The Scottish Highlands, Highland Clans and Highland Regiments, Volume 2 (of 2)

Chapter LXVI: Introduction: Military character of the Highlands (33)

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There is in all regiments a class which, very far remote as it is from the possession of the higher, or, at all events, the more dignified range of attributes, yet, as a curious study, is not undeserving of a few notes. It is pretty well known that each officer of a regiment has attached to his special service a man selected from the ranks, and in most cases from the company to which he himself belongs. Now, it is not to be supposed that the captain of a company will sanction the employment in this way of his smartest men, nor, indeed, would the commanding officer be likely to ratify the appointment if he did; still, I have seen smart young fellows occasionally filling the position of officer’s servant, though they rarely continued long in it, but reverted, as a rule, sooner or later, to their places in the ranks, under the influence of a soldier’s proper ambition, which pointed to the acquisition of at least a non-commission officer’s stripes; not to speak of the difference between Her Majesty’s livery and that of any intermediate master, however much in his own person deserving of respect. The young ensign, however, in joining will rarely find himself accommodated with a servant of this class. He will have presented to him, in that capacity, some steady (we had almost said “sober,” but that we should have been compelled forthwith to retract), grave, and experienced old stager, much, probably, the worse of wear from the lapse of time and from subsidiary influences, and serving out his time for a pension (I speak of days when such things were), after such fashion as military regulations and an indulgent captain permitted. This sort of man was generally held available for the newly joined ensign, upon much the same principle as that which places the new dragoon recruit on the back of some stiff-jointed steed of supernatural sagacity and vast experience of a recruit’s weak points in the way of security of seat, which last, however, he only puts to use when he sees a way of doing so with benefit to his position, unaccompanied with danger to his hide; in other words, while regarding with much indifference the feelings of the shaky individual who bestrides him, he has a salutary dread of the observant rough-rider. A soldier servant of the above class will devote himself to making what he can, within the limits of strict integrity, out of a juvenile master; but woe betide the adventurous wight whom he detects poaching on his preserve! On the whole, therefore, the ensign is not badly off, for the veteran is, after all, really honest, and money to almost any amount may be trusted to his supervision; as for tobacco and spirits, he looks upon them, I am afraid, as contraband of war, a fair and legitimate forfeit if left within the scope of his privateering ingenuity.

Many years ago, while the 79th Highlanders formed the garrison of Edinburgh Castle, Her Majesty the Queen, who had very lately ascended the throne of Great Britain, paid a visit to the metropolis of her Scottish dominions, and a guard of honour from the above regiment was despatched down to Holyrood to keep watch and ward over the royal person. It was late in the season, or early, I forget which, Colonel Clephane writes, and when the shades of evening closed round, the officers of the guard were sensible, in their large, gloomy chamber, of a chilly feeling which the regulated allowance of coals failed to counteract. In other words, the fuel ran short, and they were cold, so it was resolved to despatch one of their servants, a type of the class just alluded to, for a fresh supply. Half-a-crown was handed to him for this purpose--a sum which represented the value of more than a couple of hundredweights in those days,--and Donald was instructed to procure a scuttlefull, and bring back the change. Time went on, the few embers in the old grate waxed dimmer and dimmer, and no Donald made his appearance. At last, when the temper of the expectant officers had reached boiling point, increasing in an inverse ratio to their bodily caloric, the door opened, and Donald gravely entered the apartment. The chamber was vast and the light was dim, and the uncertain gait of the approaching domestic was at first unnoticed. Calmly disregarding a howl of indignant remonstrance on the score of his dilatory proceedings, the latter silently approached the end of the room where the two officers were cowering over the dying embers. It was now seen that he carried in one hand a piece of coal, or some substance like it, about the size of a six-pounder shot. “Where have you been, confound you! and why have you not brought the coals?” roared his master. Donald halted, steadied himself, and glanced solemnly, first at the “thing” which he carefully bore in his palm, then at the speaker’s angry lineaments, and in strangely husky accents thus delivered himself:--“Not another--hic--bit of coal in Edinburgh; coalsh--hic--’sh very dear just now, Mr Johnstone!” The delinquent’s master was nearly beside himself with fury when he saw how the matter stood, but he could not for the life of him help, after a moment or two, joining in the merriment which shook the very frame of his comrade. Donald, in the meantime, stood regarding both with an air of tipsy gravity, and was apparently quite bewildered when ordered to retire with a view to being placed in durance vile. This incident naturally ended the connection between him and his aggrieved master. It is but fair to state that the hero of the above little anecdote, though I have called him “Donald,” was a Lowlander.

SUCCESSION LIST OF COLONELS AND LIEUTENANT-COLONELS OF THE 79TH, THE QUEEN’S OWN CAMERON HIGHLANDERS.

COLONELS.

FOOTNOTES:

[509] No portrait of this indomitable Colonel exists, or it should have been given as a steel engraving.

[510] Captain Robert Jameson’s _Historical Record of the 79th_. To this record, as well as to the original manuscript record of the regiment, we are indebted for many of the following details.

[511] “At this interview, Colonel Cameron plainly told the Duke, ‘to draft the 79th is more than you or your Royal father dare do.’ The Duke then said, ‘The King my father will certainly send the regiment to the West Indies.’ Colonel Cameron, losing temper, replied, ‘You may tell the King your father from me, that he may send us to h--l if he likes, and I’ll go at the head of them, but _he daurna draft us_,’--a line of argument which, it is unnecessary to add, proved to the Royal Duke perfectly irresistible.”--Jameson’s _Historical Record_.

[512] “In 1809, the 79th accomplished what no other regiment did. In January of that year they were in Spain at the Battle of Corunna, and returned to England in February, when 700 men and several officers suffered from a dangerous typhus fever, yet not a man died. In July they embarked 1002 bayonets for Walcheren, were engaged during the whole siege of Flushing in the trenches, yet had not a man wounded, and, whilst there, lost only one individual in fever--Paymaster Baldock, the least expected of any one. During the three months after their return to England, only ten men died, and in December of that same year again, embarked for the peninsula. 1032 strong.”--Note by Dr A. Anderson, Regimental surgeon, p. 44 of H. S. Smith’s _List of the Officers of the 79th_.

[513] “This gallant officer commanded the picket of the 79th, and could not be induced to withdraw. He was last seen by Captain (afterwards the late Lieut.-General Sir Neil) Douglas, fighting hand to hand with several French soldiers, to whom he refused to deliver up his sword. His body was found pierced with seven bayonet wounds.”--Jameson’s _Records_, p. 24.

[514] Jameson’s _Record_.

[515] Jameson’s _Record_, p. 27.

[516] In a note to this poem, Scott says that the 71st and 79th, on seeing Cameron fall, raised a dreadful shriek of grief and rage; “they charged with irresistible fury the finest body of French grenadiers ever seen, being a part of Bonaparte’s selected guard. The officer who led the French, a man remarkable for stature and symmetry, was killed on the spot. The Frenchman who stepped out of the ranks to take aim at Colonel Cameron was also bayoneted, pierced with a thousand wounds, and almost torn to pieces by the furious Highlanders, who, under the command of Colonel Cadogan, bore the enemy out of the contested ground at the point of the bayonet.”

[517] His portrait is on p. 504, vol. ii.

[518] “Sergeant Mackenzie had previously applied to Major Cocks for the use of his dress sabre, which the major readily granted, and used to relate with great satisfaction that the sergeant returned it to him in a state which indicated that he had used it with effect.”

[519] Captain Jameson’s _Record_.

[520] His portrait will be found on the steel-plate of Colonels of the 71st and 72nd Regiments.

[521] As the part taken by the 79th in the Peninsular battles has been described at some length in connection with the 42nd and other regiments, it is unnecessary to repeat the details here.

[522] Whilst the enemy thus gained a temporary possession of the redoubts, Lieutenant Ford and seven men of the 79th, who were in a detached portion of the work, separated from its front face by a deep road, had their retreat cut off by a whole French regiment advancing along this road in their rear, when one of the men, with great presence of mind, called out “sit down,” which hint was immediately acted on, with the effect of saving the party from being made prisoners, as the enemy supposed them to be wounded, _and a French officer shrugged his shoulders in token of inability to render them any assistance_!

[523] Jameson’s _Historical Record_, p. 43.

[524] “Evan” and “Donald” are Sir Evan or Ewen Cameron, and Donald, the “Gentle Lochiel.” Their portraits are on pages 296 and 519, vol. i.

[525] _Historical Record_, p. 51.

[526] “During the formation, Piper Kenneth Mackay of the 79th, a brave Highlander, stepped outside of the bayonets and continued to play round the outside of the square, the popular air of ‘_Cògaidh nà Sith_’ with much inspiriting effect.”--Jameson’s _Historical Record_.

[527] See his portrait on the steel-plate of Colonels of the 78th and 79th regiments.

[528] For these and other personal anecdotes relating to the history of the 79th during the last forty years, we are indebted to the kindness of Lt.-Colonel Clephane.

[529] “The magnificent mile of line,” says Captain Jameson, “displayed by the Guards and Highlanders, the prominent bear-skin, the undulating waves of the clan-tartans, the stalwart frames, steady and confident bearing of these young and eager soldiers advancing under fire, can never be forgotten by those who witnessed it, whilst it contributed materially to the discouragement of the enemy, whose columns perceptibly wavered as they approached. His masses of four-and-twenty deep, absolutely reeled and staggered to and fro under the murderous fire of the Scottish line, which was delivered with great effect at a distance of 200 yards.”

[530] _Invasion of the Crimea_, vol. ii. p. 487.

[531] For the episode of Sir Colin Campbell’s Scotch bonnet, and other incidents connected with the Highland Brigade generally, we must again refer the reader to our account of the 42nd.

[532] _Historical Record_, p. 100.

[533] The British showed a curious contrast to their allies in this respect. Their complete subordination and obedience to orders were no less remarkable than praiseworthy. This, however, was of no real benefit to the owners, for our free and easy allies had no such scruples. As is usual with them, the comic element soon began largely to intermingle with the thirst for “loot,” and grim-looking Zouaves and Sappers were to be seen parading with absurd airs and paces about the streets dressed in ladies garments, with little silk parasols held over smart bonnets perched on the top of their own appropriate head-dresses, and accompanied by groups of quasi-admirers, demeaning themselves after what they doubtless considered to be the most approved Champs Elysées fashion, to the no small wonder and amusement of their less mercurial allies of Scotland, who stood about looking on with broad grins at “_Frangsy_ makin’ a fule o’ himsel’.”

[534] The two addresses delivered to the Highland brigade in the Crimea by Sir Colin Campbell--the first on Sept. 21st, 1855, in connection with the distribution of medals and clasps, and the second on May 9th, 1856, on his leaving the Crimea for England--will be found in the account of the 42nd.

[535] We regret that the Record-Book of the 79th is extremely meagre in its account of the part taken by the regiment in the Indian campaign, and we have been unable to obtain details elsewhere. This, however, is the less to be regretted, as the details given in the history of the 42nd, 78th, and 93rd are so full that our readers will be able to form a tolerably good idea of what the 79th had to undergo.

[536] So in the Record-Book, and if correct, must include a very large number who died from sunstroke, fatigue, and disease.

THE 91ST PRINCESS LOUISE ARGYLLSHIRE HIGHLANDERS.

1794-1848.

Raising of the Regiment--At first the 98th--South Africa--Wynberg
--Saldanha Bay--Number changed to 91st--Faithfulness of the
Regiment--Returns to England--Germany--Ireland--The Peninsula
--Obidos--Vimeiro--Corunna--The detached company--Talavera
--Walcheren--Peninsula again--Vittoria--Pamplona--Nivelle--Nive
--Bayonne--Orthes--Toulouse--Ireland--Quatre Bras--Waterloo
--France--Ireland--91st loses Highland dress--Jamaica--England
--Ireland--St Helena--Cape of Good Hope--The Reserve Battalion
formed and sails for S. Africa--Wreck of the “Abercrombie Robinson”
--Insurrection of Dutch farmers--Frontier service--The Boers again
--New colours--The Kaffir War--Amatola Mountains--Attack on Fort
Peddie--Buffalo Spruits--1st Battalion goes home.

NE OBLIVISCARIS.

ROLEIA.
VIMEIRO.
CORUNNA.
PYRENEES.
NIVELLE.
NIVE.
ORTHES.
TOULOUSE.
PENINSULA.]

This regiment was raised, in accordance with a desire expressed by His Majesty George III., by the Duke of Argyll, to whom a letter of service was granted, dated the 10th of February 1794. In March it was decided that the establishment of the regiment should consist of 1112 officers and men, including 2 lieutenant-colonels. Duncan Campbell of Lochnell, who was a captain in the Foot Guards, was appointed Lieutenant-colonel commandant of the regiment, and assumed the command at Stirling on the 15th of April, 1794.

The regiment was inspected for the first time, on the 26th of May, when it had reached a strength of 738 officers and men, by General Lord Adam Gordon, who particularly noticed the attention and good appearance of the men. The regiment remained at Stirling for a month after this inspection, marching about the middle of June to Leith, at which port, on the 17th and 18th of that month, it embarked _en route_ for Netley, where it went into encampment. On the 9th of July the king approved of the list of officers, and the regiment was numbered the 98th.

The 98th, which had meantime removed to Chippenham, marched to Gosport about the end of April, 1795, and on the 5th of May it embarked at Spithead as part of the joint expedition to South Africa, against the Dutch, under Major-General Alured Clark. It arrived in Simon’s Bay on the 3rd, landing at Simon’s Town, on the 9th of September, and encamped at Muysenberg.[537]

THE PRINCESS LOUISE. FROM PHOTOGRAPH BY HILL & SAUNDERS

THE MARQUIS OF LORNE. FROM PHOTOGRAPH BY ELLIOT & FRY.]

After the army under Major-General Clark arrived at the Cape, it advanced on the 14th of September and carried Wynberg, the battalion companies of the regiment, under Colonel Campbell, forming the centre of the line. On this occasion the 98th had 4 privates wounded. On September 16th the regiment entered Cape Town Castle, and relieved the Dutch garrison by capitulation, all the forts and batteries of Cape Town and its dependencies having been given over to the possession of the British. About a year afterwards, however, an expedition was sent from Holland for the purpose of winning back the Cape of Good Hope to that country, and in the action which took place at Saldanha Bay on the 17th of August 1796, and in which the British were completely victorious, the grenadier and light companies of the 98th took part. The regiment remained in South Africa till the year 1802, during which time little occurred to require special notice.

In October 1798, while the regiment was at Cape Town, its number was changed from the 98th to the 91st.

In May 1799 a regimental school was established for the first time for the non-commissioned officers and men.

In the beginning of 1799 a strong attempt was made by a number of the soldiers in the garrison at Cape Town to organise a mutiny, their purpose being to destroy the principal officers, and to establish themselves in the colony. Not only did the 91st not take any part in this diabolical attempt, but the papers containing the names of the mutineers and their plans were discovered and seized by the aid of private Malcolm M’Culloch and other soldiers of the regiment, who had been urged by the mutineers to enter into the conspiracy. Lt.-Col. Crawford in a regimental order specially commended the conduct of M’Culloch, and declared that he considered himself fortunate in being the commander of such a regiment.

In November 1802 the first division of the 91st embarked at Table Bay for England, arriving at Portsmouth in February 1803. On the 28th of the latter month the second division had the honour of delivering over the Cape of Good Hope to the Dutch, to whom it had been secured at the peace of Amiens. After performing this duty the division embarked at Table Bay, arriving at Portsmouth in May, and joining the first division at their quarters in Bexhill during the next month.

During the next few years the Record Book contains nothing but an enumeration of the various places to which the regiment marched for the purpose of encamping or acting as garrison. A slight, and no doubt welcome interruption of this routine was experienced in December 1805, at the end of which month it embarked for Hanover, and was brigaded along with the 26th and 28th regiments, under the command of Major-General Mackenzie Fraser.[538] After the regiment had been about a month in Germany the British army was recalled, and the 91st consequently returned to England in the end of January 1806, taking up its quarters at Faversham.

In August 1804, in accordance with the recent Act of Parliament known as the Defence Act, means were taken to add a second battalion to the 91st, by raising men in the counties of Perth, Argyll, and Bute.

The regiment remained in England until the end of 1806, when it embarked at Dover for Ireland, disembarking at the Cove of Cork on Jan. 7th, 1807, and marching into Fermoy. It remained in Ireland, sending detachments to various places, till the middle of 1808, embarking at Monkstown on the 15th of June, to form part of the Peninsular expedition under Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley. The 91st was brigaded with the 40th and 71st regiments under Brigadier General Crawford, the three regiments afterwards forming the 5th Brigade.[539] The 91st was engaged in most of the actions during the Peninsular war, and did its part bravely and satisfactorily.

On August 9th 1808, the 91st advanced with the rest of the army, and, on the 17th, in the affair at Obidos the light company of the regiment, with those of the brigade under the command of Major Douglas of the 91st, were engaged, when the advanced posts of the enemy were driven from their positions. On August 21st, the regiment was present at the battle of Vimeiro, forming part of the reserve under General C. Crawford, which turned the enemy’s right,--a movement which was specially mentioned in the official despatch concerning this important battle.

In the beginning of September, by a new distribution of the army, the 91st was placed in Major-General Beresford’s brigade with the 6th and 45th regiments, and in the 4th division, that of Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley. On Sept. 20th, however, it seems to have been attached, with its brigade, to the 3rd division.

On Oct. 19th the regiment advanced into Spain, with the rest of the army under Lt.-Gen. Sir John Moore, proceeding by Abrantes, Covilhão, Belmonte, Morilhão, Ciudad Rodrigo, and Salamanca, arriving at the last-mentioned place on Nov. 18th. On the 28th the regiment was formed into a brigade with the 20th, 28th, 52nd, and 95th regiments, to compose a part of the reserve army under Major-General the Hon. Edward Paget, in which important capacity it served during the whole of Sir John Moore’s memorable retreat to Corunna. On Jan. 11th, 1809, the 91st, along with the rest of the army, took up its position on the heights of Corunna, the reserve brigade on the 16th--the day of battle--being behind the left of the British army. The 91st does not appear to have been actively engaged in this disastrous battle,--disastrous in that it involved the loss of one of England’s greatest generals, the brave Sir John Moore. On the evening of the 16th the 91st embarked, and arrived in Plymouth Sound on the 28th.

The officers, non-commissioned officers, and men who were left sick in Portugal on the advance of the regiment with Sir John Moore, were formed into a company under Captain Walsh, and placed as such in the first battalion of detachments. This battalion was commanded by Lt.-Col. Bunbury, and composed part of the army in Portugal under Lt.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley. This company was actively employed in the affairs of May 10th, 11th, and 12th, which led to the capture of Oporto. It afterwards advanced with the army which drove the enemy into Spain.

The company was engaged on July 27th and 28th in the battle of Talavera, in which, out of a total strength of 93 officers and men, it lost 1 officer, Lieutenant Macdougal, and 9 rank and file killed, 1 sergeant and 30 rank and file wounded, and 1 officer, Captain James Walsh, and 19 men missing; in all, 61 officers and men. Captain Walsh was taken prisoner by the enemy in a charge, and with many other officers was marched, under a strong escort, towards France. He, however, effected his escape at Vittoria on the night of August 20th, and after suffering the greatest privation and hardship, he rejoined the army in Portugal, and reported himself personally to Lord Wellington. Captain Thomas Hunter, of the 91st, who was acting as major of brigade, was also wounded and taken prisoner in this action.

Meantime, the main body of the 91st, after being garrisoned in England for a few months, was brigaded with the 6th and 50th Foot, under Major-General Dyott, and placed in the 2nd division, under Lieut.-General the Marquis of Huntly, preparatory to its embarkation in the expedition to Walcheren, under Lieut.-General the Earl of Chatham. The regiment disembarked at South Beveland on August 9th, and entered Middelburg, in the island of Walcheren, on Sept. 2nd. Here it seems to have remained till Dec. 23rd, when it re-embarked at Flushing, arriving at Deal on the 26th, and marched to Shorncliffe barracks. In this expedition to Walcheren the 91st must have suffered severely from the Walcheren fever, as in the casualty table of the Record Book for the year 1809 we find, for the months of Sept. and Oct. respectively, the unusually high numbers of 37 and 42 deaths.

The 91st remained in England till the month of Sept. 1812, on the 18th and 19th of which it again embarked to take its share in the Peninsular war, arriving at Corunna between the 6th and the 12th of October. On October 14th the regiment set out to join the army under the Duke of Wellington, arriving on Nov. 1st at Villafranca, about 12 miles from Benavente. After taking part in a movement in the direction of Bragança, on the frontiers of Portugal, the 91st, which had been placed in the Highland or General Pack’s brigade, then under the command of Colonel Stirling of the 42nd Regiment, in the 6th division,--finally removed to San Roma, where it remained during the winter.

In April 1813, the 91st left its winter quarters, and on May 14th advanced with the combined army to attack the enemy. At the battle of Vittoria, on June 21st, the 6th division, to which the 91st belonged, was ordered to defile to the right to watch the movements of a division of the enemy during this important action, and on the 22nd it marched through Vittoria, and took charge of the guns and other warlike stores abandoned by the enemy.

On June 27th the 91st, along with the rest of the army, commenced the march towards Pamplona, and on July 6th the 6th division, in conjunction with the 5th, invested that fortress. But the blockade of Pamplona having been left to the 5th division and the Spanish legion, the 6th division advanced to San Estevan on July 15th. On the 26th of the same month, the enemy having made some movements to raise the siege of Pamplona, the 6th division moved from San Estevan on that day, and, in conjunction with the 4th and 7th divisions, on July 28th attacked the head of the French column at the small village of Sorauren, near Pamplona, and completely checked its progress. On the 30th, at daybreak, the action recommenced on the right of the division by an attack from the enemy’s left wing. The action continued hotly until about noon, when the light companies of the Highland brigade, under the direction of Major Macneil of the 91st Regiment, stormed and carried the village of Sorauren, causing the enemy to flee in all directions, pursued by the division.

On the 28th the regiment lost 1 sergeant and 11 rank and file killed, and 6 officers--Captain Robert Lowrie, Lts. Allan Maclean, John Marshall, and S. N. Ormerod, and Ensigns J. A. Ormiston and Peter M’Farlane--and 97 rank and file wounded; on the 30th, 1 private was killed, and Major Macneil and 8 rank and file wounded. At least about 40 of the wounded afterwards died of their wounds.

The 91st continued to take part in the pursuit of the enemy, and on the night of August 1st bivouacked on the heights of Roncesvalles; on August 8th it encamped on the heights of Maya. The regiment remained in this quarter till the 9th of Nov., on the evening of which the army marched forward to attack the whole of the enemy’s positions within their own frontier; and on the next day, the 10th of Nov., the battle of Nivelle was fought, the British attacking and carrying all the French positions, putting the enemy to a total rout. The 91st lost in this action, Captain David M’Intyre and 3 men killed, and 2 sergeants and 4 men wounded.

On November 11th the British continued to pursue the enemy towards Bayonne, but the weather being extremely wet the troops were ordered into cantonments. The British were in motion again, however, in the beginning of Dec., early on the morning of the 9th of which the 6th division crossed the Nive on pontoon bridges, and attacked and drove in the enemy’s outposts. As the 6th division had to retire out of the range of the fire of the 2nd division, it became during the remainder of the day merely an army of observation. The only casualties of the 91st at the battle of the Nive were 5 men wounded.

Marshal Soult, finding himself thus shut up in Bayonne, and thinking that most of the British troops had crossed the Nive, made, on the 10th, a desperate sally on the left of the British army, which for a moment gave way, but soon succeeded in regaining its position, and in driving the enemy within the walls of Bayonne. During the action the 6th division recrossed the Nive, and occupied quarters at Ustaritz.

At Bayonne, on Dec. 13th, Sir Rowland Hill declined the proffered assistance of the 6th division, which therefore lay on its arms in view of the dreadful conflict, that was terminated only by darkness. The enemy were completely driven within the walls of Bayonne.

During December and January the British army was cantoned in the environs of Bayonne, but was again in motion on Feb. 5th, 1814, when, with the exception of the 5th division and a few Spaniards left to besiege Bayonne, it proceeded into France. On Feb. 26th the 6th division arrived on the left bank of the Adour, opposite Orthes; and on the morning of the 27th the 3d, 4th, 6th, and 7th divisions crossed on pontoons and drew up on the plain on the right bank of the river. The French thought themselves secure in their fortified heights in front of the British position. About 9 o’clock in the morning the divisions moved down the main road towards Orthes; each division, as it came abreast of the enemy’s position, broke off the road and attacked and carried the position in its front. About noon the enemy fled, pursued by the British, who were stopped only by the darkness of night. In the battle of Orthes the 91st had Captain William Gunn and Lts. Alexander Campbell, John Marshall, and John Taylor, and 12 rank and file wounded. At the Aire, on March 2nd, the 91st had 1 man killed, and Captain William Douglas, Ensign Colin Macdougal, 1 sergeant, and 14 men wounded.

The 91st continued with its division to advance towards Toulouse, where the great Peninsular struggle was to culminate. On March 26th, the 6th division arrived at the village of Constantine, opposite to and commanding a full view of Toulouse, and on the 8th it moved to the right, and occupied the village of Tournefouille. Early on the morning of April 4th the division moved a few miles down the Garonne, and a little after daybreak crossed.[540] On the morning of April 10th the army left its tents at an early hour, and at daybreak came in sight of the fortified heights in front of Toulouse. The 6th division was ordered to storm these heights, supported by the Spaniards on the right and the 4th division on the left. About ten o’clock the Highland brigade attacked and carried all the fortified redoubts and entrenchments along the heights, close to the walls of Toulouse. Night alone put an end to the contest. We are sorry that we have been unable to obtain any details of the conduct of the 91st; but it may be gathered from what has been said in connection with the 42nd and 79th, as well as from the long list of casualties in the regiment, that it had a full share of the work which did so much honour to the Highland brigade.

At Toulouse the 91st had 1 sergeant and 17 men killed, and 7 officers--viz., Col. Sir William Douglas,[541] who commanded the brigade after Sir Dennis Pack was wounded, Major A. Meade, Captains James Walsh and A. J. Callender, Lts. J. M. Macdougal, James Hood, and Colin Campbell--1 sergeant, and 93 rank and file wounded; a good many of the latter afterwards dying of their wounds.

As is well known, on the day after the battle of Toulouse news of the abdication of Napoleon, and the restoration of the Bourbons, was received, and hostilities were therefore suspended. On April 20th the 6th division marched for Auch, and on the 24th of June the first detachment of the regiment sailed for home, the second following on July 1st, both arriving at Cork towards the end of the latter month.

Lt.-Colonel Macneil was presented with a gold medal, and promoted to the rank of lt.-colonel in the army, for his services in the Peninsula, and especially for his gallant conduct in command of the light companies of the light brigade of the 6th division at Sorauren. Captain Walsh was also promoted to the rank of brevet lt.-colonel.

On March 17th the 91st, accompanied by the 42nd, 71st, and 79th regiments, sailed for Carlingford Bay, in the north of Ireland, and from thence to the Downs, where it was transhipped into small crafts and sailed for Ostend, where it arrived on the night of the 17th of April.

Although at Quatre Bras and Waterloo,[542] the 91st had no opportunity of coming to close quarters with the enemy, yet its service in these days was so efficient as to gain for it all the honours, grants, and privileges which were bestowed on the army for that memorable occasion. The 91st did good service on the morning of the 18th of June by helping to cover the road to Brussels, which was threatened by a column of the French. On the 19th the 91st took part in the pursuit of the flying enemy, and on the 24th it sat down before Cambray, which, having refused to capitulate, was carried by assault. On this occasion the 91st had Lt. Andrew Cathcart and 6 men wounded; and at Autel de Dieu, on June 26th, a private was killed on this post by some of the French picquets. On July 7th the 91st encamped in the Bois de Boulogne, where it remained till Oct. 31st, when it went into cantonments.

The 91st remained in France till Nov. 2nd, 1818, when it embarked at Calais for Dover; sailed again on Dec. 17th from Gosport for Cork, where it disembarked on the 24th; finally, marching in two divisions, on Dec. 27th and 28th, for Dublin, which it reached on the 6th and 7th Jan. 1819.

By this time the 91st had ceased to wear both kilt and tartan, lost its Highland designation, and had gradually become an ordinary regiment of the line. From the statement of John Campbell, who was living at Aberdeen in 1871, and who served in the 91st throughout the Peninsular war, we learn that in 1809, just before embarking for Walcheren, the tartan for the kilts and plaids reached the regiment; but an order shortly came to make it up into trews. Along with the trews, a low flat bonnet with a feather on one side was ordered to be worn. About a year after, in 1810, even the tartan trews were taken from the 91st, a kind of grey trousers being ordered to be worn instead; the feathered bonnet was taken away at the same time, and the black cap then worn by ordinary line regiments was substituted.

The 91st remained in Dublin till July 22nd, 1820, eliciting the marked approbation of the various superior officers appointed to inspect it. On July 22nd it proceeded to Enniskillen, furnishing detachments to the counties of Cavan, Leitrim, and Donegal. Orders having been received in June 1821 that the regiment should prepare to proceed for Jamaica from the Clyde, the 91st embarked on the 18th at Donaghadee for Portpatrick, and marched to Glasgow, where it arrived on the 27th and 28th.

The regiment embarked at Greenock in two divisions in Nov. 1821 and Jan. 1822, arriving at Kingston, Jamaica, in Feb. and March respectively.

The 91st was stationed in the West Indies till the year 1831, during which time nothing notable seems to have occurred. The regiment, which lost an unusually large number of men by death in the West Indies, left Jamaica in three divisions in March and April 1831, arriving at Portsmouth in May and June following. The reserve companies having come south from Scotland, the entire regiment was once more united at Portsmouth in the beginning of August. In October the 91st was sent to the north, detachments being stationed at various towns in Lancashire and Yorkshire till the 10th of July 1832, when the detachments reunited at Liverpool, where the regiment embarked for Ireland, landing at Dublin on the following day. The 91st was immediately sent to Mullingar, where headquarters was stationed, detachments being sent out to various towns. From this time till the end of 1835 the regiment was kept constantly moving about in detachments among various stations in the centre, southern, and western Irish counties, engaged in duties often of the most trying and harassing kind, doing excellent and necessary service, but from which little glory could be gained. One of the most trying duties which the 91st had to perform during its stay in Ireland at this time, was lending assistance to the civil power on the occasion of Parliamentary elections. On such occasions the troops were subjected to treatment trying to their temper in the highest degree; but to the great credit of the officers and men belonging to the 91st, when employed on this duty, they behaved in a manner deserving of all praise.

The 91st having been ordered to proceed to St Helena, embarked in two detachments in November, and sailed from the Cove of Cork on the 1st of Dec. 1835, disembarking at St Helena on the 26th of Feb. 1836. The companies were distributed among the various stations in the lonely island, and during the stay of the regiment there nothing occurred which calls for particular notice. At the various inspections the 91st received nothing but praise for its discipline, appearance, and interior economy.

On the 4th of June 1839, headquarters, grenadiers, No. 2, and the light infantry companies, left St Helena for the Cape of Good Hope, disembarking at Algoa Bay on the 3d of July, and reaching Grahamstown on the 8th.

Nothing of note occurred in connection with the regiment for the first two years of its stay at the Cape. It was regularly employed in detachments in the performance of duty at the various outposts on the Fish river, the Kat river, the Koonap river, Blinkwater, Double Drift, Fort Peddie, and other places, the detachments being relieved at regular intervals.

Government having decided upon the formation of reserve battalions,
for the purpose of facilitating the relief of regiments abroad, and
shortening their periods of foreign service, early in the month
of April 1842, the establishment of the four company dépôts of
certain regiments was changed, and formed into battalions of six
skeleton companies by volunteers from other corps. The 91st, the
dépôt companies of which were then stationed at Naas, was selected
in March 1842 as one of the regiments to be thus augmented. When
complete the numbers and distribution of the rank and file stood as
follows:--1st battalion, 540; reserve battalion, 540; dépôt, 120;
total, 1200.

The Lt.-Colonel, whose post was to be with the 1st battalion, had
the general charge and superintendence of the whole regiment,
assisted by an additional major. The reserved battalion had the
usual proportion of officers and non-commissioned officers appointed
to it, but had no flank companies. The senior major had the
immediate command of the reserve battalion.

The reserve battalion having been reported fit for service, was directed to hold itself in readiness to proceed to the Cape of Good Hope.

The wing under Capt. Bertie Gordon--who had joined the regiment about nine years previously, and who was so long and honourably connected with the 91st--joined the headquarters of the regiment at Naas on May 26th 1842, where the six companies were united under his command, both the lt.-col. and the major being on leave. On the 27th of May the battalion, under Capt. Gordon, proceeded from Naas to Kingstown, and embarked on board the transport “Abercrombie Robinson.” On the 2d of June the transport sailed for the Cape of Good Hope, the strength of the regiment on board being 17 officers and 460 men, Lt.-Col. Lindsay being in command. The ship also contained drafts of the 27th regiment and the Cape Mounted Rifles. The transport having touched at Madeira, arrived in Table Bay on the 25th of August 1842. Here the battalion was warned for service on the north-eastern frontier of the colony, relieving the 1st battalion of the regiment, which was to be stationed at Cape Town. In consequence of this arrangement Lt.-Col. Lindsay and Major Ducat disembarked on the 27th, for the purpose of joining the 1st battalion, to which they belonged. All the other officers, not on duty, obtained permission to go ashore, and all landed except six, the command of the troops on board devolving on Capt. Bertie Gordon.

An event now took place which can only be paralleled by the famous wreck of the “Birkenhead” ten years afterwards, the narrative of which we have recorded in our history of the 74th.

At 11 o’clock P.M., on the night of the 27th, it was blowing a
strong gale, and the sea was rolling heavily into the bay. The
ship was pitching much and began to feel the ground, but she rode
by two anchors, and a considerable length of cable had been served
out the night before. Captain Gordon made such arrangements as he
could, warning the officers, the sergeant-major, and the orderly
non-commissioned officers to be in readiness.

From sunset on the 27th the gale had continued to increase, until
at length it blew a tremendous hurricane, and at a little after 3
o’clock on the morning of the 28th the starboard cable snapped in
two. The other cable parted a few minutes afterwards, and away went
the ship before the storm, her hull striking with heavy crashes
against the ground as she drove towards the beach, three miles
distant under her lee. About the same time the fury of the gale,
which had never lessened, was rendered more terrible by one of
the most awful storms of thunder and lightning that had ever been
witnessed in Table Bay.

While the force of the wind and sea was driving the ship into
shoaler water, she rolled incessantly and heaved over fearfully with
the back set of the surf. While in this position the heavy seas
broke over her side and poured down the hatchways, the decks were
opening in every direction, and the strong framework of the hull
seemed compressed together, the beams starting from their places.
The ship had been driven with her starboard bow towards the beach,
exposing her stern to the sea, which rushed through the stern-posts
and tore up the cabin floors of the orlop deck. The thunder and
lightning ceased towards morning, and the ship seemed to have
worked a bed for herself on the sand; for the rolling had greatly
diminished, and there then arose the hope that all on board might
get safe ashore.

At daybreak, about 7 o’clock, the troops, who had been kept below,
were now allowed to come on deck in small numbers. After vain
attempts to send a rope ashore, one of the cutters was carefully
lowered on the lee side of the ship, and her crew succeeded in
reaching the shore with a hauling line. The large surf-boats were
shortly afterwards conveyed in waggons to the place where the ship
was stranded, and the following orders were given by Captain Gordon
for the disembarkation of the troops:--1. The women and children
to disembark first; of these there were above 90. 2. The sick to
disembark after the women and children. 3. The disembarkation of the
troops to take place by the companies of the 91st Regiment drawing
lots; the detachment of the 27th Regiment and the Cape Mounted
Rifles to take the precedence. 4. The men to fall in on the upper
deck, fully armed and accoutred, carrying their knapsacks and their
great-coats. 5. Each officer to be allowed to take a carpet-bag or
small portmanteau.

The disembarkation of the women and children and of the sick
occupied from half-past 8 until 10 o’clock A.M. The detachments
of the 27th Regiment and the Cape Mounted Rifles followed. The
disembarkation of the 91st was arranged by, first, the wings drawing
lots, and then the companies of each wing.

At half-past 10 one of the surf boats, which had been employed up
to this time in taking the people off the wreck, was required to
assist in saving the lives of those on board the “Waterloo” convict
ship, which was in still more imminent peril about a quarter of a
mile from the “Abercrombie Robinson.” There was now but one boat to
disembark 450 men, the wind and sea beginning again to rise, and the
captain was apprehensive that the ship might go to pieces before
sunset.

The disembarkation of the six companies went on regularly but slowly
from 11 A.M. until 3.30 P.M., the boat being able to hold only 30
men at a time. At half-past 3 the last boat-load left the ship’s
side. It contained those of the officers and crew who had remained
to the last, Captain Gordon of the 91st, Lt. Black, R.N., agent
of transports, the sergeant-major of the reserve battalion of the
91st, and one or two non-commissioned officers who had requested
permission to remain.

Nearly 700 souls thus completed their disembarkation after a night
of great peril, and through a raging surf, without the occurrence
of a single casualty. Among them were many women and children, and
several sick men, two of whom were supposed to be dying. Although
it had been deemed prudent to abandon the men’s knapsacks and the
officer’s baggage, the reserve battalion of the 91st went down the
side of that shattered wreck fully armed and accoutred, and ready
for instant service.

It would be difficult to praise sufficiently the steady discipline
of that young battalion, thus severely tested during nearly
seventeen hours of danger, above eight of which were hours of
darkness and imminent peril. That discipline failed not when the
apparent hopelessness of the situation might have led to scenes
of confusion and crime. The double guard and sentries which had
at first been posted over the wine and spirit stores were found
unnecessary, and these stores were ultimately left to the protection
of the ordinary single sentries. Although the ship was straining
in every timber, and the heavy seas were making a fair breach over
her, the companies of that young battalion fell in on the weather
side of the wreck as their lots were drawn, and waited for their
turn to muster at the lee gangway; and so perfect were their
confidence, their patience, and their gallantry, that although
another vessel was going to pieces within a quarter of a mile of
the transport ship, and a crowd of soldiers, sailors, and convicts
were perishing before the eyes of those on board, not a murmur arose
from their ranks, when Captain Gordon directed that the lot should
not be applied to the detachment of the 27th regiment and Cape
Mounted Riflemen, but that the 91st should give the precedence in
disembarking from the wreck.

The narrative of the wreck was submitted to Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington, who wrote upon it words of the highest commendation on the conduct of officers and men. “I have never,” the Duke wrote, “read anything so satisfactory as this report. It is highly creditable, not only to Captain Bertie Gordon and the officers and troops concerned, but to the service in which such an instance has occurred, of discretion and of firmness in an officer in command, and of confidence, good order, discipline, and obedience in all under his direction, even to the women and children.” The Duke did not forget the conduct of those concerned in this affair; it was mainly owing to the way in which Sergeant-major Murphy performed his duty on this occasion, that in 1846, through the Duke of Wellington’s influence, he was appointed to a wardership of the Tower.

In consequence of this unfortunate disaster the 91st remained stationed at Cape Town until Feb. 1843. In Oct. 1842 Lt.-Col. Lindsay took command of the 1st battalion at Grahamstown, and Major Ducat assumed command of the reserve.

As the histories of the two battalions of the 91st during their existence are to a great extent separate, and as the 1st battalion did not remain nearly so long at the Cape as the reserve, nor had so much fighting to do, it will, we think, be better to see the 1st battalion safely home before commencing the history of the 2nd.

During the remainder of its stay at the Cape, till 1848, the 1st battalion continued as before to furnish detachments to the numerous outposts which guarded the colony from the ravages and ferocity of the surrounding natives. Such names as Fort Peddie, Fort Armstrong, Trompeter’s Drift, Commity Drift, Eland’s River, Bothas Post, &c., are continually occurring in the Record Book of the regiment.

The three companies that were left at St Helena in June 1839 joined the headquarters of the 1st battalion on Dec. 6th, 1842.

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The Scottish Highlands, Highland Clans and Highland Regiments, Volume 2 (of 2)Chapter LXVI: Introduction: Military character of the Highlands (33)

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