FOOTNOTES:
[6] Bishop Lesley; and Abercromby's Martial Achievements of the Scots Nation.
[7] L'Escosse Françoise, par A. Houston; and the Translator's Preface to Beauge's History of the Campaigns in 1548 and 1549.
[8] Milan, a military publisher remarkable for correct dates, states, in an account of the French army printed in 1746, that the Scots Gendarmes were instituted in 1422, and the Scots Garde du Corps in 1440. Père Daniel, the French military historian, adduces proof that they were instituted by Charles VII., but does not give the dates.
[9] Bishop Lesley; and Philip de Commines.
[10] List of the French army printed at the time.
[11] L'Ecosse Françoise, par A. Houston.
[12] Histoire de la Milice Françoise, par Le Père Daniel. 2 tom. 4to. Paris, 1721.
[13] The companies obtained from the Netherlands were part of a distinguished body of Scots, who had been many years in the service of the States-General of the United Provinces; and were, in consequence of a truce having been concluded for 12 years, at liberty to engage in the service of Sweden. Vide Historical Record of the Third Foot.
[14] Introduction de Puffendorf, tome iv. p. 84.
[15] Harte's Life of Guslavus Adolphus.
[16] The regiment alluded to was raised by Donald Mackay, Lord Reay, in 1626, for the service of the King of Denmark; it was afterwards in the service of the King of Sweden, and was reduced in 1634 to one company. In 1637, Colonel Robert Monro, who had served in the regiment from the time it was raised, published an historical account of its services, under the title of Monro's Expedition; from which history much valuable information has been obtained relating to the Royal Regiment, and its first Colonel, Sir John Hepburn, who had lived in terms of intimacy and strict friendship with Colonel Monro from the time they were schoolfellows.
[17] Monro's expedition; and Harte's Life of Gustavus Adolphus.
"He maintained his post for nine weeks, repulsing every attempt to retake it, till he was relieved by a Scotch regiment (the Royals) under Colonel Hepburn, and a body of Swedish troops."General David Stewart's History of the Highland Regiments, published in 1822.
[18] Swedish Intelligencer.
[19] Monro's Expedition.
[20] The Imperialists had previously enacted a cruel tragedy on a party of Scots at Old Brandenburg.
[21] Harte's Life of Gustavus Adolphus; Monro's Expedition; and the Swedish Intelligencer.
[22] In a list of Gustavus's army published at the time, in the Mercure François, the regiment is stated to have displayed four colours at the battle of Leipsic.
[23] "The King having noticed that the Duke of Saxony was leaving the field, and that Count Tilly was ready to charge his main body, selected 2,000 musketeers of the brave Scots nation, and placed 2,000 horse on their flanks. The Scots formed themselves in several bodies of six or seven hundred each, with their ranks three deep (the King of Sweden's discipline being never to march above six deep;) the foremost rank falling on their knees, the second stooping forward, and the third standing upright, and all giving fire together, they poured, at one instant, so much lead amongst the enemy's horse, that their ranks were broken, and the Swedish horse charging, the enemy were routed."—Account of the battle of Leipsic published at the time.
[24] "We were as in a dark cloud, not seeing the half of our actions, much less discerning either the way of our enemies, or the rest of our brigades; whereupon, having a drummer by me, I caused him to beat the Scots March, till it cleared up, which re-collected our friends unto us."—Monro's Expedition.
[25] Monro's Expedition.
[26] "His Majesty, accompanied by a great and honourable train of cavaliers, alighted from his horse at the head of our brigade; the officers coming together about his Majesty in a ring, his Majesty made a speech of commendation of the brigade, thanking them for their good service, and exhorting them to the continuation thereof, promised he would not forget to reward them; and turning towards the superior officers, they did kiss his Majesty's hand; the inferior officers and soldiers crying aloud, they hoped to do his Majesty better service than ever they had done."—Monro's Expedition.
"His Majesty bestowed particular encomiums on the Swedish and Finland horse, conducted by Horne; as also on that brave body of Scottish infantry which Hepburn commanded."—Harte's Life of Gustavus Adolphus.
[27] Harte.
[28] "The foot brigades were commanded to their several posts. Colonel Hepburn's brigade (according to custom) was directed to the most dangerous post, next the enemy; and the rest to theirs. The night coming on, we began our approaches, and prepared for making ready our attacks, when certain men were ordered to make cannon baskets, some to provide materials, some to watch, some to dig, some to guard the artillery, some to guard the workmen, and some to guard the colours before the brigade. The day approaching, we having made ready the batteries in the night, the service on both sides beginneth with cannon and musket."—Monro's Expedition.
[29] Monro gives the name of every British officer above the rank of Captain in the Swedish army. Many Scots officers had been promoted to the command of Swedish, Finland, and Dutch regiments.
[30] "Here also we see the valour of Hepburn and his brigade praiseworthy, being, first and last, the instruments of the enemy's overthrow."—Monro's Expedition.
"The King returned Hepburn public thanks for suggesting the idea of crossing the Wernitz, and for executing his plan with such judgement and valour."—Harte's Life of Gustavus Adolphus.
[31] In some accounts of the battle of Lützen the Green Brigade, of which Hepburn's regiment formed a part, is mentioned by mistake amongst the troops engaged, instead of the White Brigade. As Colonel Monro commanded the brigade at the time the battle was fought, his narrative is considered sufficient authority for stating that it was not present.
[32] Gustavus Adolphus King of Sweden was born on the 9th of December, 1594. He learnt the duty of a musketeer as soon as he could carry a musket; and when seventeen years of age he was Colonel of a Cavalry corps, and served a campaign against the Danes. In the same year (1611) his father died, and the young Gustavus succeeded to the throne of Sweden; and he soon afterwards evinced, to the surprise of all Europe, the most distinguished abilities as a commander, a hero, and a politician. The discipline which he introduced into his army was strict beyond all precedent, and to this many of his victories may be attributed. His improvements in arms, equipment, and in military tactics, were particularly important; and he was brave even to rashness. He was wounded in action on six different occasions, had three horses killed under him, and was several times in the power of the enemy, but was rescued by his own men. On the fatal 6th of November, 1632, he fought sword in hand at the head of the Smoland cavalry, and was shot through the left arm, but continued fighting until his voice and strength failed from loss of blood, when he attempted to retire. At that instant an Imperial cavalier came galloping forward, and, crying "Long have I sought thee," shot the King through the body; and the next moment one of his Majesty's attendants shot the cavalier dead on the spot. As the King and his attendants were retiring, they were charged by a troop of cuirassiers; his Majesty was held for a few moments on the saddle, but his horse, being shot in the shoulder, made a desperate plunge, and threw the rider to the ground. After his fall the King received five wounds in different parts of his body, and was shot through the head. Thus fell the brave Gustavus, the most distinguished warrior of his age; with whose life the early services of Hepburn's regiment, now represented by the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot, are intimately connected.
[33] Monro's Expedition.
[34] In the Mercure François and other French works he is called Colonel Hebron and Le Chevalier d'Hebron; Père Daniel, the French historian, gives the following reason for this change—"On l'appelloit en France 'le Chevalier d'Hebron,' son nom d'Hepburn étant difficile à prononcer."
[35] This transfer of men from the service of the Crown of Sweden to that of France was not peculiar to Hepburn's veterans; but the German and Swedish forces which, after the defeat at Nordlingen, retreated, under the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, towards the Rhine, were nearly all taken into the pay of France.
[36] Mercure Françoise; Anderson's History of the Reign of Louis XIII.; and the Complete History of Europe.
[37] "The most deplorable accident was the death of the Scottish "Colonel Hepburn, who, with his usual coolness, surveying the breach, received a ball in his neck, and died, extremely regretted in the army, and by the Court of France."—Anderson's History of France, vol. v. p. 90.
"Le combat fut fort opiniâtre en ceste prise, et de telle façon; que le Colonel Hebron Escossois, y fut tué d'une mousquetade dans le col, qui luy passoit dans les reins, ayant laissé une reputation digne de sa valeur, fidelité, et experience au fait de la guerre."—Mercure François, tom. xxi. p. 277.
[38] The following return of the establishment of the regiment in 1637 was procured by its Colonel, General Lord Adam Gordon, who died in 1801:—
| Colonel (Lord James Douglas) | 1 |
| Lieutenant-Colonel (Colonel Monro) | 1 |
| Major (Sir Patrick Monteith) | 1 |
| Captains | 45 |
| Captain-Lieutenant | 1 |
| Lieutenants | 45 |
| Ensigns | 48 |
| Surgeons | 4 |
| Adjutants | 6 |
| Chaplains | 2 |
| Drum-Major | 1 |
| Piper | 1 |
| Sergeants | 88 |
| Corporals | 288 |
| Lance-Parade | 288 |
| Drummers | 96 |
| 48 Companies of 150 Privates each | 7200 |
| Total | 8316 |
[39] Mercure François.
[40] In a plan of the siege of Hesdin, published at Paris in 1639, Douglas' Scots Regiment appears formed in brigade with the Regiment of Champaigne.
[41] The three Scots regiments in the service of France at this period, are designated by the French historians, the regiments of Douglas, Chambers, and Praslin.
[42] Père Daniel.
[43] Mercure François; and Le Histoire Militaire de Louis le Grand, par M. Le Marquis de Quincy.
[44] This division consisted of the following corps; viz.: The French Guards, the Swiss Guards, the regiments of Picardy, Douglas, La Meilleraie, Grancy, and Molondin.—Mercure François.
[45] Account of the battle of Lens, published at the time; Life of the Prince of Condé; and Histoire Militaire de Louis le Grand.
[46] A detailed account of this action is given in the Life of King James II., from the memoirs written with his own hand, and published by the Rev. J. S. Clarke in 1818. His Majesty was then (1652) Duke of York, and was serving with the French Army, of which Douglas' Regiment formed part.
[47] Life of King James II., from the Memoirs written with his own hand.
[48] The forces were designated by the following titles:—
| Horse Guards | |
|---|---|
| The Duke of York's Troop | afterwards the third troop of Life Guards, and disbanded in 1746. |
| Foot. | |
| The King's Regiment of Guards, | afterwards constituted, with a battalion of Guards raised in England in 1661, the First Foot Guards. |
| The Duke of York's Regiment | The few remaining men of these regiments were, in 1660, placed in garrison at Dunkirk; they were afterwards removed to Tangier, and incorporated in the Second, or Queen's Regiment of Foot. |
| The Duke of Gloucester's Regt. | |
| The Earl of Bristol's Regiment | |
| Lord Newborough's Regiment | |
| Colonel Richard Grace's Regt. | |
[49] "Ce Régiment de Douglas, étant en garnison à Avesnes en 1661, eut ordre de passer en Angleterre, où il rendit des services très considerables au Roy Charles II.
"Il n'était que de huit compagnies en partant de France, et se trouva en y revenant, un an aprés, de trente-trois compagnies, qui étoient composées pour le moins de cent hommes chacune. Mylord George Douglas l'a toujours commandé en France."—Père Daniel.
[50] London Gazette; and Military Records in the State Paper Office.
[51] "Le Régiment de Douglas Escossois. Ce Régiment a servi plusieurs années en France, et s'y est fort distingué. Je trouve dans l'Ordonnance de Louis XIV., de l'an 1672, pour le rang des Régimens, qu'il étoit un des premiers."—Père Daniel.
[52] Comte de Chamilly's despatch, in the original correspondence respecting the campaign of 1672, published in France.
[53] See the Historical Record of the Life Guards, p. 43.
[54] Histoire du Vicomte de Turenne par L'Abbé Raguenet.
[55] Mémoires de deux dernieres Campagnes de Monsieur de Turenne en Allemagne.
[56] London Gazette.
[57] The Colonel of the Regiment, Lord George Douglas, was created Earl of Dumbarton on the 9th of March, 1675; but the French historians continued to designate the corps, "Le Régiment de Douglas."
[58] In the order of battle for the French army on the Rhine in 1677, printed in the Histoire Militaire de Louis le Grand, the First Battalion of Douglas' Regiment appears formed in brigade with the regiments of La Marine, Couronne, and Vendôme, and the second battalion is posted between two cavalry brigades, on the left of the line.
[59] "Captain Hume, who commanded our advance-party, showed great conduct and courage, standing several charges of the enemy's horse; and when the action was over, and he was upon his retreat to the main body, one of the Moors' chief commanders charged the rear of his party and overthrew him; but the Moor's horse falling, he was immediately killed."—London Gazette.
[60] Tangier's Rescue by John Ross, fol. 1681.
[61] Tangier's Rescue by John Ross, fol. 1681.
[62] "This day the Scots and their grenadiers charged first, if there was any time at all between their charging: for, like fire and lightning, all went on at once."—Tangier's Rescue.
[63] Tangier's Rescue.
[64] Four colours were captured in this action; one by Dumbarton's Scots, one by the Admiral's battalion, one by the English horse, and one by the Spaniards. Three guns were also taken; two by the Foot Guards, and one by the battalion of Marines and Seamen.
[65] The following return shows the loss sustained by the British troops in this engagement:—
| Corps. | Killed. | Wounded. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Officers. | Men. | Horses. | Officers. | Men. | Horses. | |
| Narrative of the Siege of Tangier, published by authority, fol. 1680. | ||||||
| Four troops of English Horse, now Royal Dragoons | 5 | 2 | 5 | 9 | ||
| Three do. of Spanish Horse, disbanded in 1683 | 1 | 13 | 24 | 6 | 30 | 25 |
| Battalion of Foot Guards | 7 | 1 | 51 | |||
| The Earl of Dumbarton's Regiment, now 1st Royal | 6 | 36 | 15 | 100 | ||
| The Earl of Inchiquin's do., now 2nd or Queen's Royal | 2 | 34 | 10 | 124 | ||
| Vice Admiral Herbert's Battalion, consisting of Marines and Seamen | 2 | 10 | 24 | |||
| Total | 11 | 100 | 29 | 34 | 334 | 34 |
[66] The First Regiment of Foot Guards was for several years designated the Royal Regiment. There was also at this period a Royal Regiment in Ireland, which was sometimes styled Foot Guards. This corps adhered to King James II. at the Revolution in 1688. One battalion had previously arrived in England, and, being composed of papists, it was disbanded by William III. The men were confined a short time in the Isle of Wight, and afterwards transferred to the service of the Emperor of Germany. The other battalion fought in the cause of James II. in Ireland, until the surrender of Limerick in 1691, when it proceeded to France, and remained in the French service until it was disbanded.
[67] The author of the account of this review here means two battalions of the 1st Foot Guards.
[68] War-Office Records.
[69] War-Office Records.
[70] Sixteen field-pieces were employed. Nine were sent from the Tower of London, and seven from Portsmouth.
[71] Lediard, and several other historians, attribute the preservation of the King's army from a complete overthrow at Sedgemoor to the excellent conduct of the Royals, in being under arms so quickly as to be able to hold the rebels in check until the other corps had time to form their ranks.
[72] Fountainhall's Diary, p. 59.
[73] War-Office Establishment Book.
[74] Sir John Dalrymple, and several other historians who wrote many years after these events occurred, have mistaken the Royal Regiment of Scots Horse for the Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons, now the 2nd or Royal North British Dragoons, or Scots Greys; but the latter regiment did not mutiny. The Scots Horse escaped to Scotland, and many of them joined the Highlanders in their resistance to King William III.; and the regiment was taken off the establishment of the army and was not afterwards restored.
[75] List of troops sent to the Netherlands, in 1689, under the Earl of Marlborough:—
- Second troop of Guards, now 2nd Regiment of Life Guards.
- Royal Regiment of Horse Guards.
- One Battalion of the 2nd Foot Guards.
- One Battalion of the Scots Foot Guards, now 3rd Foot Guards.
- One Battalion of the Royal Regiment.
- Prince George of Denmark's Regiment, now 3rd Foot, or the Buffs.
- Royal Fusiliers, now 7th Royal Fusiliers.
- Col. John Hales' Regiment, afterwards disbanded.
- " Sir David Collier's " " "
- " Robert Hodges' " now 16th Foot.
- " Edwd. Fitzpatrick's " afterwards disbanded.
- " Fergus D. O'Ffarrel's " now 21st Royal Scots Fusiliers.
[76] This officer commanded the Grenadier Company of the Royal Regiment when it was raised in 1678; and frequently distinguished himself against the Moors at Tangier in 1680. In October, 1688, Lieut.-Col. Archibald Douglas of the Royal Regiment was appointed Colonel of a newly-raised regiment, now the 16th Foot; and was succeeded in December of the same year by Lieut.-Col. Hodges, from the Royal Regiment, who was killed at the battle of Steenkirk.
[77] D'Auvergne's History of the Campaigns in Flanders.
[78] D'Auvergne.
[79] "The bravery of our men was extraordinary, and admired by all; ten battalions of ours having engaged above thirty of the French at one time, and Sir Robert Douglas, at the head of one battalion of his own regiment, having driven four battalions of the enemy from their cannon."—London Gazette.
[80] Memoirs of Captain George Carleton.
[81] The General History of Europe.
[82] D'Auvergne.
[83] The French brigades, which attacked the post occupied by the first battalion of the Royal Regiment, were those of Bourbonnois, Lyonnois, Anjou, and Artois, and King James' Royal Regiment, or Irish Guards, were amongst them.—(D'Auvergne.)
[84] Official Records in Ireland.
[85] Millner's Journal of the Marches, Battles, and Sieges of the British troops on the Continent from 1701 to 1712.
[86] Portmore's, now 2nd or Queen's Royals, and Elsts, afterwards disbanded.
[87] Now the 9th, 15th, 23rd, and 24th Regiments.
[88] Now the 10th, 16th, 21st, and 26th Regiments.
[89] The following Return shows the number of Officers killed and wounded in each British Regiment at the battle of Blenheim:—
| Officers. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Killed. | Wounded. | |||||
| The Queen's Horse, now | 1st | Dragoon | Guards | 0 | 2 | |
| Lieut.-Gen. Wood's Regt. | 3rd | " | " | 2 | 5 | |
| Colonel Cadogan's " | 5th | " | " | 1 | 0 | |
| Lieut.-Gen. Wyndham's | 6th | " | " | 5 | 5 | |
| Duke of Schomberg's | 7th | " | " | 3 | 3 | |
| Royal Scots Dragoons | 2nd | Drags. | (Greys) | 0 | 0 | |
| Royal Irish Dragoons, late | 5th | " | " | 0 | 1 | |
| Foot Guards, one battalion | " | " | " | 1 | 5 | |
| Royals two do., | now | 1st | Foot | " | 3 | 7 |
| Prince George's Regt., | " | 3rd | " | " | 2 | 9 |
| Brig.-Gen. Webb's " | " | 8th | " | " | 0 | 2 |
| Ld. North & Grey's " | " | 10th | " | " | 8 | 9 |
| Brig.-Gen. Howe's | " | 15th | " | " | 5 | 13 |
| Earl of Derby's | " | 16th | " | " | 4 | 12 |
| Royal Irish | " | 18th | " | " | 3 | 10 |
| Brig.-Gen. Row's | " | 21st | " | " | 6 | 12 |
| Lt.-Gen. Ingoldsby's | " | 23rd | " | " | 0 | 9 |
| Dk. of Marlborough's | " | 24th | " | " | 3 | 9 |
| Brig.-Gen. Fergusson's | " | 26th | " | " | 5 | 14 |
| Colonel Meredith's | " | 37th | " | " | 0 | 3 |
| Total | 51 | 130 | ||||
[90] Milner's Journal.
[91] London Gazette, &c.
[92] War-Office Marching-Order Book.
[93] War-Office Establishment Book.
[94] Records of the Adjutant-General's Office.
[95] Extract of a letter from an officer.
[96] "The troops did honour to their country, particularly the 1st battalion of the Royal Scots, who were put to the hardest trials, behaved heroically, and suffered much."—Scots Magazine.
[97] London Gazette, &c. &c.
[98] In 1684, and for many years afterwards, the facing of the regiment was white.
[99] His Majesty's commands were issued in October, 1832, directing that the colours of both battalions of the Royal Regiment should bear the same devices and distinctions.
[100] South Carolina Gazette.
[101] Return of troops engaged in the assault of Fort Moro, on the 30th July, 1762.
| Officers. | Serjeants. | Rank and File. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Regiment | 6 | 5 | 102 |
| Marksmen | 8 | 8 | 129 |
| 90th Regiment | 8 | 2 | 50 |
| To sustain them— | |||
| 56th Regiment | 17 | 14 | 150 |
| Total | 39 | 29 | 431 |
[102] Stedman's History of the American War.
[103] Naval and Military Memoirs of Great Britain from 1727 to 1783, by Robert Beatson, Esq., LL.D.
[104] Lieut.-General Stuart's despatch.
[105] Afterwards General Sir William Hutchinson, K.C.H.
[106] Rainsford's Historical Account of the Black Empire of Hayti.
[107] The Duke of York's despatch.
[108] This officer rose to the rank of Major-General, and was killed before Bayonne in 1814.
[109] Journal of Quartermaster-General Brownrigg, laid before Parliament.
[110] Captain Mullen was on the Staff at Barbadoes, but volunteered his services on this expedition.
[111] Now Lieut.-General Sir J. Stevenson Barns, K.C.B., Colonel of the Twentieth Regiment of Foot.
[112] In this year (1811) was living at the village of Delmes, in Scotland, John Reed, aged 100 years; he was a private in the 2nd battalion of the Royal Regiment at the battle of Culloden, in 1746, and was in the battalion upwards of 40 years.
[113] At a Scots corporation dinner, held in London on the 4th of May, 1811, on the health of the Duke of Kent, the Colonel of the Royal Regiment, being drunk, his Royal Highness rose to return thanks, and, in the course of his speech, said:—"My royal brother has been pleased to praise the regiment in which I have been employed, and have had the honour to command, and I too can bear testimony to the spirit and gallantry of the Scottish soldiers. From the earliest days, when I commenced my military life, it was always my utmost aim to arrive at the command of a Scots regiment, and to bring that regiment into action would have been the greatest glory I could have attained, as I am well convinced the officers and men would have justified my most sanguine expectations; their courage, perseverance, and activity, being undoubtedly such as may always be relied on; and they are always able and willing to do their duty, if not more than their duty." His Royal Highness took great interest in the welfare of the regiment; and he this year presented, by the hands of Lieut.-Colonel M'Leod, a gold medal to Serjeant Manns of the regiment, for the very meritorious manner in which he had educated upwards of 800 soldiers and soldiers' children.
[114] This officer was shot through the hand whilst bearing the colours, the ball passing through the flag.
"Demerara, 20th of April, 1812.
"General Order.
"Major-General Carmichael cannot refrain from expressing his regret on the departure of the Royal Scots. The honourable testimony from Governor Bentinck and the inhabitants of the good conduct of the regiment for nearly nine years corresponds with the opinion the Major-General has formed of their correct discipline and military order in all respects, which evince the incessant attention of Colonel Stewart and the officers of the corps. He sincerely wishes them every happiness, and looks forward with the pleasing hope of meeting the regiment on future service.
(Signed) "A. Stewart,
Brigade-Major."
[116] "The Royals led the attack, on which occasion the distinguished gallantry of this corps was most conspicuous."
"The Royals refused to give way in the least, until General Hay received orders, through General Oswald, from General Graham, to retire, it having been found that success was physically impracticable, as the defences round the breach were not destroyed; and, from the showers of musketry, grape, hand-grenades, shells, and large stones, with which the attacking column was assailed, it appears miraculous that any escaped."—Extract from Sir T. Graham's despatch.
"The Royal Regiment proved, by the numbers left in the breach, that it would have been carried, had they not been opposed by real obstacles, which no human prowess could overcome."—Extract from Division Orders.
[117] "Major-General Hay speaks most highly of the conspicuous gallantry of Colonel Barns in the successful assault of the coverlain, with the brave battalion of the Royal Scots.
"Indeed I conceive our ultimate success depended upon the repeated attacks made by the Royal Scots."—Sir Thomas Graham's despatch.
[118] Extract from General Orders.
[119] The Americans were about 6000 strong, and the British only 1500: namely, Royal Scots, 500; 1st battalion King's Own, 480; 100th regiment, 450; one troop 19th Light Dragoons; and a proportion of artillery.—London Gazette.
[120] The Americans were 5000 strong; the British were 2800.London Gazette.
[121] Lieut.-General Drummond's Despatch.
[122] General Orders.
[123] A stone was placed in the church at Montreal, Lower Canada, with the following inscription:—
"In memory of Lieut.-Colonel John Gordon, commanding the 1st battalion Royal Scots Regiment of Foot, who departed this life on the 25th of September, 1814, in consequence of a wound received in action with the enemy in front of Fort Erie, on the 17th of the same month.
"This slab is placed by the officers of the battalion, to commemorate their high esteem for him as a man, and their respect for his character as a soldier."
[124] This valuable and gallant officer had served many years in the Royal Regiment, in which he had a son, Captain George Hay, killed at the battle of Vittoria.
A monument was erected to his memory in the cemetery of the church of Etienne, Bayonne, with the following inscription:—
This tomb is placed here By the officers of the 3rd battalion, 1st, or Royal Scots Regiment of Foot, As a testimony of respect to the memory of The late Major-General Andrew Hay, Commanding the First Brigade of the Fifth Division of the British Army in France, Who gallantly fell on the morning of the 14th of April, 1814, In defence of the ground in which His body is deposited, Aged 52 years.
Near the north door of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, a monument has also been erected to the memory of this gallant veteran. He is represented falling into the arms of Valour, with a soldier standing, lamenting the loss of his commander.
[125] "The 3rd battalion of the Royal Scots distinguished itself in a particular manner. Being removed from the centre of the 5th division, it charged and routed a column of the enemy. It was then formed in a square, to receive the cavalry, and though repeated attacks were made, not the slightest impression was produced. Wherever the lancers and cuirassiers presented themselves, they found a stern and undismayed front, which they vainly endeavoured to penetrate."Mudford's Historical Account of the Campaign in the Netherlands in 1815.
[126] "Though charged six or seven times by an infinite superiority of numbers, the French cavalry never for an instant made the slightest impression upon the square of the Royal Scots."Narrative by an Officer who was an eye-witness.
"Whitehall, 13th December, 1815.
"His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, taking into His Royal Highness's consideration the highly distinguished services of Colonel James Stevenson Barns, Lieut.-Colonel of the 1st, or Royal Scots Regiment of Foot, Companion of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, and Knight of the Royal Portuguese Order of the Tower and Sword, manifested by him on divers important occasions in the campaigns of Toulon, Corsica, Holland, Egypt, and during the recent arduous operations and splendid achievements of His Majesty's arms in Portugal, Spain, and France, and being desirous of conferring upon that officer such a mark of favour as may in an especial manner evince the sense his Royal Highness entertains of the intrepidity and valour displayed by him at the battle of Busaco, wherein, as Lieut.-Colonel of the Staff, he commanded a brigade; at the capture of Badajoz, on the 6th of April, 1812; at the victory of Salamanca, where, in leading his battalion to the charge, he was severely wounded; and his distinguished gallantry at the assault and capture of St. Sebastian, and the battles of the Nive, hath been pleased, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty, to grant unto the said Colonel Barns, His Majesty's Royal license and authority that he and his descendants may bear the following honourable augmentation to the arms of his family:—
"A chief, thereon the representation of the curtain of a fortification; and above the words 'St. Sebastian,' as also a canton charged, with the representations of the gold cross presented by His Majesty's command to the said James Stevenson Barns, and of the badge of the Royal Portuguese Military Order of the Tower and Sword pendant from the ribands from which the said distinctions are respectively attached.
"And the following crest of honourable augmentation:—
"Issuant from a broken battlement, a dexter arm in armour, the hand grasping a banner inscribed 'St. Sebastian;' in allusion to the conspicuous conduct of the said Colonel Barns, on the 31st of August, 1813, when he gallantly led the 3rd battalion of the Royals, and assaulted and carried the curtain of the fortress, thereby eminently contributing to the ultimate capture of that important place; provided the said armorial distinctions be first duly exemplified, according to our law of arms, and recorded in the Herald's Office; otherwise His Majesty's royal license and permission to be void, and of none effect."
"Port Chatlerain, 29th November, 1815.
"Brigade Order.
"The 4th battalion of the Royals, the 42nd and 92nd regiments, are to march to-morrow morning for Meulans, on their route for Boulogne, to embark for England.
"Major-General Sir Denis Pack, cannot allow these corps to depart from his command without expressing his regret at losing them.
"The conduct of the 4th battalion, Royals, in camp and quarters has been, like that of the 3rd battalion and the two regiments, orderly and soldier-like; and he is confident, from the high state of discipline these corps appear in, they would have emulated their comrades in the 3rd battalion, had the same glorious opportunity been afforded them."
[129] The following return shows the number of men drafted from the 4th to the other battalions on foreign service:—
| Date of transfer. | To what Battalion. | Serjeants. | Corporals. | Drummers. | Privates. | Boys. | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year. | Month. | |||||||
| 1807 | April | 2nd | 3 | 3 | 5 | 75 | 68 | 154 |
| 1808 | February | 1st | 3 | 4 | " | 198 | 1 | 206 |
| —— | June | 3rd | 1 | 1 | " | 124 | 60 | 186 |
| —— | 6th November | 2nd | 2 | 6 | 7 | 95 | 12 | 122 |
| —— | 24th December | 3rd | " | 1 | 3 | 146 | " | 150 |
| —— | 25th " | 2nd | " | " | " | 90 | " | 90 |
| 1809 | 19th January | 3rd | 25 | 23 | 4 | 385 | " | 437 |
| —— | 25th " | 3rd | " | " | " | " | 91 | 91 |
| —— | 25th May | 3rd | " | " | 1 | 450 | " | 451 |
| —— | 3rd December | 1st | 2 | " | " | 120 | " | 122 |
| 1811 | March | 3rd | 4 | 4 | " | 200 | " | 208 |
| 1812 | November | 1st | 5 | 5 | " | 300 | " | 310 |
| —— | " | 2nd | 2 | 2 | " | 200 | " | 204 |
| —— | " | 3rd | 2 | 2 | " | 250 | " | 254 |
| Total | 49 | 51 | 20 | 2633 | 232 | 2985 | ||
[130] This officer was promoted to the rank of Major-General in 1830, and was drowned in the 'Frolic' steam-boat, between Tenby and Bristol, in March, 1831, with his wife, Lady Arabella M'Leod.
[131] This officer was Deputy Adjutant-General to the King's troops, and he placed himself with the flank companies of the Royal Scots on the right, and encouraged the men by his example.
[132] This officer received a severe wound while protecting his brother's body.
[133] Captain Wetherall afterwards rose to the rank of Major in the regiment, and he wrote an historical record of his corps, which was printed in 1832, at the expense of the Colonel, the Duke of Gordon. Although there are some inaccuracies in the work, particularly as regards the formation and early services of the regiment, yet the record was as correct as could be expected from the limited information he was in possession of; and he evinced much laudable zeal and industry in its compilation. He followed the idea of Hamilton, who, in his printed sketch of the Royal Regiment, supposes it to have been a continuation of the Scots Guards at the French Court; but this has been proved to be an error. Major Wetherall died, while serving with the 1st battalion at Dominica, on the 7th August, 1833.
[134] It is only an act of justice to state that such was the soldier-like feeling and esprit de corps of the men, after they were made acquainted with the duty that lay before them, that on their falling in with their companions in the camp at Neembolah at twelve o'clock on the night of the 17th of March, there was not one individual amongst them in the least intoxicated, or unfit for duty.
[135] "The promptitude and energy with which the attack was made by the troops under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, of His Majesty's Royal Scots, reflect high credit on him and on all the officers and men employed. Our loss has been trifling; Lieutenant Bland, of the Royal Scots, is wounded. We are now in complete possession of the pettah, and the superintending engineer is employed in erecting a mortar battery to bombard the fort."Brigadier-General Doveton's Letter to Captain Stewart, Acting Resident at the Court of Doulat Rao Scindia.
[136] "Yesterday evening a desperate and unexpected sally from the fortress was made upon an advanced post of our troops in the pettah; and it is with extreme regret I have to add that Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, of His Majesty's Royal Scots, who had been appointed by me to command in the pettah, was killed when in the act of gallantly rallying the party and keeping the advance in their position. The enemy was, however, immediately driven back, and compelled to retire again into the fort."Brigadier-General Doveton's Despatch.
[137] Lieut.-Colonel Blaker's Mahratta War.
[138] Afterwards Lieut.-General Sir Archibald Campbell, Bt. G.C.B., Colonel of the 62nd Regiment, who died at Edinburgh on the 6th October, 1843.
[139] Now Major-General Sir Richard Armstrong.
[140] "The attack upon Simbike was most handsomely led by Lieut.-Colonel Godwin, with the advanced guard of the right column, consisting of the flank companies of His Majesty's Royals, &c. &c."London Gazette.
[141] This division consisted of 250 of the Royals, 270 of the 41st, 260 of the 89th, the light company of the 28th Madras native infantry, and 100 pioneers.London Gazette.
[142] When Dr. Sandford and Lieutenant Bennett were captured, preparations were made to crucify them, but, after an hour's suspense, they were sent away from the river, and eventually forwarded in chains to the capital, a distance of 300 miles. On reaching Ava they were thrown into a loathsome dungeon, crowded with criminals and deserters, where the Doctor remained five, and Lieutenant Bennett ten days, with nothing but a little rice to support them, and even this was occasionally omitted. After being released from gaol they were kept separate. The Doctor was a prisoner at large in the house of an American missionary (Mr. Price), and the king's interpreter; and Lieutenant Bennett was placed under charge of a Burmese constable, and was in chains in a lonely situation during the troubled and fearful state of Ava. From the vindictive and sanguinary disposition of some of the Burmese ministers and chiefs, the lives of the prisoners were in constant jeopardy, particularly during the moments of excitement produced by disastrous intelligence from the army. The prisoners had also to dread that, through the influence and fury of the Queen and Priests, they should be sacrificed as a propitiatory offering to the Burmese gods. On the nearer approach of the British army, the Doctor and Lieutenant Bennett were frequently consulted on European modes of concluding treaties of peace; and the Burmese acknowledged they could not reconcile to their minds the idea that a victorious army, with nothing to impede its progress, should halt within a day or two's march of the capital, and terminate the war on conditions; this was not Burman custom. To use their own simile, they could not believe the cat with the mouse in her claws would refrain from demolishing it; and, therefore, they concluded the pecuniary demand of the English general was merely a ruse to obtain as much precious metal as possible, and afterwards as much territory would be retained as was deemed convenient. To raise their opinion of British faith, the Doctor engaged to convey a letter to the British camp, and to return of his own accord, and his re-appearance astonished the Burmese ministers, and whole population of Ava.
Lieutenant (now Major) Bennett wrote an interesting narrative of the various scenes and incidents he met with, all of a novel and singular nature, and exhibiting traits and peculiarities of the Burman character, which his situation as a prisoner of war could alone develope. This narrative was published in the first and second volumes of the United Service Journal.
[143] Copy of a letter from Major-General Sir Theophilus Pritzler to the Colonel of the Royal Regiment:—
"Bangalore, East Indies, 30th July, 1830.
"My Lord Duke,
"The 2nd battalion of the Royal Regiment having been under my command for nearly five years, I cannot allow it to march from Bangalore without conveying to your grace the high opinion I entertain of it both collectively and individually. Its zeal and good conduct as soldiers have been equally conspicuous as its anxiety to produce harmony and good fellowship in society; and it will leave a lasting impression upon the inhabitants of this place, which has been marked in a most flattering manner.
"This battalion has of late been commanded by a particular friend of mine (Lieut.-Colonel Wetherall), in a manner which has produced the goodwill of his officers and soldiers in an eminent degree, and placed the battalion in the highest state of discipline; and I only regret that your grace cannot see it in the state in which it leaves this station, which, after a service in India of 23 years, has, I believe, astonished our Commander-in-Chief, who is now here.
"The corps of officers is highly respectable, and amongst them are some of the finest young men in the army. I am, therefore, confident that, under your grace's protection, the 2nd battalion of the Royals will very soon rival our best regiments in England.
"I trust your grace will excuse this long intrusion; I sincerely hope that you enjoy your health; and I have the honour to be,
"My Lord Duke, "Your faithful and obedient servant,
"Theophilus Pritzler.
"To His Grace the Duke of Gordon."
SUCCESSION OF COLONELS
OF THE
FIRST, or ROYAL REGIMENT of FOOT.
Sir John Hepburn,
Appointed 26th January, 1633.
John Hepburn[144] descended from the Hepburns of Bothwell, an ancient and distinguished family, which for many ages had extensive possessions in East Lothian. His father was proprietor of the lands of Althestaneford, and gave young Hepburn a liberal education. From his earliest youth he was remarkable for spirit and resolution. When he quitted college he made the tour of part of Europe (in 1615), and the rising fame of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, of whose character he heard frequent commendations, gave birth to a spark of military ardour within his breast which was never extinguished till his death. Soon after his return from his travels, when the attempt was made to rescue Bohemia from the power of Austria, he engaged in the cause of liberty, and commanded a company of foot at several sieges and actions in Bohemia, Alsace, and Germany, and at the battle near Fleurus. When the King of Bohemia's forces were disbanded, he entered the service of the Swedish monarch. In his first essay in arms he displayed an ardour which procured him the favour and approbation of Gustavus, whose vigilant eye soon detected in this aspiring youth all the qualities requisite to constitute an excellent soldier. After a short service in the subordinate commissions he was quickly advanced to the command of a regiment, and was employed in services which required a considerable portion of skill and valour. He was invariably either at the head of his regiment, or at the head of the brigade of which his regiment formed part, and, as his regiment was incorporated into a Scots corps in the French service, now the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot, his services are set forth in the historical record of this corps, where his name will be found associated with deeds of valour and heroism of particular brilliancy. He appears to have been celebrated equally for bravery, skill, and humanity: he was beloved and esteemed by Gustavus Adolphus, and also by his companions in arms, both officers and soldiers; and his presence inspired confidence in the ranks of the brave Scots who fought under his command.[145]
That innate spirit and fire which constituted a part of his character, rendered him incapable of brooking even an imaginary injury; and Gustavus Adolphus, who was equally remarkable for the fiery temperament of his constitution, having uttered one or two sharp expressions to the brave Scottish warrior, he declared he would never more unsheath his sword in the Swedish quarrel. The king is said to have placed more confidence in this officer than in any other colonel in the Swedish army; and some days before their disagreement his Majesty had appointed him to the command of half the infantry in the camp at Nuremberg. The king afterwards made several condescensions to Hepburn, and appeared particularly desirous of retaining this valuable officer in his service; but the Scottish hero was inflexible, and he quitted the Swedish army in 1632. On his arrival at the British court, his fame having preceded him, he was knighted. He soon afterwards tendered his services to the king of France, who was too well acquainted with the character, capabilities, and experience of this renowned Scot, not to give him employment, and he was placed at the head of a regiment, constituted of some new levies and old Scots companies in the French service, now the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot, in the British line. His commission was dated the 26th of January, 1633; and at the head of this corps he distinguished himself in Alsace and Germany, and had the satisfaction of seeing many of the veterans of his former regiment incorporated in his new corps. He commanded a division of the French army on the Rhine, and was on the point of being advanced to the dignity of a Marshal of France; but he was killed at the siege of Saverne, before the diploma reached him. Thus terminated the career of one of the best officers Scotland ever produced. He was known in France by the title of the Chevalier Hebron; and such was the fame of his gallantry, that, although he was killed in the reign of Louis XIII., a monument was erected to his memory some years afterwards by Louis XIV., in the cathedral of Toul. A contemporary historian (Lithgow) states "he was one of the best soldiers in Christendom, and, consequently, in the world."
James Hepburn,
Appointed 26th August, 1636.
This officer was cousin to Sir John Hepburn, and heir apparent of the ancient house of Wachton. He was one of the gallant Scots, who, led by a native ardour for military fame, sought renown in foreign lands, and fought under the great Gustavus Adolphus in the glorious attempt made by that monarch to rescue the Protestant princes of Germany from the power of the emperor. In toils, dangers, and triumphs, he was the companion of Sir John Hepburn. He rose to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel in the Swedish army; and having transferred his services to the crown of France, he succeeded Sir John Hepburn in the Colonelcy of the Scots corps, now the Royal Regiment. He was killed in action in Lorraine a few months afterwards; but the particular circumstances connected with his fall have not been ascertained.
Lord James Douglas,
Appointed in 1637.
Lord James Douglas, second son of William, first Marquis of Douglas, acquired celebrity in the wars between the house of Austria and the Protestant league, and distinguished himself in France, Flanders, Italy, and Germany. He obtained the Colonelcy of the Scots corps, now the Royal Regiment of Foot, in 1637; and was killed while in the command of a flying camp between Douay and Arras in October, 1655. A monument was erected to his memory in the church of St. Germain de Prez, at Paris, with an inscription in Latin.
Lord George Douglas,
Appointed 21st October, 1655.
Lord George Douglas was the son of William, first Marquis of Douglas, by his second wife Mary, daughter of George, first Marquis of Huntly. In his youth he was page of honour to Louis XIV. Having made choice of the profession of arms, he entered the service of the king of France, and succeeded his brother in the Colonelcy of the Scots Regiment, now the Royal Regiment, in the British line. In 1672 he served with the French army in the Netherlands, and was attached to the division commanded by Marshal Turenne. He afterwards served several campaigns with the French army on the Rhine; highly distinguished himself in the defence of Treves, and was promoted to the rank of Major-General in France. He was created Earl of Dumbarton on the 9th of March, 1675.
In the early part of the reign of King James II. the Earl of Dumbarton was Commander-in-Chief in Scotland; and he commanded the troops which suppressed the rebellion of the Earl of Argyle in the summer of 1685. He was subsequently elected a Knight Companion of the Order of the Thistle. He held the rank of Lieut.-General in England, and was second in command of the army encamped on Hounslow Heath in 1687 and 1688. At the Revolution he adhered to King James II., whom he followed to France, where he died in 1692.
Frederick Duke Schomberg,
Appointed 31st December, 1688.
Frederick de Schomberg descended from an ancient and noble family of that name of the Palatinate, or Lower Rhine; and, during the struggle made by the Protestant states of Europe against the power of Austria and Spain, he served under Frederick Henry Prince of Orange, after whose death he engaged in the service of the King of France.
Portugal, after having been subject to Spain many years, asserted its independence in 1640; and a sanguinary war commenced between the two kingdoms. The Spaniards had penetrated into the heart of Portugal, and were anticipating its speedy subjugation, when Louis XIV. sent General de Schomberg secretly to the aid of the house of Braganza. He was already famous for his successful defence of Bourbourg against two powerful armies, and for his conduct in the wars in Rouissillon; and, when placed at the head of the Portuguese forces, his name at once aroused the desponding adherents of the Braganza family, and inspired them with new hopes and new expectations. While his presence infused courage into the army, his discretion, for which he was always remarkable, directed its energies to advantage; towns were taken, battles were won, and finally a powerful army headed by Don John of Austria was defeated, and the Spanish monarch forced, in 1668, to acknowledge the independence of Portugal, and to conclude a peace with the house of Braganza. His success excited the surprise of Europe, and his achievements were celebrated by poets and orators in several languages.[146]
After his success in Portugal he commanded a French force against the Spaniards in Catalonia; and his merits became so conspicuous, that in 1675 he was promoted by Louis XIV. to the dignity of a marshal of France. He subsequently commanded the French army in the Netherlands, and in 1676 he forced the Prince of Orange to raise the siege of Maestricht. In a few years afterwards the king of France endeavoured to suppress the Protestant religion in his kingdom, when Marshal de Schomberg, refusing to become a papist, his services appear to have been, to a certain extent, forgotten. Various means had formerly been used, and prospects of advancement to the highest honours held out, to induce him to change his religion, but in vain; and he now obtained liberty to quit France on condition of his proceeding to Portugal. Soon afterwards he obtained permission to proceed to Germany; and the emperor designed to have placed this distinguished veteran at the head of his armies, but was prevented by the influence of the Jesuits. The Elector of Brandenburg availed himself of the services of Marshal de Schomberg, and appointed him a minister of state, and Generalissimo of Prussia.
When William Prince of Orange (afterwards William III.) was preparing an army for a descent on Britain, to oppose the proceedings of James II., his Highness was desirous of obtaining the services of Marshal de Schomberg, who was considered one of the greatest captains of his time, and, being devoted to the Protestant interest, he consented to accompany the Prince. The success which attended this enterprise enabled his Highness to reward the veteran commander, who was appointed Colonel of the Royal Regiment, and Master-General of the Ordnance. He was also constituted a Knight of the Garter, and created Baron of Teyes, Earl of Brentford, Marquis of Harwich, and Duke Schomberg. During the summer of 1689 he was sent Commander-in-Chief to Ireland to relieve the persecuted Protestants, and to rescue that kingdom from the power of King James; and he was killed at the battle of the Boyne, in July, 1690, while gallantly advancing with a regiment of foot to charge the enemy. Thus terminated the life of this distinguished veteran in the 84th year of his age. He was buried at St. Patrick's, Dublin, where a stone with an inscription was placed over his tomb by the Dean and Chapter of the church.
Sir Robert Douglas,
Appointed 5th March, 1691.
Amongst the many officers which Scotland has produced, who have signalized themselves in war, few have evinced brighter military virtues than the brave Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie. He was second cousin to the Earl of Dumbarton; he served many years in the Royal Regiment, in which he rose to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel; and he was known as a brave and generous aspirant to military fame, when King William III. promoted him to the Colonelcy of the Regiment. Bright prospects of future glory were before him. He had already given astonishing proofs of personal bravery at the battle of Steenkirk, when he saw one of the colours of his regiment in the hands of the French. He instantly rushed forward into the thickest of the enemy's ranks, and rescued the colour at the expense of his life, as more fully detailed in the historical record of the Royal Regiment. He lived beloved and admired, and fell regretted by his sovereign and country, but more particularly by the officers and men of his regiment, with whom he had served in various parts of the world, and in whose breasts his memory was cherished with particular tenderness. By his fall he purchased a renown which more fortunate commanders have failed to acquire; and the story of his gallantry will survive to the remotest ages.
Lord George Hamilton,
Appointed 1st August, 1692.
Lord George Hamilton, fifth son of William Duke of Hamilton, was an officer in the Royal Regiment in the reign of Charles II., and also of James II.,[147] and, adhering to the Protestant interest at the Revolution in 1688, he was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel, and on the 1st of March, 1690, to the brevet rank of Colonel. He served under King William III. in Ireland, and distinguished himself at the battle of the Boyne; and in 1691 he was at the siege of Athlone, at the battle of Aghrim, and at the capture of Limerick. In January, 1692, he was appointed Colonel of the 7th Royal Fusiliers, at the head of which corps he distinguished himself at the battle of Steenkirk, and his gallantry was rewarded with the Colonelcy of the Royal Regiment. Continuing to serve under King William in the Netherlands, he distinguished himself in 1693 at the unfortunate battle of Landen, and in 1695 at the siege and capture of Namur, and while engaged in this service he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General. On the 3rd of January, 1696, he was advanced to the peerage by the title of Baron Dechmont, Viscount of Kirkwall, and Earl of Orkney; and in March, 1702, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General. He served the campaign of this year under the Earl of Marlborough, and was engaged in the siege of Stevenswart. He commanded a brigade of infantry during the campaign of 1703, was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-General, and invested with the Order of the Thistle in 1704; and, having proceeded with the army into the heart of Germany, took part in gaining the glorious victories of Schellenberg and Blenheim. In 1705 he distinguished himself at the siege and capture of Huy; and in the following year at the battle of Ramilies, and the siege of Menin. He also took a distinguished part in the battle of Oudenarde; in covering the siege of Lisle; and in forcing the passage of the Scheldt in 1708. In 1709 he distinguished himself in the movements which preceded and led to the battle of Malplaquet, and during this hard contested action he signalized himself at the head of fifteen battalions of infantry. He also signalized himself at the siege of Douay in 1710; and in the beginning of the following year he was promoted to the rank of General. He was also engaged in passing the French lines in 1711, and commanded twenty battalions of infantry at the siege of Bouchain.
On these occasions the Earl of Orkney had evinced personal bravery and military talents of a superior character. At the close of the war he was a member of the Privy Council, and Governor of Edinburgh Castle. On the accession of George I. he was appointed one of the Lords of the Bedchamber to His Majesty, and Governor of Virginia; and in January, 1736, he was promoted to the rank of Field Marshal. He was many years one of the sixteen representatives of the Scottish peerage, and died in January, 1737.
Honourable James St. Clair,
Appointed 27th June, 1737.
This officer entered the army in the reign of Queen Anne, and had the honour of serving under the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough. He was several years in the 3rd Foot Guards; and in 1722 he obtained the brevet rank of Colonel. In October, 1734, King George II. appointed him Colonel of the 22nd Foot; and in 1737 promoted him to the Colonelcy of the Royal Regiment. He obtained the rank of Brigadier-General in 1739, that of Major-General in 1741, and Lieut.-General in June, 1745, at which time he was performing the duty of Quarter-Master General to the army in the Netherlands, commanded by his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland. In the following year he commanded an expedition which was originally designed for an attack on the French settlements in Canada; but was countermanded, and afterwards made an attack on the French sea-port L'Orient, and on the peninsula of Quiberon.[148] He was subsequently employed on an embassy to the courts of Vienna and Turin.[149] On the decease of his brother in 1750, he became entitled to the dignity of Lord Sinclair, a Scottish peerage; but he preferred a seat in the House of Commons, of which he had been many years a member, and he therefore did not assume the title. He was promoted to the rank of General in 1761, and died at Dysart in November, 1762.
Sir Henry Erskine, Bart.,
Appointed 17th December, 1762.
Sir Henry Erskine was an officer of the Royal Regiment, in which corps he was appointed Captain on the 12th March, 1743; in April, 1746, he was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel, and held the appointment of Deputy Quarter-Master General to the expedition under Lieut.-General St. Clair, which made a descent on the French coast, in which service he was wounded. In June, 1759, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General; and in October, 1760, he obtained the Colonelcy of the 67th regiment, from which he was removed in 1761 to the 25th Regiment, and in 1762 to the Colonelcy of the Royals. He was a Member of Parliament, and Secretary to the Order of the Thistle, and died in August, 1765.
John Marquis of Lorne,
Appointed 11th September, 1765.
John Campbell entered the army in the reign of King George II., and was appointed Lieut.-Colonel of the 54th Regiment, now the 43rd Light Infantry, on the 25th of April, 1745, and served a short time on the Continent. The rebellion breaking out in Scotland in the same year, he quitted the Netherlands, and joined General Hawley with 1000 Argyleshire highlanders in January, 1746, on the day of the unfortunate battle of Falkirk. He subsequently joined the Duke of Cumberland at Perth, and accompanied his Royal Highness to the north. In November, 1755, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel, and appointed Aide-de-camp to the King. In the following month he obtained the Colonelcy of the 54th Regiment, then first embodied, from which he was removed in April, 1757, to the 14th Dragoons, and two years afterwards he was promoted to the rank of Major-General, and appointed Colonel of the Argyleshire Fencibles. In January, 1761, he was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-General. On the decease of his uncle, Archibald, third Duke of Argyle, in 1761, his father, General John Campbell, of the Scots Greys, succeeded to that title, and Lieut.-General Campbell of the 14th Dragoons obtained the designation of Marquis of Lorne. In 1762 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief in Scotland, and in 1765 he obtained the Colonelcy of the Royal Regiment of Foot. He was again appointed Commander-in-Chief in Scotland in 1767, and in 1770 he succeeded to the title of Duke of Argyle. In March, 1778, he was promoted to the rank of General; four years afterwards he was removed from the Royals to the 3rd Foot Guards, and he was advanced to the rank of Field Marshal in 1796. The many virtues for which his Grace was distinguished occasioned him to be highly honoured and respected in society; and he died lamented on the 24th of May, 1806, in the 83rd year of his age.
Lord Adam Gordon,
Appointed 9th May, 1782.
Lord Adam Gordon, fourth son of Alexander second Duke of Gordon, was appointed Captain in the 18th Royal Irish Regiment of Foot on the 12th of December, 1746, and Captain and Lieut.-Colonel in the Third Foot Guards on the 2nd of January, 1756. In 1758 he proceeded with the expedition under General Bligh against the French coast; was at the capture of Cherbourg, and the descent on the coast of Brittany, and distinguished himself at the head of his company while bringing up the rear of the army when attacked by the enemy during the embarkation at St. Cass. He was promoted to the Colonelcy of the 66th Regiment in January, 1763, and subsequently held a command in North America. In May, 1772, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General; in December, 1775, he was removed to the 26th Cameronians; and in the following year he rose to the rank of Lieut.-General. He was appointed Governor of Tynemouth Castle in 1778; was removed to the Royal Regiment in 1782; and appointed Commander-in-Chief in Scotland in 1789. He was further promoted to the rank of General in 1793, and in 1796 he was appointed Governor of Edinburgh Castle. He was several years a Member of Parliament, but vacated his seat in 1788. He prided himself much on being Colonel of the Royal Regiment, and took particular interest in everything connected with the corps. His decease took place in August, 1801.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent,
Appointed 21st August, 1801.
During the early part of this century the Royal Regiment of Foot had the honour of being commanded by a Prince who was distinguished alike for his social and military virtues,—namely, Field Marshal His Royal Highness Edward Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the father of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen Victoria.
Prince Edward, fourth son of His Majesty King George III., was born on the 2nd of November, 1767. In the eighteenth year of his age he proceeded to Germany for the completion of his studies, and resided successively at Lunenburg and Hanover, and was appointed, on the 30th of May, 1786, Colonel of the Hanoverian Guards. During the succeeding year he removed to Geneva, and while pursuing his studies at this place, His Majesty conferred upon him the Colonelcy of the 7th Royal Fusiliers. Early in 1790 he returned to England; and after passing a few days with his family he embarked, in obedience to the King's command, for Gibraltar, in order to acquire a knowledge of garrison duty under Major-General O'Hara. While at Gibraltar he commanded for several months the 2nd, or Queen's Regiment, until the arrival of the 7th Royal Fusiliers, as a reinforcement to the garrison, in August, 1790. In 1791 he sailed with his regiment from Gibraltar for Quebec; and while serving in Canada he was promoted to the rank of Major-General. From North America he proceeded, during the winter of 1793-4, through the United States to Boston, where he embarked for the West Indies, and joined the army under General Sir Charles Grey, at the commencement of the siege of Fort Bourbon, in the island of Martinique, and commanded the detached camp at La Coste, above Point à Petre. During the several attacks His Royal Highness's conduct excited the admiration of the army: his life was frequently exposed to the most imminent peril; and his aides-de-camp, Captain, afterwards General Sir Frederick, Wetherall, and Lieutenant Vesey, were wounded near his Royal Highness's person.[150] In compliment to the gallantry evinced by His Royal Highness on this occasion, the lower fort, called Fort Royal, was subsequently named Fort Edward.
After the capture of Martinique, the army proceeded to St. Lucie; and His Royal Highness commanded the grenadier brigade, which, in conjunction with the light infantry brigade, under Major-General Thomas Dundas, formed the storming-party which carried Morne Fortuné. From St. Lucie the army proceeded to the island of Guadaloupe; and the flank companies were detached under Prince Edward and Major-General Dundas, who succeeded in gaining possession of Morne Marscot and Fleur D'Epée, commanding Point à Petre. His conduct again excited admiration, and His Royal Highness received the thanks of Parliament. After the capture of the French West India Islands[151], His Royal Highness returned to North America, and was shortly afterwards appointed Commander of the Forces in Nova Scotia and its dependencies. On the 12th of January, 1796, he was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-General; and, having returned to England on account of ill health, he was created, on the 23rd of April, 1799, Earl of Dublin, in Ireland, and Duke of Kent and Strathearn, in Great Britain; in the following month he was promoted to the rank of General, and appointed Commander-in-Chief of all the forces in British North America. On his return to North America his arrival was greeted by all ranks; and during his stay in that country he introduced numerous improvements in the system of conducting public business. In August, 1800, His Royal Highness returned to England; and in the following year he was appointed to the Colonelcy of the Royal Regiment of Foot. In 1802 he was appointed Governor of the important fortress of Gibraltar, whither he immediately proceeded; and while attempting to effect the removal of several long-existing abuses and irregularities, His Royal Highness experienced that opposition which has attended every attempt to remedy evils, when the private interests and privileges of individuals are concerned. The Duke of Kent returned in 1803 to England, where he continued to reside upwards of fifteen years. He was promoted to the rank of Field-Marshal on the 5th of September, 1805; he was also elected a Knight of the Garter; constituted a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath; and appointed Keeper and Ranger of Hampton Court Park.
During the period His Royal Highness resided in England the Royal Regiment of Foot experienced the advantage of his constant care and anxiety for its interests, and of his influence in the kingdom. It was recruited with facility, and he had the satisfaction of having four battalions on foreign service, amounting to 5000 men, at the same time in three different quarters of the globe. The attachment of His Royal Highness to his corps was evinced on all occasions, and he frequently expressed himself in terms of exultation at its achievements. His concern was not, however, limited to his regiment, as there was scarcely a public charity in the metropolis which did not derive benefit from his patronage, personal eloquence, and contributions, and over many he presided. His private acts of benevolence, in the cases of widows and orphans who were known to His Royal Highness as deserving objects of relief, were very numerous, and the instances of his charity and philanthropy were attested by the grateful acknowledgments of those who had no claim on His Royal Highness's bounty beyond the circumstance of a husband, father, or other relative, having performed faithful service under his command. The provision made by His Majesty's Government for His Royal Highness had not been equal to his necessary expenditure to support the dignity of a Prince of the royal blood, particularly for the periods he was on foreign service; and in 1816 economical views induced him to proceed to the Continent. In May, 1818, he was married at Coburg, according to the Lutheran rites, to Her Serene Highness Victoria Maria Louisa, youngest daughter of the late reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg. Shortly after the solemnities the royal pair proceeded to England, and were remarried at Kew Palace on the 11th of July, 1818, according to the rites of the Church of England. In a few weeks after this ceremony the Duke returned with his bride to the Continent; in the succeeding year they revisited England; and on the 24th of May, 1819, the Duchess gave birth, at Kensington Palace, to a daughter, named Alexandrina Victoria, Her present Majesty.
In a few months after this happy event this amiable Prince, whose social, private, and public virtues endeared him to his family and friends, and procured him a place in the affections of the British people, was attacked by pulmonary inflammation, produced by accidental cold, and he died at his temporary residence at Sidmouth on the 23rd of January, 1820. The remains of His Royal Highness were removed from Sidmouth and deposited in the royal vault at St. George's Chapel, in Windsor Castle, on the 12th of February, 1820, with the usual honours and solemnities observed at the funerals of the members of the Royal Family.
George Marquis of Huntly,
Appointed 29th January, 1820.
George Marquis of Huntly, son of Alexander fourth Duke of Gordon, was appointed to a commission in the 35th Regiment in 1790. He soon afterwards raised an independent company of foot, and was appointed, on the 25th of January, 1791, Captain in the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment. In July, 1792, he was appointed Captain-Lieutenant and Lieut.-Colonel in the 3rd Foot Guards; and, proceeding with his company to the Netherlands in the following year, he was engaged with the French at St. Amand and Famars, and in the siege of Valenciennes; also in the action before Dunkirk, and the affair at Lannoy. In the beginning of 1794 his Lordship raised the 100th (afterwards 92nd) regiment, of which he was appointed Lieut.-Colonel Commandant; and he proceeded with his regiment to Gibraltar, but on his return to England he was captured by a French privateer. He subsequently rejoined his regiment at the island of Corsica, where he served upwards of a year, and obtained the rank of Colonel on the 3rd of May, 1796. He was soon afterwards appointed Brigadier-General in Ireland, where he served during the rebellion. In 1799 he proceeded with the expedition to Holland, and was actively employed until the 2nd of October, when he was wounded. His Lordship was promoted in 1801 to the rank of Major-General; and in 1803 he was appointed to the Staff in North Britain, where he served three years. In January, 1806, he was removed to the Colonelcy of the 42nd Royal Highlanders; and on the 25th of April, 1808, he was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-General. He commanded a division of the army in the expedition to Walcheren in 1809, and was promoted to the rank of General on the 12th of August, 1819. In the following year he obtained the Colonelcy of the Royal Regiment, and was constituted a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath about five months afterwards. He succeeded, on the decease of his father, in 1827, to the dignity of Duke of Gordon, and was also appointed Governor of Edinburgh Castle, and Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland; and in 1834 he was removed from the Royals to the 3rd Foot Guards. This kind-hearted and gallant nobleman and soldier, who was distinguished for an uninterrupted succession of acts of kindness and philanthropy, died on the 28th of May, 1836.
Thomas Lord Lynedoch, G.C.B.,
Appointed 12th December, 1834.
Amongst the most distinguished of the able and scientific soldiers who led the conquering armies of England from the Tagus to the Seine, was the venerable General Lord Lynedoch, whose death took place on the 18th December, 1843, at his residence in London.
The early life of this eminent man was that of a private country gentleman, but one whose mind had been cultivated in no ordinary degree. The classical attainments of his father, and the many elegant accomplishments of his mother, were directed to that which formed with them a never ceasing object, namely, the education of their son, who, owing to the death of both his elder brothers, had become heir to the family estate. The family from which he is descended, is a branch of that from which the Dukes of Montrose trace their origin. His father was Thomas Graham, Esq., of Balgowan, and his mother was Christiana, fourth daughter of the first Earl of Hopetoun. He was born at Balgowan (Perthshire), in the year 1750. In 1774 his father died, and, in the same year, he married the Hon. Mary Cathcart, one of the three daughters of the ninth Lord Cathcart. Thus Mr. Thomas Graham apparently settled down for life in the quiet, unobtrusive, happy condition of an independent country gentleman; and thus he continued in the enjoyment of great domestic felicity, surrounded by many estimable and attached friends, for a period of nearly 20 years. He had by this time attained the mature age of forty-two, and to all external seeming was one of the last men in the world likely to enter upon a military life.
In the year 1792, however, his domestic happiness was brought to a termination by the death of his wife. The effect of this melancholy event unsettled the mind of Mr. Graham, and his case adds one to the instances that might be adduced in which domestic calamities have procured, for the State, services of the highest order in the field and the cabinet. It may be said, that this change in his condition and prospects, imparted almost a romantic character to the tenor of his life. His grief was such as injured his health, and he was recommended to travel, with a view of alleviating the one, and restoring the other, by change of scene and variety of objects. While at Gibraltar in 1793, he was led into military society, and from that period he commenced to devote himself to the profession of arms.
Lord Hood was then about to sail for the south of France, and Mr. Graham had recently been a traveller in that country. He therefore gladly acceded to his proposition to accompany him as a volunteer. In the year 1793, he landed with the British troops at Toulon, and served as extra aide-de-camp to General Lord Mulgrave, the father to the present Marquis of Normanby, who marked by his particular thanks the gallant and able services of the elderly gentleman who had thus volunteered to be his aide-de-camp: the events of that period gave Mr. Graham ample means of indulging his taste for military life: nor did he neglect any opportunity which circumstances presented; he was always foremost in the attack, and on one occasion, at the head of a column, when a private soldier fell, Mr. Graham took up his musket and supplied his place in the front rank.
On returning to this country, he received a letter of service for raising a regiment in his native country, of which he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant on the 10th February, 1794, and which having been since retained on the establishment of the army, is now the Ninetieth Light Infantry, or Perthshire Volunteers. This regiment formed part of the army under the command of Lord Moira (afterwards Marquis of Hastings). It passed the summer of 1795 at Isle Dieu, whence it proceeded to Gibraltar. On the 22nd of July, 1795, the rank of Colonel in the Army was conferred on Lieutenant-Colonel Graham.
He continued for some months with his regiment at Gibraltar, when he obtained permission to join the Austrian Army. His connexion with that service continued during the summer of 1796, taking the opportunities which his position presented him of sending to the British Government intelligence of the military operations and diplomatic measures adopted by the commanders and sovereigns of the Continent: his despatches at this period evinced, in a remarkable degree, the great talents and characteristic energy of the writer.
During the investment of the city of Mantua by the French, he was shut up there for some time with General Wurmser, but, impatient of remaining inactive, he succeeded in making his escape, under cover of night, encountering great difficulty and imminent hazard.
Early in the year 1797, he returned to England, but in the following autumn rejoined his regiment at Gibraltar, whence he proceeded to the attack of Minorca with Sir Charles Stuart, who bestowed the warmest eulogiums on the skill and valour displayed by Colonel Graham. The part which he took in the reduction of Minorca is thus described in a work, published some years ago, detailing those transactions:—
"After the debarkation of the troops innumerable difficulties opposed themselves to their operations. There is not in any part of Europe to be found a greater variety of natural obstacles to an invading army than in this island. Reports from deserters and others, contradictory in their purport, rendered General Stuart for a short time irresolute what course to pursue. He, however, resolved to proceed by a forced march to Mercadel, and by possessing that essential post, to separate the enemy's force. To effect this object, Colonel Graham was sent with 600 men, and by dint of the utmost effort arrived at Mercadel, a very few hours after the main body of the enemy had marched towards Candarello. Here he made a considerable number of prisoners, seized several depôts of ammunition, &c., and established his corps in front of the village. The reduction of Minorca being completed, Colonel Graham repaired to Sicily, where he employed himself in the service and for the assistance of its legitimate monarch; and such were his exertions, that he received repeated acknowledgments and tributes of gratitude and esteem from the King and Queen of Naples."
In September, 1798, Colonel Graham, having been appointed to the local rank of Brigadier-General, commanded the force, consisting of the 30th and 89th Regiments, and some corps embodied under his immediate direction, in the siege of the island of Malta. Brigadier-General Graham, aware of the prodigious strength of the place, with the assistance of the fleet, resorted to a blockade, when, after a resistance of nearly two years' duration, a reinforcement of troops under the command of Major-General Henry Pigott was sent to assist in reducing the garrison, which capitulated on the 5th September, 1800, as announced in the following despatch from Major-General Pigott, addressed to Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, then commanding the forces in the Mediterranean.
"Malta, September 5, 1800.
"I have great satisfaction in acquainting you with the surrender of the fortress of La Valette, with all its dependencies, after sustaining a blockade of two years. The capitulation has been signed this day.
"During the short time you were here, you must have been sensible of the great exertions which Brigadier-General Graham must have made with the limited force he had, previous to my arrival with a reinforcement: he has ever since continued these exertions, and I consider that the surrender of the place has been accelerated by the decision of his conduct in preventing any more inhabitants from coming out of the fortress a short time before I came here. He was sent to negotiate the terms of capitulation with General Vaubois, and I am much indebted to him for his assistance in that business."
On the completion of this service, General Graham came home for a few months, and, again anxious for active service, proceeded to Egypt, but before his arrival that country had been completely conquered. He returned through Turkey, making some stay at Constantinople, and during the peace of Amiens resided for a short time at Paris. His active and enterprising spirit had now to endure a period of repose. In 1808, however, he proceeded with General Sir John Moore to Sweden, where he availed himself of that opportunity to traverse the country in all directions. Shortly afterwards Sir John Moore was ordered to Spain, and Major General Graham served there during the whole campaign of 1808. He was afterwards appointed to command a division in the expedition to Walcheren, but having been attacked with fever he was obliged to come home. In February, 1811, having been previously raised to the rank of Lieutenant-General, he was appointed to the command of an expedition to attack the rear of the French army then blockading Cadiz, an operation which led to the celebrated battle of Barrosa. The thanks of Parliament were voted to him and the brave force under his command, and never were thanks more nobly earned or bestowed in a manner more honourable to those who offered and those who received them. He was at that time a member of the House of Commons, and in his place in Parliament he received that mark of a nation's gratitude. In acknowledging the honour thus conferred on him, Lieutenant-General Graham spoke as follows:—
"I have formerly often heard you, sir, eloquently and impressively deliver the thanks of the house to officers present, and never without an anxious wish that I might one day receive this most enviable mark of my country's regard. This honest ambition is now fully gratified, and I am more than ever bound to try to merit the good opinion of the house."
Barrosa was to Lord Lynedoch what Almaraz was to Lord Hill, and Albuhera to Lord Beresford.
After this series of events, and having been appointed a Knight of the Bath in February, 1812, Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Graham joined the army under the Duke of Wellington; but from ill health he was obliged to revisit England for a short period. Early in 1813, however, he returned to the Peninsula, and commanded the left wing of the British army at Vittoria. Mr. Abbott, then Speaker of the House of Commons, (afterwards Lord Colchester,) in alluding to General Graham's distinguished career at this period, stated that his was "a name never to be mentioned in our military annals without the strongest expression of respect and admiration;" and Mr. Sheridan, speaking of the various excellences, personal and professional, which adorned his character, said:—
"I have known him in private life; and never was there seated a loftier spirit in a braver heart."
Alluding to his services in the retreat of the British army to Corunna, he continued:—
"In the hour of peril, Graham was their best adviser; in the hour of disaster, Graham was their surest consolation."
He was second in command at the siege and capture of Ciudad Rodrigo; and commanded the army employed in the siege of St. Sebastian, and also the left wing at the passage of the Bidassoa; but soon after, in consequence of ill health, he was obliged to resign his command to Sir John Hope. In 1814 he was appointed to the command of the forces employed in Holland, and on the 3rd of May in the same year he again received the thanks of Parliament, and was raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Lynedoch, of Balgowan, in the county of Perth.
As years advanced, and the infirmities of age began to accumulate, Lord Lynedoch found the climate of Italy better calculated to sustain his declining energies than the atmosphere and temperature of his own country; he, therefore, spent much time on the continent; but, on a recent occasion, so anxious was he to manifest his sense of loyalty and his personal attachment to the Queen, that when Her Majesty visited Scotland, he came home from Switzerland for the express purpose of paying his duty to Her Majesty in the metropolis of his native land.
Lord Lynedoch's first commission in the army, that of Lieut.-Colonel, was dated 10th February, 1794; and he was promoted Colonel, by brevet, on the 22nd July, 1795. His commissions in the grade of General Officer were,—Major-General, 25th September, 1803; Lieut.-General, 25th July, 1810; and General, 19th July, 1821. He was successively Colonel of the 90th Regiment, at the head of which he continued nearly twenty years; of the 58th; and of the 14th Regiment, from which he was removed to the Royal Regiment on 12th December, 1834, when the Duke of Gordon was appointed to the Colonelcy of the Scots Fusilier Guards. He was also Governor of Dumbarton Castle in North Britain. He wore a Cross for his services at Barrosa (as Commander of the Forces), at Ciudad Rodrigo, Vittoria, and St. Sebastian (where he commanded a division), and he was a Knight Grand Cross of the Bath, and of the foreign Order of St. Michael and St. George.
To advert at greater length to Lord Lynedoch's services as a soldier would be superfluous. Conspicuous, in action for his talents, in council for his sagacity, and in private life for unassuming worth and the most estimable qualities, his character displayed a rare union of skill, chivalry, and amiability, and his widely-spread fame, his long and intimate connexion with the army, which have been the admiration of the present generation, will continue to hold a prominent place in British history. Though his titles have become extinct, he has left behind him a name which will be held in honoured remembrance while loyalty is considered a virtue, and military renown a passport to fame.
Sir George Murray, G.C.B.,
Appointed 29th December, 1843.
Sir George Murray was a native of Scotland, and entered the army at the age of 17, as an Ensign in the 71st Regiment, on the 12th of March, 1789. He was shortly afterwards removed to the 34th Regiment, and to the 3rd Foot Guards in July, 1790, from which time, to the close of the war in 1815, he was almost constantly employed in the active military service of his country, in the Netherlands, in the West Indies, in Egypt, in the north of Europe, and in the peninsula of Spain and Portugal.
He was first under fire with the 3rd Guards in Flanders, and participated in the campaigns of 1793 and the two following years, being present at the affair at St. Amand, sieges of Tamars and Valenciennes, attack of Lincelles, investment of Dunkirk, &c.; and he accompanied the army on its retreat through Holland and Germany.
In 1795 he served as aide-de-camp to Major-General A. Campbell on the expedition to Quiberon Bay; and in the autumn he proceeded to the West Indies with the force under Sir Ralph Abercromby. Having returned home in ill health, he continued on the Staff of Major-General Campbell, first in North Britain, and then in Ireland.
In the year 1799 Lieut.-Colonel Murray was employed in the Quarter-Master General's department of the army under the Duke of York in Holland; and he was wounded in the action on the Helder. He subsequently embarked from Cork for Gibraltar with part of the force destined to be employed under Sir Ralph Abercromby in the Mediterranean; and, being again placed in the Quarter-Master General's department, he was ordered to precede the army to Egypt, for the purpose of making arrangements for the debarkation of the troops. He was present in the action on the landing of the force, in the affairs of the 13th and 21st March, 1801, at the siege of Rosetta, and the investments of Cairo and Alexandria.
From Egypt Lieut.-Colonel Murray proceeded to the West Indies, where he served for twelve months in the situation of Adjutant General.
Returning home, he was, in the early part of 1803, appointed one of the Assistant Quarter-Masters General at head-quarters; in November, 1804, he was appointed Deputy Quarter-Master General to the army in Ireland.
While holding that commission he was detached, as Quarter-Master General, with the expedition to Stralsund, and likewise with the force employed under Lieut.-General the Earl Cathcart at Copenhagen. He resumed his duties in Ireland; and in 1808 was again detached, as Quarter-Master General, with the force sent to the Baltic under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore; and when these troops proceeded to Portugal, Lieut.-Colonel Murray accompanied that force, and was engaged at the battle of Vimiera, at Lugo, and Villa Franca, as well as at Corunna, and his services as a staff officer were particularly alluded to and commended in Lieut.-General Hope's despatch containing the account of that victory.
In the year 1809 Colonel Murray was appointed Quarter-Master General to the army under Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, but returned home in 1811, and in May of the following year was appointed Quarter-Master General in Ireland, where he remained until September, 1813, when he again proceeded to the Peninsula, and served there at the head of the Quarter-Master General's department until the close of the war, participating in all the important operations of that eventful period, and evincing all the talents which are indispensable in a staff officer with an army employed in such arduous and trying circumstances: he received a Cross and five Clasps for his services in the field.
In June, 1814, Major-General Sir George Murray was appointed Adjutant-General to the army in Ireland, a situation which he vacated in December following for the purpose of undertaking the governorship of the Canadas; but on the resumption of hostilities in the spring of 1815, he quitted America for the purpose of joining his former companions in arms. He did not, however, succeed in reaching the army until the allies had entered Paris; but he continued to serve on the Continent, with the local rank of Lieut.-General, until the return of the Army of Occupation to England, in 1818.
In August, 1819, Lieut.-General Sir George Murray was appointed Governor of the Royal Military College; in March, 1824, he was nominated Lieut.-General of the Ordnance, and in March, 1825, he proceeded to Dublin as Lieut.-General, commanding the forces in Ireland, where he remained till the year 1828, and in September, 1829, he received the appointment of Governor of Fort George in North Britain.
Sir George Murray's career was not, however, limited to his military employments. Having sat in two successive Parliaments as member for his native county of Perth, he was offered the seals of office as Secretary of State for the Colonial Department, which he accepted, and held from 1828 to 1830. His merits and talents, whether in a military or political point of view, were thus kept in view by the Duke of Wellington, then Prime Minister. In 1834 and 1835 he filled the situation of Master-General of the Ordnance, and in 1841 that appointment was again conferred upon him, and he continued to hold it till within a short period of his decease, which occurred on the 28th July, 1846.
Sir George Murray was successively Colonel commandant of a battalion of the 60th Regiment, Colonel of the 72nd Regiment, and of the 42nd Royal Highlanders, which he held upwards of twenty years, when he was removed to the Colonelcy of the First, or Royal Regiment, in December, 1843.
He was a Knight of the Crescent; and, in addition to the Orders of Leopold of Belgium, St. Alexander Newski of Russia, the Red Eagle of Prussia, the Tower and Sword of Prussia, Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria, and St. Henry of Saxony, Sir George Murray was decorated with the Crosses of the First Class of the Order of the Bath, and of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order.