History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery Vol. 2

Chapter IX: The Ninth Battalion

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This Battalion of the Royal Artillery was formed in an eventful year. Whether we regard it from a political or a purely military point of view, the year 1806 had an important influence on those which followed it.

The previous year, the year of Austerlitz, had witnessed the collapse of Pitt’s coalition against Napoleon, and the consequent isolation of England. But it was also the year of Trafalgar; and left England still mistress of the seas.

With 1806 came the Battle of Jena, Napoleon’s triumphal entry into Berlin, and the issue of his famous declaration against English commerce, which, if obeyed to the letter, would have put England virtually in a state of blockade. It was a critical year for a country whose commerce was her very life-blood; and in this very year, those who had so long steered the ship of the State, William Pitt and Charles James Fox, were removed by death. But the country took up the gauntlet thrown down by Napoleon, and from this year conducted with sternness and determination a war which, from being one of _resistance_, became one for _existence_ as well.

It was a year, too, which should be remembered fondly in the annals of the British Army--the year of the Battle of Maida, described in the last chapter, where the gallantry of the British troops against Napoleon’s tried legions obtained a victory, which had a moral influence both in England and on the Continent, which is perhaps rarely realised now.

Grasping the importance of the situation, and greatly assisted by the ease of obtaining recruits, the Board of Ordnance resolved on an augmentation of the Royal Artillery to the extent of yet another battalion. The strength of the Regiment, and its periodical increase and decrease, are ascertainable from a return which used to be furnished annually to the Board, called the “Wear and Tear of the Regiment for the year ending,” &c. From this return it would appear that during the year 1805, the number of gunner-recruits who joined the Horse Artillery and Marching Battalions was no less than 2574. But the _wear and tear_ by death, transfer, desertion, &c., during the same period was 1017, so that the net increase was 1557; the Regiment rising from 10,203, at which it stood on 1st January, 1805, to 11,760, its strength on the 31st December in the same year. During the same period the Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers, and Drivers attached to the Horse Brigade, had received 489 recruits, and, allowing for the wear and tear during the year, had increased from 4897 to 4986 of all ranks, excluding officers.

It is hardly possible that this large increase to the establishment had been allowed by the Board without a motive; and it may indeed be assumed with tolerable certainty that the formation of the 9th Battalion had been to some extent contemplated during Napoleon’s successes in 1805. This impression is confirmed by reference to the returns for the year 1806, which show that the increase to the Regiment during that year was only half what had taken place during the year preceding.

The increase which had been permitted during the year 1805 proved to be greater than was necessary for the wants of the new Battalion; and the establishment of the Regiment was found on the 1st May, 1806, to have been exceeded by over 400 men. This excess, however, was soon swallowed up by the year’s wear and tear, which in 1806 amounted to 874 men.

The promotions consequent on the formation of the new Battalion were gazetted on 22nd May, 1806, and Major-General Thomas Blomefield was appointed Colonel-Commandant. The record-book of the Battalion, like that of the 8th, has been lost since the introduction of the Brigade system. It was permitted to accompany the head-quarters of the 9th Brigade, and during their frequent changes of station it has been mislaid--offering another argument, if one were needed, in favour of the centralization of all military records. As in the case of the 8th Battalion, so in [Sidenote: Lieut. J. Ritchie, Staff-Officer Coast Brigade, R.A.] the present instance the Regiment is indebted to an officer at Head-quarters for the following facts connected with the companies prior to 1850. Their present designations, and the stations in which they served, have been given, and the succession of Captains down to a certain date. The war services of some companies will be found mentioned in the succeeding narrative, and the tables will be completed, should the compilation of the separate work on the Crimea be at some future time accomplished.

No. 1 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION,

Now “G” BATTERY, 9th BRIGADE, R.A.

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List of Captains down to 1850. |Stations on which the Company has served.
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1806 Captain J. S. Robison |1806 Woolwich.
1808 ” J. T. Cowper. |1807 Ireland.
1819 ” W. D. Nicolls. |1816 Jamaica.
1833 ” G. Durnford. |1825 Woolwich.
1842 ” R. B. Rawnsley. |1827 Ireland.
1845 ” H. G. Teesdale. |1833 Woolwich.
1846 ” R. M. Poulden. |1833 Gibraltar.
1846 ” A. J. Taylor. |1842 Woolwich.
1850 ” T. Elwyn. |1843 Ireland.
|1846 Woolwich.
|1847 Barbadoes.

No. 2 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION,

Now “E” BATTERY, 8th BRIGADE, R.A.

-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------
List of Captains who have commanded|List of Stations where the Company has
down to 1846. | served down to 1850.
-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------
1806 Captain J. Smith. |1806 Woolwich.
1807 ” J. W. Tobin. |1807 Ireland.
1814 ” S. Bolton. |1815 Holland and France.
1815 ” W. Clibborn. |1816 Woolwich.
1819 ” C. Wilkinson. |1822 Barbadoes.
1825 ” T. Dyneley. |1828 Woolwich.
1825 ” J. Darby. |1831 Scotland.
1827 ” C. Cruttenden. |1835 Woolwich.
1827 ” P. W. Walker. |1836 Gibraltar.
1840 ” R. Clarke. |1845 Woolwich.
1846 ” C. V. Cockburn. |1847 Guernsey.
|1849 Woolwich.
|1850 Jamaica.

No. 3 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION,

Afterwards “8” Battery, 11th Brigade; then “7” Battery, 14th Brigade; then “G” Battery, 14th Brigade;

Now “B” BATTERY, 14th BRIGADE, R.A.

No. 4 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION,

Now “6” BATTERY, 12th BRIGADE, R.A.

No. 5 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION,

Now “2” BATTERY, 3rd BRIGADE, R.A.

No. 6 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION,

_Reduced 28th February, 1819._

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Names of Captains. |Stations on which the Company served.
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1806 Captain F. Griffiths. |1806 Woolwich.
1808 ” P. J. Hughes. |1808 Battle.
|1810 Cadiz.
|1814 Woolwich.
|1816 Plymouth.

No. 7 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION.

This Company became No. 6 Company on March 1st, 1819; was called No. 8 Battery, 14th Brigade, on July 1st, 1859; its designation was again altered on January 1st, 1860, to No. 8 Battery, 13th Brigade; and on the 1st October, 1862, it became, what it now is,

“C” BATTERY, 14th BRIGADE, R.A.

No. 8 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION.

_Reduced on 28th February, 1819._

No. 9 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION.

This Company became No 7 Company on 1st March, 1819; and No. 8 Battery, 10th Brigade, on the 1st July, 1859. It was reduced on 1st February, 1871.

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Names of Captains who commanded it|Stations on which the Company served
down to 1850. | down to 1846.
----------------------------------+--------------------------------------
1806 Captain J. P. Cockburn. |1806 Woolwich.
1806 ” J. F. Ogilvie. |1808 Chatham.
1807 ” J. S. Sinclair. |1809 Portsmouth.
1808 ” T. J. Forbes. |1810 Ireland.
1823 ” C. Mosse. |1817 Barbadoes.
1831 ” W. Greene. |1827 Woolwich.
1834 ” C. Dalton. |1829 Devonport.
1834 ” J. C. Petley. |1833 Woolwich.
1837 ” A. Wright. |1834 Jamaica.
1840 ” F. Warde. |1841 Woolwich.
1842 ” B. Cuppage. |1843 Devonport.
1849 ” T. de Winton. |1845 Woolwich.
1850 ” A. T. Phillpotts. |1846 Gibraltar.

No. 10 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION.

This Company became No. 8 Company, 9th Battalion, on 1st March, 1819; and on the introduction of the Brigade system, in 1859, it became No. 5 Battery, 9th Brigade, or, as now called,

“E” BATTERY, 9th BRIGADE, R.A.

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History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery Vol. 2Chapter IX: The Ninth Battalion

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