Chapter II: Part 2

The King felt some distrust at so efficient a body of British troops being in the service of a protestant republic at the time when he was meditating the subversion of the protestant religion and established laws of the kingdom: he was desirous of recalling them from Holland, and of transferring so many of them as would return, particularly the officers and men who were of the Roman Catholic religion, to the service of France. Louis XIV. had experienced the inconvenience of having the regiments in his service suddenly recalled, as the English and Scots corps were in 1678, and he declined the offer; but as the re-uniting of England in the communion of the church of Rome would further his projects of personal aggrandisement, he proposed to maintain a body of two thousand men in England, to be principally of the Roman Catholic church. This subject being arranged, King James wrote to the Prince of Orange on the 17th of January, 1688, as follows:

"I have charged my envoy, Mons. d'Abbeville, who will give you this letter, to give you an account that I think it for my service to call home the six regiments of my subjects that are under your command in the States' service; and have written to the States to the same purpose, and hope you will do your part to further their being embarked as soon as may be. What else I have to say on this subject I refer to my envoy; which is all I shall say now, but that you shall find me as kind to you as you can desire[18]."

The States well knowing the value of these favourite corps, and anticipating the speedy arrival of a period when they would have urgent occasion for the services of every regiment, refused to comply with the King's demand, alleging they were not bound by the treaty with the Earl of Ossory to send the six regiments to England, unless the King was engaged in a foreign war, or an insurrection at home, which was not the case. His Majesty was, however, determined, if possible, to deprive the States of the services of this select body of men; and, after some further correspondence on the subject, the following proclamation appeared in the London Gazette:--

"JAMES R.

"WHEREAS we think it for our service to call home all our
natural-born subjects who are now in the service of the States
General of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, being either
mariners and seafaring men, or officers and soldiers serving at
land, We do, therefore, by this Our royal proclamation, by and
with the advice of Our privy council, streightly charge, require,
and command all and singular masters of ships, pilots, mariners,
seamen, shipwrights, and other seafaring men whatsoever, and
wheresoever, and also all commanders, officers, and soldiers
serving at land, being our natural-born subjects, who have
betaken themselves unto, and now are in the pay or service of,
the States General of the United Provinces of the Netherlands,
or in the pay or service of any of their subjects,--That upon
their known and bounden duty and allegiance, they, and every of
them, do quit the said respective services by sea or land, and
return home to their native countries, within the times hereby
prescribed,--that is to say, that all officers and commanders
at land, whatsoever, who are now in the service of the said
States General, in any place or part of the Netherlands or Low
Countries, do quit the said service and return home within the
space of two calendar months from the date hereof, and all other
persons hereinbefore mentioned, wherever they are or shall be
hereafter, in as short a time, and with as much speed, as they
shall be able, wherein We do and will expect all due obedience
and conformity. And we do hereby further publish and declare,
that all and every the offenders to the contrary shall not only
incur our high displeasure, but be rigorously proceeded against
for such their offence, by all ways and means, according to the
utmost severities of the law.--And we do hereby also authorize
and command all and every Our captains, masters, and other
officers serving and employed in any of our ships or vessels at
sea, or elsewhere, and all and every other Our subjects whom it
may concern, to seize, take, and bring away all such officers,
mariners, and soldiers, and other persons aforesaid, as shall be
found to be employed, or continue in the service aforesaid, in
contempt of, and contrary to, the true intent and meaning of this
Our proclamation.

"Given at Our Court at Whitehall, 14th March,
"1687-8, in the fourth year of Our reign."

Notwithstanding this proclamation, the States continued stedfast in their determination not to send the six regiments home; but as some of the officers were members of the Roman Catholic church, and it being probable a rupture on the subject of religion would shortly take place, they gave permission for as many of the officers to return to England as chose. About forty availed themselves of this opportunity and quitted the Dutch service. The King sent a frigate to bring them home. A few soldiers also withdrew from Holland, and three regiments[19] were formed, of nearly all papists, and taken into the pay of the King of France, but they remained in England. The six British regiments in the Dutch service were thus purged of Roman Catholics, the vacancies were filled with men of staunch protestant principles, and this distinguished body of men was considered stedfastly devoted to the protestant interest.

The Prince of Orange having been induced to proceed to England with a powerful armament for the purpose of rescuing the kingdom from the power of papacy, the six regiments were selected to form part of the expedition, and they were considered the most formidable and efficient portion of his army. They mustered about four thousand officers and men, were commanded by Major-General Hugh Mackay, and sailed under a red flag. A declaration was published, setting forth the reasons which induced the Prince of Orange to engage in this undertaking; and Captain LANGHAM of BABINGTON'S regiment[20] (now SIXTH FOOT), arriving privately in England, was seized and imprisoned, and a number of the declarations were found in his portmanteau, which were shown to the King. When the expressions importing that the Prince of Orange was "most earnestly invited to come to England by divers of the lords, both temporal and spiritual, and by many gentlemen and others," were read, the King expressed great indignation, and sent for such noblemen and bishops as were in London, but none of them would acknowledge that they had given such an invitation.

[Sidenote: 1689]

The Dutch armament passed Dover and proceeded westward, while the English fleet, under the Earl of Dartmouth, lay wind-bound at the mouth of the Thames; but a tender, on board of which were four companies of the regiment which forms the subject of this memoir, commanded by Major Ventris Columbine, was separated from the remainder of the Dutch fleet by a gale of wind, and captured by Captain Aylmer in His Majesty's ship the Swallow. The four companies were landed in Devonshire; they were treated as prisoners, and measures were adopted to constrain them to enter King James's service. Meanwhile the other eight companies of the regiment continued their course, and landed on the 5th of November with the remainder of the Prince's army on the Devonshire coast, from whence they advanced to Exeter. The result may be told in a few words. The English army refused to fight against the best interests of the country. King James and his family fled to France, and the Prince and Princess of Orange were elevated to the throne. Thus the SIXTH REGIMENT had the honour of taking a conspicuous part in the enterprise by which the established religion and laws of Great Britain were preserved.

After his accession to the throne King William detained this regiment in the south of England, and kept it upon the Dutch establishment: consequently, in the lists of the army given by Story and other historians of this period, it is designated a Dutch regiment. Major Columbine, and the other officers and men who were captured by the Swallow, were restored with honour.

In May, 1689, the regiment was quartered in London; in August it was encamped on Hounslow heath; it afterwards returned to London and was quartered in the Tower Hamlets.

Sir Henry Bellasis having been appointed to succeed the Duke of Norfolk in the colonelcy of a newly-raised regiment (now twenty-second foot), the colonelcy of the SIXTH was conferred on the lieutenant-colonel, WILLIAM BABINGTON, by commission dated the 28th of September, 1689; and Major Columbine was appointed lieutenant-colonel.

[Sidenote: 1690]

Although England was delivered from the power of papacy and despotism, a great part of Ireland was subject to King James and his adherents, whose cruel proceedings towards the protestants awakened the sympathies of the English nation, and King William resolved to proceed to the rescue of the unoffending sufferers. Colonel BABINGTON'S regiment was one of the corps selected to proceed to Ireland: it embarked at Highlake on the 12th of April, 1690, and immediately on landing marched to the siege of _Charlemont_--a strong castle situate on the angle formed by the confluence of the river Canlin with the Blackwater, on the eastern side of the county of Armagh, and erected in 1602 by Lord Mountjoy, as a curb on the Earl of Tyrone, whose chief mansion-house, with a strong fort, was at Dungannon, about five miles north-west of it. Under the shelter of this fort a town was built, which in 1689 was a corporation, sending members to parliament. It contained a good garrison under Teague O'Regan, an old soldier and a great humorist, who made a resolute defence. The garrison being in want of provision, King James sent a small supply, accompanied by a detachment of five hundred men under Colonel M'Mahon, who was permitted to enter the castle, but not to return. On the third night they attempted to force their way through the besieging force, but were repulsed with the loss of an officer and eight men; a second attempt made on the following day was also unsuccessful; and during the succeeding night they made another attempt, and were driven back with the loss of sixteen men. O'Regan was so incensed at their ill success, that he fastened the gates upon them, and refused to admit them into the castle; and they were forced to make huts in the dry ditch within the palisadoes and on the counterscarp. The place being closely invested, the garrison was forced to surrender in the middle of May for want of provision; and four companies of the SIXTH, commanded by the major, took possession of the castle, where they found seventeen pieces of cannon and a large mortar, also a good supply of ammunition: but the fortress was found in so filthy a condition, that the officers and men were forced to encamp until it was thoroughly cleansed.

In the early part of June the regiment pitched its tents on the undulating grounds near Armagh; and the regiments of Lloyd, Cutts, Hastings, and Fowkes, eleven regiments of Danish horse and foot, and a brigade of Dutch cavalry, afterwards joined the camp.

King William arrived in Ireland, and, advancing to the banks of the _Boyne_, forced the passage of that river on the 1st of July, and overthrew the army of King James in a general engagement, in which the SIXTH foot had the honour to take part. The regiment was in Sir Henry Bellasis's brigade, and shared in the glory of this memorable victory. The number of killed and wounded has not been ascertained; but, as the regiment only mustered four hundred and eighteen men at the general review at Finglass on the 7th and 8th of July, its loss may be supposed to have been great.

After delivering Dublin from the power of the papists, the regiment was detached against _Athlone_ with the division commanded by Lieut.-General Douglas, who was a brave but rough soldier of fortune, and had served under King William in the Netherlands. On arriving before Athlone, a drummer was sent to summon the garrison to surrender. The governor, Colonel Richard Grace, of Moyelly castle, fired a pistol at the messenger, and said, "These are my terms; these only will I give or receive; and, after my provisions shall be consumed, I will defend Athlone until I eat my boots." The siege was afterwards commenced; and a battery opened its fire against the works: but the train of artillery proved too weak to make a practicable breach; and, ammunition becoming scarce, Lieut.-General Douglas raised the siege and retired. He did not preserve strict discipline in the division committed to his charge, which was accused of many outrages on the peasantry. On arriving at Ballymore, in the county of Westmeath, BABINGTON'S (now SIXTH) regiment was removed from Lieut.-General Douglas's command, and ordered to proceed to Dublin to replace the regiments of Trelawny (now fourth) and Hastings (now thirteenth), which were ordered to embark for England.

The regiment remained a short time in garrison at Dublin, from whence it was detached to occupy a line of posts along the frontiers; and in November Lieut.-Colonel Columbine, advancing from Roscrea, made an incursion into the enemy's quarters near the Shannon, and in the neighbourhood of Nenagh, where he destroyed a quantity of corn and captured two castles.

[Sidenote: 1691]

In April, 1691, Colonel Babington was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment by GEORGE PRINCE OF HESSE D'ARMSTADT--an officer of distinguished merit, who was appointed to serve on the staff of the army in Ireland, with the rank of brigadier-general.

The regiment took the field with the army in May. The first service of importance was the siege of _Ballymore_, which fortress surrendered in the middle of June. The troops subsequently advanced against _Athlone_, a large and well-fortified town, divided into two unequal portions, or towns, by the river Shannon. Here the regiment was formed in brigade with Lloyd's (now fifth), Cutts', Nassau's, and three Danish battalions, commanded by Major-General the Count of Nassau and Brigadier-General the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt. It furnished a detachment to attack by storm that part of Athlone which stood on the side of the river next to the army, called the English Town, which was captured in gallant style on the 20th of June. Its grenadier company, and a detachment of pikemen and musketeers, also formed part of the storming party selected to attack the opposite side of the town on the 30th of June. The tolling of the church-bell at six minutes after six o'clock in the evening gave the signal for the attack, when the forlorn hope, consisting of three officers and sixty grenadiers in armour, sprang out of the trenches and plunged into the river, which was waist deep, and rendered difficult by large stones. Three thousand men, under Major-General Mackay, seconded their efforts with signal intrepidity; and the soldiers, scrambling up the breach in the face of a heavy fire, one helping another up, soon overpowered all opposition, and in less than half an hour were masters of the town. This gallant exploit was performed with the loss of twelve men killed, and five officers and thirty men wounded: among the latter was the colonel of this regiment--the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, and Lieut.-Colonel Columbine. The regiment remained at Athlone while the works were being put in repair; and, during a severe thunder-storm on the 9th of July, it had two men killed and three dangerously injured by lightning[21].

The Irish army, commanded by General St. Ruth, retired and took up a position near _Aghrim_, where it was attacked on the 12th of July, and the regiment had another opportunity of signalizing itself in action. The Prince of HESSE D'ARMSTADT headed his own corps, and his characteristic intrepidity was so conspicuous on this occasion, that he has been accused of rashness. He was again wounded; but had the gratification of witnessing the heroism of his men, who emulated his example, and the overthrow of the Irish army, before he quitted the field. Night having put an end to the pursuit, the regiment halted on the scene of conflict: its loss was ten men killed, and six officers and forty-five men wounded.

General St. Ruth having been killed in action, the main body of the Irish army fled in terror and dismay towards Limerick, and King William's forces followed. On arriving at _Galway_ the garrison was summoned, and refused to surrender; but the river having been passed in boats, and a fort captured by storm, the governor capitulated on the 21st of July. The next service in which the regiment was engaged was the second siege of _Limerick_: it was one of the corps which appeared before the town on the 15th of August, and on the 25th it was detached with the regiments of Tiffin (twenty-seventh foot) and St. John, seven hundred horse and dragoons, and five pieces of cannon, under its colonel, the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, against _Castleconnell_, a strong fortress on the river Shannon, four miles north of Limerick, which surrendered after a siege of two days. The siege of Limerick was afterwards prosecuted with vigour, and it was delivered up in the beginning of October. This event terminated the war in Ireland. The regiment marched from Limerick to Dublin, where it embarked for England on the 20th of December, and after its arrival commenced recruiting its numbers.

[Sidenote: 1692]

After reposing a short time in comfortable quarters in England, the regiment received orders to embark for the Netherlands, to take part in the war with France; and it served the campaign of 1692 with the army commanded by King William in person, by whom it was reviewed at the camp at Genappe on the 29th of June, in presence of the Elector of Bavaria and other distinguished persons. It was engaged in the manœuvres of the main army, and formed part of the division which attacked the French forces under Marshal Luxemburg, in their position near _Steenkirk_, on the 24th of July. It was one of the corps which supported the leading column under the Duke of Wirtemberg, and, having traversed some difficult grounds, formed with the cavalry of the left wing on the verge of a large wood. A narrow valley appeared in front, beyond which were several thick hedges, and the glittering arms and waving colours of the French infantry were seen through the thick foliage. After a sharp cannonade, the second battalion of the first foot guards, the first battalion of the Royals, the regiments of Fitzpatrick and O'Ffarrel, and two battalions of Danes, commenced the attack: they were supported by the regiments of HESSE D'ARMSTADT (SIXTH), Cutts, Mackay, Leven's (twenty-fifth foot), Angus (twenty-sixth foot), Graham, and Lawder. These corps behaved with an intrepidity and valour which redounded to their honour: they drove the enemy from hedge to hedge, and gained considerable advantage. They were, however, not promptly sustained by the main body of the army under Count Solms, who neglected the King's orders, and occasioned the loss of the battle. Harris, in his History of the Life of King William, states, "The King, enraged at the disappointment of the vanguard, expressed his concern by often repeating, 'Oh! my poor English, how they are abandoned!' nor would he admit Count Solms to his presence for many months after."

The SIXTH nobly sustained their reputation, and fought manfully, resisting the superior numbers of the enemy with signal firmness: their commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel Foxon, fell mortally wounded: the French legions--dragoons, musketeers, pikemen, and grenadiers--crowded round this devoted corps in great numbers, and it sustained considerable loss. The King ordered a retreat, and the regiment withdrew from the field a mere skeleton. Its loss in killed and wounded was so great, that on the 8th of August it was ordered into quarters at Malines, and in September it embarked for England. After landing at Gravesend, a number of officers and serjeants were sent to various parts of England to procure recruits.

[Sidenote: 1693]

[Sidenote: 1694]

During the winter of 1693 the regiment again embarked for the Netherlands. It was employed in garrison duty in Flanders; and its colonel, the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, being a Roman catholic, transferred his services to the crown of Spain. He was succeeded, in February, 1694, by Henry Marquis de Rada, son of the Marquis de Montpouillan. During the winter of this year the regiment was in garrison at Bruges.

[Sidenote: 1695]

On taking the field in May, 1695, the regiment left its colonel, the Marquis de Rada, dangerously ill of a fever in Bruges. It was encamped a short time on the canal between Ghent and Bruges, under the orders of Lieut.-General Sir Henry Bellasis; and subsequently with the main army, commanded by King William in person, near Arseele, where it was formed in brigade with a battalion of the Royals, and the regiments of Seymour, Granville, Saunderson, and Colyear, commanded by Brigadier-General Sir David Colyear. The King was at the head of one hundred and twenty thousand men, and the French generals headed upwards of a hundred thousand men. These two powerful armies confronted each other; and his Majesty, having by skilful movements drawn the enemy to the Flanders side of their line of entrenchments, invested _Namur_. This fortress was accounted one of the strongest and most important in the Netherlands, both by its situation and fortifications: it commanded two great rivers, the Sambre and the Maese; and its castle, which stood on a hill in an angle formed by the confluence of these rivers, was deemed almost impregnable. Such stupendous fortifications, defended by a numerous garrison, supplied with every thing requisite for a protracted defence, and commanded by a governor who was esteemed by his king, and beloved by the soldiers, seemed to defy the most powerful and best-appointed army that could be brought against it; and, when the veteran Marshal Boufflers had thrown himself with a large reinforcement into the town, this mass of fortifications was looked upon as a rock on which the grand confederacy of the allies would split. These difficulties stimulated the British monarch to greater exertions; and the SIXTH, after remaining a short time with the covering army commanded by Charles Henry of Lorraine, Prince of Vaudemont, was ordered to join the forces employed in the siege, and to take part in the attack of this vast fortress. While on the march the Marquis de Rada died at Bruges, and King William conferred the colonelcy on an officer who had formerly served with distinction in the regiment, VENTRIS COLUMBINE, from captain and lieutenant-colonel in the foot guards. This officer was highly esteemed in the corps, and, assuming the command of it before Namur, he had additional opportunities of signalizing himself.

The regiment was on duty in the trenches on the 6th, 10th, and 13th of July; and on the 17th it lost a number of men while engaged in storming the counterscarp: it had also Captain Young killed, and Lieut. Dorrington and Ensign Drobas wounded. On the 19th it was again on duty in the trenches, and lost several men; and during the night of the 23rd it was engaged in extending the lodgment to the right. A practicable breach having been made, the enemy surrendered the town on the following day, and retired to the castle, resolving to make a desperate defence. This was one of the regiments engaged in the siege of the castle, and was encamped at a place called Maison Blanche; but, having sustained considerable loss, it was relieved on the 11th of August, and joined the covering army under the Prince of Vaudemont, who had recently quitted his position at Waterloo, and was encamped within seven miles of Namur. A detachment from the grenadier company was engaged in storming the breaches of the Terra Nova and Cohorne on the 20th of August, under Lord Cutts. This proved a most severe service; a lodgment was made along the covered way and entrenchments, but with the loss of above a thousand English, besides Bavarians, Prussians, and Dutch. The grenadier company of this regiment lost several men, and had Captain Cummins killed, and Lieutenant Twinhoe wounded.

The fire against the castle was continued, and preparations made for another assault, when the garrison beat a parley, and agreed to surrender. Thus the capture of this important fortress, which was accounted the bulwark of Brabant, was achieved, and the reputation of the British monarch and his troops exalted. After the works were repaired, Colonel COLUMBINE marched with his regiment into quarters at Bruges, where he expected to pass the winter; but circumstances occurred which occasioned his return to England.

[Sidenote: 1696]

The French monarch, finding his ambitious projects frustrated, attempted to excite a rebellion in England in favour of King James, who was residing at the French court, and prepared an armament to second the malcontents. At the same time a plot was formed to assassinate King William when on his return from hunting. On the discovery of these designs, this, with a number of other regiments, was ordered home. The SIXTH embarked at Ostend in the early part of March, 1696, landed at Gravesend in the middle of that month, and went into quarters. The plot was discovered, the designs of the enemy were frustrated, and the King proceeded to the Netherlands to take the command of the army.

In June, 1696, the regiment was on duty at Windsor; and in July it was encamped in Windsor forest.

[Sidenote: 1697]

[Sidenote: 1698]

[Sidenote: 1699]

[Sidenote: 1700]

[Sidenote: 1701]

After passing twelve months in England, the regiment received orders to return to the Netherlands: it landed at Williamstadt in the beginning of July, 1697, and joined the confederate army before Brussels, where it was reviewed by his Majesty: it remained before Brussels until hostilities were terminated by the treaty of Ryswick, when it was ordered to return to England. It landed at Gravesend in November, 1697, and marched to Huntingdon. It subsequently proceeded to Ireland, where it arrived in August, 1698, and remained until, another war breaking out in Europe, its services were again required abroad in the defence of the crown and kingdom against the projects of the court of France.

[Sidenote: 1702]

The hope of continued tranquillity, with the prospect that this country would be enabled to develop its resources and make rapid advances in arts, manufactures, and commerce, under the auspices and benign influence of peace at home and abroad, soon passed away: a Bourbon prince ascended the Spanish throne, when preparations for war were made, and Colonel COLUMBINE received orders to recruit his regiment to seven hundred rank and file. The decease of King William, and the accession of Queen Anne, on the 8th March, 1702, produced no alteration in the foreign policy of the British court; and in a few weeks after Her Majesty's accession the regiment proceeded to the Isle of Wight, where it pitched its tents preparatory to some expedition, the destination of which was kept secret. In the early part of June it was reviewed, with nine other battalions of infantry, and two hundred dragoons, by Prince George of Denmark, generalissimo of her Majesty's land and sea forces, and was complimented on its appearance and discipline. The Duke of Ormond assumed the command of the expedition, and the regiment embarked on board the St. George, Jacob, and Gosport transports[22], and put to sea. Arriving off the coast of Andalusia, in Spain, the troops ascertained they were destined to make an attempt on the strong fortress of _Cadiz_: a landing was effected in the middle of August, during a high wind, and about thirty boats, crowded with soldiers, were overturned by the surge. The town of _Rota_, on the north side of Cadiz bay, the town of _Port St. Mary's_, at the mouth of the river Guadalete, and _Fort St. Catherine_, were captured. The wealthy and flourishing town of Port St. Mary's was found deserted by the inhabitants; positive orders had been given against plundering; but the officers neglecting to enforce strict obedience occasioned the most unfortunate results. The hungry and thirsty soldiers forced open the houses in search of refreshment; finding abundance of excellent wine, they drank freely, and, under its influence, commenced plundering the town. An immense quantity of valuable merchandize and other property was removed on board the fleet, and some of the officers were guilty of securing for themselves many costly articles: thus, such of the inhabitants as were previously disposed to favour the allies became hostile, and the public cause suffered by the want of strict discipline. Cadiz was found better prepared for resistance than had been expected, and the expedition proved of insufficient strength for the capture of this fortress. The troops were re-embarked, and they subsequently proceeded to _Vigo_, where a valuable Spanish fleet had arrived from the West Indies, in charge of a French convoy. The grenadiers and eight battalions of infantry landed on the south side of the river, seven miles from the town: this regiment formed part of the first brigade, which landed under the Duke of Ormond and Brigadier-General Hamilton; a strong fort and a battery were carried by storm, the fleet forced an entrance, and the French and Spanish shipping were all taken and destroyed. Many Spanish seamen escaped on shore and took with them much valuable property: a soldier of Captain Brown's company of this regiment captured a Spanish mariner who was carrying off an immense silver dish of curious workmanship, which was delivered up to the proper authorities[23].

The expedition returned to England, where the regiment arrived in the early part of November, and was stationed at Canterbury; it received £561. 10_s._ prize-money. Queen Anne went in triumphal cavalcade to St. Paul's cathedral to return thanks for this success; and the troops received the thanks of parliament for their conduct.

[Sidenote: 1703]

In a few weeks after its return from Vigo the regiment was ordered to hold itself in readiness to proceed to the West Indies; and in January, 1703, it marched to Portsmouth, where it embarked on board the fleet under Vice-Admiral Graydon. The object of the expedition was the capture of Placentia and Newfoundland; but the enemy's force was found too strong, and, after remaining a short time in the West Indies, the regiment returned to England. It landed in October following at Portsmouth, from whence it was removed into quarters at Southampton and other towns in that neighbourhood.

On the decease of Colonel Ventris Columbine, Her Majesty conferred the colonelcy on the lieutenant-colonel, JAMES RIVERS, by commission dated the 2nd of November, 1703: at the same time Major WILLIAM SOUTHWELL was appointed lieutenant-colonel.

[Sidenote: 1704]

The quarters were extended to Worcester in April, 1704, and a detachment was sent to the Isle of Wight: in August following the regiment proceeded to Plymouth, where it passed the succeeding winter.

[Sidenote: 1705]

Meanwhile the war was raging in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and other parts of the continent, and an attempt was being made to place Archduke Charles of Austria on the throne of Spain by force of arms. Gibraltar had been captured by the combined English and Dutch fleets, and in connexion with these events the regiment was embarked at Plymouth in May, 1705, under the Earl of Peterborough, to take part in the war. The design of this expedition was either to aid the Duke of Savoy in driving the French out of Italy, to make an attempt on Naples and Sicily, or to further the progress of the Archduke in Spain. The fleet arrived at the capital of Portugal in June, and additional forces were embarked: at the same time Archduke Charles went on board the fleet to share in the toils and dangers of the enterprise. From Lisbon the expedition proceeded to Gibraltar, where it was joined by the former colonel of the SIXTH--the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, and a reinforcement from the garrison.

From Gibraltar the fleet proceeded to the bay of Altea, in Valencia; and while at this small port the officers and soldiers had opportunities of observing the attachment of the inhabitants of that part of Spain to the house of Austria. A thousand Catalonians and Valentians, who had thrown off their allegiance to the house of Bourbon, and had acknowledged Archduke Charles as the sovereign of Spain, seized on the town of Denia, while others made demonstrations of giving effectual aid to the expedition; and such a spirit of enterprise was evinced by King Charles, the Earl of Peterborough, the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, and others, that every officer and man caught the ardent zeal of the superior officers, and resolved to do something great and noble. Under these feelings the famous city of _Barcelona_, the capital of Catalonia, and one of the most ancient towns in Spain, was selected to be the scene of the first attempt. Its situation, on a plain near the sea,--with a mole capable of containing only galleys and small ships,--defended by ten bastions, several old towers and other works,--with a strong castle and citadel, called _Montjuich_, on a hill on the west side and commanding the town; the garrison consisting of between five and six thousand men, under the viceroy of Catalonia, Don Francis de Velasco;--and the besieging army being unable to bring more than seven thousand men into the lines; these circumstances, with the fact, that, in 1697, this fortress resisted a French army of thirty thousand men eight weeks with open trenches, and cost the French monarch twelve thousand men, gave an interesting and romantic character to this enterprise, in which the SIXTH gained much honour, and which produced a great sensation throughout Europe.

The troops landed near the river Bassoz, about three miles east of _Barcelona_, on the 23rd and 24th of August. On the 28th King Charles came on shore, when the inhabitants of the neighbouring towns and villages flocked to the camp with demonstrations of joy, and many took arms to act as guerilla bands and miquelets; but the progress of the siege was delayed by opposite opinions and views among the superior officers. "Such were the unhappy circumstances of the Earl of Peterborough in the camp before Barcelona: impossibilities proposed; no expedients to be accepted; a court reproaching; councils of war rejecting; and the Dutch general refusing the assistance of the troops under his command."[24] Yet all these difficulties were overcome; and an attack by storm on the detached fortress of _Montjuich_ was resolved upon, in which the grenadiers of the SIXTH, headed by their Lieutenant-Colonel, WILLIAM SOUTHWELL, had the honour to take the lead. The storming party of four hundred grenadiers, with a support of six hundred musketeers, commanded by the Earl of Peterborough and the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, commenced their march about ten o'clock on the night of Sunday the 13th of September, round the mountains, and were followed by another detachment and a party of dragoons. After traversing many miles of rugged mountain scenery by difficult tracts, the storming party appeared before the fortress, and received a discharge of small arms and artillery from the garrison. The Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt and Lord Charlemont directed Lieut.-Colonel SOUTHWELL of the SIXTH to commence the attack; and instantly springing forward at the head of the grenadiers, this gallant officer led the storming party to the assault with signal intrepidity and resolution. The native energy and contempt of danger of the British soldier was eminently displayed: SOUTHWELL and his grenadiers climbed the steep rock in the face of a storm of fire from the garrison,--entered the covered way and the ditch, sword in hand,--ascended to the top of a curtain which was not quite finished, one soldier helping another up, and, notwithstanding the vigorous resistance of the enemy, gained the bulwark of a new fortification. Here some sharp fighting took place: thrice Lieut.-Colonel SOUTHWELL was surrounded, but he overthrew his adversaries with matchless valour, and the enemy was driven from that post into the castle. The men, at the other points of attack, had also proved successful,--a considerable portion of the outworks were carried,--a temporary breastwork and entrenchment were speedily constructed,--and three pieces of cannon, which had been captured, were made use of to defend it. The Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt afterwards advanced with a body of men along the curtain which led to the ditch of the inward fort, and fell mortally wounded; two hundred and fifty of the men were made prisoners by the enemy; at the same time a large reinforcement was seen advancing from the town to aid the garrison in the castle, and the soldiers received orders to retire from some of the inferior officers. The Earl of Peterborough rushed to the spot, countermanded the order, seized the half-pike out of Lord Charlemont's hands, and rallied and led back the soldiers to the posts they had so nobly won: the Spaniards who were advancing from the town turned back, and the out-works of the fortress of Montjuich were thus gained. Batteries were constructed, and the inner works were assailed with cannon-balls, bombs, and grenades. On the 17th of September, Lieut.-Colonel SOUTHWELL of the SIXTH, being on duty in the trenches with his regiment, observed that the bombs, thrown by a Dutch bombardier from a small mortar, fell to the left of the fort, and concluding there was a magazine in the place, he traversed the mortar a little to the right, himself, and fired it; and the bomb falling into a little chapel where the garrison had stored a great quantity of powder, it blew up, and the governor, a Neapolitan named Don Charlete Caracholi, with a number of other officers and men, were buried in the ruins. The intrepid SOUTHWELL called a few soldiers forward, and, advancing sword in hand to take advantage of the confusion, was met by the surviving officers and men of the garrison, who laid down their arms and surrendered the fortress; Lieut.-Colonel SOUTHWELL took possession of the works; and King Charles hastened to the spot and embraced the lieut.-colonel in a transport of joy. Thus the strong castle and citadel of Montjuich was captured; and Lieut.-Colonel SOUTHWELL of the SIXTH was rewarded with the appointment of governor.[25]

The capture of Montjuich facilitated the siege of the city of Barcelona, which was persecuted with vigour: the miquelets and armed Catalonians blocked up the avenues of the town, and the soldiers were incessant in their exertions. "The admirals forgot their element, and acted as general officers at land; they came every day from their ships with a body of men formed into companies, and commanded by captains and lieutenants of their own."[26] Cannon and mortars were dragged up steep precipices by men; and a practicable breach having been made, a body of soldiers prepared to attack the city by storm; but the effusion of blood, which would have attended this enterprize, was spared by the surrender of the garrison. A number of miquelets entered the city through the breach with the design of plundering the partisans of the Bourbon dynasty. The governor being very unpopular, and suspected of a design to remove many of the prisoners, was surrounded by an enraged mob: but the Earl of Peterborough entered the town on the 14th of October with a troop of dragoons and the grenadiers of the army, put a stop to the plundering of the miquelets, and prevented the slaughter of the governor and his garrison; at the same time such excellent order and discipline were preserved among the English soldiers, that their conduct has been lauded by historians. The capture of Barcelona gave additional reputation to the arms of the allies, and this splendid achievement was the theme of conversation and a subject of astonishment throughout Europe. It was accompanied by the submission of nearly all Catalonia, the largest and richest province of Spain; and, as Boyer, the historian of these wars, observes, "all the generals, admirals, officers, private soldiers, and seamen, engaged in this memorable expedition, deserved each their share of the honour."

King Charles commenced forming a Spanish army for his service: he soon had five hundred dragoons for a guard, and six regiments of foot. He was joined by Colonel Nebot, who forsook the service of King Philip with a regiment of horse; and in a short time the province of Valencia submitted to the Austrian prince.

[Sidenote: 1706]

The regiment continued under the immediate directions of the Earl of Peterborough, with whose achievements its services are connected; and his raising the siege of _St. Mattheo_, the capture of _Morviedro_, his exploits in _Valencia_, and the relief of the capital of that province--successes gained with a small body of soldiers over a numerous army--carry with them the appearance of fiction and romance more than of sober truth; but being supported by abundance of collateral and direct evidence, the truth of these achievements cannot be doubted. Unfortunately, no documents have been met with to prove what particular corps his lordship left in garrison, and what corps he took with him in his daring enterprise in Valencia; the part taken by the first royal and eighth dragoons, the thirteenth, thirtieth, and thirty-fourth foot, and a few other corps, can be clearly made out from history; but whether the SIXTH remained in garrison in Catalonia, or was employed in the enterprise in Valencia, has not been ascertained.

While employed in this part of Spain, the colonel of the regiment, JAMES RIVERS, died, and Lieut.-Colonel WILLIAM SOUTHWELL, having been sent to England with despatches, was promoted by Queen Anne to the colonelcy: he kissed her Majesty's hand on the appointment on the 14th of March, 1706, and hastened back to Spain to join his regiment.

King Charles and his counsellors, instead of exerting themselves to provide for the security of the towns which had come into their possession, and collecting the means for future conquests, spent their time and money in balls and public diversions. The breaches in Barcelona and the detached fortress of Montjuich were left unrepaired, and the garrison unprovided for a siege. Meanwhile King Philip was obtaining reinforcements from the frontiers of Portugal, from Italy, Provence, Flanders, and the Rhine, and he soon appeared at the head of above twenty thousand men to re-capture the provinces he had lost. A powerful French and Spanish force approached _Barcelona_ by land; a French fleet appeared before the town; and, the garrison being weak in numbers, regiments were hurried from other places, one English regiment travelling one hundred and twenty miles on mules, in two days, to take part in the defence of Barcelona. The siege was commenced in the beginning of April, 1706, when the soldiers repaired the breaches, and a desperate and resolute defence was made.

The Earl of Peterborough hastened from Valencia with a body of select troops, but found the town so closely beset that he was unable to force his way into it, when he took to the mountains, and harassed the enemy with skirmishes and night-alarms. The SIXTH was one of the corps which had the honour of sharing in the defence of this important city, and British valour was conspicuously displayed. When the garrison was nearly exhausted, its numbers decreased from deaths, wounds, sickness, and other causes, to about a thousand effective men, and a practical breach was ready for the enemy to attack the place by storm, the English and Dutch fleet arrived with five regiments of foot, the French fleet hurried from before the town, and the reinforcements were landed. Barcelona being thus relieved, the enemy, having lost five thousand men before the town, made a precipitate retreat on the 12th of May, leaving two hundred brass cannon, thirty mortars, and vast quantities of ammunition and provision behind them, together with the sick and wounded of their army, whom Marshal de Tessé recommended to the humanity of the British commander. During the siege, the roads by which the enemy could return into the heart of Spain had been broken up, and other obstructions raised among the mountains and defiles, and the line of retreat so crowded with armed peasantry, that the French army was forced to return to France, and re-enter Spain by the passes of the Pyrenean mountains. Thus Barcelona was preserved by British skill, valour and perseverance; that part of Spain was delivered from the presence of the enemy; and the forces were at liberty to engage in new enterprises.

An immediate advance upon Madrid was resolved upon, and the Marquis das Minas and Earl of Galway, who commanded a British, Portuguese, and Dutch force on the frontiers of Portugal, were requested to penetrate boldly to the capital of Spain. To engage in this enterprise the SIXTH embarked from Barcelona, and proceeded by sea to Valencia, where King Charles was expected to arrive with the cavalry by land. While in Valencia the regiment furnished a detachment of non-commissioned officers and soldiers, which, with similar detachments from other regiments of foot, were formed into a regiment of dragoons, called the Earl of Peterborough's regiment.

From Valencia the regiment was detached, under the orders of Major-General Wyndham, to besiege _Requena_ and _Cuenza_, which places lay on the line of march from Valencia to Madrid, and were both captured after a short resistance. Meanwhile the army from Portugal had penetrated to Madrid, and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of King Charles, who, following the pernicious advice of his Italian counsellors, delayed his journey, and eventually proceeded by way of Arragon. This gave time for the French and Spanish troops under King Philip to re-enter Spain; and, uniting with the forces under the Duke of Berwick, the enemy had a great superiority of numbers. The allies were forced to retire from their forward position; and on the 13th of September, the SIXTH and other corps under Major-General Wyndham joined the army at Veles. The troops continued their route towards the frontiers of Valencia and Murcia, where they remained during the winter.

[Sidenote: 1707]

The SIXTH now formed part of the allied army, which was composed of English, Spaniards, Portuguese, and Dutch, commanded by the Marquis das Minas and the Earl of Galway, and took the field for offensive operations in the early part of April, 1707. After destroying several of the enemy's magazines, the siege of the castle of _Villena_ was undertaken; and while this was in progress, a French and Spanish force, of very superior numbers, commanded by the Duke of Berwick, advanced to the plains of _Almanza_. As the enemy expected the arrival of reinforcements under the Duke of Orleans, the allied generals, though much inferior in numbers to their opponent, resolved to attack him without delay[27].

Advancing in four columns, on the 25th of April, over many miles of rugged ground, and exposed to a burning sun, the army entered a large plain, and about half-past two in the afternoon the advanced-guard arrived in front of the enemy's camp: at three, the soldiers, though faint, and their bodily strength exhausted with the march, advanced boldly to the attack.

The SIXTH were formed in brigade with the seventeenth, thirty-third, and Lord Montjoy's regiments, under Major-General Wade, and were posted between two brigades of cavalry, in the left wing of the front line. The Earl of Galway commenced the action by leading the left brigade through a hollow way to attack the enemy's right: the British dragoons, after gaining some advantage, and ascending a height on which a battery was placed, were overpowered by superior numbers and forced to retire. The SIXTH and thirty-third advanced to support the dragoons, and opening a sharp fire on the flank of the French horse and Spanish life-guards, put them in disorder; at the same time the English dragoons rallied and returned to the charge, and the enemy was driven back with great slaughter. The French and Spanish horsemen returned to the charge; but were again driven back by the fire of the SIXTH and thirty-third regiments. Meanwhile the battle was extending along the line; the ground was contested with varied success; but the British and Dutch battalions, in the centre, obliged the enemy to give way. A few French squadrons advanced to charge the cavalry on the right; the Portuguese squadrons faced about and fled from the field without waiting to be attacked; and several battalions of Portuguese infantry followed the example.

Nine battalions of French and Spanish infantry advanced to that part of the field where the SIXTH and thirty-third were engaged; the two regiments confronted the overwhelming numbers of the enemy nobly, and being joined by the ninth, seventeenth, and Lord Montjoy's regiments, disputed the ground with sanguinary obstinacy; but while the contest was still raging, a body of fresh French and Spanish cavalry overpowered and drove back the allied squadrons on the left. The five regiments (SIXTH, ninth, seventeenth, thirty-third, and Lord Montjoy's) were thus left unsupported: they were attacked by nine battalions of the enemy, and, while bravely contending with the seven battalions which assailed them in front, they were charged in flank by the other two, broken, and driven from the field with great loss: a few only of the officers and men of the SIXTH escaped being killed or taken prisoners. The two French battalions which attacked them in flank, pursuing with eagerness, were cut to pieces by Harvey's horse, now second dragoon guards, who were in turn overpowered by the superior numbers of the enemy.

The fight still raged in the centre; but the flanks being defeated, the enemy surrounded the centre and made a great slaughter. Major-General Shrimpton, Brigadier-General Macartney, Colonels Britton and Hill, and several other officers, collected the broken remains of the English regiments, which fought in the centre, into a body, and united them with some of the Dutch and Portuguese, who had been rallied by Count de Dhona and Don Juan Emanuel, and formed a body of nearly four thousand men, who retreated two leagues; but were pursued by the enemy, whom they repeatedly repulsed. Arriving at the woody hills of Caudete, the men were so exhausted with fatigue that they were unable to proceed; they passed the night in the wood, where they were surrounded by the enemy; and on the following morning, being without ammunition, ignorant of the country, destitute of provisions, and without the hope of a supply, they surrendered prisoners of war. Such was the result of this unfortunate battle, where the faint and wearied soldiers were hurried forward to fight superior numbers of fresh troops, commanded by a renowned general: but, notwithstanding these disadvantages, the author of the Annals of Queen Anne observes:--"Had the Portuguese bravely seconded the English and Dutch, who, with unparalleled resolution and undauntedness broke the enemy's centre, it is the opinion of many that victory would have inclined to the confederate side; or, at least, that the latter might have made an honourable retreat, and, considering the vast disproportion of the forces, have gained the glory of the day."

The loss of the SIXTH was very great: Lieutenant-Colonel M'Neal, Captains Columbine, Drake, Campbell, and Justiene, Lieutenants Harvey and Emmery, and Ensigns Sarracen and Watts were killed; Captains Bennett and Hussey were taken prisoners; and Lieutenants Beauford, Columbine, Babington, Magee, M'Neal, and Campbell, Ensigns Beckwith, Morgan, and Reynolds, Quarter-Master Begham, Surgeon Dilpach, and Surgeon's-Mate Macdonald, were wounded and taken prisoners.

The few officers and men of the regiment who escaped from the field of battle proceeded to Alcira, a strong town on the river Xucar, where they joined the cavalry with which the Earl of Galway had made good his retreat; and the approach to the town being by almost inaccessible mountains, they halted a few days to re-organise the army. On the advance of the French and Spanish forces commanded by the Duke of Orleans, the Earl of Galway placed a garrison in Alcira, and removed to _Tortosa_, and the SIXTH were among the troops which encamped on the banks of the river Ebro, about two miles above the city. Meanwhile many of the men who had been taken prisoners, escaped and returned to their regiments; detachments were called in, and the troops took up a position beyond the Ebro. On the 22nd of May the French light cavalry appeared on the hills; on the following day their army encamped against the town, and the SIXTH were engaged in the defence of a small village and _tête de pont_ to the bridge of boats, which last post was held for several days. The enemy having passed the Ebro, the regiment was removed to Tarragona, and subsequently to Las Borgues.

The Duke of Orleans having besieged _Lerida_, some arrangements were made to attempt to relieve the garrison, and the army encamped within a few miles of the town; but a sufficient number of troops could not be assembled to enable the Earl of Galway to attack the besieging army with any hope of success. After the surrender of the castle, the regiment marched back to Tarragona for winter quarters, and its ranks were completed by drafts from the second foot and other regiments which were ordered to return to England to recruit.

[Sidenote: 1708]