca. The army under Sir John Moore was shortly afterwards put in motion towards Valladolid, and subsequently to the left, to form a junction Avith Lieut.-General Sir David Baird's division, Avhich had landed at Corunna. Previously to this period, the Spanish armies under General Blake, near Bilboa on the left, General Castanos in the centre, and General Palafox lower down the Ebro on the right, had been completely de feated; and Lieut.-General Sir John Moore conse quently made arrangements for a retreat on Portugal by Ciudad Rodrigo ; but it having been represented to him that Madrid held out against the French, he was induced to effect a junction with Lieut.-General Sir David Baird, in order to make a diversion in favour of Madrid, by attacking Marshal Soult on the river Carion. The British force, twenty-nine thousand strong, joined at Toro on the 21st of December, and on the 23d of that month Sir John Moore advanced with the Avhole army. The cavalry had already met with that of the enemy, and the infantry were within two hours' march of him, Avhen an intercepted letter informed the British commander that Napoleon, who had entered Madrid on the 4th of December, was then in full march for Sala manca and Benevente. A retreat on Corunna, through Gallicia, was immediately decided on, that through Portugal being then impracticable. Accordingly the several divisions marched towards the Esla, the greater part crossing by the bridge of Benevente on the 26th of December, when, after a day's halt, the cavalry under Lieut.-General Lord Paget and Brigadier-General the Honorable Charles Stewart REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 73 had an engagement with some of the Imperial Guards 1808. that had forded the river Esla under General Le Fevre, 1st bat. who was made prisoner, with several of his men. At this period the situation of the British army Avas dispiriting in the extreme. In the midst of Avinter, in a dreary and desolate country, the soldiers, chilled and drenched with the heavy rains, and wearied by long and rapid marches, were almost destitute of fuel to cook their victuals, and it was with extreme difficulty that they could procure shelter. Provisions were scarce, irregularly issued, and difficult of attainment. The waggons, in which Avere their magazines, baggage, and stores, were often deserted in the night by the Spanish drivers, who were terrified by the approach of the French. Thus baggage, ammunition, stores, and even money were destroyed to prevent them falling into the hands of the enemy; and the weak, the sick, and the wounded were necessarily left behind. The Seventy- first suffered in proportion with the rest, and by weakness, sickness, and fatigue lost about ninety-three men. On the 5th of January 1809, a position Avas taken up 1809. at Lugo, where some skirmishing occurred, in which three companies of the Seventy-first were engaged, and repulsed the enemy. Lieut.-General Francis Dundas was appointed from the ninety-fourth regiment to be Colonel of the Seventy-first on the 7th of January 1809, in suc cession to Lieut.-General Sir John Francis Cradock, K.B., removed to the forty-third regiment. The retreat Avas again commenced on the 9th of January; and on the 11th the army, still nearly fifteen thousand strong, reached Corunna. The British army, having accomplished one of the most celebrated retreats recorded in modern history, repulsing the pur suing enemy in all his attacks, and having traversed two hundred and fifty miles of mountainous country under 74 historical record of the seventy-first 1809. very disheartening circumstances, accompanied by se- ist bat. vere privation, was not destined to embark for England Avithout a battle. The transports not having arrived, a position was oc cupied in advance of Corunna, and some sharp skirmish ing ensued, in Avhich four companies of the Seventy- first were warmly engaged, and lost several men in killed and wounded. Lieutenant William Lockwood Avas severely wounded. On this ground the battle of Corunna was fought, on the 16th of January ; but the Seventy-first, being placed on the extreme left of the British line, had little to do therein. The result of the action was glorious to the British army, but was darkened by the loss of Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, who received a severe wound during the battle, and died at ten o'clock on the same night. His remains were wrapped in a military cloak, and interred in the Citadel of Corunna, over which Marshal Soult, with the true feeling of a soldier, erected a monument. Lieut.-General Sir David Baird, who succeeded to the command upon Sir John Moore being wounded, was also wounded, and the command devolved upon Lieut-General the Honorable John Hope. At eight o'clock on the night of the 16th of January the troops quitted their position, leaving the piquets posted, and a few men to keep up the fires, and then marched into Corunna, where they embarked for Eng land on the following day. In commemoration of this battle, and of the conduct of the battalion during the expedition, the Seventy- first, in common with the army employed under Lieut. -General Sir John Moore, received the royal authority to bear the word " Corunna" on the regi mental colour and appointments.* * Vide general orders of the 18th of January and 1st of February 1809 ; also a list of regiments employed under Lieut-General Sir John Moore at Corunna, inserted in pages 161, &c. of the Appendix. regiment, highland light ifanntry. 75 The thanks of both Houses of Parliament were con- 1809. ferred on the troops, and were communicated to Lieut.- lstbat. Colonel Pack by Lieut.-General Sir David Baird in the folloAving letter : — (i o " Portsmouth, 30th January 1809. " I have great pleasure in transmitting to you " copies of letters from the Lord Chancellor and the " Speaker of the House of Commons, enclosing the " Resolutions of both Houses of Parliament, dated " 25th of January 1809, which contain the thanks of " those Houses to the army lately engaged before " Corunna. " In conununicating to you, Sir, this most signal " mark of the approbation of the Parliament of the " United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, allow " me to add my warmest congratulations upon a dis- " tinction which you, and the corps under your com- " mand on that day, had a share in obtaining for His " Majesty's service. " I have, &c. " (Signed) David Baird, " Lieut.-General. " Officer commanding First Battalion " Seventy-first regiment." After the battalion had landed at*Ramsgate, it was marched to Ashford in Kent, where it continued for some time, collecting the men, who from contrary winds were driven into different ports. While at Ashford the battalion Avas brigaded with the Warwick militia and the ninety-first regiment, under Brigadier-General the Baron de Rottenburg Great sickness prevailed at this station, and Surgeon James Evans and several of the soldiers died of typhus fever. On the 20th of March 1809 the Royal authority Avas granted for the Seventy-first to be formed into a 76 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1809. light infantry regiment, when it was directed that the 1st bat clothing, arming, and discipline should be the same in all respects as the forty-third, fifty-second, sixty-eighth, and eighty-fifth regiments. The first battalion marched, on the 27th of April 1809, for Brabourne-Lees barracks, and was brigaded with the sixty-eighth and eighty-fifth light infantry regiments. Every exertion was here made to increase the strength and improve the discipline of the corps. In June the first battalion was increased by a large reinforcement, consisting of several officers and 311 non-commissioned officers and privates from the second battalion, which continued to be stationed in North Britain. Several volunteers from the militia were also received at this period. Immense preparations had been made by the British Government to fit out the most formidable armament that had for a long time proceeded from England. The troops amounted to 40,000 men, commanded by Lieut.-General the Earl of Chatham ; the naval portion consisted of thirty-nine ships of the line, thirty-six frigates, and numerous gun-boats and bomb- vessels, and other small craft, under Admiral Sir Richard Strachan. The object of the expedition was to obtain possession of the islands at the mouth of the Scheldt, and to destroy the French ships in that river, with the docks and arsenals at AntAverp. The first. battalion of the Seventy-first, towards the end of June, received orders to prepare for the above service, and marched, on the 28 th and 29 th of that month, in two divisions, encamping near Gosport. On the 16th of July the battalion, consisting of three field officers, six captains, tAventy-seven subalterns, five staff, forty-eight serjeants, and 974 drummers and rank and file, embarked at Portsmouth on board His Majesty's ships Belleisle and Imperieuse, and towards the end of the month sailed for the Downs. REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 77 The battalion was brigaded, under Brigadier-General 1809. the Baron de Rottenburg, Avith the sixty-eighth and 1st bat. eighty-fifth light infantry, in the division commanded by Lieut.-General Alexander Mackenzie Fraser, and in the corps of Lieut.-General Sir Eyre Coote, K.B. The expedition sailed from the DoAvns on the 28th of July, and having arrived off the Roompet Channel, preparations were made for landing ; small craft to cover the landing were also sent in shore, and the light bri gade, composed of the sixty-eighth, Seventy-first, and eighty -fifth light infantry, were landed under their fire. In an instant they were in contact with the enemy's sharpshooters, who fell back, skirmishing. Being pushed hard, four guns, with their equipment, and several prisoners were taken by two companies of the Seventy- first, under Captains George Sutherland and Henry Hall, and one company of the eighty-fifth regiment. A battery and flagstaff on the coast were taken pos session of by the tenth company of the Seventy-first, and in lieu of a flag a soldier's red jacket was hoisted on it. This advance having succeeded at all points, and the enemy having fallen back on Flushing and Middleburg, the army was disembarked. The advance then dividing, proceeded by different routes. The Seventy-first moved by the sea dyke on a fort called Ter Veer, the situation and strength of which was not sufficiently knoAvn, an enemy's deserter having given but imperfect intelligence respecting it. After nightfall the column continued to advance in perfect silence, with orders to attack the post with the bayonet, when, on a sudden, the advance-guard fell in with an enemy's party, who came out for the purpose of firing some houses which overlooked the works. The column following the advance-guard had entered an avenue or road leading to the fort, when the advance commenced the action with the enemy, who, retiring 78 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1809.Avithin the place, opened a tremendous fire from his 1st bat works Avith artillery and musketry. Some guns pointing doAvn the road by which the battalion advanced did great execution, and the- Seventy-first had Surgeon Charles Henry Quin killed, and about eighteen men killed and wounded. The column, after some firing, retired, and the place was the next day regularly in vested by sea and land. It took three days to reduce it, when it capitulated, with its stores, and a garrison of 800 men. Flushing having been invested on the 1st of August, the Seventy-first, after the surrender of Ter Veer, Avere ordered into the line of circumvallation, and placed on the extreme left, resting on the Scheldt. The pre parations for the attack on the town having been com pleted, on the 13th a dreadful fire was opened from the batteries and bomb-vessels, and congreve rockets having been throAvn into the town, it was on fire in many places. The ships having joined in the attack, the enemy's fire gradually slackened, and at length ceased. A summons being sent in, a delay was demanded, but being rejected, the firing recommenced. On the 14th of August one of the outworks was carried at the point of the bayonet by a party of detach ments and two companies of the Seventy-first under Lieut.-Colonel Pack. In this affair, Ensign Donald Sinclair, of the Seventy- first, Avas killed ; Captain George Spottiswoode and a few men were wounded. Flushing, with its garrison of 6,000 men, capitulated on the 15th of August, and the right gate was occupied by a detachment of 300 men of the first or Royal Scots, and the left gate by a detachment of similar strength of the Seventy-first under Major Arthur Jones. The naval arsenal, and some vessels of war which were on the stocks, fell into the hands of the British. REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 79 The Seventy-first shortly after proceeded to Mid- 1809. dleburg, where the battalion remained for a feAV days, 1st bat.. Avhen it Avas ordered to occupy Ter Veer, of which place Lieut.-Colonel Pack was appointed commandant, and Lieutenant Henry Clements, of the Seventy-first, town major. The battalion remained doing duty in the garrison until this island, after destroying the works, &c, was finally evacuated on the 22d of December. On the 23d of December the battalion embarked in transports, and sailed for England, after a service of five months in a very unhealthy climate, which cost the battalion the loss of the following officers and men. Officers Serjeants, Drummers, and Rank and File. Died on service 1 57 Killed 2 19 Died after return home 2 9 Total - 5 85 In passing Cadsand, that fort opened a fire on the transports, one of which, having part of the Seventy- first on board, was struck by a round shot, which carried off Serjeant Steel's legs above the knees. On the 25th of December the first battalion of the Seventy-first disembarked at Deal, and marched to Brabourne-Lees barracks, in Kent, where it was again brigaded with the sixty-eighth and eighty-fifth light infantry, and was occupied in putting itself in an efficient state for active service. Upon the Seventy-first being made fight infantry, 1810- they were permitted to retain such parts of the national dress as might not be inconsistent with their duties as a light corps. A correspondence on the subject took place between Lieut-Colonel Pack and the Adjutant- General in April 1810, and the following reply was received from head-quarters. 80 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 181°" " Horse Guards, 12th April 1810. lstbat." SlR, " Having submitted to the Commander-in-Chief your " letter of the 4th instant, I am directed to state, that " there is no objection to the Seventy-first being " denominated Highland Light Infantry Regiment, or " to their retaining their pipes, and the Highland garb " for the pipers ; and that they will, of course, be per- " mitted to wear caps according to the pattern which " was lately approved and sealed by authority.* " I have, &c. " (Signed) William Wynyard, " Deputy Adjutant-General. " Lieut.-Colonel Pack, " 7 1st Regiment." On the 8th of May 1810 the first battalion marched to Deal barracks, where every exertion was continued to render it fit for active service. Here the battalion was deprived of the services of Lieut.-Colonel Pack, who was appointed a brigadier in the Portuguese army under Marshal William Carr Beresford, afterwards General the Viscount Beresford. Nothing of moment occurred until the early part of September, when the battalion received orders to hold six companies in readiness for foreign service. They were prepared accordingly by drafting into them, from the companies which were to remain at home, the most * The bonnet cocked is the pattern cap to which allusion is made in the above letter. This was in accordance with Lieut. -Colonel Pack's application ; and with respect to retaining the pipes, and dressing the pipers in the Highland garb, he added, " It cannot be forgotten how these " pipes were obtained, and how constantly the regiment has upheld its " title to them. These are the honorable characteristics which must " preserve to future times the precious remains of the old corps, and of " which I feel confident His Majesty will never have reason to deprive " the Seventy-fikst regiment." regiment, highland light infantry. 81 effective officers and men, several not having recovered 18 10. from the Walcheren fever. 1st bat. The following were the companies selected and com pleted for foreign service, namely : — - 1st, orCapt.M'Tntyre's, 2d, or „ Hall's, 3d, or „ Adamson's, 4th, or Capt. Walker's, 6th, or „ Spottiswoode's, 10th, or „ LeAvis Grant's. They consisted of two field officers, six captains, fifteen lieutenants, seven ensigns, four staff, thirty-eight ser jeants, twelve drummers, and six hundred and three rank and file. On the 14th of September the above companies embarked in the Downs on board the Melpomene and St. Fiorenzo frigates ; three companies, with the staff, and Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Nathaniel Levett Peacocke, on board the former ; the remaining three companies, under Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Reynell, after wards colonel of the regiment, on board the latter. They sailed on the following day for Lisbon, and entered the Tagus on the 25th of September, after a short and pleasant passage. The companies were dis embarked on the following day, and quartered in the San Benito and Espirito Santo convents. The greatest exertions were made to complete the companies in field equipment, bat-mules, &c, which being effected, the detachment marched from Lisbon on the 2d of October to Mafra, where it was shortly after wards joined by Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Henry Cadogan, who assumed the command, and Lieut.- Colonel Peacocke returned to the second battalion in North Britain. The detachment being ordered to join the army under Lieut.-General Viscount Wellington, then re treating before Marshal Massena, Prince of Essling, marched from Mafra on the 8th of October, and on the 10th of that month effected the junction at Sobral, where it was brigaded with the fiftieth and ninety- F 82 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1810. second regiments under Major-General Sir William lstbat Erskine, in the first division under Lieut.-General Sir Brent Spencer, K.B. The army having retired into a position in the rear of Sobral, that place was occupied by the Seventy-first, having for its support the fiftieth and ninety-second regiments and Major-General Alan Cameron's brigade. On the 12 th of October the piquets were violently attacked by the enemy's adArance, and retired skirmish ing. In the meantime the place was ordered to be evacuated, and the piquets having joined, the Seventy- first took up a position on the outside, within musket- shot of the town. In this affair the detachment had eight men killed, and thirty-four Avounded. In this position the Seventy-first continued, Avhen on the 14th of October they were again attacked Avith the greatest impetuosity, and charged with the bayonet. The enemy was completely repulsed, with very considerable loss in killed and wounded, being chased to the spot from Avhich he made the attack. Both parties resumed their original position. In Viscount Wellington's despatch reporting this affair, the names of Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Henry Cadogan, commanding the Seventy-first, and that of Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Reynell, were particularly mentioned. A soldier of the sixth company, named John Rea, behaved on this occasion in the most gallant manner, and particularly distinguished himself, for which he received a silver medal, with the following inscription : " To John Rea, for his exemplary courage and good " conduct as a soldier at Sobral, 14th October 1810." On the 15 th of October the Seventy-first Avere ordered to withdraw into the position at Zibriera, which was a continuation of the lines of Torres Vedras. In this celebrated position, which bid defiance to the French army, the troops were constantly on the alert, REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 83 and occupied in rendering it as strong as circumstances 1810. would admit, and in observing the motions of the 1st bat. enemy. Marshal Massena did not think proper to attack the British army in this stronghold, and occupied his time in reconnoissances and demonstrations, until compelled, through want of provisions, and consequent sickness of his troops, to abandon his designs, and retire to a position in his rear. This object he finally effected in a masterly manner in the night between the 14th and 15th of November, followed by the allied forces. Both armies thus evacuated positions on which the attention of Europe had been fixed, and which they had occupied for a month in the presence of each other. The division in which the six companies of the Seventy-first were placed advanced by the route of Alemquer, Cartaxo, Atelaya, and Almoster, and halted in and about the latter place from the 20th to the 26th of November inclusive. The enemy in the meantime retired to an extremely strong position at and in the vicinity of Santarem, where Marshal Massena halted, although threatened by Viscount Wellington, who, after some manoeuvring, took up a position immediately in the enemy's front, having his head-quarters at Car taxo, and the different corps of the army cantoned in the villages. The brigade to Avhich the SeventYt first belonged occupied Alquintrinha. At this place the Seventy-first remained in quar-1811. ters until March 1811, at which period the army, having been reinforced*, was about to resume the offensive, Avhen the enemy retired during the night of the 5th of March, taking the same road, through Estremadura, by Avhich he entered Portugal. * The remaining four companies of the first battalion of the Seventy- eirst regiment arrived in the Peninsula in the course of the year 1811, namely, two companies in March, and two in July 1811. F 2 84 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1811. The British army accordingly advanced in pursuit of lstbat. Marshal Massena, and the brigade in which was the Seventy-first accompanied it, moving by Redinha, Miranda de Corvo, and Saryedes, passing the Coa, a little above Sabugal, upon the 5th of April, and on the 9th arrived at Albergaria, a small town on the frontiers of Spain. The Seventy-first remained in Alber garia until the 2d of May, Avhen the enemy, having been strongly reinforced, moved from Salamanca, and on that day crossed the frontier with a large convoy of provisions for Almeida, then closely invested by the Portuguese forces under Brigadier-General Pack. In consequence of this movement, the allied army broke up its cantonments on the Azava, and formed in order of battle upon the high ground behind the Duas Casas, the left extending to the high road to Almeida which crossed the river by a ford near Fort Conception, and the right keeping up a communication with the bridge at Sabugal ; opposite the centre, the village of Fuentes d'Onor was strongly occupied by light infantry. Upon the 3d of May the French took post on the opposite side of the valley of the Duas Casas, their left fronting Fuentes d'Onor, and their right extending about two miles and a half to Alameda. In the after noon of the 3d of May they attacked Fuentes d'Onor with much vigour. That post was defended with the greatest bravery until the light companies, being Avorn out and harassed by repeated attacks, were obliged to retire, and the enemy possessed himself of the lower part of the village. The Seventy-first Avere now ordered up to sup port, and, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel the Honor able Henry Cadogan, charged the enemy through the village and across the Duas Casas, taking ten officers and about a hundred men prisoners. The corps retained its conquest that night and the whole of the next day, regiment, highland light infantry. 85 but upon Sunday the 5th of May, the French having 1812. succeeded in turning some troops to the immediate lstbat. right, were obliged to give way ; having been imme diately supported by the seventy-fourth and eighty- eighth regiments, they again advanced, took possession of and retained the village until the conclusion of the action. A struggle of such duration could not be carried on without great loss, and the Seventy-first suffered severely. They went into action about 320 strong, and lost nearly one half of their number in killed and wounded. The Seventy-first had Lieutenants John Consell, William Houston, and John Graham, and Ensign Donald John Kearns, together with four serjeants and twenty-two rank and file, killed. Captains Peter Adamson and James MTntyre, Lieutenants William McCraw, Humphrey Fox, and Robert Law (Adjutant), Ensigns Charles Cox, John Vandeleur, and Carique LeAvin, six serjeants, three buglers, and one hundred rank and file, were wounded. Two officers, with several men, were taken prisoners. In commemoration of the gallantry displayed in this prolonged action, "the Seventy-first subsequently received the Royal authority to bear the words " Fuentes d'Onor " on the regimental colour and appointments. Viscount Wellington particularly mentioned the name of Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Henry Cadogan in his despatch, and being highly gratified with the con duct of the Seventy-first on this occasion, directed that a non-commissioned officer should be selected for a commission. According to his Lordship's recommenda tion, Quartermaster-Serjeant William Gavin was shortly aftenvards promoted to an ensigncy in the regiment. The Seventy-first, upon the 14th, returned to their old quarters at Albergaria, and remained there F 3 86 HISTORICAL record of the seventy-first 1811. until the 26th of May, when the brigade was ordered lstbat. to the Alemtejo frontier, as a reinforcement to Marshal Sir William Beresford's* army, at this time besieging Badajoz, and threatened by the advance of Marshal Soult from the south of Spain. 2d bat. On the 15th of May 1811, the second battalion embarked at Leith for South Britain, arrived at Rams- gate on the 23d of that month, and remained stationed in England for nearly two years. lstbat. The first battalion, upon its route southward, crossed the Tagus on the 31st of May, and arrived near Albuhera on the 14th of June, having passed through Portalegre, Aronches, Campo Mayor, and Talavera Real. The sanguinary battle of Albuhera, fought on the 16th of May, had obliged Marshal Soult to retire pre viously to the arrival of the reinforcement, which being considered no longer necessary, the battalion retired to Elvas, where it remained two days ; the bat talion again moved to Toro de Moro on the 19th of June, Avhere it remained for a month. At this encamp ment a detachment of 350 men, with a proportion of officers, joined from the second battalion then stationed at Deal. About this period the first battalion became a part of the army under Lieut.-General Rowland (afterwards Viscount) Hill. The junction of the armies of Marshals Marmont and Soult having obliged Viscount Wellington to raise the siege of Badajoz, which had been resumed after the battle of Albuhera, the battalion, in co-operation with his Lordship's retrograde movement, retired to Borba on the 20th of July. Here it remained until the 1st of September, when it moved to Portalegre, and thence marched to Castello de Vido on the 4th of October. * Major General William Carr Beresford, marshal in the Portuguese service, was appointed a Knight of the Bath on the 16th of October 1810. regiment, highland light infantry. 87 A detachment from Marshal Soult's army under 1811. General Girard having been collecting contributions lstbat in Spanish Estremadura, Lieut.-General Rowland Hill, with a view of putting a stop to his movements, broke up his cantonments at Portalegre upon the 22d of October, proceeding by Albuquerque and Malpartida. On the 27th, when within a moderate march of the enemy at Arroyo-del-Molinos, Lieut.-General Hill halted his troops, and, at night, breaking up his bivouac, made a flank movement close to the road by which the French intended to march on the following morning. In that position he awaited the approach of day, when, on the 28th of October, the British marched directly on the rear of the town with such celerity that the cavalry piquets were rushed upon before they had time to mount. The French main body, though in the act of filing out, had so little intimation of danger that the officers and men were surrounded before their formation was effected, and to seek safety they individually dis persed. Many of them were killed, and about 1,400 were taken prisoners. All the enemy's artillery and baggage were captured. General Brun and Colonel the Prince of Aremberg, together with several other officers, were among the prisoners. In this brilliant affair the Seventy-first was one of the three corps that advanced through the centre of the town, and were, therefore, principally engaged ; but the enemy, from his complete surprise, being unable to make a combined resistance, the British sustained but trifling loss. The battalion subsequently returned to Portalegre, where it arrived early in November. Lieut-General Hill, on the 7th of November, issued the folloAving General Order : — " Portalegre, 7th November 1811. " Lieut.-General Hill has great satisfaction in con- " gratulating the troops on the success which has F 4 88 HISTORICAL record of the seventy-first 1811." attended their recent operations in Estremadura, and lstbat" in go doing he cannot but endeavour to do justice to " the merits of those through whose exertions it has " been obtained. A patient willing endurance of forced " and night marches, during the worst of weather and " over bad roads, of bivouacs in wet weather, often- " times without cover and without fire, and a strict " observance of discipline, are qualities, however com- " mon in British soldiers, which the Lieut.-General " cannot pass unnoticed. Having on this occasion " witnessed the exertion of them in no ordinary degree, " he feels that nothing but the most zealous attention " of commanding officers, the goodwill and zealous " spirit of the non-commissioned officers and soldiers, " could produce such an effect, and he requests they " will, generally and individually, accept his warmest " thanks, particularly those corps which were engaged " in the action of Arroyo-del-Molinos, whose silent " attention to orders, when preparing to attack, and " when manoeuvring before the enemy, could not but " excite his notice, and give them an additional claim " on him." Letters from the Secretary of State, dated the 2d, and from His Royal Highness the Duke of York, Commander-in-Chief, dated the 6th December, were promulgated, expressive of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent's approbation and thanks to Lieut.- General Hill, and the troops under his command, for their brilliant operations on the recent expedition in Spanish Estremadura, in having totally surprised and defeated the enemy under General Girard. Viscount Wellington having made preparations for the recapture of Ciudad Rodrigo, concentrated the main body of the army in that neighbourhood, and the troops under Lieut.-General Hill were therefore ordered to divert the enemy's attention in the south. The first battalion of the Seventy-first remained REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 89 at Portalegre until the 25th of December, when the 1811. brigade moved into Estremadura for the purpose of1 stoat expelling the French, who were ravaging the country. After the performance of this duty, the battalion returned to its former quarters at Portalegre in February 1812. Upon the 19th of March 1812, the battalion moved 1812. northward to Castello Branco, where it remained for about a week, and afterwards returned for the last time to Portalegre. The Earl of Wellington having made arrangements for the third siege of Badajoz, Lieutenant-General Sir Rowland Hill's* corps was destined to cover his move ments, and with that view proceeded on the 21st of March towards Merida, and afterwards to Don Benito, where the troops remained for a few days ; but upon the approach of Marshal Soult with a large army, with the intention of raising the siege, Lieut.-General Hill retired upon Albuhera, through Arroyo de San Servan and Talavera Real. Badajoz having been assaulted and carried by the troops under the Earl of Wellington on the night of the 6th of April, after a sanguinary conflict, the move ment of Marshal Soult was rendered nugatory, and the troops under his orders retired into Andalusia. Marshal Marmont having, during the progress of the siege, penetrated into the province of Beira, and threatened Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida, the Earl of Wellington, after the fall of Badajoz, crossed the Tagus, leaving Sir Rowland Hill's force to watch Marshal Soult, which took post at Almendralejos for that pur pose. The battalion was stationed at this town from the 13th of April until the 11th of May. It having then * Lieut-General Rowland Hill was appointed a Knight of the Order of the Bath on the 22d of February 1812. 90 historical record of the seventy-first 1812. become expedient to render the communications between lstbat the French armies on the north and south of the Tagus as precarious as possible, by the destruction of the bridge of boats at Almaraz, the corps under Lieut.- General Sir Rowland Hill, being the most disposable and convenient force, was accordingly ordered on this important service. The French, feeling the importance of this bridge to their mutual strength and security, had surrounded it on both sides of the river with formidable enclosed Avorks, having in the interior of them casemated and loop-holed towers. The troops appointed for these strong works, consequently, anticipated an arduous struggle. ,jo- Upon the 12th of May the corps broke up from Almendralejos, and marching by Truxillo and Jaraicejo, reached on the 18th of that month the sierra, five miles from Almaraz, on which stands the Castle of Mirabete. This post Avas so strongly fortified that it blocked up the only road to Almaraz for the passage of artillery, Avhich was considered by the enemy absolutely necessary for the destruction of the works. Sir Rowland Hill thought otherwise ; and ascertaining that infantry could cross the sierra by a track through Roman Gordo, he left his artillery, and descended at night with a column of 2,000 men. The leading company arrived at dawn of day close to the principal fort, built on a height a feAV hundred yards in front of the tete-de-pont; but such were the difficulties of the road that a considerable time elapsed before the rear closed, during which the troops were fortunately sheltered by a ravine, unseen by the enemy. On the 19th of May the fiftieth regiment and the left Aving of the Seventy-first, having been provided Avith ladders, were appointed to escalade the works of Fort Napoleon, supported by the right wing of the Seventy-first, and the ninety-second regiment. REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 91 From a feint made upon Mirabete, the French Averel812. aAvare that an enemy was in the neighbourhood. The lstbat garrison was on the alert ; immediately opened a heavy fire, and vigorously resisted the efforts made to push up the scarp; but the moment the first men gained a footing on the parapet the enemy took to flight. The Avhole of this brilliant affair was completed in the short space of fifteen minutes, and with little loss. The Seventy-first had Captain Lewis Grant, with one serjeant and seven rank and file, killed ; Lieutenants William Lockwood and Donald Ross, three serjeants, and tAventy-nine rank and file were wounded. The names of thirty-six non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Seventy-first were inserted in regimental orders for conspicuous bravery upon this occasion, and the Royal authority was subsequently granted for the word " Almaraz " to be borne on the regimental colour and appointments.* The following orders were issued upon this occasion : — " Bivouac, near Fort Napoleon, " Brigade Order. " 19th May 1812. " Major-General Howard cannot delay expressing his " Avarmest acknoAvledgments to Lieut.-Colonel Stewart " and Major Harrison, of the fiftieth regiment, and " Major Cother of the Seventy-first regiment, who " commanded the three columns of attack this morning " on Fort Napoleon and the works on the Tagus, for " the gallant and distinguished manner in which they " led the columns intrusted to them, as well as to all " the other officers, non-commissioned officers and pri- " vates, for their bravery and good conduct, which pro- * TVhen Lieut-General Sir Rowland Hill was created a Peer in May 1814, his title was connected with the gallant affair above recorded, as he was styled Baron Hill of Almaraz, and of Hawkstone, in the county of Salop. 92 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1812." duced the brilliant result of the capture of the Avorks lstbat" in question." " Truxillo, May 22nd, 1812. " General Order. " Lieut-General Sir Rowland Hill congratulates " the troops on the success which has attended their " exertions in the present expedition. Every object " for which it was undertaken has been attained, and in " the manner most desirable and effectual. It is highly " gratifying to the Lieut.-General to report on this " occasion his admiration of the discipline and the valour " of the troops under his command. The chance of war " gave to the fiftieth and Seventy-first regiments the " most conspicuous share in these events, who nobly « profited by the opportunity ; but the Lieut.-General " is satisfied that the same zeal and the same spirit " would have been found in every corps if there had " been occasion for bringing them into play. " The Lieut.-General has not failed to report to his " Excellency the Commander of the Forces the parti- " culars of this brilliant service, and the good conduct " of all those concerned in it. He will therefore not " say more at present than to express his warmest " thanks for the assistance which he has received from " all ranks ; and he is confident, when it shall again be " his good fortune to lead them against the enemy, he " shall have to report conduct equally honorable to " them, and equally advantageous to their country." The bridge and works in the neighbourhood of Almaraz having been completely destroyed, the Seventy-first returned to Truxillo, where they remained a few days, then moved to Merida, and after wards to Almendralejos. Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill's force having received orders to make a diversion in the south, Avhile the main army was moving north ward on Salamanca, the battalion again moved from REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 93 Almendralejos to the borders of Andalusia, through 1812. Llerena. On this march the advanced parties of 1st bat. cavalry were constantly skirmishing with the enemy, but the Seventy-first were not engaged. From Llerena the battalion returned to Zafra, where, after a short halt, it proceeded to Villa Franca, and finally to Don Benito. In these marches through Estremadura the weather was oppressively hot, and, joined to the clouds of dust raised by the troops, was so fatiguing that it Avas considered expedient at one time to move by night, and thus these inconveniences were alleviated. While the force under Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill had been thus employed, the allied army under the Earl of Wellington had gained a victory on the 22d of July over the French at Salamanca, for which he was advanced to the dignity of marquis. From Don Benito the battalion moved upon the 13th of September, and passing through Truxillo, Talavera, and Toledo, arrived at Aranjuez upon the 1st of October, from which place, after a halt of three weeks, it moved to Ponte Duenna, further up the Tagus. The sudden approach of the united armies of Marshals Soult and Suchet rendered a speedy retreat necessary, and the division accordingly retired from Ponte Duenna in the night of the 28th of October, moving to form a junction with the army of the Marquis of Wellington, who had now relinquished the siege of Burgos. Near Madrid the division halted for a short period, when, being joined by the garrison of that city, the troops retired leisurely by the Guadarama Pass on Alba de Tormes. This town the Seventy-first occupied from the 7th to the 13th of November, and during that period sustained a loss in action with the enemy of one serjeant and six rank and file killed ; one bugler and five rank and file wounded. 94 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1812. The army having received orders to retire on Por- istbattugal, the battalion abandoned this post, arriving at Coria upon the 1st of December, where the retreat terminated. In this quarter the Seventy-first con tinued until the 13th of December, at which time they were pushed forward to Puerto de Bannos, Avhere they Avere joined by a draft of 150 men from the second battalion. 1813. While stationed at this post, an attempt was made, in February 1813, by the French, to surprise Bejar, then occupied by the fiftieth regiment. The Seventy- first were ordered forward to support, but previously to their arrival that brave regiment had driven back the enemy, and completely foiled his efforts. £d bat On the 18th of March 1813, the second battalion of the Seventy-first embarked at Gravesend for North Britain, and arrived at Leith on the 23d of that month. 1st bat. Upon the 5th of April the Seventy-first changed quarters with the fiftieth regiment, and continued to occupy Bejar until the 21st of May, at Avhich period the army broke up from its Avinter cantonments for active operations. The battalion on its advance moved by Salamanca and Toro, and encamped at La Puebla on the 20th of June, the evening before the memorable battle of Vittoria. Upon the morning of the 21st of June, the two armies being in position, the Seventy-first were ordered to ascend the heights of La Puebla, to support the Spanish forces under General Morillo. They ac cordingly advanced in open column, and having formed line, Avere immediately hotly engaged with the enemy, and upon this occasion suffered an irreparable loss in the fall of their Commanding Officer the Honorable Colonel Henry Cadogan, who fell mortally wounded while leading his men to the charge, and being unable to accompany the battalion, requested to be carried to a neighbouring eminence, from which he might take a REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 95 last farewell of them and the field. In his dying 1813. moments he earnestly inquired if the French were 1st bat beaten ; and on being told by an officer of the regiment, who stood by supporting him, that they had given way at all points, he ejaculated, " God bless my brave countrymen " and immediately expired.* While recording the deep sense of sorrow which the Seventy-first experienced in the demise of a com manding officer who had so often fought at their head, and Avhose devoted gallantry had so frequently called forth their admiration, it is but a meet tribute to the memory of that brave spirit to extract from the des patch of the Marquis of Wellington the following expressions of his lordship's regret at his loss : " And I am concerned to report that the Honorable " Lieut.-Colonel Cadogan has died of a wound which " he received. In him His Majesty has lost an officer " of great zeal and tried gallantry, who had already " acquired the respect and regard of the whole profes- " sion, and of whom it might be expected, that if he " had lived he would have rendered the most important " services to his country." After the fall of the Lieut.-Colonel, the Seventy- first continued advancing, and driving the enemy from the heights, until the force Avhich Avas opposed to them became so unequal, and the' loss of the battalion so severe, that it was obliged to retire upon the remainder of the brigade. In the performance of this arduous duty the battalion suffered very severely, having had one field officer, one captain, tAVO lieu tenants, six serjeants, one bugler, and seventy-eight rank and file killed ; one field officer, three captains, seven lieutenants, thirteen serjeants, tAvo buglers, and two hundred and fifty-five rank and file were wounded. * The officers of the Seventy-first regiment, to mark their admira tion and esteem for this distinguished officer, had a monument erected to his memory. 96 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1813. The officers killed were Colonel the Honorable Henry 1st bat. Cadogan, Captain Henry Hall, Lieutenants Humphrey Fox and Colin Mackenzie. Those wounded were Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Charles Cother, Captains Samuel Reed, Joseph Thomas Pidgeon, William Alexander Grant, Lieutenants Alexander Duff, Loftus Richards, John MTntyre, Charles Cox, William Torriano, Norman Campbell, and Thomas Commeline. On this occasion the French suffered a great loss of men, together with all their artillery, baggage, and stores. King Joseph, whose carriage and court equi page was seized, had barely time to escape on horse back. The defeat was the most complete that the French had sustained in the Peninsula. It was this victory which gained a baton for the Marquis of Wellington, who was appointed a Field Marshal. In a most flattering letter, the Prince Regent, in the name and behalf of His Majesty, thus conferred the honor : " You have sent me among the trophies of your un- " rivalled fame the staff of a French Marshal, and I " send you in return that of England." This was in allusion to the baton of Marshal Jourdan, which was taken by the eighty-seventh regiment at Vittoria. The Seventy-first subsequently received the Royal authority to bear the word " Vittoria " on the regimental colour and appointments, in commemoration of this signal victory. When the Seventy-first paraded on the morning of the 22d of June, the dreadful havoc made by the action of the preceding day became painfully manifest, and an universal gloom was thrown over all, at missing from their ranks nearly four hundred brave comrades who had been either killed or wounded on the heights of La Puebla. The enemy, having been completely beaten at all points, Avas forced to retreat in confusion on Pampeluna, and the British army immediately followed in pursuit REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 97 The battalion in this advance arrived at Pampeluna onl813. the 29th of June, and shortly afterwards followed, as lstbat part of Sir Rowland Hill's army, a large force of the enemy, who were retreating into France by the valley of Bastan. During this forward movement the Seventy-first had some skirmishing in the valley of Elizondo, but without loss. Upon the 8th of July the Seventy-first arrived at the heights of Maya, from whence, for the first time, they had the cheering prospect of beholding the empire of France extended before them in all its fertile beauty. Joy was diffused through every heart ; every trial and danger were for gotten while viewing this splendid and gratifying sight. Upon these heights the battalion Avas encamped until the 25 th of July. Marshal Soult having been selected by Napoleon for the command of the French army in Spain, with the rank of " Lieutenant of the Emperor," that officer used the most active exertions for its re-organization, and made immediate arrangements for forcing the British position in the Pyrenees. With this view he advanced in person with a large force against the right, stationed at Roncesvalles, and detached Count D'Erlon with about thirteen thousand men to attack the position of Maya. The Count D'Erlon, upon the 25th of July, advanced against the right of the Maya heights, where the ridges of the mountains branched off towards his camp. The force at this point was not sufficient to resist such formidable numbers, and the reserve being posted at some distance to watch passes of importance, which could not be left wholly unguarded, was brought up by battalions as the pressure increased. The intrepidity with which these attacks were met, and the obstinate bravery with which every inch of ground was disputed, were obliged at last to yield to overwhelming numbers ; but although the troops were G 98 historical record of the seventy-first 1813.forced to retrograde, yet in their retreat they took 1st bat. advantage of every rising ground, and disputed it with the utmost tenacity. At the commencement of this attack a part of the first battalion of the Seventy- first regiment was detached to a neighbouring high peak, under the command of Major William Fitzgerald of the eighty-second regiment, and was strengthened by a company of that gallant corps. Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir William Stewart, in his report to Lieut- General Sir Rowland Hill, thus expressed himself respecting these men : — " I cannot too warmly praise " the conduct of that field officer (Major Fitzgerald) " and that of his brave detachment. They maintained " the position to the last ; and were compelled, from " the want of ammunition, to impede the enemy's " occupation of the rock by hurling stones at them." In another part of this communication, the Lieut.- General thus alluded to the eighty-second regiment and to the first brigade, which was composed of the fiftieth, Seventy-first, and ninety-second regiments : " I feel it my duty to recommend to your attention, " and favourable report to the Commander of the " Forces, the conduct and spirit of Colonel Grant, " and of his brave corps, the eighty-second regiment ; " also the whole of the first brigade, than which His " Majesty's army possesses not men of more proved " discipline and courage. The wounds of him, and " every commanding officer in that brigade, were at- " tended with circumstances of peculiar honor to each " of them, and to those under their orders." The following is a list of the killed and wounded in the action of the 25th of July, as nearly as could be ascertained : — Three serjeants and fifty-four rank and file killed ; six serjeants, one bugler, and seventy-six rank and file wounded. The Seventy-first continued retiring until the 30th, when Lieut-General Sir Rowland Hill took up REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 99 a strong position beyond Lizasso. In this post they 1813. were attacked with much spirit by the enemy, who, at lstbat. the same time, by manoeuvring on the left flank, ren dered necessary a change of position to a range of heights near Eguaros, which all the efforts of the French failed to carry. Upon this occasion the Seventy-first were seriously engaged, and had one serjeant and twenty-three rank and file killed; two serjeants, one bugler, and thirty-three rank and file were wounded. The enemy having been foiled in all the objects of his attacks, found it necessary, in his turn, to retreat, moving on the 31st of July by the pass of Dona Maria, where he left a strong corps in an excellent position. This force was immediately attacked by the columns of Lieut-Generals Sir Rowland Hill and the Earl of Dalhousie, and dislodged, after a gallant resistance. In the action of this day the first brigade, consisting of the fiftieth, Seventy-first, and ninety-second regiments, had the honor of bearing its share, and of distinguishing itself. The Seventy-first had one serjeant and twenty-nine rank and file killed; two serjeants and forty-five rank and file were wounded. The battalion now returned to the heights of Maya, from whence, after a halt of a few days, it moved to Roncesvalles. Previously to this change of quarters, an order was issued by Lieut-General 'Sir Rowland Hill, relative to the conduct of the troops in the actions of the Pyrenees, of which the following- is a copy :< — . r. ...,,"¦ Arrizi, August 3rd, 1813. " General Order. " Lieut. -General Sir Rowland Hill requests that the " officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of the " corps of the army under his command will accept " his best thanks for the gallant conduct they have G 2 100 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1813." displayed during the. late active and interesting lstbat " operations. " The chance of service has placed the troops under " his command in situations where they were exposed " to an immense superiority of forces, a circumstance " unavoidable in operations so extensive as those in " which this army has been engaged ; and it has at all " times been necessary to cede ground to the enemy. " The Lieut.-General, however, has the satisfaction of " knowing that the troops have on every occasion tf maintained their high character ; that they have " only Avithdrawn from their positions by superior " orders, and then it has been invariably attended with " circumstances highly creditable to them. The Lieut- " General has not failed to report to the Commander " of the Forces the details of the several affairs in " which the corps have been engaged, and he knows " that their services are duly appreciated by his " Excellency." The royal authority was subsequently granted to the Seventy-first to bear the word " Pyrenees " on the regimental colour and appointments, in com memoration of the services of the first battalion in the actions of the 25th, 30th, and 31st of July, which have been designated the " Battles of the Pyrenees." In these actions the Seventy-first had Lieutenant Alexander Duff killed; Major Maxwell Mackenzie, Captains Leslie Walker and Alexander Grant, Lieu tenants Thomas Park, John Roberts, William Wool- combe, William Peacocke, and Anthony Pack wounded. The following " Morning Reports " of the 14th of June and 7th of August, the former being prior to the battle of Vittoria, and the latter a few days subsequent to the actions in the Pyrenees, will show how the ranks of the Seventy-first were thinned within a period of less than two months. REGIMENT, highland light infantry. 101 Sergts. Buglers. ^ 1813. 14th June 1813, present and ^ 54 9Q9 lstbat- fit for duty - - - J 7th August 1813 Ditto 21 15 356 Decrease 33 6 553 For nearly three months the battalion was encamped on the heights of Roncesvalles, during which period St. Sebastian and Pampeluna were captured. The men were principally employed during this interval in the construction of block-houses and batteries, and the formation of roads for the artillery. In the early part of the season the neighbouring heights of Altobispo were occupied weekly by the bri gades of the division ; but as the cold increased with the high winds, the piquets alone were appointed for this duty. Such was the inclemency of the weather, and natural advantages of this position, that it was scarcely thought that the enemy would attempt an attack. This opinion, however, was ill founded, as upon the night of the 1 1th of October an attempt was made by a strong party upon the advance, composed of fifteen men of the Seventy-first, under Serjeant James Ross. Instead of flinching from an unequal contest, this small band, relying upon the strength of the position, and being, moreover, favored by the darkness, Avhich concealed its strength, maintained its ground, and forced the enemy to retire. The bravery of this party called forth high encomiums from Lieut.- General the Honorable Sir William Stewart, com manding the division, and at his request the soldiers composing it were all presented with medals. On the 8th of November the division was again in motion, for the purpose of entering the French terri tory; and on the 9th of that month it bivouacked near the heights of Maya, where orders were received to G 3 102 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1813.march as light as possible. The"heights were passed 1st bat. that night by moonlight, for the purpose of joining the grand army ; but the march over bad roads was so fatiguing that when the brigade arrived in position on the Nivelle it was not called upon to take an active part in the glorious proceedings of the rest of the army on the 1 0th of November, in forcing the French from their fortified position on that river. After the battle of the Nivelle, the battalion marched in the direction of Cambo, on the Nive, where some smart skirmishing occurred, in which two men were killed, and four serjeants, one bugler, and forty-one rank and file wounded. When the French crossed to the right bank, the Seventy-first occupied part of the town of Cambo. The battalion remained in Cambo for nearly a month, and was here joined by a detachment of four serjeants and eighty-two rank and file, under the command of Lieutenant Charles Henderson, from the second bat talion, at this period stationed at Glasgow. Oh the 9th of December the first battalion was en gaged in the passage of the Nive. The left wing of the Seventy-first entered the river, supported by the fire of the right, and reached the opposite bank without experiencing any loss. The enemy noAv retired within Bayonne, and the corps of Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill was esta blished with its right on the Adour, the left above the Nive, and the centre at St. Pierre, across the high road to St. Jean Pied-de-Port. In this disposition the second division, of which the Seventy-first formed part, was placed at St. Pierre. Marshal Soult having completely failed in an attempt '> which he made against the left of the army, moved with his whole force against Sir Rowland Hill's corps, with the expectation of overwhelming him before he could be supported. REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 103 The enemy came on with great boldness upon the 1813. 13th of December, and made vigorous efforts against lstbat. the centre, which he repeatedly attacked ; but at last, finding his most earnest endeavours fruitless, he drew off. In the action of this day the loss of the first bat talion of the Seventy-first regiment was very severe, having been placed close to the main road, against which the French made such formidable and repeated attacks. Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell Mackenzie, and Lieutenants William Campbell and Charles Henderson, together with two serjeants, one bugler, and twenty- three rank and file were killed. Captains Robert Barclay and William Alexander Grant, and Lieu tenants John McIntyre and William Torriano, with thirty-seven rank and file, were wounded. The following short but highly expressive Division Order was issued by Lieutenant General the Honor able Sir William Stewart, K.B. : " Head- Quarters, near Petite Moguerre, " December lAth, 1813. " The second division has greatly distinguished itself, " and its gallantry in yesterday's action is avowed " by the Commander of the Forces and the allied " army." In commemoration of these services, the Seventy- FIRST subsequently received the Royal authority to bear the Avord " Nive " on the regimental colour and appointments. The battalion marched on the 19th of December to Urcuit, and to Urt upon the 28th of that month. A small piquet of the Seventy-first, under the com mand of Corporal Dogherty, here distinguished itself, by beating off an enemy's party of nearly treble its strength. While stationed in this quarter, the Companies were 1814. frequently engaged in skirmishes with the enemy, G 4 104 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 18 14. particularly at St. Hellette, heights of Garris, and lstbat. St. Palais, in the month of January 1814. In the beginning of February the battalion marched from Urt, and during its advance had frequent skir mishes with the enemy's rear-guard. On the 26th of February the battalion was in action at Sauveterre, and upon the 27th had the honor of par ticipating in the battle of Orthes. In commemoration of this victory the Seventy- first afterwards received the Royal authority to bear the word " Orthes " on the regimental colour and appointments. Two divisions of the French army having retired to Aire, after the action of the 27th of February, Lieut.- General Sir Rowland Hill moved upon that town to dislodge them. Upon the 2d of March the French were found strongly posted upon a ridge of hills, ex tending across the great road in front of the town, having their right on the Adour. The second division attacked them along the road, seconded by a Portuguese brigade, and. drove them from their position, in gallant style. Lieutenant James Anderson and seventeen rank and file were killed ; Lieutenant Henry Frede rick Lockyer, one serjeant, and nineteen rank and file, were Avounded. A detachment from the second battalion, consisting of one captain, four subalterns, and a hundred and thirty- four rank and file, under the command of Major Arthur Jones, joined at Aire. On the 25th of March part of the battalion was engaged in an affair at Tarbes, in which Lieutenant Robert Law was wounded, and upon the 10th of April was in position at Toulouse, where some of the companies were employed skirmishing, and sustained a loss of one serjeant and three rank and file killed ; six rank and file were wounded. During the night of the 11th of April the French REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 105 troops evacuated Toulouse, and a white flag was hoisted. 1814. On the following day the Marquis of Wellington entered lstbat. the city, amidst the acclamations of the inhabitants. In the course of the afternoon of the 12th of April intelligence was received of the abdication of Napoleon, and had not the express been delayed on the journey by the French police the sacrifice of many valuable lives would have been prevented. A disbelief in the truth of this intelligence occa sioned much unnecessary bloodshed at Bayonne, the garrison of which made a desperate sortie on the 14th of April, and Lieutenant Sir John Hope (afterwards Earl of Hopetoun) was taken prisoner. Major-General Andrew Hay was killed, and Major-General Stopford was wounded. A treaty of peace was established between Great Britain and France ; Louis XVIII. was restored to the throne of France ; and Napoleon Bonaparte was per mitted to reside at Elba, the sovereignty of that island having been conceded to him by the allied powers. The war being ended, the first battalion of the Seventy-first regiment marched from Toulouse to Blanchfort, where it was encamped for sixteen days, and afterwards proceeded to Pouillac, where it em barked on the 15th of July for England, on board of His Majesty's ship " Sultan," of seventy-four guns. Prior to the breaking up of the Peninsular army, the Duke of Wellington issued the following General Order : — « General Order. " Bordeaux, Utli June 1814. " The Commander of the Forces, being upon the " point of returning to England, again takes this oppor- " tunity of congratulating the army upon the recent " events which have restored peace to their country " and to the world. " The share which the British army have had in " producing those events, and the high character with 106 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1814." which the army will quit this country, must be lstbat" equally satisfactory to every individual belonging " to it, as they are to the Commander of the Forces, and " he trusts that the troops will continue the same good " conduct to the last. " The Commander of the Forces once more requests " the army to accept his thanks. " Although circumstances may alter the relations " in which he has stood towards them for some years " so much to his Satisfaction, he assures them he will " never cease to feel the warmest interest in their " welfare and honor, and that he will be at all times " happy to be of any service to those to whose " conduct, discipline, and gallantry their country is so " much indebted." In addition to the other distinctions acquired during the war in Spain, Portugal, and the south of France, the Seventy-first subsequently received the Royal authority to bear the word " Peninsula " on the regimental colour and appointments. The first battalion arrived at Cork on the 28th of July, and marched to Mallow, where it remained for a few days. On the 4th of August the battalion marched to Limerick, where Colonel Reynell assumed the command of it in December, and in which city it continued to be quartered during the remainder of the year. 2d bat. The second battalion remained stationed in North Britain. 1815. In January 1815, the first battalion of the Seventy- lst bat. first regiment marched from Limerick to Cork, and embarked as part of an expedition under orders for North America. Peace having been concluded with the United States, and contrary winds having prevented the sailing of the vessels, the destination of the battalion was changed, and subsequent events occasioned its being em ployed against its former opponents. The tranquillity which Europe appeared to have gained by the splen- REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 107 did successes over the French in the Peninsula was 1815. again to be disturbed. Napoleon, who had been ac- tbat customed to imperial sway, was naturally discontented with his small sovereignty of Elba. Besides, the cor respondence kept up by him with his adherents in France gave him hopes of regaining his former power, which were, for a short time, fully realized. Napoleon Bonaparte landed at Cannes, in Provence, on the 1st of March 1815, with a small body of men, and on the 20th of that month entered Paris at the head of an army which had joined him on the road. This could not be matter of wonder, for the officers and soldiers had won their fame under his command, and gladly wel comed their former leader, under whom they probably expected to acquire fresh honors, which might cancel the memory of the defeats sustained in the Peninsula. Louis XVIII., unable to stem the torrent, withdrew from Paris to Ghent, and Napoleon resumed his former dignity of Emperor of the French. This assumption the allied powers determined not to acknowledge, and resolved to deprive him of his sovereignty, and again restore the ancient dynasty. The first battalion of the Sevbnty-first, in con sequence of these occurrences, proceeded to the Downs, and was there transhipped into small craft, which con veyed it to Ostend, where it disembarked on the 22d of April. The battalion next proceeded to Ghent, and, after remaining there a week, marched to Leuze, between Ath and Tournay, and was subsequently placed in the light brigade with the first battalion of the fifty-second, six companies of the second and two companies of the third battalion of the ninety-fifth regiment (Rifles), un der the command of Major-General Frederick Adam, in the division of Lieut.-General Sir Henry Clinton.* * A list of the British and Hanoverian army at Waterloo, as formed in divisions and brigades, is inserted in the Appendix, page 166. 108 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1815. The strenj gth of the brigade was as follows: — lstbat. Rank and File. 52d regt. 1st bat. - - 997 71st do. do. - - 788 95th do. 2d bat. Rifles - - - 571 95th do. 3d do. do. - Total - - 185 2,541 Brevet Colonel Reynell, afterwards Lieut-General Sir Thomas Reynell, commanded the battalion at this period. Napoleon resolved on attacking the Allies before their forces had been fully collected, and by well- masked and admirably combined movements, a portion of his army was concentrated on the 14 th of June between the Sambre and the Meuse. On the morning of the 16th of June, as the battalion was proceeding to the usual exercising ground of the brigade at Leuze, it received orders for an immediate advance upon Nivelles, where it arrived late that night. On the same day Prince Blucher had been attacked at Ligny, and was forced to retreat to Wavre. The Duke of Wellington and a portion of his army had been also attacked at Quatre Bras by Marshal Ney, who, however, made no impression upon the British position. In the course of the morning of the 17th of June, the Duke of Wellington made a retrograde movement upon Waterloo, in order to keep up his communication with the Prussians. At day-break on the same morn ing, the first battalion of the Seventy-first retired, and broke up its position, with the rest of the allied army, on the plains in the neighbourhood of Waterloo, being situated to the left and rear of Hougomont. The Seveny-first, with the rest of the army, bi vouacked in position during the night of the 17th of June, drenched by the rain, which fell heavily. Upon the morning of the memorable 18 th of June, the bat talion stood in open column, and in this situation was REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 109 exposed for some time to a heavy fire of artillery, but 181 5. a judicious movement to a short distance alleviated in a 1st bat. great measure this annoyance. Line was next formed, and about two o'clock the battalion, with the rest of the brigade, advanced, met their opponents in position, charged, and instantly overthrew them. A heavy fire now commenced upon the retreating enemy, but the alignement having been completely de ranged by the impetuosity of the advance, Colonel Reynell, with his usual coolness, proceeded to restore order, and had just completed the dressing of the line when the French cavalry were seen advancing. Square was instantly formed, and the Seventy- first, with the rest of the brigade, sustained a charge from three regiments of French cavalry, namely, one of cuirassiers, one of grenadiers-a-cheval, and one of lancers. The charge was made with the most obstinate bravery, but nothing could overcome the steadiness of the British infantry, and after a destructive loss, the French were forced to retire. Previously to this advance, the square of the Seventy-first was struck by a round-shot, which killed or wounded an officer and eighteen men of the eighth company. About seven o'clock in the evening the left Aving of the battalion was formed in rear of the right, and, while thus placed, was, with the rest of the division, attacked by a column of the Imperial Guard. These troops were fresh, having been kept in reserve during the day. They were allowed to approach close without molestation, and the regiments throwing in a close and well-directed fire, they could not deploy, but broke, and retired in confusion. The enemy having now exhausted all his efforts, the British, in their turn, advanced. The Seventy-first, in the first instance, suffered much from the fire of 110 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1815. some guns that raked their front; these were soon lstbat. silenced, and the battalion was afterwards left unmo lested. In this advance the light brigade captured several guns. Night closed in fast, and the corps rested after this lengthened and sanguinary encounter, the pursuit of the discomfited enemy being committed to the Prussians, under Marshal Blucher, who had arrived on the field of battle. The Seventy-first had Brevet Major Edmund L'Estrange (Aide-de-Camp to Major-General Sir Denis Pack, K.C.B.), and Ensign John Todd, killed. The fol lowing officers - were wounded : the Lieut-Colonel commanding the battalion, Colonel Thomas Reynell; Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Arthur Jones ; Captains Samuel Reed, Donald Campbell, William Alexander Grant, James Henderson, and Brevet-Major Charles John stone; Lieutenants Joseph Barrallier, Robert Lind, John Roberts, James Coates, Robert ;Law, Carique Lewin, and Lieutenant and Adjutant William Anderson. The number of serjeants, buglers, and rank and file killed amounted to twenty-nine ; one hundred and sixty- six were wounded, and thirty-six died of their wounds. Both Houses of Parliament, with the greatest enthu siasm, voted their thanks to the army " for its distin guished valour at Waterloo." For the share which the battalion had in this glorious victory, the Seventy-first were permitted to bear, in common with the rest of the army engaged upon the 18th of June, the word "Waterloo" on the regi mental colour and appointments. The officers and men engaged were presented with silver medals by His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, and were allowed to reckon two years additional service. The battalion, with the rest of the army, afterwards marched towards Paris, and entered that city on the 7th of July. The brigade encamped that day in the Champs Elysies, near the Place Louis Quinze, being REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. Ill the only British troops quartered within the barriers, 1815. and continued there until the beginning of November, lstbat. when it proceeded to Versailles, and to Viarmes in December. Meanwhile Louis XVIII. had entered Paris, and was again reinstated on the throne of his ancestors. Napoleon Bonaparte had surrendered to Captain Mait- land, commanding the "Bellerophon" British ship of war, and the island of St. Helena having been fixed for his residence, he was conveyed thither with a few of his devoted followers. On the 24th of December 1815, the second battalion 2d bat of the Seventy-first was disbanded at Glasgow, the effective officers and men being transferred to the first battalion. In January 1816, the Seventy-first marched to 1816 the Pas-de-Calais, in which part of France the regiment was cantoned in several villages, having its head-quar ters at Norrent Fonte, a village on the high road from Calais to Douay. On the 21st of June 1816, the regiment assembled upon the bruyere of Rombly, between the villages of Lingham and Rombly on the one side, and Viterness and Leitre on the other, for the purpose of receiving the medals which had been granted by His Royal Highness the Prince Regent to the officers, non-commis sioned officers, buglers, and privates, for their services at the battle of Waterloo. A hollow square upon the centre was formed on this occasion ; the ranks were opened, and the boxes con taining the medals were placed within the square. Colonel Reynell then addressed the regiment in the following manner : " Seventy-first ! ! " The deep interest, which you will all give me " credit for feeling, in everything that affects the corps " cannot fail to be awakened upon an occasion such as 112 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1816." the present, when holding in my hands, to transfer to lstbat" yours, these honorable rewards bestowed by your " Sovereign for your share in the great and glorious " exertions of the army of His Grace the Duke of " Wellington upon the field of Waterloo, when the " utmost efforts of the army of France, directed by " Napoleon, reputed to be the first captain of the age, " were not only paralyzed at the moment, but blasted " beyond the power of even a second struggle. " To have participated in a contest crowned with " victory so decisive, and productive of consequences " that have diffused peace, security, and happiness " throughout Europe, may be to each of you a source " of honorable pride, as well as of gratitude to the " Omnipotent Arbiter of all human contests, who " preserved you in such peril, and without whose pro- " tecting hand the battle belongs not to the strong, nor " the race to the swift. " I acknowledge to feel an honest, and, I trust, an " excusable, exultation, in having had the honor to " command you on that day ; and in dispensing these " medals, destined to record in your families the share " you had in the ever memorable battle of Waterloo, " it is a peculiar satisfaction to me that I can present " them to those by whom they have been fairly and " honorably earned, and that I can here solemnly " declare, that in the course of that eventful day I did " not observe a soldier of this good regiment whose " conduct was not only creditable to the English " nation, but such as his dearest friends could desire. " Under such agreeable reflections, I request you " to accept these medals, and to wear them with " becoming pride, as they are incontestable proofs of a " faithful discharge of your duty to your King and " your Country. I trust that they will act as powerful " talismans, to keep you, in your future lives, in the " paths of honor, sobriety, and virtue." REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 113 At the conclusion of the above address the amis 1816. were presented; " God save the King " was played, and the battalion, by signal, gave three cheers. Colonel Reynell then, from the lists of companies in succession, called over the names of those entitled to receive a medal, and with his own hand placed it in that of the soldier. New colours were presented to the regiment on the 1817. 13th of January 1817, by Major-General Sir Denis Pack, K.C.B., Avho made the following address on the occasion : — " Seventy-first Regiment ! " Officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, it " affords me the greatest satisfaction, at the request of " your commanding officer, Colonel Reynell, to have " the honor of presenting these colours to you. " There are many Avho could perform the office with " a better grace, but there is no one, believe me, who is " more sensible of the merit of the corps, or who is " more anxious for its honor and welfare. " I might justly pay to the valour and good conduct " of those present the compliments usual on such occa- " sions, but I had rather offer the expression of my " regard and admiration of that excellent esprlt-de- " corps and real worth which a ten years' intimate " knowledge of the regiment has taught me so highly " to appreciate. 1 shall always look back with pleasure " to that long period in which I had the good fortune " to be your commanding officer, and during which " time I received from the officers the most cordial and " zealous assistance in support of discipline ; from the " non-commissioned officers proofs of the most dis- " interested regard for His Majesty's service and the " welfare of their regiment, and I Avitnessed on the " part of the privates and the corps at large a fidelity " to their colours in South America, as remarkable " under such trying circumstances as their valour has H 114 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1817." at all times been conspicuous in the field. I am "most happy to think that there is no drawback to the " pleasure all should feel on this occasion. Your " former colours Avere mislaid after a fete given in " London, to celebrate the Duke of Wellington's " return after his glorious termination of the penin- " sular Avar, and your colonel, General Francis Dundas, "¦ has sent you three very handsome ones to replace " them. " On them are emblazoned some of His Grace's vic- " tories, in which the Seventy-first bore a most " distinguished part, and more might be enumerated " which the corps may well be proud of. There are " still in your ranks valuable officers who have wit- " nessed the early glories of the regiment in the East, " and its splendid career since is fresh in the memory " of all. Never, indeed, did the character of the corps " stand higher ; never Avas the fame of the British " arms or the glory of the British empire more pre- " eminent than at this moment, an enthusiastic recol- " lection of which the sight of these colours must " always inspire. " While you have your present commanding officer " to lead you, it is unnecessary for me to add any- " thing to excite such a spirit ; but was I called upon " to do so, I should have only to hold up the example " of those who have fallen in your ranks, and, above all, " point to the memory of that hero who so gloriously " fell at your head."* 1818. The regiment formed part of the " Army of Occupa tion" in France until towards the end of October 1818, when it embarked at Calais for England, and arrived Dover on the 29th of that month. After landing, the regiment proceeded immediately to Chelmsford, where it remained for a short time, * Colonel the Honorable Henry Cadogan, who was mortally wounded at Vittoria on the 21st of June 1813.— Vide page 94. REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 115 During its stay at this place the establishment was 18 18. reduced from 810 to 650 rank and file. On the 25 th of November the regiment marched to Weedon, Derby, and Nottingham, having its head quarters at the former place. The regiment was inspected at Weedon on the 1st 1819. of May 1819, by Major-General Sir John Byng, who reported most favourably to His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief upon its appearance and discipline. In consequence of this report His Royal Highness was pleased to dispense Avith any further inspection of the regiment during the year. On the 21st of June 1819 the regiment marched to Chester, having detachments at Liverpool and the Isle of Man. In June 1820, the regiment marched to Rochdale, 1820. Blackburn, and Burnley. In July following it pro ceeded to Hertford, Ware, Hoddesdon, and Hatfield; and on the 20th of November it was removed to Canterbury. Previously to the departure of the regiment from Hertford, it was inspected by the Adjutant-General to the Forces, Major-General Sir Henry Torrens, K.C.B., who communicated to Colonel Sir Thomas Arbuth- not, K.C.B., commanding the Seventy-first, the expression of the satisfaction experienced by His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief in perusing the report made on that occasion. In June 1821, the regiment marched to Chatham, 1821. having detachments at Sheerness, Tilbury Fort, and Harwich. Here a further reduction took place of two companies, making the establishment to consist of 576 rank and file. From Chatham the regiment marched to London, 1822. and proceeded by the canal to Liverpool, there to embark for Dublin, where it arrived on the 3d of May 1822; the regiment remained in that city until the H 2 116 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 18 22. beginning of October, when it marched to the south of Ireland. The head-quarters were stationed at Fermoy, and detachments proceeded to the villages of Ballahooly, Castletown Roche, Kilworth, Kildorrory, Wattstown, Glanworth, and Mitchelstown. A subaltern's party was also encamped at Glennasheen in the county of Limerick, the disturbed state of that part of Ireland requiring detachments in the above posts, and the utmost exertions of every individual for their pro tection. 1824. Lieut-General Sir Gordon Drummond, G.C.B., Avas removed from the colonelcy of the eighty-eighth to that of the Seventy-first regiment on the 16th of January 1824, in succession to General Francis Dundas, deceased. The regiment remained here for two winters, and in the beginning of May 1824 orders were received to march to the Cove of Cork, to embark for foreign service. Before the Seventy-first marched to the coast for embarkation, very gratifying addresses were pre sented to Colonel Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, commanding the regiment, from the magistrates and inhabitants of the district round Fermoy, conveying their approbation of the conduct of the corps, which had won the esteem of all classes. A very gratifying order Avas also issued by Major- General Sir John Lambert, K.C.B., commanding the south-western district of Ireland, relative to the conduct of the regiment. The regiment embarked for North America on the 14th, 16th, 17th, and 18th of May 1824, on board the Indian trader Prince of Orange, Cato and Fanny transports, and anchored at Quebec on the 23d, 24th, and 25th of June. 1825. In the year 1825, the establishment of the regiment was augmented from eight to ten companies, and formed REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 117 into six service and four depot companies, consisting ofl825. forty-two sergeants, fourteen buglers, and 740 rank and file. In consequence of this arrangement, the officers and non-commissioned officers of two companies were sent to England to join the depot companies at Chichester. The detachments stationed during the summer months 1826. at the posts of Sorel and Three Rivers rejoined the head-quarters of the regiment at Quebec on the 15th of October. On the 25th of October and the 4th of November, the service companies were inspected by Lieut.-General the Earl of Dalhousie, the Commander of the Forces in British North America, who expressed his fullest appro bation of their discipline and interior economy, as well as of their conduct and appearance. The head-quarter division of the Seventy-first 1827. embarked at Quebec for Montreal on the 17th of May 1827, after having been stationed in that garrison nearly three years. Preparatory to this change of quarters, the service companies were again inspected by Lieut.- General the Earl of Dalhousie, who, in orders, assured Lieut.-Colonel Jones that he had never seen any regi ment in more perfect order. The service companies arrived at Montreal on the 19th of May, and detachments from them were sta tioned at lsle-aux-Noix, St. John's, William Henry, La Chine, Coteau-du-Lac, and Rideau. On the 8th of May 1828, the Seventy-first1828. embarked for Kingston in batteaux, and arrived there on the 16th of that month. The Seventy-first remained stationed here for twelve months. During the summer and part of the autumn they suffered much from fever and ague, having had at one period nearly a third of the men in hospital. H 3 118 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1829. Upon the 1st of June 1829, the head-quarters em barked in a steam-boat for York, now called Toronto, the capital of the Upper Province, and arrived there on the following morning.* One company was detached to Niagara, another to Amherstburg, and a third to Penetanguishene on Lake Huron. A small number of men occupied the naval post at Grand River on Lake Erie. The Seventy- first occupied these posts for a period of two years. On the 10th of August 1829, the depot companies embarked at Gravesend for Berwick-on-Tweed. Major-General Sir Colin Halkett, K.C.B., was removed from the colonelcy of the ninety-fifth to that of the Seventy-first regiment, on the 21st of Sep tember 1829, in succession to General Sir Gordon Drummond, G.C.B., who was appointed to the forty- ninth regiment. 1830. In June, 1830, the depot companies were removed from Berwick-on-Tweed to Edinburgh Castle. 1831. In May 1831, the service companies moved doAvn to Quebec, where the whole were assembled on the 16th of June. After a stay of nearly five months in that city, orders arrived for the Seventy-first to proceed to Bermuda. The service companies embarked on the 20th of October 1831 in the transports Layton and Manlius, and arrived off St. George's, Bermuda, upon the 11th of November, when they immediately disembarked, sending a detachment of one captain, two subalterns, and a hundred and twenty men to Ireland Island. * During the period the Seventy-first were stationed at York, they had the satisfaction of removing to consecrated ground the mortal remains of the brave grenadiers of the eighth regiment, who fell upon the 27th of April, 1813, in action with the Americans. These gallant soldiers had fallen, and were buried at a considerable distance from the shores of Lake Ontario ; but as its waters had since encroached upon the land in this direction, they at length succeeded in breaking open their honorable grave, and the beach became strewed with their remains. This coming to the knowledge of the Seventy-eikst, they had them removed to the military burying ground in the vicinity of the garrison. regiment, highland light infantry. 119 The head-quarters were subsequently moved to 1831. Hamilton, and small parties were detached to the signal posts at Gibbs Hill and Mount Langton. During the years 1832 and 1833, the service com- 1833. panies continued at Bermuda, and the depot remained in North Britain. On the 30th of August 1833, Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Charles Grey exchanged from the half-pay to the Seventy-first Regiment with Lieut-Colonel Joseph Thomas Pidgeon. The tartan plaid scarf was restored to the Seventy- 1834. first regiment by an authority (under the King's Sign Manual) dated 17th of February 1834. On the 11th of September 1834, the service com panies embarked at Bermuda for Great Britain, and arrived at Leith on the 19th of October following. The regiment was afterwards stationed at Edinburgh, where it remained during the year 1835. The regiment embarked at Glasgow on the 11th ofl836. May 1836 for Ireland, and was stationed at Dublin during the remainder of the year. In June 1837, the regiment proceeded from Dublinl837. to Kilkenny. Major-General Sir Samuel Ford Whittingham,1838. K.C.B., was appointed Colonel of the Seventy-first regiment on the 28th of March 1838, in succession to Lieut.-General Sir Colin Halkett, K.C.B., appointed to the thirty-first regiment. Meanwhile orders had been received for the regi ment to proceed on foreign service, and on the 20th of April 1838 the six service companies embarked at Cork for Canada. The four depot companies remained in Ireland. On the 2d of June 1839 the depot companies 1839. embarked at Cork for North Britain, and were after wards stationed at Stirling. The establishment of the regiment was augmented H 4 120 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1839. on the 12th of August 1839, from seven hundred and forty to eight hundred rank and file. 1840. During the year 1840 the service companies were stationed at St. John's, LoAver Canada. The dep6t companies proceeded from Stirling to Dundee in April. 1841. Lieut-General Sir Thomas Reynell, Bart., K.C.B., was removed from the colonelcy of the eighty-seventh Royal Irish fusiliers to that of the Seventy-first or Highland regiment on the 15th of March 1841, in succession to Lieut.-General Sir Samuel Ford Whit- tingham, K.C.B. and K.C.H., deceased. In May 1841 the depot companies proceeded from Dundee to Aberdeen. Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Charles Grey ex changed to half-pay with Lieut.-Colonel James England on the 8th of April 1842. 1842. The service companies proceeded from St. John's to Montreal, in two divisions, on the 27th and 28th of April 1842. In consequence of the augmentation which took place in the army at this period, the Seventy-first regiment was ordered to be divided into two battalions, the six service companies being termed the first bat talion, and the depot, augmented by two new com panies, being styled the reserve battalion. The depot Avas accordingly moved from Stirling to Chichester in 1842, and after receiving one hundred and eighty volunteers from other corps, Avas there organised into a battalion for foreign service. The reserve battalion of the Seventy-first^ under the command of Lieut.-Colonel James England, em barked at Portsmouth in Her Majesty's troop-ship " Resistance," which sailed for Canada on the 13th of August 1842, and the battalion landed at Montreal on the 2iSd of September, where the first battalion was likewise stationed, under the command of Major William Denny, who, upon the arrival of Lieut.- REGIMENT, highland light infantry. 121 Colonel England, took charge of the reserve bat- 1842. talion. The reserve battalion marched from Montreal to 1843. Chambly on the 5th of May 1843, and arrived there on the same day. The first battalion, under the command of Lieut.- Colonel England, embarked at Quebec for the West Indies in the " Java " transport, on the 20th of October 1843. The head-quarters disembarked at Grenada on the 15th of December following. The head-quarters of the first battalion embarked on 1844. the 25th of December 1844, at Grenada, for Antigua. During the year 1845 the head-quarters of the first 1845. battalion continued at Antigua. The head-quarters and three companies of the re serve battalion marched from Chambly on the 11th of May 1845, and arrived at Kingston, in Canada, on the 14th of that month. On the 18th of April 1846, the head-quarters and 1846. four companies of the first battalion embarked at Antigua on board the transport " Princess Royal," and landed at Barbadoes on the 24th of the same month. The first battalion, under the command of Captain Nathaniel Massey Stack, embarked for England at Barbadoes on the 29th and 30th of December, on board of Her Majesty's ship " Belleisle. On the 6th of October 1846, the reserve battalion left Kingston, in Canada West, and the head-quarters arrived at La Prairie on the 8th of thstt month. The ship " Belleisle," having the first battalion on 1847. board, sailed for Portsmouth on the 1st of January 1847, and arrived at Spithead on the 25th of that month. After disembarking at Portsmouth, the bat talion proceeded to Winchester, where it was stationed until the 19th of July, when it was conveyed in three divisions by railway to GlasgOAV, and on the 21st of December it was removed to Edinburgh. 122 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1847. In September 1847, the head-quarters of the reserve battalion were removed from La Prairie to Chambly, and in October proceeded to St. John's, in Canada East. 1848. Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B., was removed from the colonelcy of the ninth foot to that of the Seventy-first regiment on the 18th of February 1848, in succession to Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Reynell, Bart, and K.C.B., deceased. Three companies of the first battalion proceeded from Edinburgh to Dublin on the 27th of April 1848; and the head-quarters, with the three remaining com panies, were removed to Dublin on the 1st of May. In June, the head-quarters were removed to Naas. During the year 1848, the head-quarters of the re serve battalion remained at St. John's, in Canada East. 1849. Lieut-General Sir James Macdonell, K.C.B. and K.C.H., was appointed from the seventy-ninth to be colonel of the Seventy-first or Highland regiment, on the 8th of February 1849, upon the decease of Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. In compliance with instructions received upon the occasion of Her Majesty's visit to Dublin, the head quarters of the first battalion, with the effectives of three companies, proceeded from Naas to that garrison on the 28 th of July, and were encamped in the Phoenix Park. The three detached companies also joined at the encampment on the same day. On the 13th of August the head-quarters and three companies returned to Naas. The head-quarters and two companies of the reserve battalion, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Sir Hew Dalrymple, Bart., proceeded from St. John's to Montreal, in aid of the civil power, on the 28th of April 1849. The head-quarters and three companies quitted Montreal and encamped on the Island of St. Helen's on the 30th of June, but returned to St. John's on the 16th of July. On the 17th of August 1849, the head- REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 123 quarters and two companies proceeded from St. John's 1849. to Montreal, in aid of the civil power, and returned to St. John's on the 6th of September. In April 1850, the first battalion proceeded from 1850. Naas to Dublin. The head-quarters and two companies of the reserve battalion quitted St. John's and Chambly on the 21st of May 1850, and arrived at Toronto on the 23d of that month, where the battalion was joined by the other companies, and it continued there during the remainder of the year. In April 1851, the first battalion proceeded from 1851. Dublin to Mullingar, and in July following was removed to Newry. During the year 1851 the reserve battalion continued to be stationed at Toronto. In May 1852, the reserve battalion proceeded from 1852. Toronto to Kingston. On the 8th of June following, Lieut.-Colonel Sir Hew Dalrymple, Bart., retired from the service by the sale of bis commission, and was suc ceeded by Lieut-Colonel Nathaniel Massey Stack. On the 1st of July 1852, the date to which this Record has been brought, the first battalion of the Seventy-first regiment was stationed at Newry,. under the command of Lieut.-Colonel William Denny ; the reserve battalion continued at Kingston, in Canada. 1852. SEVENTY FJimST MK&IlLAHBEffiS. LIGHT INFANTRY. 125 SUCCESSION OF COLONELS OP THE SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. John Lord Macleod, Appointed 19th December 1777. Lord John Macleod was the eldest son of the Earl of Cromartie, and, with his father, was engaged in the attempt made in 1 745 by Prince Charles Edward, the young pre tender, to recover the throne of his ancestors. After the battle of Culloden, in 1746, the Earl of Cromartie was brought to trial, and pleaded guilty ; but his life Avas spared on consideration of the remorse expressed by him for having been seduced in an unguarded moment from that loyalty which he had always, previously to the breaking out of the rebellion, evinced to the existing establishment, both in Church and State. Lord Macleod also received the royal mercy on account of his youth, and his regard for his parent, which had been the cause of his being concerned in the rebellion. The young lord also promised, that, should the royal clemency be extended to him, that his future life and fortune should be entirely devoted to His Majesty's service, which promise was amply fulfilled in after years. Lord Macleod subsequently entered into the Swedish army, where he served for several years with great reputation, and was made a Commandant of the Order of the Sword in the king dom of Sweden. While the American war of independence was being carried on, his Lordship returned to Great Britain, and in December 1777 received authority to raise a regi- 126 SEVENTY-FIRST HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. ment of Highlanders, which was, on its formation, numbered the seventy-third, and subsequently the Seventy-fiest regiment, under the circumstances detailed in the Historical Record. His Lordship was appointed colonel of the newly raised regiment, to which a second battalion was added in September 1778, and embarked with the first battalion for India in January 1779, arriving at Madras in January 1780. The war with Hyder Ali, the powerful Sultan of the Mysore territory, commenced in that year, and his Lord ship served under Major-General Sir Hector Munro in the first instance, and afterwards under Lieut.-General Sir Eyre Coote. On the 1st of June 1781, Colonel Lord Macleod was promoted to the local rank of major-general in the East Indies, in which year he returned to England, some mis understanding having arisen between his Lordship and Major-General Stuart concerning priority of rank. His Lordship was promoted to the rank of major-general on the 20th of November 1782. On the forfeited estates being restored, in 1784, Major-General Lord Macleod obtained the family estate of Cromartie. His decease occurred on the 2d •of April 1789, at Edinburgh. The Honorable William Gordon, Appointed 9th April 1789. The Honorable William Gordon was appointed cap tain 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 Avas afterwards disbanded. In 1781 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and in April 1789 was nomi nated colonel of the Seventt-first Highlanders. He was advanced to the rank of lieut.-general in 1793, to that of general in 1 798, and was removed to the Twenty-first Royal North British Fusiliers in 1803. He died in 1816. SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. 127 Sir John Francis Cradock, G.C.B. and K.C., afterwards Lord Howden, Appointed 6th August 1803. This officer entered the army on the 15th of December 1777, as a cornet in the fourth regiment of horse, now the seventh dragoon guards ; and on the 9th of July 1779, he exchanged to an ensigncy in the Coldstream guards, in which he was promoted to a lieutenancy, with the rank of captain, on the 12th of December 1781. On the 25th of June 1785, he was advanced to the rank of major of the twelfth dragoons, and on the 16th of September 1786, ex changed into the thirteenth foot, of which regiment he was appointed lieut.-colonel on the 16th of June 1789. Lieut.- Colonel Cradock commanded the thirteenth regiment in the West Indies, and on his return, in 1792, was appointed quartermaster-general in Ireland, where he was specially employed by Government in many of the disturbed counties. He went a second time to the West Indies, in the command of the second battalion of grenadiers, under the orders of General Sir Charles (afterwards Earl) Grey, and was pre sent at the reduction of Martinique (where he was wounded), St. Lucia, Guadaloupe, and at the siege of Fort Bourbon. Before the reduction of the second battalion of grenadiers in the West Indies he was appointed by Sir Charles Grey to be his aide-de-camp, and on his return to England he received the thanks of Parliament for his services. On the 26th of February 1795, Lieut.-Colonel Cradock received the brevet rank of colonel, and on the 16th of April following was appointed colonel of the one hundred and twenty-seventh regiment, which was disbanded in 1798, when he was placed on half pay. On the 1st of January 1798, Colonel Cradock was advanced to the rank of major-general, and served as quartermaster-general in Ireland during the rebellion of that year ; was under the command of Lieut.-General Gerard- (afterwards Viscount) Lake at the affair with the rebels at Vinegar Hill, and in the subsequent movements in the county of Wexford. Major-General Cradock accompanied Earl Cornwallis as quartermaster-general in his lordship's march against the French forces that landed in Killala 128 SEVENTY-FIRST HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. under General Humbert, and was severely wounded in the action at Ballynahinch, when the French and rebel force were defeated, and laid down their arms. Major-General Cradock Avas afterwards appointed to the staff of the Mediterranean, under General Sir Ralph Aber cromby, and proceeded on the expedition to Egypt, and was in the actions of the 8th, 13th, and 21st of March 1801. In that of the 13th, near Alexandria, he commanded the brigades which formed the advance against the enemy, and received the thanks of Sir Ralph Abercromby. He was second in command of the division of the army that pro ceeded to Cairo under the command of Lieut.-General Hutchinson (afterwards the Earl of Donoughmore), and was at the action of Rhamanie on the 9th of May 1801, and at the surrender of Cairo and Alexandria. The surrender of the latter place on the 2d of September following, ter minated the campaign, after which he Avas appointed to the command of a force of 4,000 men, to proceed to Corfu ; but the preliminaries of peace being signed on the 1st of October between Great Britain and France, put an end to the expe dition, and he returned to England, Avhen he was again honored with the thanks of Parliament. The Grand Seignior had also established the order of knighthood of the Crescent, of which the general officers who served in Egypt were made members. On the 8th of May 1801, Major-General Cradock had been appointed colonel commandant of the fifty-fourth regi ment, and upon the reduction of the army, in 1802, he was placed on half-pay. On the 6th of August 1803, he was appointed colonel of the Seventy-first regiment. On the 1st of January 1805, Major-General Sir John Cradock, K.B., was advanced to the rank of lieut.-general, and appointed to the command of the forces at Madras. Upon the departure from India of General Lord Lake, in 1806, Lieut.-General Sir John Cradock remained for nearly a year in the command of the forces in that country. In 1808 he was appointed to command the forces in Portugal, during the critical period preceding the arrival of Lieut.- General Sir Arthur Wellesley, and was afterwards appointed Governor of Gibraltar, which in a short time he resigned. On the 6th of January 1809, he was removed from the SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. 129 Seventy-first to the colonelcy of the forty-third regiment. In 1811 he was appointed governor of the Cape of Good Hope, and commander of the forces on that station, which he held until 1814, on the 4th of June of which year he was promoted to the rank of general. General Sir John Cradock was nominated a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on the 2d of January 1815, and in 1819 was created a peer of Ireland, by the title of Baron Howden. At the coronation of His Majesty King William IV. he was advanced to the dignity of a Peer of the United Kingdom. By royal licence he afterwards altered his name to Caradoc, deeming that to be the ancient and veritable orthography. The decease of General the Right Honorable John Francis Caradoc, Baron Howden of Howden and Grimstone in the county of York, and of Cradocks- town, county of Kildare, occurred on the 26th of July 1839, at the advanced age of eighty years. Francis Dundas. Appointed 7th January 1809. The first commission of this officer was an ensigncy in the first foot guards, dated 4th of April 1775, and in May 1777 he joined the army in North America, was present at the battle of Brandywine on the 11th of September of that year, and in that of Germantown on the 4th of October following, also at the siege of ten forts on the river Dela ware, and after their reduction in December the detach ment of guards employed on that service rejoined the army, and went into winter quarters at Philadelphia. On the 23d of January 1778 he received a lieutenancy, Avith the rank of captain, in the first foot guards. Captain Dundas served the campaign of that year, and was present in the action of Monmouth Court- House on the 28th of June 1778, fought during the march of the British army from Phila delphia to New York, in which the second battalion of the first foot guards was principally engaged. Having soon after been appointed to the light company of that corps, he Avas employed on various detached services in 1778 and 1779, in the course of which the company to which he belonged sustained considerable losses. I 130 SEVENTY-FIRST HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. The corps of guards being detached into South Carolina, joined the army under Lieut.-General the Earl Cornwallis, in 1780, and the light company forming his lordship's advanced guard,: it was almost every day engaged. Captain Dundas commanded it at the battle of Guildford and at York Town. Captain Dundas Avas promoted to a company in the first foot guards, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, on the 11th of April 1783, and on the 6th of June following exchanged into the forty-fifth regiment, from which he was transferred to the first foot on the 31st of March 1787. With the first battalion of the latter regiment Lieut.-Colonel Dundas embarked for Jamaica in January 1790, and re turned to England in July 1791. In October 1793 he was appointed aide-de-camp to King George III., and received the brevet rank of colonel. Colonel Dundas was employed in that rank in the West Indies as adjutant-general to the army under General Sir Charles (afterwards Earl) Grey, and was present at the siege of Martinique and the other adjacent islands in 1794. Upon his return to England, being appointed on the 9th of October 1794, colonel of the Scots brigade, afterwards num bered the ninety-fourth regiment, he joined it in Scotland, and raised a new battalion. Major-General Dundas, to which rank he was advanced on the 26th of February 1795, was employed on the staff in North Britain until ordered to join the army preparing for foreign service under Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Aber cromby, at Southampton. Having returned to Portsmouth with the expedition, he was soon afterwards appointed to the command at the Cape of Good Hope, and in August 1796 he embarked for that colony. Being appointed lieut- governor, with the command of the troops under the governor, he continued to hold that appointment until Lord Macartney returned to England in November 1798, leaving him to act as civil governor. Upon the arrival of Lord Macartney's successor, in December 1799, Major- General Dundas resumed his former situation ; but that officer being recalled in 1801, the civil with the military authority again devolved on Major-General Dundas, and he held both until the Cape was restored to the Dutch by the SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. 131 treaty of peace concluded in 1803. Upon his return to England in June 1803, Lieut-General Dundas, to which rank he had been promoted on the 29th of April of the pre vious year, was placed on the staff in the southern district of Great Britain, under General Sir David Dundas, K.B. Towards the end of 1805 Lieut.-General Dundas was appointed to the command of a division ordered to join tlie army assembling in Hanover under Lieut.-General Lord Cathcart, and on his return, in 1806, he was again appointed to the staff in the southern district. On the 7th of January 1809, Lieut.-General Dundas was appointed by His Majesty to be colonel of .the Seventy-first regiment, and on the 1st of January 1812 was advanced to the rank of general. He had been appointed governor of Carrickfergus in Ireland in 1787, and was transferred in January 181 7 to the governorship of Dumbarton Castle in Scotland. The decease of General Dundas occurred at Edinburgh on the 16th of January 1824. Sir Gordon Drttmmond, G.C.B. Appointed 16th January 1824. Removed to the forty-ninth regiment on the 21st of Sep tember 1 829, and to the eighth foot on the 24th of April 1 846. Sni Colin Halkett, K.C.B. Appointed 21st September 1829. Removed to the thirty-first regiment on the 28th of March 1838, and to the forty-fifth regiment on the 12th of July 1847. Sir Samuel Ford Whittingham. Appointed 28th March 1838. This officer was appointed ensign in the sixty-sixth regiment on the 20th of January 1803, lieutenant in the ninth foot on the 25th of February, and was removed to the first life guards on the 10th of March of the same year. On the 14th of February 1805 he was promoted to the rank of captain in the twenty-eighth regiment, and was removed to the thir teenth light dragoons on the 13th of June following, and I 2 132 SEVENTY-FIRST HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. in 1809 was appointed deputy assistant quartermaster- general in the army in the Peninsula under Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley. In March 1810, Captain Whittingham was promoted to the rank of major, serving with the Por tuguese army. He Avas subsequently employed in America ; but the chief scene of his services was with the army in Spain, for which he was peculiarly qualified by his perfect knowledge of the Spanish language. He Avas first permitted to join that service as aide-de-camp to General Castanos, and in that capacity shared in the battle and victory of Baylen. Major Whittingham afterwards served under the Duke of Albuquerque, and was severely wounded at Talavera. Soon afterwards he obtained the command of the Spanish cavalry, and was present at the battle of Barrosa, fought on the oth of March 1811. On the 30th of May following he Avas pro moted lieut.-colonel in the Portuguese army. He was next intrusted to raise and command a large corps of Spanish troops clothed and paid by the British Government. In 1812, as major-general in command of this well-disciplined corps, he was, in junction with the British army at Alicant, successfully opposed to Marshal Suchet, and was again wounded at the battle of Castalla ; after which he served with distinction in command of a division of infantry under Lieut.-General Sir John Murray, and subsequently under Lieut.-General Lord William Bentinck on the eastern coast of Spain. At the restoration of peace in 1814, Lieut. -Colonel Whit tingham returned to England, his conduct in Spain being reported in very flattering terms by the British ambassador in Spain and by the Duke of Wellington. On the 4th of June 1814, he was appointed aide-de-camp to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, with the rank of colonel in the army ; and was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath, with the honor of knighthood, on the 4th of June 1815. Upon the return of Napoleon from Elba in March 1815, Colonel Sir Samuel Ford Whittingham returned to the Peninsula, at the particular request of the King of Spain, and on his arrival at Madrid, he was invested with the Grand Cross of the^Order of San Fernando. In the year 1819 he was appointed governor of Dominica, and in 1822 his services were transferred to India as quartermaster- SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. 133 general of the king's troops ; he subsequently held the com mand as major-general, to which rank he was promoted on the 27th of May 1825, successively in the Cawnpoor and Meerut divisions. Major-General Sir Samuel Ford Whittingham served at the siege of Bhurtpore, which was captured in January 1826; and received the thanks of Parliament for his conduct on that occasion. He was also nominated a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on the 26th of December following. Having returned from India in 1835, Major-General Sir Samuel Ford Whittingham was appointed to the command of the forces in the Windward and Leeward Islands in 1836. On the 28th of March 1838, he Avas appointed colonel of the Seventy- first Regiment, and on the 28th of June following Avas advanced to the rank of lieut.-general. He Avas per mitted to resign the Windward and Leeward command in 1839, in order to undertake the command-in-chief at Madras, receiving at the same time from General Lord Hill, then commanding-in-chief, a flattering testimonial of his services while in the West Indies. Lieut.-General Sir Samuel Ford Whittingham arrived at Madras on the 1st of August 1840, where he continued until the 19th of January 1841, the date of his decease. Sir Thomas Reynell, Bart., K.C.B. Appointed 15th March 1841. This distinguished officer commenced his military career as an ensign in the thirty-eighth regiment, his commission being dated the 30th of September 1793. He joined the regiment in January 1794 at Belfast, and in April proceeded with it to Flanders, where it formed part of the army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of York. On arrival at the seat of war, the thirty-eighth regiment was ordered to join the corps under the Austrian General Count Clerfait, who commanded the troops in West Flanders, and it was attached to the division under Major-General Hammerstein, together with the eighth light dragoons and twelfth foot. Ensign Reynell was present in the action on the heights of Lincelles on the 18th of May, and at the battle of Hoglade on the K3th of June 1794. He afterwards served with the I 3 134 SEVENTY-FIRST HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. army under the Duke of York, and was in Nimeguen when that town was besieged. On the 3d of December following, when cantoned between the rivers Rhine and the Waal,. he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the thirty-eighth regiment. Lieutenant Reynell served during the winter campaign of 1795, and retreat through Westphalia to the Weser, and there embarked for England. He accompanied the thirty-eighth regiment to the West Indies in May 1796, and was present at the capture of the island of Trinidad in the early part of 1797. On the 22d of July 1797 he was promoted to a company in the second West India regiment, and joined that corps at Grenada. Captain Reynell quitted Grenada early in 1798, in conse quence of being appointed assistant adjutant-general at St. Domingo, where he remained until that island was evacuated by the British in September, when he returned to England. In the beginning of 1 799 he revisited St. Domingo, as one of the suite of Brigadier-General the Honorable Thomas Maitland, then employed in framing a commercial treaty with the negro chief Toussaint L'Ouverture, who had risen to the supreme authority at St.Domingo. When it was concluded, Captain Reynell returned to England in July of the same year. On the 8th of August 1799 Captain Reynell was trans ferred to a company in the fortieth regiment, with the first battalion of which he embarked for the Helder in that month, and joined the army, which was at first commanded by. Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, and afterwards by the Duke of York. Captain Reynell was present in the action of the 10th of September ; also in the battle of the 19th of September, when he Avas the only captain of the first battalion of the fortieth regiment that was not killed or wounded ; he. was,, also present in the subsequent battles of the 2d and 6th of October. , Captain Reynell, upon the British army being withdrawn from Holland, re-embarked with the first battalion, of the fortieth regiment, and arrived in England in. November 1799. In April 1800 Captain Reynell, embarked with his regi ment for the Mediterranean, and wpnt in the first instance to Minorca, afterwards to Leghorn; returned to Minorca, and proceeded with a large force under Lieut.- 28th „ - 1st 32d „ - 1st 33 36th „ - 1st S> " 38th „ - 1st S» 42d „ - 1st _ 43d „ - 1st 33 43d „ - 2d 33 " 50th „ - 1st 33 51st „ - - 52d „ - 1st 33 52d „ - 2d 33 — 59th „ - 2d ,3 — 60th „ - 2d 33 60th „ - 5th 33 71st „ - 1st 33 m 76th „ - 1st 79th „ - 1st 33 81st „ - 2d 82d „ - - - 91st „ - 1st 33 m 92d „ - 1st 33 m • 95th (Rifle Reg.) 1st 33 2d Staff Corps Detachment . 1st Light Batt. King's German Legion. 2d 166 APPENDIX. BRITISH AND HANOVERIAN ARMY AT WATERLOO asformedin Divisions and Brigades on the 18th of June 1815. CAVALRY. Commanded by Lieut.-General the Earl of Uxbridge, G.C.B. 1st Brigade.— Commanded by Major-General Lord Edward Somerset, K.C.B. 1st Life Guards 2d Royal Horse Guards, Blue. 1st Dragoon Guards. Lieut.-Colonel Ferrior. „ theHon.E.P.Lygon. „ Sir Robert Hill. „ Fuller (Colonel). 2d Brigade.— Major-General Sir William Ponsonby, K.C.B. 1st or Royal Dragoons. 2d or Royal North British Dra- Lieut.-Colonel A. B. Clifton. „ J. J. Hamilton. gUUIIO. 6th or Inniskilling Dragoons. „ J. Muter (Colonel). 3d Brigade.— Major-General W. B. Domberg. 23d Light Dragoons. 1st „ King's Ger- manLegion. 2d Lt.-Colonel the Earl of Portar- lington (Colonel). „ J. Bulow. C. de Jonquiera. 4th Brigade.— Major-General Sir John 0. Vandeleur, K.C.B. 11th Light Dragoons. 12th 16th „ Lieut.-Colonel J.W. Sleigh. „ the Hon. F. C. Pon sonby (Colonel). „ J. Hay. 5th Brigade. — Major-General Sir Colquhoun Grant, K.C.B. 7th Hussars. 15th 2d „ King's German Le- gion. 6th Brigade. — Major-General Sir Hussey Vivian, K.C.B. 10th Royal Hussars. 18th Hussars. 1st „ King's German Le gion. 7th Brigade.— Colonel Sir Frederick Arenschildt, K.C.B Colonel Sir Edward Kerrison. Lieut.-Colonel L. C. Dalrymple. „ Linsingen. Lt.-Colonel Quentin (Colonel). „ Hon. H. Murray. „ A. Wissell. 13th Light Dragoons. 3d Hussars, King's German Legion. Colonel Estorff Lieut.-Colonel Doherty. „ Meyer. Prince Regent's Hussars. Bremen and-Verden Hussars. Lieut.-Colonel Kielmansegge. Colonel Busche. APPENDIX. 167 INFANTRY. First Division. — Major-General G. Cooke. 1st Brigade. — Major-General P. Maitland. 1st Foot Guards, 2d Battalion. I Major H. Askew (Colonel). 3d „ | „ theHon.W.Stewart(Col.) 2d Brigade. — Major-General J. Byng. Coldstream Guard, 2d Battalion. I Major A. G. Woodford (Colonel). 3d Foot Guards. | „ F. Hepburn (Colonel). Second Division. — Lieut.-General Sir H. Clinton, G.C.B 3d Brigade. — Major-General Frederick Adam. 52d Foot, 1st Battalion. Rifles. Lieut.-Colonel Sir Jno.Colhorne, K.C.B. (Colonel). T. Reynell (Col.) Major J. Ross (Lieut.-Colonel). Major A. G. Norcott (Lieut.-Col.) 71st „ 95th „ 2d „ six companies. 95th „ 3d „ two companies. Is* Brigade. — King's German Legion. — Colonel Du Plat. 1st Line Battalion, King's Ger man Legion. 2d 3d „ „ 4th Major W. Robertson. „ G. Muller. Lieut.-Colonel F. de Wissell. Major F. Reh. 3c? Hanoverian Brigade. — Colonel Hugh Halkett. Militia Battalion, Bremervorde. Duke of York's 2d Battalion. >, 3d „ Militia Battalion, Salzgitter. Lieut.-Colonel Schulenberg. Major Count Munster. „ Baron Hunefeld. Haimnerstein. Third Division. — Lieut.-General Baron Alten. 5th Brigade. — Major-General Sir Colin Halkett, K.C.B. 30th Foot, 2d Battalion, 33d „ 69th „ 2d Battalion. 73d „ 2d Battalion. Major W. Bailey (Lieut.-Col.) Lieut.-Col. W. K. Elphinstone. C. Morice (Col.) W. G. Harris (Col.) 2d Brigade. — King's German Legion. — Colonel Baron Ompteda. 1st Light Battalion, K.G.L. 2d 5th Line „ „ 8th „ „ Lieut.-Colonel L. Bussche. Major G. Baring. Lieut.-Colonel W. B. Linsengen. Major Schroeder (Lieut.-Col.) 168 APPENDIX. 1st Hanoverian Brigade. — Major-General Count Kielmansegge. Major BuIqw. Lieut.-Colonel Wurmb. „ Langrehr. ,; Kleucke. -Major De Senkopp. Duke of York's 1st Battalion. Field Battalion, Grubenhagen. „ Bremen. „ Luneburg. ,, Verden. Fourth Division 14th Foot, 3d Battalion. 23d ,, 1st „ 51st Lieut.-General Sir Charles Colville, K.C.B. 4th Brigade.— Colonel Mitchell. Major F. S. Tidy (Lieut.-Col.) Lieut.-Colonel Sir Henry W. Ellis, K.C.B. H. Mitchell (Colonel). 6th Brigade.— Major-General Johnstone. 35th Foot, 2d Battalion, 54th „ 69th „ 2d Battalion, 91st „ 1st „ Major C. M'Alister. Lt.-Col. J. Earl of Waldegrave, „ H. Austin. SirW. Douglas, K.C.B. (Colonel). 6th Hanoverian Brigade.— Major-General Lyon. Field Battalion, Calenberg. „ Lanenberg. Militia Battalion, Hoya.Nieuberg. „ Bentheim. Lieut.-Col. Benort. „ Grote. Major Croupp. Fifth Division. — Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Picton, K.C.B. 5th Brigade. — Major-General Sir James Kempt, K.C.B. Major R. Nixon (Lieut.-Col.). „ J. Hicks (Lieut.-Col.). Lieut.-Col. Neil Douglas. „ Sir A. F. Barnard, K.C.B. (Colonel). 9th Brigade. — Major-General Sir Denis Pack, K.C.B. Major C. Campbell. Lieut.-Col. Sir Robert Macara, K.C. B. „ J. M. Hamerton. Major Donald McDonald. 28th Foot, 1st Battalion, 32d „ 79th „ 95th Rifles 1st Foot, 3d Battalion. 42d „ 1st „ 44th 92d 2d 1st 5th Hanoverian Brigade. — Colonel Vincke. Militia Battalion, Hameln. „ Hildesheim. „ Peina. Giffhorn. Lieut.-Colonel Kleucke. Major Rheden. Major Westphalen. Major Hammerstein. APPENDIX. 196 Sixth Division.— 10th Brigade,— Major-General J. Lambert. 4th Foot, 1st Battalion. 27th „ 40th. „ 81st „ 2d „ Lieut.-Colonel F. Brooke. Captain Sir J. Reade (Major). Major F. Browne. „ P. Waterhouse. 4th Hanoverian Brigade. — Colonel Best. Militia Battalion, Luneburg. Verden. Osterode. Minden. Lieut.-Colonel De Ramdohr. Major Decken. „ Baron Reden. „ De Schmidt. 7th Brigade.— Major-General M'Kenzie. 25th Foot, 2d Battalion. 37th „ „ 78th „ Lieut.-Colonel A. W. Light. S. Hart. „ M. Lindsay. Cavalry Infantry Artillery 8,883 29,622 5,434 Total 43,939 LONDON : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, Printers to the Queen's most Excellent Majesty. For Her Majesty's Stationery Office.