Chapter I: Part 1

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.

A superscript is denoted by ^{x}, for example Esq^{re}.

Basic fractions are displayed as ½ ⅓ ¼ etc; other fractions are shown
in the form a/b, for example 1/10 or 2-1/25.

Some minor changes are noted at the end of the book.

BY COMMAND OF His late Majesty WILLIAM THE IV^{TH}.
_and under the Patronage of_
Her Majesty the Queen.

HISTORICAL RECORDS,
_OF THE_
British Army

_Comprising the_
_History of every Regiment_
_IN HER MAJESTY'S SERVICE_.

_By Richard Cannon Esq^{re}._

_Adjutant General's Office, Horse Guards._

London.

_Printed by Authority._]

GENERAL ORDERS.

_HORSE-GUARDS_,
_1st January, 1836_.

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

---- The Period and Circumstances of the Original Formation of
the Regiment; The Stations at which it has been from time to time
employed; The Battles, Sieges, and other Military Operations,
in which it has been engaged, particularly specifying any
Achievement it may have performed, and the Colours, Trophies,
&c., it may have captured from the Enemy.

---- The Names of the Officers and the number of Non-Commissioned
Officers and Privates, Killed or Wounded by the Enemy, specifying
the Place and Date of the Action.

---- The Names of those Officers, who, in consideration of their
Gallant Services and Meritorious Conduct in Engagements with the
Enemy, have been distinguished with Titles, Medals, or other
Marks of His Majesty's gracious favour.

---- The Names of all such Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers
and Privates as may have specially signalized themselves in
Action.

And,

---- The Badges and Devices which the Regiment may have been
permitted to bear, and the Causes on account of which such Badges
or Devices, or any other Marks of Distinction, have been granted.

By Command of the Right Honourable
GENERAL LORD HILL,
_Commanding-in-Chief_.

JOHN MACDONALD,
_Adjutant-General_.

PREFACE.

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

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

The operations of the British Troops are, indeed, announced in the 'London Gazette,' from whence they are transferred into the public prints: the achievements of our armies are thus made known at the time of their occurrence, and receive the tribute of praise and admiration to which they are entitled. On extraordinary occasions, the Houses of Parliament have been in the habit of conferring on the Commanders, and the Officers and Troops acting under their orders, expressions of approbation and of thanks for their skill and bravery, and these testimonials, confirmed by the high honour of their Sovereign's Approbation, constitute the reward which the soldier most highly prizes.

It has not, however, until late years, been the practice (which appears to have long prevailed in some of the Continental armies) for British Regiments to keep regular records of their services and achievements. Hence some difficulty has been experienced in obtaining, particularly from the old Regiments, an authentic account of their origin and subsequent services.

This defect will now be remedied, in consequence of His Majesty having been pleased to command, that every Regiment shall in future keep a full and ample record of its services at home and abroad.

From the materials thus collected, the country will henceforth derive information as to the difficulties and privations which chequer the career of those who embrace the military profession. In Great Britain, where so large a number of persons are devoted to the active concerns of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and where these pursuits have, for so long a period, been undisturbed by the _presence of war_, which few other countries have escaped, comparatively little is known of the vicissitudes of active service, and of the casualties of climate, to which, even during peace, the British Troops are exposed in every part of the globe, with little or no interval of repose.

In their tranquil enjoyment of the blessings which the country derives from the industry and the enterprise of the agriculturist and the trader, its happy inhabitants may be supposed not often to reflect on the perilous duties of the soldier and the sailor,--on their sufferings,--and on the sacrifice of valuable life, by which so many national benefits are obtained and preserved.

The conduct of the British Troops, their valour, and endurance, have shone conspicuously under great and trying difficulties; and their character has been established in Continental warfare by the irresistible spirit with which they have effected debarkations in spite of the most formidable opposition, and by the gallantry and steadiness with which they have maintained their advantages against superior numbers.

In the official Reports made by the respective Commanders, ample justice has generally been done to the gallant exertions of the Corps employed; but the details of their services, and of acts of individual bravery, can only be fully given in the Annals of the various Regiments.

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

There exists in the breasts of most of those who have served, or are serving, in the Army, an _Esprit de Corps_--an attachment to every thing belonging to their Regiment; to such persons a narrative of the services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove interesting. Authentic accounts of the actions of the great,--the valiant,--the loyal, have always been of paramount interest with a brave and civilised people. Great Britain has produced a race of heroes who, in moments of danger and terror, have stood, "firm as the rocks of their native shore;" and when half the World has been arrayed against them, they have fought the battles of their Country with unshaken fortitude. It is presumed that a record of achievements in war,--victories so complete and surprising, gained by our countrymen,--our brothers--our fellow-citizens in arms,--a record which revives the memory of the brave, and brings their gallant deeds before us, will certainly prove acceptable to the public.

Biographical memoirs of the Colonels and other distinguished Officers, will be introduced in the Records of their respective Regiments, and the Honorary Distinctions which have, from time to time, been conferred upon each Regiment, as testifying the value and importance of its services, will be faithfully set forth.

As a convenient mode of Publication, the Record of each Regiment will be printed in a distinct number, so that when the whole shall be completed, the Parts may be bound up in numerical succession.

INTRODUCTION

TO

THE INFANTRY.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1838.

FOOTNOTES:

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

__|
| |
|__|
|
20 20 20 30 2|0 30 20 20 20

Harquebuses. Muskets. Halberds. Muskets. Harquebuses.
Archers. Pikes. Pikes. Archers.

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

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

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

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

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

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

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE FOURTH,

OR THE

KING'S OWN, REGIMENT OF FOOT:

CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF

THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT IN 1680,

AND OF

ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
TO 1839.

_ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES._

PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN, ORME, AND CO.,
PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON;
AND BY W. CLOWES AND SONS,
_14, Charing Cross_;

AND TO BE HAD OF ALL BOOKSELLERS.

1839.

HISTORICAL RECORDS

OF THE

BRITISH ARMY.

PREPARED FOR PUBLICATION UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE
ADJUTANT-GENERAL.

THE FOURTH,

OR

THE KING'S OWN, REGIMENT OF FOOT.

LONDON:
Printed by WILLIAM CLOWES and SONS,
14, Charing Cross.

THE

FOURTH,

OR

THE KING'S OWN, REGIMENT OF FOOT,

BEARS ON ITS COLOURS, AS A REGIMENTAL BADGE,

_THE LION OF ENGLAND_;

WITH THE FOLLOWING INSCRIPTIONS,

"CORUNNA," "BADAJOZ," "SALAMANCA,"
"VITTORIA," "ST. SEBASTIAN,"
"NIVE," "PENINSULA," "BLADENSBURG,"
"WATERLOO."

CONTENTS.

Anno Page

1680 The origin of the regiment 1

---- Designated the _Second Tangier Regiment_ 3

---- Embarks for Tangier in Africa 5

1684 Returns to England 7

---- Designated _Her Royal Highness the Duchess
of York and Albany's regiment_ --

1685 Styled _The Queen's regiment_ 8

---- Battle of Sedgemoor 9

---- Twelve new colours presented to the regiment 10

1688 The Revolution 12

1690 Embarks for Ireland 15

---- Battle of the Boyne --

---- Returns to England 16

---- Embarks with the forces under the Earl of Marlborough
for Ireland 17

---- Sieges of Cork and Kinsale --

1691 Siege of Limerick 18

---- Returns to England 19

1692 Embarks for the Netherlands --

---- Battle of Steenkirk --

1693 Relief of Furnes 20

---- Battle of Landen 21

1694 Covering the siege of Huy 22

1695 Siege of Namur 23

1696 Returns to England 25

1697 Embarks for the Netherlands 26

---- Returns to England --

1702 Expedition to Cadiz and destruction of the French
and Spanish shipping at Vigo 28

1703 Constituted a corps of _Marines_ 30

1703 Embarks on board the fleet 32

1704 Attempt on Barcelona --

---- Capture of Gibraltar 33

---- Defence of Gibraltar 34

1709} Returns to England 38
1710}

1711 Ceases to be a corps of _Marines_ --

---- Expedition to Canada --

1715 Obtains the title of _The King's Own_ 41

1725 Proceeds to Scotland 43

1731 Returns to England --

1736 Proceeds to Scotland --

1737 Returns to England --

1744 Embarks for the Netherlands 44

1745 Returns to England --

---- Marches to Scotland --

1746 Battle of Falkirk 45

---- --------- Culloden 46

1747 Returns to England 48

1751 Colours, and regimental distinctions --

1754 Embarks for Minorca 49

1756 Defence of Fort St. Philip 50

---- Returns to England, and augmented to two battalions 53

1758 The second battalion constituted the sixty-second
regiment --

---- Embarks for the West Indies --

1759 Attack on Martinico --

---- Capture of Guadaloupe 54

1761 ---------- Dominico 57

1762 ---------- Martinico 58

---- ---------- Grenada, St. Vincent, and St. Lucie 59

---- ---------- The Havannah --

1764 Returns to England 60

1768 Proceeds to Scotland --

1773 Returns to England 60

1774 Embarks for North America --

1775 Actions at Concord and Lexington 62

---- Battle of Bunkers Hill 64

1776 Proceeds to Nova Scotia 65

---- ----------- Staten Island --

---- Capture of Long Island --

---- Proceeds to New York 66

---- Skirmishes at Pell's Point and White Plains --

---- Capture of Fort Washington 67

1777 Expedition to Danbury --

---- -------- against Philadelphia 69

---- Action at Chad's Ford --

---- --------- Germantown 70

---- --------- White Marsh 71

1778 Retreat to New York 72

---- Proceeds to the West Indies --

---- Capture of St. Lucie 73

1780 Returns to England 74

---- Proceeds to Ireland --

1787 Embarks for Nova Scotia --

1793 Capture of Miquelon and St. Pierre 75

1794 Proceeds to Lower Canada --

1797 Returns to England--One transport captured by
a French privateer 76

1799 Augmented to three battalions --

---- Embarks for Holland 77

---- Battle of Egmont-op-Zee 78

---- Returns to England 79

1802 Second and third battalions disbanded --

1803 Preparations to repel the French invasion 80

1804 A second battalion added to the regiment 88

1805 Embarks for Hanover 89

1806 Returns to England 90

1807 Expedition to Copenhagen --

---- Returns to England 91

1808 Embarks for Sweden 91

---- Returns to England --

---- Proceeds to Portugal 92

---- Advances into Spain --

---- Retreats to the coast --

1809 Battle of Corunna 93

---- Returns to England 94

---- Expedition to Walcheren 95

1810 Second battalion proceeds to Gibraltar --

---- First battalion proceeds to Portugal 96

---- Lines of Torres Vedras --

1811 Battle of Sabugal --

---- Skirmish near Barba del Puerco 97

1812 Covering the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo 98

---- Storming of Badajoz 99

---- Battle of Salamanca 105

---- Siege of Burgos 106

---- Skirmish near the Carion --

1813 Battle of Vittoria 108

---- Siege of St. Sebastian 109

---- Passage of the Bidassoa 112

---- Battle of the Nivelle 113

---- ------------- Nive --

1814 Blockade of Bayonne 114

---- Embarks for the West Indies 116

---- Expedition to the Chesapeake 117

---- Battle of Bladensburg 118

---- Capture of Washington 119

---- Expedition against Baltimore 121

---- Battle of Godly Wood --

---- Returns to the West Indies 123

---- Expedition against New Orleans 124

1815 Capture of Fort Bowyer 128

---- Returns to England --

1815 Embarks for Flanders 129

---- Battle of Waterloo --

---- Advances to Paris 130

---- Second battalion disbanded 131

1816 Forms part of the army of occupation in France --

1818 Returns to England 133

1819 Embarks for the West Indies --

1826 Returns to England 137

---- Embarks for Portugal 138

1828 Returns to England 139

---- Proceeds to Scotland --

1829 Embarks for Ireland --

1830 Returns to England --

1831} Embarks by detachments for New South Wales 140
1832}

1837} -------------------------- the East Indies --
1838}

1839 The Conclusion --

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS.

Anno Page

1680 Charles Earl of Plymouth 142

---- Piercy Kirke --

1682 Charles Trelawny 144

1688 Sir Charles Orby 146

---- Charles Trelawny --

1692 Henry Trelawny --

1702 William Seymour --

1717 Hon. Henry Berkeley 147

1719 Charles Cadogan --

1734 William Barrell 148

1749 Robert Rich --

1756 Alexander Duroure --

1765 Hon. Robert Brudenell 149

1768 Studholme Hodgson --

1782 John Burgoyne 150

1792 George Morrison 151

1799 John Earl of Chatham 152

1835 John Hodgson --

LIST OF PLATES.

The Regimental Colours to follow the Regimental title page.

The landing at Gibraltar, to face page 34

Fourth (or King's Own) Regiment of Foot, to face page 141

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE FOURTH,

OR

THE KING'S OWN, REGIMENT OF FOOT.

[Sidenote: 1680]

The city of TANGIER on the coast of the kingdom of Fez, in Africa, having been ceded in 1661, by Portugal, to King Charles II., as part of the marriage portion of the Infanta, Donna Catherina, this fortress, with a portion of the adjoining territory, had constituted a part of the possessions of the British crown for a period of nearly twenty years, when circumstances occurred, which gave rise to the formation of the REGIMENT which is the subject of this memoir, for service in that part of His Majesty's dominions.

This ancient and renowned city had been successively in the power of the Phœnicians, Romans, Vandals, Saracens, Portuguese, and Spaniards, and it had been the scene of armed contentions and sanguinary wars, in remote ages as well as in modern times. It had formerly been celebrated as one of the most splendid cities in that quarter of the world, but had fallen from its ancient power and magnificence; and when it came into the possession of the British crown, fragments of ruins were all that remained to indicate its former grandeur. It had been much strengthened and improved by the English after their possession of it; detached forts had been constructed, and large sums of money had been granted by the parliament for improving the harbour and enlarging the defences. Much opposition had, however, been met with from the native chiefs, who availed themselves of all the means within their power for exterminating the Christian occupants of this part of Africa. The garrison had already resisted many attempts of its daring and inveterate enemies, particularly in the time of Gaylan, the usurper of Fez; but in 1680 the city was besieged by an immense force, and the Moors had the advantage of having several European renegades in their army, by whom they had been taught the art of mining and of carrying on approaches under ground. Not only the national honour and the credit of His Majesty's arms were concerned in the preservation of this fortress, but, in the event of its capture by the Moors, the Levant trade was likely to suffer some interruption from its harbour becoming the resort of pirates.

King Charles II., therefore, sent thither a battalion of foot guards and sixteen companies of Dumbarton's regiment, (now first royals,) and issued, in July, 1680, warrants for raising six independent troops of horse and a regiment of foot, to augment the garrison, and to enable it to chase from under the walls the native forces by which it was menaced.

The first troop of horse was raised by Major-General the Earl of Ossory, who was nominated governor of His Majesty's possessions in Africa; and the others by Lieut.-Colonel Sir John Lanier, and Captains Robert Pulteney, John Coy, Charles Nedby, and Thomas Langston.

The regiment of foot was ordered to consist of sixteen companies of sixty-five private men each, besides officers and non-commissioned officers; and the colonelcy was conferred on CHARLES FITZ-CHARLES, EARL OF PLYMOUTH, a daring aspirant to military fame, who had already distinguished himself against the Moors in the character of a volunteer, and was serving at TANGIER at the time the regiment was raised.

The royal authority for raising this regiment was given on the 13th of July, 1680, and the sixteen companies of which it was composed, were raised by the following officers; Lieut.-Colonel Piercy Kirke,[6] Major Charles Trelawny, and Captains Zachariah Tiffin, Henry Trelawny, Edward Hastings, Charles Fox, Edward Griffin, John Strode, Edward Saville, Roger Pope, Walter Fitzgerard, John Grimes, Robert Ansley, Arthur Cheffors, and John Southcote, and the captain-lieutenant of the colonel's company. Eight companies were raised in London and in its vicinity under the immediate superintendence of Lieut.-Colonel Kirke, and had their general rendezvous in Clerkenwell; and the other eight companies were raised in the west of England, with their general rendezvous at Plymouth, under the superintendence of Major Trelawny.

The corps thus raised obtained the title of the SECOND TANGIER REGIMENT,[7] and after serving the British crown in various parts of the world, through the eventful period of one hundred and fifty-eight years, it continues a distinguished corps, and bears the designation of the FOURTH, OR THE KING'S OWN, REGIMENT OF FOOT. Although the particulars of its origin and formation have been distinctly given, yet it was in some measure connected with another corps, of whose services a few words are introduced into this record.

On the breaking out of the war between England and Holland in the early part of 1672, a regiment of foot was raised, of which JAMES DUKE OF MONMOUTH was appointed colonel. This regiment was sent to France, and taken into the pay of Louis XIV.; it served during the campaigns of 1672 and 1673, under the Duke of Monmouth, in the Netherlands, and during the four succeeding years it served with the French army in Alsace and on the Rhine, together with Douglas's or Dumbarton's regiment, now first royals, Churchill's, and Hamilton's. In these campaigns MONMOUTH'S regiment distinguished itself on several occasions under Marshals Turenne, De Crequi, and Luxemburg. In 1678 it was ordered to return to England, and after the peace of Nimeguen it was disbanded.

When the EARL OF PLYMOUTH'S regiment was raised, many of the officers of MONMOUTH'S late regiment were appointed to commissions in this new corps, through whose influence many of the non-commissioned officers and soldiers, who had served in the Netherlands, France, and Germany, were induced to enter the same regiment. By these means, and by the aid of a few men from the _Holland regiment_, now third foot, or the buff's, the EARL OF PLYMOUTH'S, or SECOND TANGIER REGIMENT, was completed in numbers, equipped,[8] instructed in the simple exercises practised at the time, and ready to embark for foreign service in less than four months after the order for its being raised was issued.

The service for which these forces were raised being urgent, three of the troops of cavalry (Langston's, Nedby's, and Coy's) were provided with horses from the life guards and royal regiment of horse guards, and sailed as soon as possible; the EARL OF PLYMOUTH'S regiment also embarked with all possible expedition, and sailed in November.

In the mean time the garrison of TANGIER had overpowered the Moorish army in a sharp action under the walls, and a truce had been agreed upon for six months; and when information of this event arrived in England, the other three troops of horse (viz. Ossory's, Lanier's, and Pulteney's) were disbanded.

This truce was in operation when the EARL OF PLYMOUTH'S regiment arrived at TANGIER; and the officers and men learned that their colonel had died a few weeks previously of dysentery. He was succeeded in the colonelcy by the lieut.-colonel, PIERCY KIRKE, who was also appointed commander-in-chief of the garrison.

Shortly afterwards an ambassador from the court of Fez arrived, and made his public entry into the city of Tangier on the 2nd of December; his reception is thus described in the London Gazette:--"Colonel Kirke, our commander-in-chief, went out to meet him between eleven and twelve. Four troops of horse marched first;--after them fifty chosen grenadiers of the Earl of Dumbarton's regiment; then thirty gunners with their linstocks; followed by thirty negros in painted coats, with their brown-bills (a sort of battle-axe); and after these rid Colonel Kirke, surrounded with twenty gentlemen well mounted, and having six men of the tallest stature, with long fusils, on each side of his horse; in which order, having proceeded a good distance beyond Fountain Fort, the party of Moors, which was about two hundred horse with their lances, being now within musket shot of us, made a halt. The ambassador with about thirty persons advanced towards Colonel Kirke, who received him with those compliments which are customary. Colonel Kirke then went to make his salutations to the alcaid, Aley Benanbdala, vice roy of those countries, who remained at the head of the Moorish party; which being ended, the alcaid and the ambassador with each of their parties began a skirmish, it being their manner of rejoicing and expressing their satisfaction. Having shown their horsemanship and skill in managing their lances and fusils, they parted, the alcaid going off with his men, and the ambassador with his train proceeding with Colonel Kirke to the town; where all the regiments in garrison were formed up to augment the splendour of his public entry."

[Sidenote: 1681]

In the succeeding year Colonel Kirke proceeded on an embassy to the court of the vice-roy of Fez, and also to that of the Emperor of Morocco, and a treaty of peace between the English and Moors was concluded. A diary of Colonel Kirke's journey, with a description of his reception, and of the court of the African potentate, was published at the time, and appears more like an airy vision of the imagination, or a few pages from an eastern romance, than a narrative of facts.

[Sidenote: 1682]

After the decease of Sir Palmes Fairborne (who was killed in an engagement with the Moors on the 24th of September, 1680), Colonel Kirke was removed to the colonelcy of the first Tangier (now the second or queen's royal) regiment, and was succeeded by the lieut.-colonel, Charles Trelawny, by commission dated the 23d of April 1682.

The improved military system of the Moors, introduced by the employment of European renegades, having rendered it necessary to maintain a much stronger garrison at TANGIER than formerly, His Majesty brought the subject before parliament; but the people of England were more alarmed at the prospect of a popish successor to the throne than at the danger of losing this fortress, which they considered as an asylum for popish recusants, and consequently no further grant was voted.

[Sidenote: 1683]

A free intercourse had been established with the Moors, and a traffic by barter was carried on to the benefit of the town; but all the advantages expected to be derived from the possession of this fortress had not been realized, and King Charles II. was unwilling to bear, without any pecuniary aid from parliament, the expense of the fortifications and troops. He accordingly sent, towards the end of 1683, Admiral Lord Dartmouth with a fleet, to destroy the fortifications, and to bring away the British inhabitants and garrison.

[Sidenote: 1684]

The regiment arrived in England from Tangier in February, 1684, and was placed in garrison at Portsmouth, where it remained upwards of twelve months; and its establishment was reduced from sixteen to twelve companies.

In the autumn of this year His Majesty conferred upon the regiment the title of HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUCHESS OF YORK AND ALBANY'S REGIMENT. What its distinguishing colour, or _livery_ (which is now called _facing_), was on its formation, has not been ascertained; but in October of this year it was YELLOW. This appears to have been a favourite colour of the Duke of York, (afterwards James II.) as his troop of life guards had _yellow_ horse furniture, belts covered with _yellow_ velvet, _yellow_ ribands on the horses' heads and tails, and also _yellow_ ribands in the men's hats; and his marine regiment, called the Admiral's Regiment, was clothed in yellow.

The colours of the regiment were of _yellow_ silk, with the red cross of St. George bordered with white; the rays of the sun issuing from each angle of the cross, or; and Her Royal Highness's cypher in the centre.

[Sidenote: 1685]

On the 6th of February, 1685, King Charles II. died, and was succeeded by his brother, James Duke of York; and the Duchess of York having become Queen of England, this regiment was styled THE QUEEN'S REGIMENT OF FOOT: the first Tangier regiment had previously been styled the _Queen's_, and was now designated the _Queen Dowager's_ regiment.

The much dreaded event--the accession of a papist to the throne--had now occurred; but the minds of the people were partially set at ease by the King's declaration of his determination to maintain the protestant religion as by law established. This did not, however, prevent several rash adventurers from urging James Duke of Monmouth, to make an attempt to gain the throne. This nobleman was the illegitimate son of the late king,--was of prepossessing appearance and address,--a steady advocate for the protestant religion,--had gained a reputation for military virtues,--and had become a favourite with the people. Being urged to this enterprise by his desperate associates, he raised the standard of rebellion in the west of England in June, 1685; and, having been joined by a number of miners and other persons, proclaimed himself king.

THE QUEEN'S REGIMENT OF FOOT was reposing in quarters at Portsmouth and performing the duties of the garrison, when the news of Monmouth's rebellion produced an electric sensation throughout the country. The regular army was augmented; the militia was called out; and this regiment was ordered to recruit its numbers to one hundred men per company. Soon afterwards five companies, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Charles Churchill, were ordered to march in charge of a train of artillery, consisting of seven field-pieces, to join the army under the command of Lieut.-General the Earl of Feversham, which was assembling to oppose the rebels.

The five companies of the QUEEN'S REGIMENT having joined the other forces with the artillery, the army advanced to the village of Weston, and the infantry encamped on SEDGEMOOR, the two Tangier regiments taking the left of the line. The rebel army lay at Bridgewater, and during the night of the 5th of July the Duke of Monmouth advanced with the view of surprising the King's troops in their camp; but his approach was discovered, and the camp was alarmed by the cavalry out-guards. The rebels, however, rushed forward, and a fierce conflict of musketry ensued in the dark. The first attack was made against the royals on the right; and extending along the front to the left, the companies of the QUEEN'S REGIMENT became sharply engaged, and "performed good service." Soon after day-break the King's cavalry charged the flanks of the rebel army and put it into confusion. An entire rout ensued, and the insurgents were pursued across the moor and adjoining fields with great slaughter; many were taken prisoners; and their leader, the Duke of Monmouth, was captured two days afterwards near Ringwood, in Hampshire, and was removed to London, and beheaded.

After the suppression of the rebellion, the five companies of the QUEEN'S REGIMENT returned to Portsmouth: their conduct was highly approved by his Majesty, and soon afterwards the regiment was presented with a set of new colours--_one to each company_; and it continued to display TWELVE COLOURS for several years from that period. Two of the new colours were presented by the Queen, and the other ten by his Majesty: of the expense of the former no account has been met with; but some idea may be formed of the splendid appearance of these colours, from the fact that the ten presented by the King cost upwards of twenty pounds each.[9] A copy of the bill, amounting to £206 5_s._ 6_d._, is preserved in the official records in the War Office. A copy of the royal warrant, dated 21st of August, 1686, for the payment of this sum, is inserted below.[10]

During the summer ten companies of the regiment were ordered to proceed from Portsmouth to Taunton in Somersetshire, to attend the Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys, who was appointed by King James II. to try the prisoners taken at the battle of Sedgemoor, and a number of other persons who were charged either with being concerned in the rebellion, or with countenancing or aiding the ill-fated duke and his adherents. The narrative of the proceedings of the Lord Chief Justice, and of the painful duties which the troops who attended on him had to perform, forms one of the black pages of the history of this country; and the remorseless and sanguinary character of the judge has occasioned him to be held up to deserved execration. Colonel Kirke and his regiment have also been charged with acts of cruelty, although the accounts may have been exaggerated; but the conduct of the ten companies of the QUEEN'S REGIMENT escaped censure, as their services appear to have been limited to the guarding of prisoners, and the preserving of order at executions, which were so numerous that these were termed the BLOODY ASSIZES.

[Sidenote: 1686]

[Sidenote: 1687]

The QUEEN'S REGIMENT remained in extensive cantonments in the western counties until the spring of 1686, when it was ordered to march to Plymouth, where it passed the succeeding twelve months. It was withdrawn from Devonshire in March, 1687, and was stationed a short time at Salisbury and Wilton, from whence it marched to Hounslow in June of the same year, and pitched its tents on the heath. After having been twice reviewed by King James II., the regiment struck its tents on the 5th of August, and marched to Bristol, Bath, and Keynsham.

[Sidenote: 1688]

In the spring of 1688, the regiment proceeded to Portsmouth, and passed the summer months in that garrison; but in September it was ordered to march to London.

The short period during which King James II. had occupied the throne, had been pregnant with events of a most alarming character to the nation, and every evil which the people had feared would follow the accession of a popish prince to sovereign power, appeared on the eve of transpiring. The rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth had furnished the King with a pretext for augmenting the regular army, which he continued on a high establishment, and increased, from time to time, without the consent of parliament. The troops were embodied by the authority of the crown only, and were paid, either from the civil list, or by diverting moneys, intended for other objects, to that purpose; and the King even appeared to have formed the design of governing without parliaments, of rendering himself absolute, and of subverting the reformed religion. His Majesty's principal dependence for the success of his unconstitutional projects was placed in the devotedness of his troops; but his conduct disgusted the military as well as his other subjects; and the cheers of the soldiers on Hounslow Heath at the acquittal of the bishops, whom the King had imprisoned and brought to trial for opposing his measures, proved that he had entirely lost their sympathy, and could no longer trust to them for support.

The King's proceedings having filled the nation with alarm and consternation, the Prince of Orange, who was the King's nephew and son-in-law, and a zealous advocate for the Protestant interest, was solicited to come to England with a body of troops to assist the nobility and gentry in opposing the proceedings of the court. At the same time, many of the superior officers of the English army, who were most zealous for the welfare of the kingdom and the preservation of the reformed religion, seeing the danger to which the constitution in church and state was exposed, formed themselves into a secret association, and engaged not to fight in the cause of papacy and arbitrary power, but to further the objects of the Prince of Orange; and Brigadier-General Charles Trelawny, Colonel of the QUEEN'S regiment of foot, was one of the members of this association.

When the Prince of Orange had landed at Torbay (5th of November) the regiment proceeded by forced marches to Salisbury, and afterwards to Warminster, which was the most advanced post of the King's army, and was occupied by the third troop of life guards, the Queen's, and Major-General Werden's regiments of horse, the Queen's regiment of dragoons, with two battalions of the royals, and the Queen Dowager's and QUEEN CONSORT'S regiments of foot,[11] commanded by Major-General Kirke and Brigadier-Generals Trelawny and Maine.

The King arrived at Salisbury on the 20th of November, and on the 21st reviewed his forces stationed in and near that city; and a number of officers and soldiers having already deserted to the Prince of Orange, His Majesty addressed the troops on the subject, and gave liberty to all who were unwilling to serve him, to depart without molestation. This appeal to their loyalty was followed with such shouts and assurances of attachment, that the King's confidence, which had been much shaken, was in a great measure restored. On the following day His Majesty designed to have visited the advanced post at Warminster, but was prevented by a bleeding at the nose, to which he was constitutionally subject. The Duke of Berwick states in his memoirs,--"The King intended to go from Salisbury in my coach to visit the quarter commanded by Major-General Kirke; but was prevented by a prodigious bleeding of the nose, which seized him on a sudden, and it is said, that a scheme was laid and measures taken by Churchill and Kirke, to deliver up the King to the Prince of Orange; but this accident frustrated the design." Brigadier-General Trelawny is also charged with participating in this design; but no direct proof on the subject has been adduced by any historian.

The number of desertions increasing, the King ordered the army to retire towards London, when the cavalry was withdrawn from Warminster by Brigadier-General Maine of the third troop of life guards; and orders were sent to Major-General Kirke to march with the infantry to Devizes, but he refused, and was placed in arrest and sent under a guard to London. Brigadier-General Trelawny, expecting a similar fate, withdrew, with his lieut.-colonel, Charles Churchill, and about thirty non-commissioned officers and soldiers, and joined the Prince of Orange. The King sent Lieut.-General the Earl of Dumbarton to Warminster with two squadrons of horse, and he brought off the remaining officers and men of the four battalions without interruption.

After Brigadier-General Trelawny had joined the Prince of Orange, the King gave the colonelcy of the QUEEN'S regiment of foot to Sir Charles Orby from the commission of lieut.-colonel in the third troop of life guards. But His Majesty, finding the army, on which he had depended, would not be subservient to his designs, fled from London with the view of escaping to France; the Prince of Orange assumed the reins of government, and ordered the regiment to march to Hertford and Ware; and His Highness restored Brigadier-General Trelawny to the colonelcy, and promoted Lieut.-Colonel Charles Churchill to the command of the Holland regiment, now the third foot.

[Sidenote: 1689]

The regiment continued to occupy quarters in the south of England after the accession of William and Mary, and passed the winter of 1689 at Exeter.

[Sidenote: 1690]