Chapter D: General Orders

Horse Guards, 18th August, 1809.

The Commander-in-Chief has received the King's commands to notify to the Army the splendid victory obtained by His Troops in Spain, under the command of _Lieutenant-General the Right Honourable_ SIR ARTHUR WELLESLEY, on the 27th and 28th of last month, at the _Battle_ of TALAVERA DE LA REYNA.

His Majesty is confident that His Army will learn with becoming exultation that the enemy, after escaping by a precipitate retreat from the well-concerted attack with which SIR ARTHUR WELLESLEY, in conjunction with the Spanish Army, had threatened him on the 24th of July, concentrated his force, by calling to his aid the corps under the French General Sebastiani and the garrison of Madrid, and thus reinforced, again approached the Allied Army on the 27th of July; and on this occasion, owing to the local circumstances of its position, and to the deliberate purpose of the enemy to direct his whole efforts against the Troops of His Majesty, the British Army sustained nearly the whole weight of this great contest, and has acquired the glory of having vanquished a French army double their numbers, not in a short and partial struggle, but in a battle obstinately contested on two successive days, (not wholly discontinued even throughout the intervening night,) and fought under circumstances which brought both armies into close and repeated combat.

The King, in contemplating so glorious a display of the valour and prowess of His Troops, has been graciously pleased to command that his Royal approbation of the conduct of the Army serving under the command of _Lieutenant-General_ SIR ARTHUR WELLESLEY shall be thus publicly declared in General Orders.

The Commander-in-Chief has received the King's commands to signify in the most marked and special manner the sense His Majesty entertains of _Lieutenant-General_ SIR ARTHUR WELLESLEY'S personal services on this memorable occasion, not less displayed in the result of the battle itself than in the consummate ability, valour, and military resource with which the many difficulties of this arduous and protracted contest were met and provided for by his experience and judgment.

The conduct of _Lieutenant-General Sherbrooke_, second in command, has entitled him to the King's marked approbation. His Majesty has observed with satisfaction the manner in which he led on the Troops to the charge with the bayonet--a species of combat which, on all occasions, so well accords with the dauntless character of British soldiers.

His Majesty has noticed with the same gracious approbation the conduct of the several General and other Officers--all have done their duty; most of them have had occasions of eminently distinguishing themselves, the instances of which have not escaped His Majesty's attention.

It is His Majesty's command that His Royal approbation and thanks shall be given in the most distinct and most particular manner to the Non-Commissioned Officers and Private Men. In no instance have they displayed with greater lustre their native valour and characteristic energy; nor have they on any former occasion more decidedly proved their superiority over the inveterate enemy of their country.

Brilliant, however, as is the victory obtained at Talavera, it is not solely on that occasion that _Lieutenant-General_ SIR ARTHUR WELLESLEY and the Troops under his command, are entitled to His Majesty's applause. The important service effected in an early part of the campaign by the same Army, under the command of the same distinguished General, by the rapid march on the Douro, the passage of that river, the total discomfiture of the enemy, and his expulsion from the territory of one of His Majesty's ancient and most faithful Allies, are circumstances which have made a lasting impression on His Majesty's mind; and have induced His Majesty to direct, that the operations of this arduous and eventful campaign shall be thus recorded, as furnishing splendid examples of military skill, fortitude, perseverance, and of a spirit of enterprise calculated to produce emulation in every part of His Army, and largely to add to the renown and to the military character of the British nation.

By Order of the Right Honourable GENERAL SIR DAVID DUNDAS, Commander-in-Chief.

HARRY CALVERT,
Adjutant-General.

* * * * *

The following Regiments were engaged at the Battle of
TALAVERA DE LA REYNA, on the 27th and 28th July, 1809:
viz.

_Corps._ _Commanding Officers._

3d Dragoon Guards Lieut.-Col. Sir G. Calcraft
4th Dragoons Lieut.-Col. Lord E. Somerset
14th Light Dragoons Lieut.-Col. Hawker
16th ---- ---- Major Hon. L. Stanhope
23rd ---- ---- Lieut.-Col. Seymour
1st ---- ----, K. G. L. Lieut.-Col. Arentschild
Royal British Artillery Lieut.-Col. Framingham } Brig.-Gen.
" German ---- Major Hartineau } Howorth
" Engineers Lieut.-Col. Fletcher
" Staff Corps Major Dundas
Coldstream Guards, 1st battalion Lieut.-Col. Hulse
3d Guards, 1st battalion Colonel Stopford
3rd Foot Lieut.-Col. Muter
7th ---- 2nd battalion Lieut.-Col. Sir W. Myers
24th ---- 2nd ditto Lieut.-Col. Drummond
29th ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. White
31st ---- 2nd ditto Major Watson
40th ---- 1st ditto Major Thornton
45th ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Guard
48th ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Donellan
2nd ditto Lieut.-Col. Duckworth
53rd ---- 2nd ditto Lieut.-Col. Bingham
60th ---- 5th ditto Major Davy
61st ---- 1st ditto Colonel Saunders
66th ---- 2nd ditto Captain Kelly
83rd ---- 2nd ditto Lieut.-Col. Gordon
87th ---- 2nd ditto Major Gough
88th ---- 1st ditto Major Vandeleur
97th ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Lyon
1st Batt. of Detachments* Lieut.-Col. Bunbury, 3rd Foot
2nd ---- ---- --------* Lieut.-Col. Copson, 3rd Foot
1st and 2nd Light Batt. K. G. L.} Major Bodecker
1st Line Batt. }
2nd ---- ---- Lieut.-Col. Brauns
5th ---- ---- Captain Hummelberg
7th ---- ---- Major Burger

*_These two Battalions were formed on the 1st of February, 1809, and consisted of detachments which had been left in Portugal, belonging to the Regiments composing the division of the army, which had marched into Spain under the orders of Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore._

E.

ON REGIMENTAL COLOURS.

The English Regiments of Foot had formerly a Colour to every Company[37]. They were afterwards formed into _Three Divisions_ on the same principle as the Continental Armies, viz., _Two wings of Musketeers, and a Centre Division of Pikemen_. Each Division had a Stand of Colours, that it might act separately. The Swedish Infantry were formed in this manner, by _Gustavus Adolphus_, and were copied by Marshals de Turenne and Montecuculi.

This mode of formation was, however, changed during the reign of Queen Anne, when the general adoption of Bayonets took place, and, the Division of Pikemen being discontinued, the _Third Colour_ became unnecessary, and was consequently laid aside.

The Queen's Royal Regiment had originally a Colour to every Company, and after the year 1688 it had Three Stand of Colours, in common with other Regiments: it happened, however, that the Third Colour was retained in possession by the Queen's Royal until 1750, probably from the long absence of the Regiment on Foreign Service, it having embarked in 1730 for Gibraltar, where it remained until 1749.

A belief had thus been induced that the Queen's Royal Regiment had been permitted, AS A DISTINCTION, to carry Three Colours, as appears by a Letter from General Robert Donkin, who entered the Regiment as an Ensign in 1747, and served in it until 1759. He states,--"On our marching over Island Bridge into Dublin duty in 1750, the Third Colour was, by order of General Fowke (then Colonel of the Regiment), taken out of my hand, furled, and never flew since. The men grumbled exceedingly. I felt myself hurt at being deprived of an honour no other Corps then enjoyed."

With a view of establishing Uniformity throughout the Army in the Colours, Clothing, and Appointments of the several Regiments,--a Warrant, dated 1st July, 1751, was issued by King George II., for regulating the Clothing, Standards, Colours, &c., of Regiments of Cavalry and Infantry. By this Warrant it is directed that--

"The King's or FIRST Colour of every Regiment is to be the Great Union throughout;"--and that, "The SECOND Colour is to be the Colour of the Facing of the Regiment, with the Union in the Upper Canton."

At this period the Facing of the Queen's Royal Regiment was _Sea-Green_, which was the original Facing of the Corps.

It is further directed, in the same Warrant, under the head of "Devices and Badges of the Royal Regiments, and of the six old Corps," as follows:--

"SECOND REGIMENT, or, THE QUEEN'S ROYAL REGIMENT."

"In the Centre of each Colour, the QUEEN'S CYPHER on a red ground, within the Garter, and CROWN over it: in the Three Corners of the _Second_ Colour, the LAMB, being the ancient badge of the Regiment."

A subsequent Warrant was issued on the _19th December, 1768_, by Command of His Majesty King George III., prescribing "_Regulations for the Colours, Clothing, &c., of the Marching Regiments of Foot_." This Warrant contains the same directions as that of 1751 regarding "the _First_ and _Second_ Colours of Regiments," and "the Devices and Badges of the Royal Regiments and of the Six Old Corps." The Facing of the Queen's Royal Regiment was, at this period, changed from Green to _Blue_.

Neither of the Royal Warrants above mentioned contains any Authority for the Queen's Royal Regiment bearing a _Third_ Colour.

The foregoing Statement shows, therefore, that, although the _Third_ Colour so long remained in possession of the Queen's Royal Regiment, after other Regiments had laid it aside, it had been erroneously considered that this Regiment had a _peculiar privilege_ of carrying _Three_ Stand of Colours.

To correct this error, and to maintain uniformity throughout the Army, His Majesty has recently directed "that no Regiment shall, under any circumstances whatever, display a Third Colour;" and the following Letter, dated 14th August, 1835, has been addressed, by His Majesty's Special Command, to Lieutenant-General the Right Honourable Sir James Kempt, G.C.B., as Colonel of the Second, or Queen's Royal Regiment, by the Adjutant-General of the Forces, dated

_Horse Guards, 14th August, 1835._

SIR,

By desire of the General Commanding in Chief, I have the honour to make the following Communication to you, for your information and guidance; viz.:

The 5th Foot having, at Malta, preferred a Claim to the distinction of bearing a Third Stand of Colours, Major-General Sir Frederick Ponsonby referred the Case for Lord Hill's consideration, and his Lordship immediately submitted it to the King.

His Majesty at once disallowed this claim, and, at the same time, inquired whether a similar claim had been made and admitted in the case of any other Regiment.

Lord Hill mentioned the case of the Queen's Royal, and fully explained the grounds upon which the distinction of a Third Stand of Colours had, so recently, been conferred upon that Corps; when His Majesty was pleased to decide, that no Regiment in His Majesty's Service should be permitted to display a Third Colour, under any circumstances whatsoever,--and to command that His Majesty's said decision should be notified to you.

The King, however, expressed to Lord Hill His Majesty's earnest hope that you, and the Queen's Royal collectively, would regard this decision, not as a mark of His Majesty's forgetfulness of the uniformly high character of the Regiment, but solely as a proof of His Majesty's determination to establish uniformity in this (as in every other) respect throughout the Army.

His Majesty was graciously pleased to observe, that it was impossible for him to render more manifest the high estimation in which he held the character of the Queen's Royal, than by transferring an Officer of your reputation to the Colonelcy of it, from that of one of the most gallant and distinguished Regiments in the Service; viz., the 40th.

The King was further pleased to observe, that if it were wished upon your part, and upon the part of the Queen's Royal, that the Third Colour should be retained and preserved, His Majesty would not insist upon its being actually withdrawn; but, in making that observation, His Majesty expressly ordered, that on no account should the Third Colour ever be displayed in the Ranks of the Regiment.

Lastly, His Majesty was pleased to Command, that this Letter should be entered in the Regimental Record, as well as in the Standing Orders of the Queen's Royal.

I have, &c.,
JOHN MACDONALD, A. G.

* * * * *

_South-Street, 19th August, 1835._

SIR,

I have had the honour to receive your Letter of the 14th Instant, signifying to me, by desire of the General Commanding in Chief, that His Majesty has been pleased to decide, that no Regiment in His Majesty's Service shall be permitted to display a Third Colour under any circumstances whatsoever; and that, consequently, the Third Colour now in possession of the Queen's Royal shall not, from henceforth, be displayed in the Ranks of the Regiment.

I will, without delay, transmit a Copy of your Communication to the Officer Commanding the Queen's Royal in India, for his information and guidance, with Orders to enter the same in the Regimental Record, as well as in the Standing Orders of the Corps, in obedience to His Majesty's Commands; and I am persuaded, that the Officers and Men of the Queen's Royal, although thereby deprived of a distinction which the Regiment has for some time enjoyed, will, nevertheless, feel as I do, highly gratified by the very gracious terms in which His Majesty has been pleased to direct his decision upon the subject to be communicated to me.

I have, &c.,
(Signed) JAMES KEMPT.

_To the Adjutant-General._

* * * * *

N. B. In a printed description of the Colours of every Regiment, published in 1684, no mention is made of the Queen's Regiment having the privilege of carrying an additional Colour.

The following is an extract from D'Auvergne's History of the Campaign in Flanders in 1693, relating to the Battle of Landen:--

"'Tis certain that we have taken from them (the French) _Nineteen Colours_ and _Thirty-seven Standards_, which, considering the proportion of Forces, is more than they gained from us, particularly as to the _Number_ of _Colours_; for besides that the French had double our number of Foot, their Battalions never have but _Three_ Colours at the most in each;--our Brandenburg and Hanover Foot have as many _Colours_ as there are _Companies_ in every Battalion, insomuch that some Battalions have a dozen;--and, therefore, it is more for us in proportion to have taken _Nineteen_ Colours from them, than if they had taken _Fifty_ from us."

F.

MEMOIR OF SIR HENRY TORRENS.

The following Memoir of the services of Major-General Sir Henry Torrens is inserted, not only with the view of recording his merits as an officer, but of showing to the army and to the public one of the many instances in which the talents of an active and enterprising officer were duly noticed and rewarded by the King, and by His late Royal Highness the Duke of York, as well as by other illustrious commanders of the army:--

Sir Henry Torrens was born at Londonderry in 1779, and having
been educated at the military academy in Dublin, he was appointed
to an Ensigncy in the Fifty-second Regiment on the 2nd of
November, 1793, at the age of fourteen years; he was promoted
to a Lieutenancy in the Ninety-second Regiment on the 14th of
June, 1794; and on the 11th of December, 1795, was removed to the
Sixty-third Regiment, then under orders for the West Indies. At
the attack of Morne Fortuné in the island of St. Lucie, on the
1st of May, 1796, while serving with the army under Major-General
Sir Ralph Abercrombie, he was severely wounded in the right
thigh: after taking a prominent part in storming three French
redoubts, he was employed for the space of seven months at an
outpost in the woods against the Charibs: on the conquest of
those people he was promoted to a company in the Sixth West
India Regiment on the 28th of March, 1797. In 1798 he returned
to England, and was appointed Aide-de-camp to Lieutenant-General
Whitelocke, then acting as second in command under Earl Moira at
Portsmouth; in November of the same year he went to Portugal as
Aide-de-camp to General Cuyler, who commanded a body of auxiliary
troops, sent thither by the British government, to repel the
threatened invasion of that country by the Spaniards. While on
service at Lisbon, he was removed to the Twentieth Regiment,
on the 8th of August, 1799, and immediately relinquished the
advantages of his Staff situation in order to join his Regiment,
which was a part of the force then destined for the liberation
of the United Provinces from the yoke of France. Throughout the
short but arduous campaign in Holland, the Twentieth Regiment
distinguished itself on every occasion, particularly at the
battle of Alcmaar on the 2nd of October, 1799: on the retreat of
the British and Russian troops upon the two villages of Egmont,
and after a most severe conflict with the enemy from morning till
night of the 6th of October, Captain Torrens received a severe
wound from a musket-ball, which, passing through the right
thigh, entered the left, where it lodged so deeply as to baffle
all surgical efforts to extract it.

On the return of the troops from the Helder, in November, 1799,
Captain Torrens was promoted to a Majority in the Surrey Rangers,
which he joined and commanded in Nova Scotia. In 1801 he came
back to England, and exchanged, on the 4th of February, 1802,
to the Eighty-sixth Regiment, then serving in Egypt, to which
country it had come from India with a division of troops, under
the command of Major-General Sir David Baird. Major Torrens
lost no time in embarking for the Mediterranean: on his arrival
at Alexandria, he found that the object of the expedition had
completely succeeded, although attended with the melancholy
loss of his revered commander and steady friend, Sir Ralph
Abercrombie, who had been mortally wounded at the battle of
Alexandria. As the expulsion of the French rendered the presence
of a large force no longer necessary in Egypt, the auxiliary
troops from India returned across the desert, and embarking at
Cosseir, proceeded to Bombay. Soon after the arrival of the
troops from Egypt, hostilities broke out between the English
and the Mahrattas: in this contest Major Torrens again evinced
his natural courage and talents, and obtained the approbation
of the officers under whom he served: his health giving way
to the active exertions he had made in the execution of his
duty, and suffering under the effects of a _coup de soleil_,
he was compelled to have recourse to a change of climate, and
accordingly obtained leave to return to England. On arrival at
St. Helena, he found his state of health so far improved as
to induce him to forego his return to England, and to go back
to his regiment. While at St. Helena, he formed an attachment
to the daughter of Governor Patton, and was married. On his
return to India, he served under General Lord Lake, until the
conquest of Scindiah, the most formidable of the Mahratta Chiefs.
On the 1st of January, 1805, he was promoted to the brevet
rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and in the same year he returned
to Europe: after his arrival in England, he was employed as
Assistant Adjutant-General in the Kent District. He exchanged
from the Eighty-sixth to the Eighty-ninth Regiment on the 19th
of February, 1807, and in the same year he proceeded as Military
Secretary to Lieutenant-General Whitelocke, with the expedition
against the Spanish colonies on the Rio de la Plata, and was
present at the disastrous attack upon Buenos Ayres on the 5th of
July, 1807.

After his return to England, he was re-appointed an Assistant
Adjutant-General on the Staff of Great Britain, and subsequently
to be Assistant Military Secretary to His Royal Highness the
Duke of York, as Commander-in-Chief. In the month of July, 1808,
he embarked with the expedition for Portugal, under the orders
of Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, and was present at
the battles of _Roleia_ on the 17th of August, and of _Vimiera_
on the 21st of August, 1808, for which he received a medal
struck for the purpose of commemorating those victories, and of
distinguishing the officers engaged in them: he received also
from the Portuguese Regency the Chivalric Order of the Tower and
Sword. These victories led to the Convention of Cintra, and to
the consequent evacuation of Portugal by the French army under
Marshal Junot, Duke of Abrantes.

Lieutenant-Colonel Torrens returned to England with Sir Arthur
Wellesley about the end of the year 1808, and resumed his
former situation as Assistant Military Secretary to His Royal
Highness the Duke of York; he was promoted to be his Military
Secretary on the 2d of October, 1809. He was appointed from the
Eighty-ninth Regiment to a company in the Third Foot Guards on
the 13th of June, 1811, and Aide-de-camp to the Prince Regent,
with the rank of Colonel, on the 20th of February, 1812. He was
promoted to the rank of Major-General on the 4th of June, 1814,
and in the new arrangement and extension of the Military Order
of the Bath in 1815, he was enrolled in the honourable list of
Knights Commanders: he was appointed to the Colonelcy of the
Second Garrison Battalion on the 5th of April, 1815; removed
to the Royal African Colonial corps on the 27th of November,
1815, removed to the Second West India Regiment on the 21st of
September, 1818, and on the 26th of July, 1822, he was promoted
to the SECOND, or QUEEN'S ROYAL; on the 25th
of March, 1820, he was appointed from the situation of Military
Secretary to that of _Adjutant-General to the Forces_.

During the period of his employment as Military Secretary, in
which the most active operations of the late war took place,
the labours of his office were excessive, and his health became
affected; yet his exertions were never lessened, and after his
appointment as Adjutant-General, he undertook, with considerable
labour and zeal, the revision of the '_Regulations for the
Exercise and Field Movements of the Infantry of the Army_,' and,
with the authority of His Majesty King George IV., engrafted in
them the alterations and improvements which had been introduced
and practised by different Commanders during the late war.

The death of Sir Henry Torrens took place suddenly, on the 22d of
August, 1828, while on a visit to his friend Mr. Johnes Knight,
at Welwyn, Herts., where his remains were consigned privately to
a grave in the church of that parish.

FOOTNOTE:

[37] A warrant of King James II., dated 21st August, 1686, authorised the payment of £206 5_s._ 6_d._ for ten colours for the Queen's Regiment of Foot.--_War Office Records._

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

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
the text and consultation of external sources.

The Table on page 32 for the year '1707' had vertical column
headings which have been replaced by A, B, etc and a Key list added
at the top. A few words have been abbreviated to conserve space and
also noted in the list.

The Table on pages 74 to 77, Appendix A, has had some names of
months abbreviated (January => Jan. etc) to conserve space.

The acronym 'K. G. L.' in Appendices C and D stands for 'King's
German Legion'.

Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example,
re-inforce, reinforce; Horse-Guards, Horse Guards; connexion;
engrafted; intrenched; devotedness.

Pg 28, Sidenote '1703' appeared twice on this page; the second one
(at the paragraph 'For its conduct...') has been deleted.
Pg 67, 'reigment embarked' replaced by 'regiment embarked'.
Pg 83, 'recals to the' replaced by 'recalls to the'.
Pg 93, 'Aid-de-camp' replaced by 'Aide-de-camp' (twice).