SUCCESSION OF COLONELS

THE FORTY-SIXTH,

THE SOUTH DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT,

ORIGINALLY NUMBERED

THE FIFTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT.

John Price.

Appointed 13th January, 1741.

Mr. John Price obtained a commission of ensign in a regiment of foot in 1706; and subsequently rose to the rank of Captain and Lieut.-Colonel in the First Foot Guards. In January, 1741, he was promoted to the colonelcy of the FIFTY-SEVENTH (now FORTY-SIXTH) regiment, which was then being raised. In June, 1743, Colonel Price was removed to the fourteenth regiment of foot, and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General on the 6th of June, 1745. During the campaign of 1747, he commanded a brigade of infantry in the Netherlands, under His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, and highly distinguished himself at the battle of Val, or Laffeld, near Maestricht, on the 2nd of July of that year. His brigade was posted in the village of Val, and his gallantry during the action was commended by the Duke of Cumberland in his public despatch. He died in November following at Breda, in Holland.

The Honorable Thomas Murray.

Appointed 23rd June, 1743.

This Officer was promoted by His Majesty King George II. from the Third Foot Guards to be colonel of the FIFTY-SEVENTH (now FORTY-SIXTH) regiment, upon Colonel Price being removed to the fourteenth foot in June, 1743. Colonel the Honorable Thomas Murray was promoted to the rank of major-general on the 1st of April, 1754, and to that of lieut.-general on the 19th of January, 1758. His decease occurred in November, 1764.

William Viscount Howe, K.B.

Appointed 21st November, 1764.

This distinguished officer was the fifth son of Emanuel Scrope Viscount Howe, and commenced his military career as a cornet in the Duke of Cumberland's regiment of light dragoons, in which he was promoted to a lieutenancy on the 21st of September, 1747. The regiment was disbanded in 1749, shortly after the conclusion of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which was signed in October of the preceding year. He was promoted to the rank of captain in the twentieth regiment on the 1st of June, 1750, and to that of major in the sixtieth (afterwards fifty-eighth) regiment on the 4th of January, 1756. On the 17th of December, 1757, he was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the fifty-eighth regiment. During the "Seven Years' War," he served in America under Major-General Wolfe with great reputation, and was advanced to the brevet rank of colonel on the 19th of February 1762. Colonel the Honorable William Howe was appointed by King George III. to the colonelcy of the FORTY-SIXTH regiment on the 21st of November 1764. His Majesty also advanced him to the rank of major-general on the 25th of May, 1772. Major-general the Honorable William Howe was appointed to succeed General Gage in the chief command of the British Forces in America shortly after the commencement of the War of Independence, and arrived at Boston with Major-Generals Clinton and Burgoyne in May, 1775. Major-General the Honorable Sir William Howe, K.B., was appointed by His Majesty, colonel of the twenty-third Royal Welsh Fusiliers, from the FORTY-SIXTH regiment, on the 11th of May, 1775. He commanded at the attack on Bunker's Hill on the 17th of June following, was besieged in Boston during the winter, evacuated that town in the spring of 1776, and retired to Halifax, in Nova Scotia. On the 1st of January, 1776, he received the local rank of General in North America. In June he arrived at Staten Island, where he was joined by his brother Admiral Richard Lord Howe. The brothers here informed the American Congress, that they had received full power to grant pardon to such as should return to their obedience; but the Commissioners appointed by that body declined the proposition as unworthy of attention. In August, he defeated the Americans at Long Island, and took possession of New York in September, 1776. After the campaign in the Jerseys, in 1777, Sir William Howe sailed from Sandy Hook and entered Chesapeake Bay. Having previously secured the command of the Schuylkill, he crossed it with his army, and defeated the Americans at Brandywine on the 11th of September, and at Germantown on the 4th of October, 1777. On the 29th of August, 1777, His Majesty advanced him to the rank of lieut.-general. In the spring of 1778, he returned to England, having resigned the command of the army to General Sir Henry Clinton. On the 21st of April, 1786, Sir William Howe was removed to the colonelcy of the nineteenth (late twenty-third) Light Dragoons, which he retained until his decease. On the 12th of October, 1793, Sir William Howe was promoted to the rank of general. In 1799, he succeeded to the Irish peerage held by his brother Richard Earl Howe, the celebrated Admiral; and in 1805 he was appointed Governor of Plymouth. General William Viscount Howe died on the 12th of July, 1814, in the eighty-fifth year of his age.

The Honorable Sir John Vaughan, K.B.

Appointed 11th May, 1775.

Lieut.-Colonel Commandant the Honorable John Vaughan, who distinguished himself at the capture of Martinique in February, 1762, was appointed from the ninety-fourth, Royal Welsh Volunteers (since disbanded) to be lieut.-colonel of the FORTY-SIXTH regiment on the 25th of November, 1762, in succession to Lieut.-Colonel John Young, who retired. Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable John Vaughan was promoted to the rank of colonel in the army on the 25th of May, 1772, and His Majesty King George III. appointed him to the colonelcy of the FORTY-SIXTH regiment on the 11th of May, 1775, upon Major-General the Honorable Sir William Howe, K.B., being removed to the twenty-third, Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Colonel Vaughan embarked with his regiment for North America in the beginning of the year 1776, and, for his services during the American war, was promoted to the rank of major-general on the 29th of August, 1777, and was advanced to that of lieut.-general on the 20th of November, 1782. In 1792 His Majesty conferred upon him the dignity of a Knight of the Order of the Bath. Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir John Vaughan died on the 30th of June, 1795, at which period he was Commander in Chief of the troops stationed in the Leeward Islands.

Sir James Henry Craig, K.B.

Appointed 1st August, 1795.

James Henry Craig was appointed ensign in the thirtieth foot, in 1763, and served with his regiment at Gibraltar: in 1771 he was promoted to captain in the forty-seventh regiment, with which corps he served several campaigns in America; and in 1777 he was promoted to the majority, and in 1781 to the lieut.-colonelcy, of the eighty-second regiment, from which he was removed, in 1783, to the sixteenth. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1790, and to that of major-general in 1794; in August, 1795, he was nominated to the colonelcy of the FORTY-SIXTH regiment; he was advanced to the rank of lieut.-general in 1801, and removed to the eighty-sixth in 1804. He commanded an expedition to the Mediterranean, in 1805, with the local rank of general, and the dignity of a Knight of the Bath; the troops under his orders landed at Naples, and subsequently took possession of the island of Sicily. In 1806 he was removed to the twenty-second regiment; and in 1807 he was appointed Governor of Upper and Lower Canada, with the local rank of General in America; in 1809 he was removed to the seventy-eighth Highlanders. He was also appointed Governor of Blackness Castle. He died on the 12th of January, 1812.

John Whyte.

Appointed 5th January, 1804.

This officer commenced his military career, in 1761, as an ensign in the Thirty-eighth regiment, and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the fifty-sixth regiment on the 9th of February, 1762, and to that of captain on the 25th of March, 1771. He was promoted from the fifty-sixth to be major in the eighty-third regiment (afterwards disbanded) on the 23rd of December, 1777. Major Whyte was promoted to the rank of lieut.-colonel in the sixth regiment of foot on the 3rd of April, 1782, and received the brevet rank of colonel on the 12th of October, 1793. On the 26th of February, 1795, he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and on the 24th of April following, His Majesty King George III. appointed him to the colonelcy of the First West India regiment. Major-General Whyte was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general on the 29th of April, 1802, and on the 5th of January, 1804, he was appointed colonel of the FORTY-SIXTH regiment. On the 1st of January, 1812, he was advanced to the rank of general. The decease of General John Whyte occurred on the 30th of March, 1816.

Henry Wynyard.

Appointed 1st April, 1816.

The early services of this officer are connected with the first regiment of foot guards, in which he was appointed ensign on the 6th of June, 1778, and in which he rose to the rank of captain on the 4th of June, 1781. In February, 1793, he embarked with the brigade of guards for Holland, and advanced with the army through Flanders. In May following he returned to England, having been promoted to a company with the rank of lieut.-colonel in the preceding month. In November, 1794, he rejoined the British army in the neighbourhood of Arnheim, and after the retreat of that winter, he embarked for England. On the 3rd of May, 1796, he received the brevet rank of colonel; and early in 1798 was appointed to the command of a flank battalion, formed from the grenadiers of the brigade of guards, and in August, 1799, landed at the Helder under General Sir Ralph Abercromby. Colonel Wynyard was present in every action during that expedition except the last; in that of the 19th of September near Bergen he was wounded. On the 29th of April, 1802, he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and in May, 1803, was placed upon the staff of Great Britain, being appointed to the command of a brigade of guards in the Southern District. In September, 1806, Major-General Wynyard embarked with a brigade of guards and other troops destined for Sicily, in which Island he was placed in command upon the southern coast. In January, 1808, he arrived in England, and was again placed upon the staff in the Southern District. On the 25th of April, 1808, he was advanced to the rank of lieut.-general, and in June was appointed to the staff of Ireland, which he held until the 24th of January, 1812. On the 15th of September, 1808, His Majesty King George III. conferred upon him the colonelcy of the sixty-fourth regiment, from which he was appointed colonel of the FORTY-SIXTH regiment on the 1st of April, 1816. Lieut.-General Wynyard commanded the forces in North Britain from the 28th of July, 1812, to the 24th of April, 1816, and on the 12th of August, 1819, was advanced to the rank of general. General Wynyard was also a member of the Consolidated Board of General Officers, and a Groom of the Bedchamber to His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, now King of Hanover. General Wynyard died on the 3rd of April, 1838, after a lengthened service of sixty years.

Sir John (afterwards Lord) Keane, G.C.B., & G.C.H.

Appointed 6th April, 1838.

This officer entered the army at an early age, and on the 12th of November 1794, was promoted to the rank of captain in the hundred-and-twenty-fourth regiment, afterwards disbanded. Captain Keane was placed on the half-pay of the seventy-third regiment on the 11th of March 1795, and on the 7th of November 1799 he was removed to the forty-fourth regiment, which he joined at Gibraltar. During the campaign in Egypt, Captain Keane served as aide-de-camp to Major-General Lord Cavan, and was present in the actions near Alexandria, on the 13th and 21st of March 1801. On the 27th of May 1802, he was promoted to the rank of major in the sixtieth regiment; he remained in the Mediterranean on the staff until March 1803, when he returned to England. Major Keane was promoted to the rank of lieut.-colonel in the thirteenth foot on the 20th of August 1803, which regiment he joined at Gibraltar early in 1804. Lieut.-Colonel Keane afterwards served under Lieut.-General George Beckwith, in the expedition against Martinique in 1809, and was present at the siege of Fort Desaix, which surrendered on the 24th of February, of that year, and completed the capture of the island. In January 1812, he received the brevet rank of colonel, and on the 25th of June following, he was removed to the sixtieth regiment. His reputation was then such that immediately on his arrival at Madrid, he was appointed to command a brigade in the third division of the army under the Marquis of Wellington, in which he served until the end of the war with France, in 1814, and was present at the battles of Vittoria, the Pyrenees, Nivelle and Orthes; the action at Vic Bigorre, battle of Toulouse, besides other minor actions. For his services he was promoted to the rank of major-general on the 4th of June 1814, and was appointed a Knight Commander of the Bath. The honors which Major-General Keane had now acquired were the Egyptian Medal, and a cross and two clasps for Martinique, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Orthes, and Toulouse. In August 1814, he was appointed to a command ordered for particular service, and on his arrival at Jamaica, being senior officer, he assumed the command of the military force destined to co-operate with Vice-Admiral the Honorable Sir Alexander Cochrane for the attack on New Orleans and the province of Louisiana. On the morning of the 23rd of December, Major-General Keane effected a landing within nine miles of New Orleans, and the same night, with only eighteen hundred bayonets on shore, repulsed a serious attack of five thousand of the enemy, assisted by three large armed vessels on their flank. He held the command until the 25th of December, when Major-General Sir Edward Pakenham arrived, and assumed the command of the entire army. Major-General Keane was then appointed to the third brigade, and was present in the affairs of the 28th of December and 1st of January, as also at the assault made in the enemy's fortified lines on the morning of the 8th of January 1815, when he was severely wounded in two places. Sir John Keane afterwards passed eight years in Jamaica (from 1823 to 1831), as major-general commanding the forces in that island; and, during a year and a half of the time, he administered the civil government likewise. The colonelcy of the ninety-fourth regiment was conferred upon him on the 18th of April 1829, and on the 22nd of July 1830, he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general; on the 13th of April, 1831, he was appointed colonel of the sixty-eighth regiment; and in the year 1833, he succeeded Lieut.-General Sir Colin Halkett in the command of the army at Bombay: on the 6th of April 1838, Lieut.-General Sir John Keane was appointed colonel of the FORTY-SIXTH regiment. After nearly six years' service in the Bombay presidency, on the 29th of October 1838, he received authority from the government of India to organise and lead into Scinde a force intended to co-operate with the army then on the north-west frontier of India, under the command of General Sir Henry Fane. In December following Sir Henry Fane forwarded his resignation to head-quarters, and the command of the combined forces devolved upon Sir John Keane, who was now called upon to lead a considerable army, and to conduct operations requiring much discretion, delicacy, and tact in dealing with those half-friendly powers, whose existence is one of the greatest difficulties in the government of a semi-civilized land. After penetrating the Bolan Pass, the troops arrived on the 27th of April 1839 at Candahar, from whence they proceeded to Ghuznee, which was captured by their gallant exertions on the 23rd of July following. This completed the conquest of Affghanistan; and Shah Shoojah-ool-Moolk, after an exile of many years, was restored to the throne of his ancestors. Lieut.-General Sir John Keane, K.C.B., was removed from the FORTY-SIXTH to the forty-third regiment on the 1st of August 1839. For his services during the expedition to Cabool, Lieut.-General Sir John Keane was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honorable Military Order of the Bath, and on the 11th of December, was raised to the peerage as Baron Keane, of Ghuznee in Affghanistan, and of Cappoquin, county of Waterford, and obtained a pension of two thousand pounds a-year for his own life and that of his two immediate successors in the peerage, added to which he received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament, of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, and other marks of public approbation. These honors were not long enjoyed by Lieut.-General Lord Keane, who died in the sixty-fourth year of his age, at Burton Lodge, Hampshire, on the 26th of August 1844.

John Ross, C.B.

Appointed 1st of August, 1839.

Lieut.-General Ross commenced his military career as an ensign in the thirty-sixth regiment, his commission being dated 2nd of June 1793; was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in the fifty-second regiment on the 8th of May 1796, and to that of captain on the 11th of January 1800. Captain Ross served with the expedition against Ferrol under Lieut.-General Sir James Pulteney in August following, and was engaged with the enemy. On the 15th of August 1804, he was promoted to the rank of major in the fifty-second regiment, and obtained the rank of lieut.-colonel in the army on the 28th of January 1808, and was promoted lieut.-colonel in the fifty-second regiment on the 18th of February following. Lieut.-Colonel Ross commanded the second battalion of the fifty-second regiment at the battle of Vimiera, on the 21st of August 1808, for which he received a medal; and also during the campaign in Spain under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, which ended by the battle of Corunna on the 16th of January 1809. Lieut.-Colonel Ross in July following commanded five companies of the fifty-second regiment, which formed part of the force under Lieut.-General the Earl of Chatham, employed in the expedition to the Scheldt. Lieut.-Colonel Ross subsequently proceeded to the Peninsula, and commanded the first battalion of the fifty-second at the actions of Pombal, Redinha, Miranda de Corvo, Foz d'Arronce and Sabugal, and at the battle of Fuentes d'Onor. On the 18th of July 1811, he was removed to the sixty-sixth regiment, and in August following he was appointed Deputy Adjutant-General to the forces in Ceylon, from whence he returned to Europe in June 1814 for the benefit of his health; was promoted to the brevet rank of colonel on the 4th of that month; and was subsequently appointed Deputy Adjutant-General in Ireland. In June 1815, he was nominated a Companion of the Order of the Bath, and on the 12th of August 1819, Colonel Ross was appointed Commandant of the Depôt at the Isle of Wight. On the 27th of May 1825, he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and on the 14th of August 1828, was appointed Lieut.-Governor of Guernsey, which he held until the 31st of March 1837. His Majesty King William IV. appointed Major-General Ross to be colonel of the ninety-eighth regiment on the 30th of May 1836; on the 28th of June 1838, he was advanced to the rank of lieut.-general. In August 1839, Lieut.-General Ross was removed to the FORTY-SIXTH regiment. The decease of Lieut.-General Ross, C.B., occurred at Southampton on the 17th of May 1843.

John Earl of Stair, K.T.

Appointed from the Ninety-second regiment
on the 31st of May, 1843.

London: Printed by William Clowes and Sons, Stamford Street,
For Her Majesty's Stationery Office.