Chapter II: Part 2

The reduction of the power and resources of Tippoo Saib, effected by the treaty of Seringapatam in 1792, had weakened, but not extinguished, the evils consequent on his inveterate hatred of the British. The Sultan had entered into a negociation with the Governor of the Isle of France in 1798, and sent an embassy to Zemaun Shah, sovereign of Cabool, for the purpose of exciting him to an attack on the British possessions. Having also derived encouragement from the successes of Napoleon Bonaparte in Egypt, from which country the French Directory intended to act against the British dominions in India, Tippoo commenced augmenting his military force, and his hostile designs became every day more apparent. The Governor-General the Earl of Mornington (afterwards the Marquis Wellesley), seeing a rupture inevitable, resolved to anticipate the attack, and ordered the British army to take the field, and march into the heart of the dominions of the Sultan Tippoo Saib.

[Sidenote: 1799]

In conformity to these orders, Major-General George (afterwards Lord) Harris, who was serving with the local rank of lieut.-general, advanced with the army under his command, on the 11th of February, 1799, and entered the Mysore territory on the 5th of March. The SEVENTY-THIRD formed part of the second brigade under Colonel John Coape Sherbroke, Lieut.-Colonel of the thirty-third regiment.

The army reached Mallavelly on the 27th of March, when on approaching the ground of encampment, the forces of Tippoo Sultan were discovered drawn up on a height at a few miles distance. The advanced piquets were attacked by the enemy, and a general action ensued. The enemy lost one thousand killed and wounded, and immediately retreated upon Seringapatam.

On the following day the army advanced, and arrived before Seringapatam on the 5th of April, when preparations for the siege were commenced.

On the 20th of April an attack was made on an entrenchment of the enemy, about six o’clock in the evening. Colonel Sherbroke, commanding the advanced posts, directed the attack. Three different columns were to advance at the same time from Macdonald’s post; one to the left, under Lieut.-Colonel Michael Monypenny, of the SEVENTY-THIRD, consisting of four companies of that regiment, and four of the Bengal volunteers, was to proceed along the bank of the river Cavery, and to turn the right flank of the enemy’s entrenched post. Another, to the right, consisting of the flank companies of the twelfth regiment, and two companies of Bengal volunteers, under Lieut.-Colonel Gardiner, was to move along Macdonald’s nullah, and to turn the enemy’s left. The centre column, composed of six companies of the SEVENTY-THIRD, and four of the Bengal volunteers, under Brevet Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable George St. John, (Major of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment), was directed to make a feint, which was to be converted into a real attack, should it be deemed expedient.

The three columns at dusk, advanced under a well-directed fire from the guns which commanded the entrenchment. The enemy’s resistance was unavailing, and the several attacks were completely successful. It was afterwards ascertained, that the enemy had two hundred and fifty men in killed and wounded, and it is remarkable, that although about eighteen hundred of Tippoo’s infantry occupied the entrenchment, the British, in this attack, had only one man wounded.[7]

The siege of Seringapatam was prosecuted with vigour. On the 26th of April, the SEVENTY-THIRD had Lieutenant James Todd wounded; and Lieutenant Archibald John Maclean was wounded on the following day. A breach being reported practicable on the 3rd of May, the assault was ordered, and the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment was selected to take part in this enterprise, which was ordered to be commenced in the heat of the following day, as the enemy’s troops would then be the least prepared to oppose the attack.

The assault took place about half-past one o’clock in the afternoon of the 4th of May, and the troops for this service, commanded by Major-General David Baird, were divided into two columns of attack. The SEVENTY-THIRD, with the seventy-fourth regiment, four European flank companies, fourteen Sepoy flank companies, with fifty artillerymen, formed the right column, under Colonel Sherbroke. Each column was preceded by one serjeant and twelve men, volunteers, supported by an advanced party of one subaltern and twenty-five men. A brigade of engineers, under Captain Caldwell, accompanied the storming party; Lieutenant James Farquhar, of the seventy-fourth, commanded the European pioneers, and Lieutenant John Lalor, of the SEVENTY-THIRD, both of whom had examined the ford, conducted the columns.

The attack was completely successful, and in a short space of time the British colours waved over the fortress. The body of Tippoo Sultan was found among heaps of slain, and was afterwards interred in the magnificent mausoleum which he had erected over the tomb of his father, the once powerful Hyder Ali; a portion of the victorious troops attended the ceremony.

In this manner terminated the siege of _Seringapatam_,[8] and the fall of this capital placed the kingdom of Mysore at the disposal of the British government, and extinguished a power in India which had proved itself a formidable enemy.

_Madeley lith. 3 Wellington S^t Strand_

_For Cannon’s Military Records._]

In the assault on the 4th of May, the SEVENTY-THIRD had Lieutenant John Lalor killed; Captain William McLeod, Lieutenant John Thomas, and Ensigns Henry Antill and John Guthrie, wounded.

During the siege the regiment sustained a loss of twenty-one killed, and ninety-nine wounded, including all ranks.

The SEVENTY-THIRD afterwards received the Royal authority to bear on the regimental colour and appointments, the word “SERINGAPATAM,” in commemoration of the distinguished gallantry displayed by the regiment in the storming and capture of that fortress.

In the General Orders issued on the 5th of May by Lieut.-General Harris, the gallantry of Lieut.-Colonel Michael Monypenny, and Brevet Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable George St. John, of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment, is particularly recorded.

In the General Orders issued by the Earl of Mornington (afterwards the Marquis Wellesley), dated Fort St. George, 15th May, 1799, it was stated:--

“The Right Honorable the Governor-General in Council having this day received from the Commander-in-Chief of the allied army in the field, the official detail of the glorious and decisive victory obtained at Seringapatam, on the 4th of May, offers his cordial thanks and sincere congratulations to the Commander-in-Chief, and to all the officers and men composing the gallant army which achieved the capture of the capital of Mysore on that memorable day.

“His Lordship views with admiration, the consummate judgment with which the assault was planned, the unequalled rapidity, animation, and skill with which it was executed, and the humanity which distinguished its success.

“Under the favour of Providence and the justice of our cause, the established character of the army had inspired an early confidence, that the war, in which we were engaged, would be brought to a speedy, prosperous, and honorable issue: but the events of the 4th of May, while they even surpassed the sanguine expectations of the Governor-General in Council, have raised the reputation of the British arms in India to a degree of splendour and glory, unrivalled in the military history of this quarter of the globe, and seldom approached in any part of the world.

“The lustre of the victory can be equalled only by the substantial advantages which it promises to establish, in restoring the peace and safety of the British possessions in India on a durable foundation of genuine security.”

Upon the division of the territory subject to the late Sultan Tippoo, Seringapatam, with several extensive districts, was allotted to the East India Company; another portion was given to the Nizam; and a third to the Mahratta power; the remainder continued to form an independent state under a descendant of the ancient Rajahs of Mysore. Thus was the hostile combination against England confounded, the British territory extended, and its power and revenue increased.

The SEVENTY-THIRD regiment remained encamped until November, 1799, when it was selected to garrison Seringapatam.

[Sidenote: 1800]

Major-General George Harris was appointed, from lieut.-colonel of the seventy-sixth, to the colonelcy of the SEVENTY-THIRD, on the 14th of February, 1800, in succession to Lieut.-General Gerard Lake, who was removed to the eightieth regiment.

The regiment remained at Seringapatam until May, 1800. The SEVENTY-THIRD, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Michael Monypenny, afterwards served with distinction against the Polygars, during which campaign great exertions were made, and losses sustained, of which no distinct record has been preserved.

[Sidenote: 1801]

In October, 1801, the regiment was removed from its encampment to Gooty.

[Sidenote: 1802]

The regiment remained at Gooty until December 1802, when it proceeded to Bellary.

[Sidenote: 1803]

In July, 1803, the regiment returned to Gooty, and in September following, it proceeded to Pondicherry, in the capture of which place it had participated in the year 1793.

[Sidenote: 1804]

The SEVENTY-THIRD remained at Pondicherry until September, 1804, when the regiment proceeded to Fort St. George, Madras, where it continued to be stationed during the remainder of the year.

[Sidenote: 1805]

On the 8th of September, 1805, the SEVENTY-THIRD embarked at Fort St. George, Madras, for England, after having transferred five hundred and twelve men to other regiments serving in India.

[Sidenote: 1806]

The regiment arrived in England in the beginning of July, 1806, and disembarked at Greenwich, where it was quartered until the middle of November, when, after discharging the men recommended to be invalided, the remainder proceeded to Scotland, on board of some Leith packets. Shortly after the disembarkation of the SEVENTY-THIRD at Leith, the head-quarters of the regiment proceeded to Stirling Castle, from whence recruiting parties were sent to all the towns in Scotland, and some to England and Ireland, as far as officers were disposable for that service.

[Sidenote: 1807]

In February, 1807, the regiment was ordered from Stirling Castle to Glasgow, as a better recruiting station; but not having proved as successful there as was expected, it was removed in May following to Perth, which, from being the town where the regiment was originally embodied, was expected to prove a better recruiting station.

In 1807 the regiment received new colours and accoutrements from Lieut.-General George Harris, and was newly armed and equipped in that year.

[Sidenote: 1808]

On the passing of the Act, in the year 1808, for permitting a certain number of the militia of the United Kingdom to volunteer their services to regiments of the line, the SEVENTY-THIRD received a very considerable augmentation of force by volunteers, particularly from the Irish militia. The number received from the Scotch regiments of militia, allotted for the SEVENTY-THIRD, was not at all in the same proportion, and the only English corps allotted to it was the Stafford militia, from which thirty-three men volunteered, a circumstance totally unexpected, from the dislike English soldiers were known to entertain to the Highland uniform.

In December, 1808, the regiment, being then about four hundred rank and file, received orders to proceed to England, to embark for New South Wales, and commenced its march from Perth on the 26th of that month.

On the order for the embarkation of the regiment for New South Wales, a second battalion was added to the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment, which was directed to be placed on the establishment of the army from the 24th of December, 1808. It was ordered to consist, in the first instance, of four companies. When these companies were completed to a hundred rank and file each, the battalion was to be augmented to six companies, and so on, in succession, until the establishment was increased to one thousand.

[Sidenote: 1809]

On the 13th of January, 1809, the regiment embarked at Leith on board of four packets, and the whole arrived in the course of that, and the beginning of the following month, at Gravesend, where the men were transhipped into two transports, and ordered round to Spithead. In March the regiment was landed at Cowes, in the Isle of Wight, marched to Newport, whence, after a few days, it was ordered to Colwell barracks.

A second volunteering from the militia took place in April, 1809, by which the SEVENTY-THIRD received a considerable increase of numbers, particularly from the Stafford, West Middlesex, and Durham regiments.

In April, 1809, officers and non-commissioned officers were detached to recruit for the second battalion, the head-quarters of which were fixed at Nottingham.[9]

It appearing that the Highland dress was an obstacle to the recruiting of the regiments wearing that costume, orders were issued, directing the SEVENTY-THIRD, and five other regiments, to discontinue that dress, and to adopt the uniform of other English regiments.[10]

While at Colwell barracks, sixty men, who had volunteered from veteran battalions to serve at New South Wales, were transferred to the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment, and were ordered to embark with the first battalion for that colony, which, by the addition of these men, and of the volunteers from the militia, was now upwards of eight hundred strong, and its establishment was fixed at ten companies, consisting of fifty-four serjeants, twenty-two drummers, and a thousand rank and file.

The first battalion embarked on the 8th of May, 1809, at Yarmouth, in the Isle of Wight, on board of His Majesty’s ships “Hindoostan” and “Dromedary,” and sailed from St. Helen’s on the 25th of that month. The fleet touched at Madeira, Port Praya, Rio Janeiro, and at the Cape of Good Hope, and anchored at Port Jackson, New South Wales, on the 28th of December.

[Sidenote: 1810]

The battalion landed at Sydney on the 1st of January, 1810, and detachments were sent out in the course of that, and the two following months, to the Derwent and Port Dalrymple, in Van Diemen’s Land; to Norfolk Island, and to Newcastle, whence Sydney, the capital of the colony, was supplied with coals, lime, and cedar wood, for buildings and making furniture.

[Sidenote: 1812]

The first battalion of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment having been considerably reinforced by volunteers from the hundred-and-second regiment (late New South Wales corps), which it relieved at New South Wales, and which was ordered home, its establishment was raised, in the year 1812, to twelve hundred rank and file, which included a veteran company formed from the veterans of the hundred-and-second regiment, and attached to the SEVENTY-THIRD, while the battalion continued to serve at New South Wales, and was, on its leaving that colony, transferred to the forty-sixth regiment.

[Sidenote: 1813]

[Sidenote: 1814]

About the end of the year 1813, an order arrived from England to embark the first battalion of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment for the island of Ceylon, and the first division, consisting of three companies, sailed from Port Jackson on board the ship “Earl Spencer,” hired for the passage, on the 24th of January, 1814. On the 24th of March two more divisions embarked on board the “General Hewitt” and “Windham,” and sailed from Port Jackson on the 5th of April; but the “Windham” being ordered to the Derwent to take on board the two companies stationed at Van Diemen’s Land, the “General Hewitt,” having the head-quarters and flank companies on board, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Maurice Charles O’Connell, after a very circuitous voyage round New Guinea, New Britain, and through the Molucca islands, arrived at Colombo, in Ceylon, on the 17th of August.

Prior to the embarkation of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment from New South Wales, Major-General Lachlan Macquarie,[11] commanding in New South Wales, stated in General Orders, dated 17th March, 1814, that--

“On the occasion of parting with the first battalion of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment His Excellency Major-General Macquarie, the Governor and Commander of the Forces in this territory, cannot fail to express the warm feelings of interest he takes in the corps, which he has commanded for six years; and to assure them, that no additional prosperity or honor, to which they may be entitled, in the part of the world where they are now destined to serve, and where they have already obtained so large a portion of well-earned fame, can exceed his sanguine wishes and expectations.

“This station has not afforded the usual field for military glory; but in as far as the industrious exertions of those non-commissioned officers and privates, who could be spared from military duty, have been exerted, this colony is much indebted for many useful improvements, which but for the soldiers of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment, must have remained only in the contemplation of those anxious for its civilization for a length of time, and the Major-General cannot doubt but that the comforts enjoyed by the colonists, in consequence of the zealous and laborious exertions of the soldiers of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment, will long be remembered with grateful recollections.

“Major-General Macquarie feels particular satisfaction in rendering his best acknowledgments to Lieut.-Colonel O’Connell for his attention to the discipline of the corps, and the health and comfort of the soldiers under his immediate command, and also for his zealous and assiduous attention to the duties devolving on him as Lieut.-Governor, during the Governor’s necessary and occasional absence from head-quarters.

“To the field-officers, captains, and subalterns, of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment, the Major-General desires to offer his best wishes for their health and happiness, and particularly to those with whom he has had a long acquaintance, and whose worth and honorable sentiments he is thereby the more fully enabled to appreciate; and he has no doubt but that the martial appearance, and strength of the corps, so far surpassing what is generally to be met with, will call forth feelings of surprise and gratification, wherever their services are required.

“Under these impressions, Major-General Macquarie now takes leave of the regiment, with that regret which a long acquaintance naturally inspires, but at the same time with the consolatory assurance that the SEVENTY-THIRD will show themselves at all times worthy of the respect and esteem which cannot fail to be paid to military bravery and unshaken loyalty.”

The “Windham” having made nearly the same voyage as the “General Hewitt,” after leaving Van Diemen’s Land, did not arrive at Ceylon until the 6th of November.[12]

In the meantime the reigning sovereign of Candy had evinced so cruel and tyrannical a disposition, that he became odious to his subjects, who experienced a total insecurity of life and property under his rule, individuals being frequently deprived of both at the caprice of the king. The governor of one of his provinces was summoned to appear at the capital; but this chief, expecting that the sacrifice of his life, and the seizure of his property, were intended, did not obey the mandate. The king assembled an army, overpowered the forces of the disobedient chief, and forced him to fly for protection to the British settlements in the island.

In addition to this oppressive tyranny over his own subjects, the King of Candy, elated with his success against the refractory chief, prepared to invade the British territory, against the frontier of which he had long carried on occasional hostilities. He had also inflicted cruelties on some British subjects, who had gone into his dominions on trading speculations.

[Sidenote: 1815]

These circumstances occasioned Lieut.-General Robert Brownrigg, the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Island of Ceylon, to render assistance to the natives to throw off the yoke, and at the same time preserve the English provinces from aggression, by invading the kingdom of Candy. The British troops advanced into the kingdom of Candy in seven divisions, in the beginning of February 1815, and detachments were formed from the SEVENTY-THIRD, and attached to four or five divisions of the invading army.

The soldiers underwent great fatigue in crossing mountains, passing morasses and rivers, and traversing regions inhabited only by the wild beasts of the forest; they succeeded in overcoming all opposition, and arrived at the capital in the middle of February. The king had fled with a small number of his Malabar adherents; but on the 18th of February, he was surrounded, and made prisoner by his own subjects, who showed the utmost detestation of the tyrant.

A solemn conference was held between the British Governor and the Candian chiefs, and the assembly declared the Malabar dynasty deposed, and the provinces of Candy united to the dominions of the British Crown. Thus was an extensive tract of country, bountifully endowed with natural gifts, and producing the necessaries and luxuries of life, including spices, metals, and precious stones, added to the British dominions; a numerous race of human beings, of a peculiarly interesting character, was delivered from the power of despotism, and brought under the advantages of the just government and equitable laws of Great Britain. Every species of torture was immediately abolished; but the ancient religion of the inhabitants, and the former mode of administering justice, were preserved. The conduct of the British troops was highly meritorious, and reflected credit on the several corps employed in this enterprise; the soldiers abstained from plunder and violence, and behaved with such order and regularity as to conciliate the inhabitants, whose condition, improved by a policy founded on liberal ideas, and exhibiting enlarged views, prepared the way for their emancipation from the errors of superstition, and their introduction to the advantages of Christianity, and of European arts, sciences, and commerce.

While the first battalion of the SEVENTY-THIRD was thus employed, the _Second Battalion_ had acquired the word “WATERLOO” for the regimental colour and appointments, in commemoration of its distinguished services in that memorable battle, which terminated the lengthened war in which the powers of Europe had been engaged.

A portion of the British troops occupied posts in the newly-acquired territory, and the corps not required for this duty returned to their former quarters. The first battalion of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment was again stationed at Colombo.

[Sidenote: 1816]

During the year 1816 the battalion continued to be stationed at Colombo.

[Sidenote: 1817]

In the month of September 1817, intimation was received at Colombo, that several Candian chiefs, who were hostile to British interests, were making preparations in various parts of the interior provinces of Ceylon, in favour of a new claimant to the throne of Candy, who subsequently arrived in the island from the continent of India, and they actually commenced hostilities on the 25th of October, 1817, by the murder of a native Mahandiram in Ouva, and by that of Mr. Wilson, the collector of that place, who had gone out to remonstrate with the natives assembled in the vicinity of Badulah.

Detachments from all the regiments stationed in Ceylon were in consequence ordered into the interior, and the SEVENTY-THIRD furnished for this service nearly the whole of the officers and men fit to march.

[Sidenote: 1818]

The head-quarters of the battalion were transferred, in December 1817, from Colombo to Trincomalee, and a detachment from the second battalion, which had been disbanded on the 4th of May, of this year, having arrived from England at the latter port, it was immediately ordered into the interior, where the rebellion had become general in the beginning of 1818.

On this service the battalion lost ten officers, and three hundred and sixty-six men, of whom only one officer (Lieutenant John Maclaine) and about twenty men were killed, or died of wounds inflicted by the enemy, the remainder having fallen victims to the unhealthiness of the climate, which even after the rebellion was subdued, continued to prove fatal to the officers and men who remained on service in the interior. The frequent exposure to the sun, and the heavy dews at night (when detachments were constantly on the march, particularly in the mountainous districts, where the enemy could not be surprised by day) together with a scarcity of provisions, brought on the jungle fever to an alarming extent, and had not an auxiliary force been sent from Madras, the interior of the island must of necessity have been evacuated.

In this harassing campaign, the superiority of the British over the native troops acting with them, was very evident; small parties only could be employed with effect, and therefore, more individual courage and exertion were required than with large bodies, where the excitement is much greater. The want of surgical aid was severely felt, and the officers at last, with the assistance of manuscript instructions, administered medicine, dressed wounds, and, on some occasions, performed trifling operations. Besides fever and dysentery, leech-bites were the occasion of many casualties.

The peculiar kind of warfare carried on during this campaign, afforded many opportunities for the officers and men to distinguish themselves. The following, among many instances, is deserving of record. A very small party of the SEVENTY-THIRD, in charge of Lance-Corporal Richard McLoughlin, was furiously attacked on its march to Badulah, by a numerous force; two men were killed, and the rest, instead of leaving their deceased comrades to the Candians, who generally mutilated the remains of British soldiers, divided; part remained in charge of the bodies, and the other portion, at an equal risk, proceeded to Badulah, a few miles distant, and returned with a reinforcement, that enabled them to carry off their deceased comrades, in spite of the exertions of the enemy to the contrary.

For this gallant conduct, medals were struck by the Ceylon Government for the following men, who, however, died of fever before they could be issued, namely, Lance-Corporal Richard McLoughlin, Privates John Wilson, Christopher Sheppard, and William Connor.

Whether the WATERLOO medals worn by the men who formerly belonged to the _Second Battalion_, caused an extraordinary emulation amongst the other soldiers of the SEVENTY-THIRD is a question; it is, however, matter of fact, that their conduct during the whole of the campaign gave not only their own officers, but those of other corps, the highest satisfaction.

[Sidenote: 1819]

In 1819, the nineteenth regiment was ordered home from Ceylon, when one hundred and seventy-two men volunteered to the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment.

[Sidenote: 1821]

Upon the SEVENTY-THIRD being directed to proceed to England in 1821, all the men fit for service in a tropical climate were permitted to volunteer, in the first instance, to regiments in Ceylon, and ultimately to His Majesty’s regiments stationed in the territories of the East India Company.

A detachment of one subaltern, three serjeants, one drummer, and forty-six rank and file, embarked as _Marines_ on board of His Majesty’s ship “Alligator,” on the 22nd of May, 1821; the remainder of the regiment embarked at Trincomalee on the 25th of June following, and landed at Gravesend on the 10th of November. It was then ordered to proceed to the barracks at Weedon, to which place the depôt of the regiment had been a short time before removed from Chichester, and where most of the men brought home were soon afterwards invalided.

The establishment of the regiment was, on its arrival, reduced to eight companies, forming a total of four field officers, eight captains, sixteen subalterns, five staff, twenty-nine serjeants, twelve drummers, twenty-four corporals, and five hundred and fifty-two privates.

[Sidenote: 1823]

In March, 1823, the regiment was ordered to proceed to Hull, and to furnish detachments at Chester, Carlisle, and Tynemouth: in May it marched to Edinburgh Castle, furnishing detachments at Glasgow, Stirling and Dumbarton Castles, and at Fort William.

In December, 1823, the regiment embarked at Port Patrick for Ireland, and was stationed at Castlebar, furnishing twelve small detachments within the limits of the counties of Mayo and Galway.

[Sidenote: 1824]

[Sidenote: 1825]

The regiment was assembled at Athlone in June, 1824, where it was quartered until July, 1825, when the head-quarters were removed to Naas, and detachments were furnished to Drogheda, Wicklow, Trim, and some villages in the counties of Kildare and Wicklow.

In 1825, the regiment was augmented to ten companies, consisting, while at home, of forty-two serjeants (including six staff serjeants), fourteen drummers, and seven hundred and forty rank and file; when ordered on foreign service to be divided into six service companies, of four serjeants, and eighty-six rank and file each; and four depôt companies for home service, consisting each of three serjeants, one drummer, and fifty-six rank and file.

[Sidenote: 1826]

In November, 1825, the regiment was reunited in the Royal Barracks at Dublin, where it continued until May, 1826, when, in consequence of riots in the manufacturing towns in Lancashire and Yorkshire, it was ordered to proceed to England. The head-quarters were fixed at Halifax, and detachments were sent to Huddersfield, Bradford, and to various other towns.

Tranquillity being restored in the above counties, the regiment was ordered to return to Dublin in July, 1826, and from thence it proceeded in August to occupy its former quarters at Naas, and the outposts.

In December following, the regiment received orders to march to Waterford, furnishing detachments at Kilkenny, Wexford, Carrick-on-Suir, and Duncannon Fort.

[Sidenote: 1827]

In August, 1827, the regiment was ordered to Fermoy, preparatory to embarkation, where in the course of the month, the service and depôt companies were formed.

The service companies embarked at Cove for Gibraltar towards the end of August and beginning of the following month, and arrived at their destination on the 10th, 17th, and 24th of September.

The depôt companies remained in Ireland during this and the two following years.

[Sidenote: 1828]

During the prevalence of the contagious and dreadful fever which visited Gibraltar in the year 1828, the SEVENTY-THIRD were encamped with the twenty-third Royal Welsh Fusiliers on Europa Flats, from the 10th of October to the 17th of January, 1829.

[Sidenote: 1829]

The casualties in the SEVENTY-THIRD were, compared with the other regiments in that garrison, fortunately limited to a small number. Out of nine officers and one hundred and ninety-six privates, who were attacked with the disease, only two officers and thirty-five men proved fatal cases. Lieutenant Hedworth Huddleston Williamson, and Assistant Surgeon John Gordon Fraser were the officers; the latter, though a very young assistant, fell a victim to his zeal for the service.

Whether the comparatively few casualties were attributable to the successful practice of the Surgeon George Martin, or some other accidental cause, can be only matter of conjecture. One thing, however, is certain, that His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, as well as numerous other officers unconnected with the regiment, acknowledged, in the most public manner, the talents and attention of Surgeon Martin, of the SEVENTY-THIRD, on this trying occasion.

Major-General Sir Frederick Adam, K.C.B., was appointed colonel of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment on the 22nd of May, 1829, in succession to General George Lord Harris, G.C.B., deceased.

In December, 1829, the service companies embarked for Malta, where the last division arrived on the 31st of that month.

On the departure of the SEVENTY-THIRD from Gibraltar, His Excellency the Lieut.-Governor, General Sir George Don, G.C.B., issued the following order:--

“_Head Quarters,
Gibraltar, 2nd December, 1829._

“His Excellency the Lieut.-Governor is desirous to express to
the SEVENTY-THIRD, on their departure from this garrison, the
satisfaction afforded him by their regular and orderly conduct
during the period of upwards of two years that they have been
under his command, and he feels peculiar pleasure in noticing,
that in no instance has any individual of this corps been
reported to him for any irregularity on duty during the above
period.

“To the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of this
regiment, His Excellency offers his thanks, and more particularly
to Colonel O’Connell, whose zeal and constant attention must have
so essentially contributed to maintain the discipline and good
order of the corps under his command.”

The first two divisions of the regiment embarked on board the “Lord Suffield” and “Stentor” transports on the 2nd of December, and sailed the same day; the last division (head-quarters) embarked on board the “Henry Porcher” on the 8th. The first two ships reached Malta on the 20th of December, and performed the usual quarantine in the Lazaretto; but the “Henry Porcher” experienced such severe weather on the 10th and 11th off Capo de Gato, that she had to put back again to Gibraltar in distress. She, however, sailed again on the 15th, and the men landed in the Lazaretto on the 1st of January, 1830.

[Sidenote: 1830]

In February, 1830, the depôt companies were removed from Ireland to Great Britain.

The service companies remained in St. Elmo barracks during the year 1830, and at the periodical inspection which took place in April, the Commanding Officer (Colonel O’Connell), by desire of Major-General the Honorable Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby, Lieut.-Governor of Malta, issued the following order:--

“_Valetta, 5th April, 1830._

“The Commanding Officer has great pleasure in complying with the
desire of the Major-General commanding, that he should express
in regimental orders the General’s perfect satisfaction with
everything he has this day seen of the regiment.”

On the 22nd of July, 1830, Colonel Maurice Charles O’Connell was promoted to the rank of Major-General; and on the 25th of the ensuing month the following farewell address was read to the regiment:--

“Major-General O’Connell, being removed from the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment by promotion, avails himself of the kindness of Major Lloyd, now commanding officer of the regiment, to address to it a few farewell words.

“The Major-General cannot contemplate his separation from a corps, endeared to him by all those sacred ties which bind the members of a family together, and which have, in their fullest sense, existed between him and the regiment for a period of nearly twenty-five years, that he has almost uninterruptedly commanded it in so many parts of His Majesty’s dominions, at home and abroad, without experiencing sensations which he would find it impossible to describe here, but which he feels most acutely. He will content himself with requesting the officers of the regiment, generally, to accept his most sincere thanks for the kindness that he experienced from them, and for the uniform, undeviating attention they have paid to his orders, and to his suggestions for the good of the regiment; where every officer merited his approbation, the Major-General cannot particularise individuals, but he feels himself called on by a sense of justice, as well as of duty, and he certainly has great pleasure in obeying that call, to offer to his friend Lieutenant and Adjutant Russell his most particular thanks for the zealous and effectual aid he has ever received from him in the discharge of every duty, and to declare, that to the exertions and abilities of this meritorious officer he is mainly indebted for the high state of discipline which has characterised the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment, in every garrison where it has been stationed.

“To the non-commissioned officers and men, he begs to express his thanks for, and his approbation of, their uniform good conduct, which he exhorts them to persevere in, as the surest means of insuring to themselves the approbation of their superiors, exemptions from punishment, and of preparing them for acquiring honor and glory, when called to meet the enemies of their country in the field.

“The Major-General will conclude by assuring both officers and men, that their happiness and glory will be for ever dear to him, and that to the latest day of his life he will consider the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment as part of his family, whose interests are inseparably interwoven with his own. Should any fortunate event ever enable him to promote the general welfare of the regiment, or the individual interest of any of its members, whether officers, non-commissioned officers, or privates, he hopes it is needless for him to declare with what pleasure he shall avail himself of the opportunity.

“He now, with sincerest good wishes for the health, happiness, and glory of the whole, bids them adieu.”[13]

[Sidenote: 1831]

In October, 1831, the depôt companies proceeded to Jersey.

[Sidenote: 1834]

On the 12th of April, 1834, the service companies embarked at Malta for the Ionian islands.

[Sidenote: 1835]

In September, 1835, the depôt companies embarked at Portsmouth for Cork.

Major-General William George Lord Harris, K.C.H., was removed from the colonelcy of the eighty-sixth to that of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment on the 4th of December, 1835, in succession to Lieut.-General the Right Honorable Sir Frederick Adam, K.C.B., who was appointed colonel of the fifty-seventh regiment.

[Sidenote: 1838]

The service companies embarked at Zante for Gibraltar on the 21st of January, 1838, and arrived at that fortress in the following month. In April and May of that year they proceeded to Nova Scotia, and in July, 1838, were removed to Canada.

[Sidenote: 1839]

In June, 1839, the depôt companies were removed from Ireland to Great Britain.

[Sidenote: 1841]

The service companies embarked at Quebec for England on the 5th June, 1841, and arrived at Gosport in July, at which place they were stationed during the remainder of the year.

[Sidenote: 1842]

In April, 1842, the regiment proceeded to Woolwich, and in August to Bradford, from whence it was removed in September to Newport, in Monmouthshire.

[Sidenote: 1843]

During the year 1843 the regiment remained at Newport.

[Sidenote: 1844]

The regiment embarked by divisions at Newport, on the 8th and 16th of August, 1844, and disembarked at Kingstown, Dublin, on the 11th and 19th of that month. In December, the regiment moved from Richmond to the Royal Barracks at Dublin.

[Sidenote: 1845]

Major-General Sir Robert Henry Dick, K.C.B., was appointed colonel of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment on the 10th of June, 1845, in succession to Lieut.-General William George Lord Harris, K.C.H., deceased.

The service companies, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Charles Jowett Vander Meulen, embarked at Cork in H.M. troop-ship “Apollo” on the 29th of September, 1845, for the Cape of Good Hope. In consequence, however, of political events in South America, they were required (together with the reserve battalion of the forty-fifth regiment) by the British minister at Rio Janeiro to proceed to the river Plate, and they were disembarked at Monte Video in January, 1846.

[Sidenote: 1846]

On the 3rd of April, 1846, Major-General Sir John Grey, K.C.B., was appointed colonel of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment, in succession to Major-General Sir Robert Henry Dick, K.C.B. and K.C.H., who was killed on the 10th of February, 1846, at the battle of Sobraon.

While the service companies were stationed at Monte Video, from January to July, 1846, they were employed in the protection of the town, and of the British merchants and inhabitants, against an Argentine force under General Oribe, who was investing the place.

[Sidenote: 1847]

In July, the service companies were re-embarked for the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived at Cape Town in August. After landing their sick, they were ordered to proceed to Waterloo Bay, near to the Great Fish River, there to disembark, and join the troops employed in the field against the Kaffirs, on which arduous duty the regiment was subsequently employed.

From the 1st of January to the 3rd of February, 1847, and from the 10th of September to the end of the year, the service companies were engaged in active field operations against the Kaffirs. On this service the SEVENTY-THIRD had the following officers killed, namely, Captain William Baker, Lieutenants Clarevaulx Faunt, and the Honorable William John Granville Chetwynd, Ensign William Burnop, and Surgeon Neil Stewart Campbell.

[Sidenote: 1848]

In January, 1848, the service companies proceeded to Fort Grey, where the head-quarters were stationed until July following, and in October they were removed from Fort D’Urban to Cape Town.

[Sidenote: 1849]

Major-General Richard Goddard Hare Clarges, C.B., was appointed colonel of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment on the 18th of May, 1849, in succession to Major-General Sir John Grey, K.C.B., who was removed to the fifth Fusiliers.

During the year 1849 the service companies were stationed at Cape Town. The depôt companies also remained in Ireland.

[Sidenote: 1850]

In December, 1850, the head-quarters and four companies, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel William Eyre, were removed from Cape Town to the Buffalo mouth for the frontier, in consequence of an outbreak of the Kaffirs.

[Sidenote: 1851]

At the date of the conclusion of the present record, namely, 1st of May 1851, the service companies were in camp at King William’s Town, under Lieut.-Colonel Eyre. The depôt companies, under Major George Hankey Smith, continued to be stationed in Ireland.

1851.

FOOTNOTES:

[6] Upon the representation of Major-General Gerard Lake, who was appointed Colonel of the _Seventy-third_ Regiment, in November 1796, the Royal Authority was granted for the word “MANGALORE” being borne on the Regimental Colour and Appointments, in consideration of the gallant conduct displayed in the defence of that place.

[7] “A View of the Origin and Conduct of the War with Tippoo Sultan, by Lieut.-Colonel Alexander Beatson, late Aide-de-camp to the Marquis Wellesley, Governor-General of India.”

[8] Seringapatam derived its name from the god _Serung_, to whom one of the pagodas was dedicated.

[9] The history of the second battalion is resumed at page 43.

[10] MEMORANDUM.

_Horse Guards, 7th April, 1809._

As the population of the Highlands of Scotland is found to be
insufficient to supply recruits for the whole of the Highland
corps on the establishment of His Majesty’s army, and as some
of these corps laying aside their distinguishing dress, which
is objectionable to the natives of South Britain, would, in
a great measure, tend to facilitate the completing of their
establishment, as it would be an inducement to the men of the
English militia to extend their services in greater numbers to
these regiments:--it is in consequence most humbly submitted,
for the approbation of His Majesty that His Majesty’s 72nd,
73rd, 74th, 75th, 91st, and 94th regiments should discontinue,
in future, to wear the dress by which His Majesty’s regiments of
Highlanders are distinguished, and that the above corps should no
longer be considered as on that establishment.

(Signed) HARRY CALVERT,
_Adjutant-General_.

[11] Major-General Macquarie formerly commanded the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment.--_Vide_ Memoir in Appendix, page 69.

[12] A fourth division of the SEVENTY-THIRD sailed from Port Jackson on the 26th of January 1815, and arrived at Ceylon in the ship “General Brown,” on the 2nd of March. There still remained some men of the battalion for whom room could not be provided in the four ships already named, and those were embarked in the colonial brig “Kangaroo,” which arrived at Colombo on the 19th of August 1815.

[13] A memoir of the services of Lieut.-General Sir Maurice O’Connell, K.C.H., is contained in the Appendix, page 70.

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE SECOND BATTALION

OF

THE SEVENTY-THIRD REGIMENT.

[Sidenote: 1802]

Europe enjoyed but a short interval of tranquillity by the treaty of Amiens, which was signed on the 27th of March, 1802. In May of the following year, the war was renewed, and Napoleon Bonaparte, the First Consul of the French Republic, threatened the invasion of Great Britain. On the 18th of May, 1804, Napoleon was invested with the dignity of Emperor of the French, and on the 26th of May of the succeeding year, he was crowned at Milan as King of Italy.

[Sidenote: 1804]

In December, 1804, Spain issued a declaration of war against England, and agreed to furnish a powerful aid to the French Emperor.

[Sidenote: 1805]

While the French pursued a victorious career in Germany, they experienced dreadful reverses from the British navy, particularly on the 21st of October, 1805, when the combined fleets of France and Spain were completely defeated off _Cape Trafalgar_. The victory was, however, clouded by the death of Admiral Viscount Nelson, to whose memory a grateful and admiring nation paid the highest honors.

[Sidenote: 1806]

[Sidenote: 1808]

In the year 1806, the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment arrived in England from the East Indies, and two years afterwards was ordered to embark for New South Wales. On the promulgation of the orders for this embarkation, it was directed that a _second battalion_ should be added to the regiment, which was to be placed on the establishment of the army from the 24th of December, 1808.

The second battalion was, in the first instance, to consist of four companies, at a hundred rank and file each; upon the effectives exceeding four hundred, it was to be augmented to six hundred, which number being completed, it was to be augmented to a thousand rank and file.

[Sidenote: 1809]

The battalion was embodied at Nottingham, and was considerably strengthened, within the year 1809, by volunteers from the English, Irish, and Scotch Militia.

[Sidenote: 1810]

In March, 1810, the battalion proceeded to Ashborne, and subsequently to Derby and Ashford.

[Sidenote: 1811]

On the 25th of October, 1811, the establishment of the battalion was augmented to six companies, consisting of thirty-four serjeants, twelve drummers, and six hundred rank and file.

[Sidenote: 1812]

In July, 1812, the battalion was removed from Ashford to Deal, and afterwards proceeded to the Tower of London.

[Sidenote: 1813]

While quartered in the Tower of London, in 1813, the battalion was augmented to ten companies, consisting of forty-five serjeants, twenty-two drummers, and eight hundred rank and file. The battalion proceeded to Colchester in April.

The dreadful disasters experienced by the French in their retreat from Russia, combined with the successes obtained over the forces of Napoleon in the Peninsula by the allies under the Marquis of Wellington, caused the separation of Prussia and other states from the interest of France, and a treaty of alliance and subsidy was concluded between Great Britain and Sweden, in which it was stipulated that a Swedish army, commanded by the Crown Prince,[14] should join the Allies.

On the 25th of May, 1813, the battalion, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel William George (afterwards Lord) Harris, embarked on a particular service at Harwich, but subsequently joined the expedition to Stralsund, in Swedish Pomerania, under the command of Major-General Samuel Gibbs, and landed at that town on the 7th of August.

From Stralsund the SEVENTY-THIRD proceeded to join the allied forces under the command of Lieut.-General Count Wallmoden, who engaged, and completely defeated, the enemy on the plains of _Gorde_, on the 16th of September, 1813. The SEVENTY-THIRD was the only _British_ battalion in the action.[15]

The battalion was afterwards ordered to join the British forces, then in the north of Germany, under the command of Major-General Samuel Gibbs, at Rostock, and subsequently embarked for England at Warnemunde on the 2nd of November, but on arriving at Yarmouth the battalion was ordered, without landing, to join the army in Holland under General Sir Thomas Graham, afterwards Lord Lynedoch: the battalion arrived at Williamstadt on the 18th of December.

[Sidenote: 1814]

The Prussian General, Bulow, having requested that the British would make a forward movement upon _Antwerp_, to favour his operations, the battalion accordingly marched to the attack of that place, which was bombarded by the British forces on the 13th of January, 1814; and again from the 2nd until the 6th of February, for the purpose of destroying the French fleet lying there.

In the attack on the village of _Merxem_ on the 2nd of February, 1814, where the enemy was strongly posted, Lieutenant John McConnell, and Lieutenant and Adjutant Thomas Frederick James were wounded, the former severely. A volunteer, named J. Simpson, was also dangerously wounded. This youth was about sixteen years of age, and was attached to the light company. Soon after the action commenced, and in the course of a few minutes, he was shot through both his legs, before which a bullet had lodged in the butt of his firelock. His military career was short, as he died of his wounds in a few days.

On this occasion, the light company, under Captain Richard Drewe, supported the ninety-fifth (rifle brigade) in driving the enemy from the _abatis_ formed at the entrance to the village. The troops suffered very severely during the foregoing operations from the intense cold, the winter being unusually severe, and though sleeping on the line of march was generally fatal, it was no easy matter to prevent it.

General Sir Thomas Graham stated in his despatch, “All the troops engaged behaved with the usual spirit and intrepidity of British soldiers,” and the conduct of Major Dawson Kelly, of the SEVENTY-THIRD, was particularly noticed.

After this success the British troops were employed in constructing a breastwork and battery; on the 3rd of February several pieces of heavy ordnance opened upon the city of Antwerp, and on the French shipping in the Scheldt; the cannonade was continued until the 6th, when General Bulow, having received orders to march southward, to act with the grand army of the Allies, it became necessary to relinquish the attack on Antwerp, when the British retired towards Breda.

On the 16th of March, 1814, a detachment of the SEVENTY-THIRD, consisting of two hundred men, under the command of Major Dawson Kelly, was bombarded by a French seventy-four gun-ship and eight gun brigs, in Fort Frederick on the river Scheldt.

Peace was shortly afterwards concluded. On the 4th of April, Napoleon Bonaparte signed his abdication in favour of his son; but this proposal being rejected, he signed in a few days a second abdication, renouncing the thrones of France and Italy entirely for himself and heirs. He afterwards selected Elba for his residence, which island was ceded to him in full sovereignty for life, and a pension payable from the revenues of France, and by the treaty which was signed at Paris on the 11th of April between the Allies and Napoleon, it was agreed that he should enjoy the imperial title for life. Ample pensions were also assigned to his relatives.

On the 3rd of May, 1814, Louis XVIII. entered Paris, and ascended the throne of his ancestors, and on the 30th of that month the general peace between France and the allied powers of Austria, Russia, Great Britain, and Prussia, was signed at Paris.

In the beginning of May, the battalion was ordered into quarters at Antwerp, and in September following it marched to Tournay, where it arrived in October.

[Sidenote: 1815]

The commencement of the year 1815 saw Louis XVIII. apparently firmly seated on the throne of France; but various causes of discontent existed in that country. The army, long accustomed to war, still retained a chivalrous veneration for Napoleon Bonaparte, who was kept acquainted with the state of the public mind, and this feeling of his former troops. In the evening of the 26th of February he embarked at Porto Ferrajo, in the island of Elba, with about a thousand troops, of whom a few were French, and the remainder Poles, Corsicans, Neapolitans, and Elbese. With this motley band he landed at Cannes, in Provence, on the 1st of March, 1815, and the result proved that his calculations were correct. After being joined by the garrison of Grenoble, he proceeded to Lyons, and entered that city amidst the acclamations of “_Vive l’Empereur!_” from the soldiers and the people. The possession of the second city in France being thus obtained, Napoleon assumed his former dignity of Emperor, and continued his advance to Paris, which he reached on the 20th of March, his progress having been a continued triumph.

In the meantime, Louis XVIII. had withdrawn from Paris to Ghent, and Napoleon took possession of the throne of France as Emperor, but the allied powers refused to acknowledge his sovereignty, and determined to effect his dethronement.

The battalion had remained stationed between Tournay and Courtray until March, 1815, when, in consequence of the foregoing events, it was ordered to join the division of the army under the command of Lieut.-General Baron Alten, and formed part of the brigade of Major-General Sir Colin Halkett, K.C.B.

On the 11th of April, 1815, it was announced to the army in Flanders that His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, in the name and behalf of His Majesty, had appointed Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington, K.G., to be commander of His Majesty’s forces on the continent of Europe, and it was directed that the _Fifth_ British brigade of infantry should be composed of the second battalion of the thirtieth, the thirty-third, and the second battalions of the sixty-ninth and seventy-third regiments.[16]

Napoleon left Paris on the 12th of June, and endeavoured, by one of those rapid and decisive movements for which he had been celebrated, to interpose his forces between the British and Prussian armies, and then attack them in detail. Information of this movement arrived at Brussels during the evening of the 15th of June, and the troops were immediately ordered to prepare to march.

On the 16th of June, the division of which the second battalion of the SEVENTY-THIRD formed part, pursued its course, with the other portions of the army, through the forest of Soignies, Genappe, and along the road towards Charleroi. After a march of twenty-two miles the troops arrived at the post of _Les Quatre Bras_, where the second French corps, under Marshal Ney, was developing a serious attack against that position, with very superior numbers.

As the British regiments arrived at the scene of conflict, they were instantly formed for action. The repeated charges of the French were repulsed, but a considerable loss was incurred, including his Serene Highness the Duke of Brunswick, who fell at the head of his troops.

The SEVENTY-THIRD had the following officers wounded:--Lieutenants John Acres and John Lloyd, and Ensigns Robert Greville Heselrige and Thomas Deacon. Lieutenant Acres died of his wounds. One drummer, and three rank and file were killed, and one serjeant and forty-three rank and file wounded.

Marshal Blucher had been attacked on the 16th of June by Napoleon at Ligny, and the Prussians, after a desperate conflict, were compelled to retreat to Wavre. This caused the Duke of Wellington to make a corresponding movement, to keep up his communication with them.

In the course of the morning of the 17th of June, the troops were withdrawn from _Quatre Bras_, and proceeded towards _Waterloo_. On this day, the SEVENTY-THIRD had Lieutenant Joseph William Henry Streaphan and three rank and file killed.