TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
Some minor changes are noted at [the end of the book.]
CONTENTS | |
| [GENERAL ORDERS.] | |
| [PREFACE.] | |
| [HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SECOND,] | Page 1 |
| [APPENDIX.] | 73 |
| [A.] Chronological Table of the Services of the Second, or Queen's Royal Regiment. | 74 |
| [B.] General Orders relative to the Campaign in Egypt in 1801. | 78 |
| [C.] General Orders relative to the Battle of Corunna in January, 1809. | 81 |
| [D.] General Orders relative to the Battle of Talavera in July, 1809. | 86 |
| [E.] Memorandum on the subject of Regimental Colours, 1835. | 89 |
| [F.] Memoir of Major-General Sir Henry Torrens, K.C.B. | 93 |
HISTORICAL RECORDS
OF THE
BRITISH ARMY.
PREPARED FOR PUBLICATION UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE
ADJUTANT-GENERAL.
THE SECOND REGIMENT OF FOOT;
OR,
QUEEN'S ROYAL.
LONDON:
Printed by William Clowes and Sons,
14, Charing Cross.
[GENERAL ORDERS.]
HORSE-GUARDS,
1st January, 1836.
His Majesty has been pleased to command, that, with a view of doing the fullest justice to Regiments, as well as to Individuals who have distinguished themselves by their Bravery in Action with the Enemy, an Account of the Services of every Regiment in the British Army shall be published under the superintendence and direction of the Adjutant-General; and that this Account shall contain the following particulars, viz.,
—— The Period and Circumstances of the Original Formation of the Regiment; The Stations at which it has been from time to time employed; The Battles, Sieges, and other Military Operations, in which it has been engaged, particularly specifying any Achievement it may have performed, and the Colours, Trophies, &c., it may have captured from the Enemy.
—— The Names of the Officers and the number of Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates, Killed or Wounded by the Enemy, specifying the Place and Date of the Action.
—— The Names of those Officers, who, in consideration of their Gallant Services and Meritorious Conduct in Engagements with the Enemy, have been distinguished with Titles, Medals, or other Marks of His Majesty's gracious favour.
—— The Names of all such Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates as may have specially signalized themselves in Action.
And,
—— The Badges and Devices which the Regiment may have been permitted to bear, and the Causes on account of which such Badges or Devices, or any other Marks of Distinction, have been granted.
By Command of the Right Honourable
GENERAL LORD HILL,
Commanding-in-Chief.
John MacDonald,
Adjutant-General.
[PREFACE.]
The character and credit of the British Army must chiefly depend upon the zeal and ardour, by which all who enter into its service are animated, and consequently it is of the highest importance that any measure calculated to excite the spirit of emulation, by which alone great and gallant actions are achieved, should be adopted.
Nothing can more fully tend to the accomplishment of this desirable object, than a full display of the noble deeds with which the Military History of our country abounds. To hold forth these bright examples to the imitation of the youthful soldier, and thus to incite him to emulate the meritorious conduct of those who have preceded him in their honourable career, are among the motives that have given rise to the present publication.
The operations of the British Troops are, indeed, announced in the 'London Gazette,' from whence they are transferred into the public prints: the achievements of our armies are thus made known at the time of their occurrence, and receive the tribute of praise and admiration to which they are entitled. On extraordinary occasions, the Houses of Parliament have been in the habit of conferring on the Commanders, and the Officers and Troops acting under their orders, expressions of approbation and of thanks for their skill and bravery, and these testimonials, confirmed by the high honour of their Sovereign's Approbation, constitute the reward which the soldier most highly prizes.
It has not, however, until late years, been the practice (which appears to have long prevailed in some of the Continental armies) for British Regiments to keep regular records of their services and achievements. Hence some difficulty has been experienced in obtaining, particularly from the old Regiments, an authentic account of their origin and subsequent services.
This defect will now be remedied, in consequence of His Majesty having been pleased to command, that every Regiment shall in future keep a full and ample record of its services at home and abroad.
From the materials thus collected, the country will henceforth derive information as to the difficulties and privations which chequer the career of those who embrace the military profession. In Great Britain, where so large a number of persons are devoted to the active concerns of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and where these pursuits have, for so long a period, been undisturbed by the presence of war, which few other countries have escaped, comparatively little is known of the vicissitudes of active service, and of the casualties of climate, to which, even during peace, the British Troops are exposed in every part of the globe, with little or no interval of repose.
In their tranquil enjoyment of the blessings which the country derives from the industry and the enterprise of the agriculturist and the trader, its happy inhabitants may be supposed not often to reflect on the perilous duties of the soldier and the sailor,—on their sufferings,—and on the sacrifice of valuable life, by which so many national benefits are obtained and preserved.
The conduct of the British Troops, their valour, and endurance, have shone conspicuously under great and trying difficulties; and their character has been established in Continental warfare by the irresistible spirit with which they have effected debarkations in spite of the most formidable opposition, and by the gallantry and steadiness with which they have maintained their advantages against superior numbers.
In the official Reports made by the respective Commanders, ample justice has generally been done to the gallant exertions of the Corps employed; but the details of their services, and of acts of individual bravery, can only be fully given in the Annals of the various Regiments.
These Records are now preparing for publication, under His Majesty's special authority, by Mr. Richard Cannon, Principal Clerk of the Adjutant-General's Office; and while the perusal of them cannot fail to be useful and interesting to military men of every rank, it is considered that they will also afford entertainment and information to the general reader, particularly to those who may have served in the Army, or who have relatives in the Service.
There exists in the breasts of most of those who have served, or are serving, in the Army, an Esprit du Corps—an attachment to every thing belonging to their Regiment; to such persons a narrative of the services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove interesting. Authentic accounts of the actions of the great,—the valiant,—the loyal, have always been of paramount interest with a brave and civilized people. Great Britain has produced a race of heroes who, in moments of danger and terror, have stood, "firm as the rocks of their native shore;" and when half the World has been arrayed against them, they have fought the battles of their Country with unshaken fortitude. It is presumed that a record of achievements in war,—victories so complete and surprising, gained by our countrymen,—our brothers—our fellow-citizens in arms,—a record which revives the memory of the brave, and brings their gallant deeds before us, will certainly prove acceptable to the public.
Biographical memoirs of the Colonels and other distinguished Officers, will be introduced in the Records of their respective Regiments, and the Honorary Distinctions which have, from time to time, been conferred upon each Regiment, as testifying the value and importance of its services, will be faithfully set forth.
As a convenient mode of Publication, the Record of each Regiment will be printed in a distinct number, so that when the whole shall be completed, the Parts may be bound up in numerical succession.
HISTORICAL RECORD
OF THE
SECOND,
OR
QUEEN'S ROYAL REGIMENT
OF FOOT;
CONTAINING
AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT
IN THE YEAR 1661, AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT
SERVICES TO 1837.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY CLOWES AND SONS, 14, CHARING CROSS.
MDCCCXXXVIII.
SECOND (THE QUEEN'S ROYAL) REGIMENT OF FOOT.
THE SECOND,
OR
QUEEN'S ROYAL REGIMENT OF FOOT,
BEARS IN THE CENTRE OF
EACH COLOUR
THE QUEEN'S CYPHER
ON A
RED GROUND WITHIN THE GARTER, AND CROWN OVER IT;
ALSO THE FOLLOWING DISTINCTIONS,
Egypt, with the Sphynx—Vimiera—Corunna—Salamanca—Vittoria—Pyrenees—Nivelle—Toulouse—and Peninsula.
IN THE DEXTER CANTON OF THE SECOND COLOUR
THE UNION:
IN THE THREE OTHER CORNERS
THE PASCHAL LAMB;
WITH THE MOTTOES
Pristinæ Virtutis Memor, and Vel Exuviæ Triumphant,
AND THE DISTINCTIONS ABOVE SPECIFIED.
[ HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE SECOND,]
OR
QUEEN'S ROYAL REGIMENT OF FOOT.
1661
The Second Regiment of Foot was raised in 1661, for the purpose of providing a garrison for Tangier, a fortress on the northern coast of Africa, which was ceded to England as part of the marriage portion of Donna Catherina, Infanta of Portugal, who, in the following year, was married to King Charles II[1].
The command of this regiment was conferred by King Charles II. on Henry (second) Earl of Peterborough, whose commission as Colonel bears date the 30th of September, 1661.
King Charles II. having, soon after his restoration, disbanded the army of the Commonwealth, the ranks of Lord Peterborough's regiment were speedily completed with disciplined soldiers: it is reported to have assembled on Putney heath on the 14th of October, 1661, and to have numbered one thousand men.
The destination of Lord Peterborough's regiment to garrison so valuable a portion of Her Majesty's dower was, no doubt, the cause of its early advancement to royal favour: it was designated 'the Queen's,' and the Paschal Lamb, the distinguishing badge of Portugal, was placed on its colours, and has ever since been continued to be borne by the regiment[2].
1662
In a few months after its formation, the Earl of Peterborough embarked with his regiment and a troop of horse[3], and arrived at Tangier on the 29th of January, 1662, where he found a British fleet, under the command of the Earl of Sandwich, lying in the roads, and Sir Richard Steyner, with a detachment of officers and seamen, occupying the town: a duty from which the Queen's Regiment, relieved them on the following day[4].
The fortress was already surrounded by walls upwards of a mile and a quarter in extent, but the English began constructing, at immense cost both of money and labour, a series of external fortifications. It was also determined to form a secure harbour by building a pier, or mole, several hundred yards in length. A spirit of enterprise, which has since become so conspicuous in British subjects, was, at this early period, strongly evinced in these improvements, carried on amidst barbarian tribes on the unpromising shores of Africa.
Tangier was announced after its occupation 'a place of such concernment that all the world will envy the English the attainment of it;' but this opinion was founded more on an expectation that the new colony would open a mart for trade, and bring to our influence, if not to our power, the adjoining states. It was, however, an acquisition of consequence to a nation aiming at commercial rivalry at a time when the voyage to India by the Cape of Good Hope was of rare occurrence. Tangier was situated so as to be a convenient resting-place for the Mediterranean trader, similar to what Gibraltar affords at the present time. These speculations gave the command a great importance, made evident by the warrant from King Charles II. on the appointment of the Earl of Peterborough to his government. It designates him 'Captain General, Chief Governor, and Vice-Admiral of our City of Tangier, and of the ports and coasts adjacent, and any of our dominions and territories, castles and forts, in or near the kingdom of Tangier, Fez, and Morocco, in Africa, which are or shall be in our possession, or reduced to our obedience, &c.'
On the arrival of Lord Peterborough at Tangier, he found Gaylan, the sovereign chief of Fez, with a body of 10,000 men, encamped within a league of the fortress. A treaty of peace was concluded between these commanders, and limits were fixed, beyond which the English were not to forage or cultivate. No great reliance was placed by the British on their new ally, and accounts from the new colony state, 'how the Moors will observe these articles we know not; however, we are, and we still shall be, upon our guard.'
1663
Three other battalions of infantry also proceeded to Tangier from Dunkirk[5]. The friendly understanding which was established with the natives was for some time interrupted only by trifling skirmishes, in which the Moors satisfied themselves by beating back, with sticks, those of the garrison who passed the stipulated bounds. A jealousy was, however, very soon evinced; and upon opposition being made to the English in prosecuting the works and fortifications already alluded to, war burst out, in which the number and ferocity of the Moors were defeated and overcome by great discipline and courage on the part of the garrison. The use of cannon by the Europeans at length diminished the courage of the barbarians, but not before the garrison suffered severely. They had already lost 250 men, and the Moors about 500, amongst whom was a brother of Gaylan, when a peace was at length concluded in 1663, and Lord Peterborough returned in the same year to England[6].
The Earl of Peterborough was succeeded, both in the government of Tangier and in the Colonelcy of the Queen's Regiment, by Lieutenant-General Andrew Rutherford, Earl of Teviot (late Governor of Dunkirk), whose commission was dated the 9th of April, 1663. This second governor of Tangier consolidated all the infantry in garrison, and added them to the Queen's Tangier Regiment; he also so beautified and strengthened the town, that he obtained the title of its 'Restorer.'
Gaylan, hearing of the progress of the works, assembled an army of 4000 horse and 20,000 foot[7]; and at mid-day, on Sunday the 14th of June, 1663, when all the officers were at dinner, the Moors surprised and carried the advance-posts and attacked the great redoubt, where Major Ridgert of the Queen's Regiment, with forty men, made a most gallant defence, until the garrison, led by Colonel Norwood, sallied out, and charging the Moors with signal bravery, retook all the posts which had been captured. The garrison lost fourteen men killed and twenty wounded in this encounter; and the enemy upwards of one hundred. In an account of this action published at the time, it is stated, 'The Moors are men of resolution, and have most excellent fire-arms. When the horse charged us, he that did command them was clothed in crimson velvet, who being killed, they all went off immediately; it is presumed, therefore, that he was one of their chief men.'
A second attack was subsequently made with 10,000 men, 'but the most vigilant governor had so warily supplied the defects of the place, by planting great guns to annoy the assailants, that though the assault was very sharp, the enemy was beaten off with the loss of 900 men[8].'
In August a peace was concluded for six months, and a free trade was opened with the Moors, 'they daily bringing their camels laden with commodities, and in return they get money and other things.' Further additions were also made to the works, which again gave rise to acts of hostility, and in one encounter the garrison captured a splendid scarlet standard. A correspondence was opened with Gaylan—the Earl of Teviot insisted on making additional works—Gaylan objected, when his Lordship replied, 'he must have peace on those terms, or war without them.' The latter was the result, and led to numerous losses, particularly of the natives, in attempts to assault the fortress.
1664
The chief losses sustained by the garrison of Tangier were in the sallies they made into the adjacent country to obtain fresh provisions. The Moors had a custom of driving two or three hundred head of cattle within sight of the walls, and planting a body of men in ambuscade, ready to fall on the detachment, which military ardour, to say nothing of a natural wish for fresh beef, was sure to bring beyond the cover of the fortress. These skirmishes frequently brought on more serious engagements, and in a sally made by the garrison on the 4th of May, 1664, the Earl of Teviot[9] met his death.
The Earl of Teviot was succeeded in the command of the Queen's Regiment by Colonel, afterwards Lieutenant-General Henry Norwood, whose commission is dated the 10th of June, 1664. The government of Tangier at this time was bestowed by His Majesty on John Lord Bellasyse, a younger son of the Earl of Fauconberg, who arrived at his government in April 1665, on board the Smyrna fleet, consisting of 'seven lusty, brave ships.'
1665
1666
Lord Bellasyse found the judicious arrangements of the late Commander-in-Chief had rendered Tangier impregnable to its enemies, who by this time were much disheartened, and inclined to terminate hostilities. A peace was concluded in the following year, and Lord Bellasyse was himself the bearer of it to England, where he arrived in May, 1666. The London Gazette states his favourable reception by His Majesty, and great expectations of future prosperity to Tangier were raised from his report.
General Norwood, who has been mentioned as succeeding, on the death of the Earl of Teviot, to the command of the Queen's Regiment, was now appointed to succeed Lord Bellasyse in his government. His administration was that of a judicious and vigilant officer; he acquired the confidence of the Moors, and conciliated Gaylan the sovereign chief of Fez. General Norwood's proceedings among the natives were considered so honourable, and his character, altogether, stood so high, that the Emperor Muley Xeriff admitted him to traffic at Tetuan free of imposts; a most beneficial offer, which he failed not to accept, as it so much concerned the welfare of Tangier, 'to whose advancement,' says Addison, 'he always declared a singular propensity.'
1668
The death of this valuable officer, which occurred in 1668, made room for the appointment of John Earl of Middleton, whose commission, as Governor of Tangier, and as Colonel of the Queen's Regiment, is dated the 15th of May, 1668.
It was during the colonelcy of the Earl of Middleton, when war had been resumed with the ferocious Moors, that this regiment had the honour of numbering amongst its volunteers the man who afterwards became the most successful and most celebrated general of his age;—'the man who never fought a battle which he did not gain, or besieged a town which he failed to reduce,—John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough.' Mr. Churchill was at this time about twenty years of age, and held an ensign's commission in the Foot Guards, but made his first essays, in actual service, beneath the walls of Tangier, where he eagerly engaged in the frequent sallies and skirmishes of the garrison, giving, in this desultory warfare, the first indication of his active and daring character.
1675
After an administration of nearly seven years, the Earl of Middleton died in the fortress, on the 25th of January, 1675[10]. He was succeeded in the command of Tangier, and also in the colonelcy of the Queen's Regiment, on the 5th of March, 1675, by William O'Brien, Earl of Inchiquin.
1678
Tangier had by this time so increased in strength and importance, that its occupation by the English was become an object of jealousy, not only to the natives of the country, but to all European powers. The fortifications had been rendered secure, and the harbour had been improved, and now afforded a safe anchorage. These important points had not been attained without great opposition from the Moors, and much credit was given to the garrison for their conduct and steady perseverance in the arduous duties they had to perform. We find acknowledgment made of them by the journals of the day in the following terms:—'Many and various have been the warlike exploits of the heroic English against the barbarians, during the possession of this famous garrison of Tangier, so much renowned throughout the world, standing as commandress of those seas, and a protection to shipping from the Turkish pirates.' The Oxford Gazette of the same period also contains a letter from Tangier, reporting a threatened attack from a French fleet, and adds, 'the soldiers, far from being surprised at the news, are infinitely rejoiced at it, expecting them with much impatience.' Thus we find the Queen's Regiment was ever at its post, and had for eighteen years, almost single-handed, maintained this important fortress, in defiance of numerous assaults from the equally destructive effects of war and climate.
1680
Towards the termination of the Earl of Inchiquin's[11] command Tangier became an object of still greater attention in England. The Emperor of Morocco had joined with the forces of Fez, and a crusade was carrying on against the Christian occupants of this part of Africa; Europeans were found ready to direct the operations of the savages, and the war assumed an importance hitherto not bestowed on it. The following is an account given at the time:—
'The Moors being vexed, knowing it was impossible to make their approaches against Tangier above ground, resolved to effect it by drawing lines and working underneath the earth; which stratagem of war, it is supposed, they learnt from several French and Spanish mercenaries whom they keep in pay: this practice they were before quite ignorant of.'—The public journals also speak indignantly of some English who clandestinely imported 1500 barrels of gunpowder to the enemy, and say, ''Tis too often the custom of our nation to give away their swords, and fight with their teeth, and furnish our foes with means to cut our own throats.' Numerous losses sustained by the garrison, together with the increased force of the assailants, rendered it requisite to send reinforcements to the relief of the former. For this purpose a detachment left Ireland in the spring of 1680, consisting of four companies of the Royal Regiment of Foot; twelve other companies of the same regiment followed in the same year; five companies of the Foot Guards also sailed for the same destination under the Earl of Mulgrave.
In addition to the above reinforcements, a new regiment was raised in 1680, of which Charles Fitz Charles, Earl of Plymouth, (a natural son of King Charles II.) was appointed Colonel, and embarked on this service. This latter corps was called 'the Second Tangier Regiment,' and is now the 4th, or King's Own Regiment.
It has been stated that the Duke of Marlborough was initiated at Tangier in the first rudiments of war. The same theatre for the display of British valour and enterprise was at this time chosen by several other volunteers, among whom were Charles Lord Mordaunt, the afterwards celebrated Earl of Peterborough, and others of rank and celebrity.
In the year 1680 the Earl of Inchiquin vacated his appointment on being made Governor of Jamaica. Colonel Sir Palmes Fairborne[12], of the Queen's Regiment, who succeeded to the command of the fortress on the departure of the Earl of Inchiquin, was, in consequence of his gallant and meritorious services, confirmed in the appointment by his Majesty. The demise of this brave officer, however, occurred before the commission for his appointment was signed; he was wounded in an action with the Moors on the 24th of October, 1680, and died three days after, leaving the charge of the garrison to Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Sackville, of the Coldstream Foot Guards[13]. On the 27th of October the garrison attacked the enemy's lines with determined bravery, and the Queen's Regiment is reported to have 'behaved to admiration[14].' Considerable loss was however sustained by the English; 'not above fifty men were left in one of the battalions of Lord Inchiquin's Regiment (the Queen's): the English and Scotch behaved as brave and gallant men, and the Gentlemen Volunteers have alike proved themselves men of courage.'
The Queen's Regiment had Ensign Watson, Ensign Trent, and thirty-four men killed; and Captain Philpot, Lieutenants Guy and Tate, Ensigns Roberts, Thomas, Fitzpatrick, Webster, Norwood, Beckford, and Elliott, with 124 men wounded.
1681
In a short period after the above engagement, his Majesty was pleased to appoint Lieutenant-Colonel Sackville to be Lieutenant-Colonel of the Queen's Regiment of Foot Guards, by which he was removed from service at Tangier.
1682
The Government of Tangier was next conferred upon Colonel Piercy Kirke[15], who, on the death of the Earl of Plymouth, had been promoted, on the 27th of November 1680, to the Colonelcy of the 2nd Tangier Regiment, with which Regiment he had embarked for Africa as Lieutenant-Colonel in September of that year. He was removed to the Colonelcy of the Queen's Regiment on the 19th of April, 1682, in succession to Colonel Sir Palmes Fairborne, deceased.
During Colonel Kirke's services at Tangier, he had been frequently employed upon missions to the Emperor of Morocco. In Ockley's 'Account of South-west Barbary,' there is a letter from the Emperor to him, dated the 27th of October, 1682, which shows that there was a mutual interchange of civilities between them; it is written to acknowledge the receipt of a present of three English horses, which, however thankful he might be, the Emperor seems to think might have been improved upon, for he remarks, 'everybody knows that a carriage requires four horses to travel.'
The support of the colony of Tangier appears to have been a matter of serious dispute between the King and the Parliament: repeatedly the King urged upon the House of Commons the importance of the place, and the House as often acknowledged it; but still withheld the supplies necessary for its defence.
The advantage derived from the Levant trade, the fact that two millions of money had been expended on the works, and various arguments in favour of maintaining Tangier, were at length fully set forth in a speech from His Majesty on the 17th of November, 1680: a reply was made to it in eighteen articles, but the following remarks will sufficiently explain the whole affair, and account for the final sacrifice of the colony:—
'It was said by the Parliament that the money granted for works had been misapplied;—that the same thing might happen again; and although they were, indeed, afraid of Tangier, they were more afraid of a popish successor.—It was a nursery, not only for popish soldiers, but also for priests and religious persons too, and that there had been sometimes a popish governor of the place, so that to succour it was but to augment their present evils.'
In December, 1680, and again, in a Royal Declaration, dated the 8th of April, 1681, its great importance was urged. At length, in 1683, the King, finding the expense of maintaining the garrison and fortifications greater than he was willing, or, unassisted by Parliament, able to bear, came to the resolution of recalling the one, and demolishing the other.
1683
1684
About the end of the year 1683, Admiral Lord Dartmouth was sent to Tangier with twenty sail of the line, with orders to demolish the fortress and mole, and to bring away the inhabitants and garrison. Great sufferings had been endured for some time for want of supplies from England, and much joy was evinced by the former on the announcement being made. In six months all the arrangements to abandon this once favourite colony being completed, the final evacuation took place in April, 1684. The Portuguese government had offered a remuneration to have Tangier restored to that nation, but their power of defending it was questionable, and it was not considered prudent to risk so important a fortress falling into the hands of the Moors.
There are no means of ascertaining the number of officers and men lost by the Queen's Regiment during the twenty-two years of its service at Tangier; but to judge from the casualties amongst officers of superior rank, it must have been immense. The regiment had steadily persevered in performing the arduous duties required of it, and now retired from its post when a final evacuation of the fortress took place, by the King's command.
The Queen's Regiment left Tangier in April, 1684; and on its arrival in England it mustered 560 men, who were portioned into 16 companies. This number was part of 2300 troops, which had comprised the garrison of Tangier, and which, beside the Queen's Regiment, included
4 Troops of horse, which were incorporated in the Royal Dragoons.
5 Companies of Foot Guards.
16 Companies of Earl of Dumbarton's (now 1st or Royal Regiment).
16 Companies Trelawny's 2nd Tangier Regiment (now 4th or King's Own).
1 Company of Miners.
4 Independent Companies.
1685
The want of confidence alluded to, as existing at this epoch between the Court and Parliament of England, did not terminate with the death of King Charles II., which event occurred on the 6th of February, 1685. His successor King James II. had scarcely ascended his throne, when the army was called upon to protect him from the designs of disaffected subjects, headed by the Duke of Monmouth, who had landed from Holland, and raised the standard of rebellion in the west of England. On this occasion the Queen's Regiment formed part of the forces assembled under the Earl of Feversham, and it is reported, that at the decisive battle of Sedgemoor, where Monmouth and his party were defeated, and his cause irretrievably ruined, 'the two Tangier regiments, Kirke's and Trelawny's, did good service[16].' Colonel Kirke was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General on the 11th of May, 1685, and afterwards appointed to command at Bridgewater.
Here we would willingly close the detail of this unfortunate affair; but there have been too frequent allusions to Kirke, and also to his regiment, by various historians, as connected with subsequent proceedings in Monmouth's rebellion to justify such a course. Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys was appointed by King James to conduct a special commission, and to pass judgment on the misguided people who had aided the ill-fated Duke and his adherents: Kirke with his regiment was ordered to escort the judges in their circuit; numerous are the acts of barbarity which history has handed down as perpetrated by Jeffreys and Kirke in what were termed the 'bloody assizes,' and we are told that no less than 261 persons were executed. The remorseless character said to have been evinced by Kirke on the occasion was supposed to be the result of the long and sanguinary wars he had been engaged in with the barbarians in Africa; but Savage, in his history of Taunton, states, that 'on Kirke being afterwards upbraided for his conduct by General Foulks, he excused himself, and said he had an express order from the King and his General, and that his commission went further.' Kirke is represented as 'a loose and bold soldier of fortune;' and there cannot be a doubt but he made himself a willing agent to his ermined and sanguinary coadjutor; but we are inclined to believe his vices have been greatly exaggerated. The most outrageous acts attributed to Kirke were said to have been perpetrated in the neighbourhood of Taunton; and a piece of ground, west of the castle, where he and his force were cantoned, was called 'Tangier,' in allusion to the services of his regiment. Had the conduct of Colonel Kirke approached the violence attributed to him, it is not very probable that in the short space of four years it would have been so lost sight of as to admit a demonstration of joy similar to the following, noticed by the historian of Taunton already quoted: 'The people of Taunton, in commemoration of his (Kirke's) relieving Derry, when besieged by James II. in 1689, devoted an evening to the drinking of his health in public, the expenses of which may be now seen in an old church book.' Zeal for party, or misstatement, are at all times liable to disfigure the pages of history; and if the case of Kirke is not admitted as exemplifying this fact, a very short statement will show that the character of his regiment has been unjustly implicated in these outrages. Dr. Toulmin and other writers remark, that the name of 'lambs' was given by Colonel Kirke to his soldiers, who were most ready to execute his cruel orders; but the truth is, that the regiment, as already shown, had the device of a Lamb on its colours and appointments from its first formation, and continues to bear it to this day. From this circumstance they were called 'The Lambs' long before the period alluded to, and without any connexion with its services in the West of England at this unhappy period.
1686
After the decease of King Charles II. this regiment was styled 'The Queen Dowager's Regiment of Foot.' During the two years which followed Monmouth's rebellion, the Queen Dowager's Regiment formed part of a body of 12,000 troops assembled in camps for exercise on Hounslow Heath. King James made great efforts to ingratiate himself with this army: his success, as well as his object, on the occasion, will be inferred from the following remark given by Bishop Burnet—'That which abated the King's joy in seeing so brave an army about him, was, that it was visible, and on so many occasions, that his soldiers had as great an aversion to his religion as his other subjects had expressed.' An anecdote related of Colonel Kirke is further illustrative of the times:—when asked respecting a change of religion, he is stated briefly to have replied, 'he was pre-engaged; for he had promised the Emperor of Morocco, if ever he changed his religion, he would turn Mahomedan.'
FIRST TANGIER REGIMENT OF FOOT, MDCLXXXVII.; NOW SECOND (THE QUEEN'S ROYAL) REGIMENT OF FOOT.
[To face page 18.
1688
An attempt to displace Protestants from various situations, civil and military, and to substitute Catholics, as well as to force popish recruits into the army, and other causes, at length brought on the Revolution; and at this important crisis we find the Queen Dowager's Regiment faithful to the best interests of its country. The Prince of Orange (afterwards William III.) made good his landing at Torbay early in November, 1688, and marched to Exeter. The advanced position of King James's army was at Warminster, and comprised two battalions of Dumbarton's Regiment (the Royals) and Kirke's (the Queen's), a troop of Life Guards, and the Queen Consort's Regiment of Horse, now the First Dragoon Guards. The whole was commanded by Brigadier-General Kirke, who, on some frivolous pretence, refused to march to Devizes, for which he was placed in arrest, and ordered to London. The King, deserted by many of his followers, and even by a portion of his own family, adopted the resolution of retreating towards London, and caused his forces to retire behind the Thames to Staines and its neighbourhood; and ultimately, his Majesty vacating his throne, without any government being nominated, left the troops at liberty to use their own discretion. Little opposition was made to the advance of the Prince of Orange, who was soon joined by Kirke, and the latter was received by his new monarch with particular distinction.
1689
King James II., with a view of maintaining his authority in Ireland, and assisted by Louis XIV., embarked from France, and landed at Dublin in March, 1689. The Protestants in that country were determined to resist his dominion, particularly at Londonderry, where, under the gallant direction of the Rev. George Walker, rector of Donoghmore, they nobly defended that city for several months, notwithstanding the Governor, Colonel Lundy, Colonel Thomas Cunningham, 9th Foot, and Colonel Solomon Richards, 17th Foot, had resolved, in a council of war, that the place was not tenable, and that it would be imprudent to land those two regiments which had been sent to their assistance: these officers were in consequence cashiered, and the most active measures were taken for sending a further number of troops from England to the assistance of the Protestants, and to the relief of Londonderry.
Major-General Kirke was appointed to the command of the troops embarked on this service, on which the Queen Dowager's Regiment was employed, and, with Sir John Hanmer's (the 11th) Regiment, sailed from Liverpool on the 21st of May. Great difficulties were encountered in gaining access to Londonderry on account of the batteries which had been erected on each side of the river by the besieging army. At length the ship Mountjoy, under convoy of the Dartmouth frigate, forced a boom or barrier which had been placed across the river to obstruct the entrance, and General Kirke succeeded in landing men and provisions. The troops of King James were so dispirited by the success of this enterprize, that they abandoned the siege in the night, and retired with precipitation, after having lost some thousands of men before the place.
1690
The Queen Dowager's Regiment continued in Ireland, and served with distinction in the army of King William at the battle of the Boyne on the 1st of July, 1690. It was also employed in the siege of Limerick; in the relief of Birr; and in December drove a division of the enemy out of Lanesborough.
1691
In 1691 four men per company were mounted, and performed dragoon's duty[17]: the grenadier company was also mounted. In February the mounted part of the regiment distinguished itself in an action at the Moat of Grenogue; and the remainder of the regiment took Cairn Castle and Conway Castle. In May the regiment defeated a body of Rapparees near Wyands-Town. It was afterwards employed at the siege of Athlone, which was carried by storm on the 30th of June, 1691. It is recorded that 'never was a more desperate service, nor was ever exploit performed with more valour and intrepidity.' Lieut.-General De Ginkell, to whom King William had entrusted the command of his army, was created Earl of Athlone for his conduct and success on this occasion. On the 4th of July ten mounted grenadiers of the Queen's Regiment and twenty horse, engaged 400 of the enemy's cavalry in the woods of Clanoult, and displayed astonishing bravery. Our men defended a bridge until half their numbers were killed, and then retired.
The Queen Dowager's Regiment was engaged at the decisive battle of Aghrim, in the county of Galway, on the 12th of July, 1691, when the French General St. Ruth was killed, and about 4000 of his troops. It was also engaged in the second siege of Limerick; and on the 22nd of September distinguished itself in an attack upon the works which covered Thoumond Bridge. So great was the loss of the enemy, that the place surrendered a few days afterwards.
The ambition and power of Louis XIV. caused England to unite with other nations to check the designs of France, and in 1689 the Earl of Marlborough proceeded to Flanders with several English regiments to join the army of the confederacy. In 1691 King William assumed the command of the allied forces in Flanders.
The war in Ireland having ended with the capitulation of Limerick, King William was thereby enabled to withdraw some regiments from that country, and to re-inforce his army in Flanders: the Queen Dowager's Regiment was one of those selected for foreign service, on which it immediately proceeded.
Lieutenant-General Kirke, who was promoted to that rank on the 24th of December, 1690, joined the army in Flanders, and died at Breda on the 31st of October, 1691. The Colonelcy of the Queen Dowager's Regiment was conferred on Colonel William Selwyn, from the Coldstream Foot Guards, on the 18th of December, 1691.
1692
In the spring of 1692, the preparations making by Louis XIV. of France, and the late King James II., for the invasion of England, caused King William to send back some of the regiments, which had been sent from Ireland to join the army in the Low Countries; amongst others the Queen Dowager's returned, and was encamped at Portsmouth. The glorious victory off La Hogue, obtained at this critical period by the gallant exertions of the fleet under Admiral Russell, dispelled all fear of invasion, and distracted the councils of the enemy. Seven thousand of the force assembled at Portsmouth, including the Queen Dowager's Regiment, were embarked under the Duke of Leinster with the intention of returning the compliment by making a descent on the coast of France; but this expedition being postponed, and ultimately abandoned, in consequence of the lateness of the season, the troops were ordered to proceed to Flanders. They landed at Ostend on the 22nd of August, and took and fortified the neighbouring towns of Furnes and Dixmude.
1693
The Queen Dowager's Regiment continued to form part of the army on the continent, serving with distinction in various operations there, and more particularly at the battle of Landen on the 29th of July, 1693, where it was posted in the left wing of the allied army, and in conjunction with the regiment of Hamilton (the Royals) defeated a superior force of the enemy, and retarded, for a time, the disasters of the day. Nothing could surpass the courage and perseverance of King William, whose presence with this portion of his troops urged them on to deeds of the greatest heroism. At length, weakened by repeated attacks from a far more numerous army, and having their ammunition expended, they retired, leaving their enemy little more than the name of a victory, for the Duke of Luxembourg gained no advantages, and his army had a greater number of officers and men killed and wounded than the allies. The Queen Dowager's Regiment lost in this battle Captain Collins, Captain Sandys, Lieutenant Campbell, Ensign Burt, and about 100 men.
1695
The Queen Dowager's had also the glory of being in the line of circumvallation at the siege of Namur, and at the reduction of that fortress in August, 1695, which event was looked upon as one of the greatest in King William's military life. Namur was so well furnished and prepared for this attack, and so well situated, that the attempt to reduce it was considered one of the utmost temerity. It was defended by 15,000 chosen men, and commanded by a Marshal of France (Boufflers) who 'made the point one of the King's glory.' He was, however, forced to capitulate, after losing nearly two-thirds of his garrison, and the place was occupied by King William within two months from his investing it. On this occasion Colonel Selwyn, commanding the Queen's, was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General.
1696
In the winter of 1695-6, the king of France assembled an army near Calais, for a descent upon England in favour of King James, who had privately concerted measures for a rebellion in this country, and had sent the Duke of Berwick with a number of officers in disguise, through whose persuasions 2000 men were prepared to rise, at a moment's notice, under the directions of Sir John Fenwick[18]; at the same time a conspiracy was formed in London for the assassination of King William, and fifty men were engaged and prepared with arms to commit the diabolical act. The Queen Dowager's and several other regiments were immediately ordered to England to resist the threatened invasion. The plot was, however, discovered; many of the conspirators were apprehended and executed; and the designs of the enemy frustrated.
1697
The regiment remained in England until the summer of 1697, when it again proceeded to the Netherlands, joined the army encamped before Brussels on the 14th of July, and on the 16th was reviewed by his Majesty. This war was terminated in September by the Peace of Ryswick; and the regiment returned to England the same year. The establishment of the regiment after the peace was 44 officers, and 884 non-commissioned officers and men.
1701
On the 28th of June, 1701, General Selwyn exchanged from the Queen's to the 22nd Regiment of Foot, with Sir Henry Bellasis, Kt.
The throne of Spain having become vacant by the death of King Charles II., which took place in 1701, the Duke of Anjou was crowned king, under the title of Philip V., and was supported by his grandfather Louis XIV. of France.
The conduct of France alarmed the other Powers of Europe, and the death of the late King of England, James II., having taken place at St. Germains on the 16th of September, 1701, the resentment of England against France was further called forth by Louis XIV. having proclaimed his son, (the pretended Prince of Wales) King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and having also influenced Spain to concur in the same affront and indignity.
1702
War was determined, and whilst active preparations were making for prosecuting it, King William III. received a fall from his horse, and his death took place on the 8th of March, 1702. His policy was adopted by his successor, Queen Anne, who entered into treaties of alliance with the Emperor of Germany, the States General of the United Provinces, and other princes and potentates, for preserving the liberty and balance of Europe, and for reducing the exorbitant power of France.
Declaration of war was accordingly proclaimed against France and Spain on the 4th of May, 1702. The importance of rescuing Spain from foreign oppression, and of checking the ambitious views of France, was also acknowledged by the English Parliament, and liberal provision was made for increasing the means of prosecuting the war with activity and vigour, both by sea and land.
The Earl of Marlborough was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the English troops in Holland, whither he had proceeded as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, immediately after her Majesty's accession to the throne.
In the beginning of June, 1702, it was arranged that a naval force, consisting of fifty sail of the line, besides frigates, under Admiral Sir George Rooke, and a land force, consisting of nearly fourteen thousand men, under the command of the Duke of Ormond, should proceed to the coast of Spain. The following corps were employed on this service; namely,—
| Corps. | Present title. | Officers and men. | ||
| Lloyd's Dragoons | 3rd Light Dragoons (Detachment) | 275 | ||
| *Foot Guards | 1st and | Coldstream | 755 | |
| *Sir H. Bellasis' | 2nd | Foot | 834 | |
| *Churchill's | 3rd | " | 834 | |
| *Seymour's | 4th | " | 834 | |
| *Columbine's | 6th | " | 724 | |
| *Royal Fusileers | 7th | " | (3 Companies) | 313 |
| Erle's | 19th | " | 724 | |
| Gustavus Hamilton's | 20th | " | 724 | |
| Villiers's (Marines) | 31st | Foot | (5 Companies) | 520 |
| *Fox's (Marines) | 32nd | " | 834 | |
| Donegal's | 35th | " | 724 | |
| Charlemont's | 36th | " | 724 | |
| *Shannon's (Marines) | 834 | |||
| ——— | ||||
| { Commanded by Baron } | 9653 | |||
| Dutch Regiments | { Sparr and Brigadier } | 3924 | ||
| { Pallandt. } | ——— | |||
| 13,577 | ||||
| The Regiments marked thus * landed at Vigo. | ||||
The armament appeared off Cadiz on the 12th of August, and the Duke summoned the place; but his terms being refused, he landed on the 15th, between Rota and Fort St. Catherine, where he encountered and repulsed some Spanish cavalry. The next operation of the army was the attack and capture of Fort St. Catherine and of Port St. Mary; but the attempt on Cadiz failed.
Bishop Burnet, in alluding to this expedition, remarks—'It is certain our court had false accounts of the state the place was in, both with relation to the garrison and the fortifications; the garrison was much stronger, and the fortifications were in a better state than was represented.' As a set-off to the miscarriage at Cadiz, the expedition did good service and made a valuable conquest at Vigo Bay, where the galleons from the West Indies, convoyed by a French squadron, happened at this time to arrive[19]. A passage of three quarters of a mile, which led into the harbour of Vigo, was defended by forts on shore, and secured by a boom extending across the channel; the latter was also protected within by five line-of-battle ships, and flanked by two others. To facilitate the attack on this formidable barrier, the Duke of Ormond landed a portion of his army six miles from Vigo, and took by assault a battery of forty pieces of cannon, situated at the entrance of the bay. A British ensign, hoisted on this fort, was the signal for a general attack; the fleet in full sail approached, broke the boom at the first shock, and became closely engaged with the enemy's ships, whilst the British troops that had landed stormed and captured the batteries. After a vigorous defence, the French, finding they could not escape, destroyed a part of their fleet; but ten ships of war and eleven galleons were, notwithstanding, captured. This glorious exploit was tarnished by some abuses practised during the expedition; and so great was the plunder at Port St. Mary, and at Vigo, that a proclamation was issued for its recovery. Amongst others implicated in those disgraceful acts was Sir Henry Bellasis, who was second in command of the land forces, and was tried by a court-martial on his return to England, and dismissed the service. After this expedition the Queen Dowager's Regiment was landed and stationed at Portsmouth[20].
1703
The Colonelcy of the Queen Dowager's Regiment was next conferred on Lieutenant-General David Colyear, Earl of Portmore, whose commission was dated the 27th of February, 1703.
In the early part of the year 1703 Queen Anne augmented her forces in the Netherlands. The Queen Dowager's was one of the corps that proceeded from England on the occasion, and joined the Duke of Marlborough, who was in command of the allied army, and began operations in the month of April. On the 10th of May following, the Queen Dowager's Regiment had an opportunity of distinguishing itself by a service, which evinced the utmost intrepidity and discipline, and, in fact, saved part of the allied army from being surprised by the enemy, and probably from severe defeat. The Duke of Marlborough, being engaged in the siege of Bonn, and the forces under Marshal D'Auverquerque dispersed in quarters, the French Marshals Villeroy and Boufflers determined to attempt the surprise of the latter: by a night march they arrived with a force of 40,000 men in the neighbourhood of Tongres, which was occupied by two battalions of foot,—one of Elst, (afterwards disbanded,) and the other of Portmore (the Queen Dowager's).
The speedy reduction of Tongres was necessary to the success of the French Marshals, and it was accordingly attacked with great vigour; but the two regiments defended themselves, with extraordinary bravery, for twenty-eight hours; and when at length reduced to surrender, they had secured time for Marshal D'Auverquerque to collect his forces in a position under the cannon of Maestricht, so strong, that the enemy declined a general engagement.
For its conduct at Tongres the Queen Dowager's Regiment was made Royal, and obtained the motto, 'Pristinæ Virtutis Memor.'
Shortly after the above gallant affair, the capture of the fortress of Huy by the confederates enabled the Commander-in-Chief to obtain the release of the brave corps which had been made prisoners at Tongres, and the following provision was made for that purpose; viz.:— 'The Governor, 900 men, and two Brigadier-Generals to remain prisoners of war, till the two regiments taken by the French at Tongres are released.' These terms were speedily complied with.
1704
Archduke Charles of Austria having been acknowledged as sovereign of Spain by a great part of Europe, was seconded in his efforts to establish his claim by a combined English and Dutch force, commanded by the Duke of Schomberg; and he was further encouraged in his undertaking by having Portugal for his ally. His object, was to enter Spain by the Portuguese frontiers, and the auxiliary force accordingly proceeded to Lisbon. The Queen Dowager's was one of the regiments selected for this service, and having embarked from Holland, the regiment landed at Lisbon on the 16th of March, 1704. The Duke of Schomberg was succeeded in his command by the Earl of Galway, who advanced with the army to the vicinity of Ciudad Rodrigo, but returned to Portugal for winter quarters.
1705
In the summer of 1705 the Queen Dowager's Regiment was engaged in the siege of Valencia de Alcantara, which place was taken by storm on the 8th of May. The regiment was also employed in the siege and capture of Albuquerque; and in the unsuccessful attack on Badajoz, in which the Earl of Galway lost his right hand by a cannon ball.
On the 31st of December, Catherine, Queen Dowager of England, with whose history the early services of this regiment were connected, and from whom its original title and distinctions (as already remarked) were derived, died at Lisbon. Her Majesty was Regent of Portugal during the summer, (the king her brother being with the army) and had proved herself firmly attached to the interests of Great Britain[21].
1706
In April, 1706, the regiment was engaged in the siege of Alcantara, in Spanish Estramadura, and on the 10th of that month distinguished itself in an attack on the enemy's post at the Convent of St. Francis; it was afterwards engaged in the siege and capture of Ciudad Rodrigo; and subsequently advanced with the army to Madrid.
This advance was in connexion with the operations of Charles, Earl of Peterborough, and of the combined English and Dutch fleets, the reduction of Barcelona, and the conquest of Catalonia and Valencia,—features important in history, which reflect the highest honour on the British arms.
Success seemed secured to the allies, when the cause of King Charles III., who had been proclaimed at the head of his victorious army at Madrid, was destroyed in consequence of intrigue and want of unanimity; and the army was obliged to retire from the provinces it had conquered.
1707
In the spring of 1707 the army, commanded by the Earl of Galway, under the orders of the Marquis das Minas, invested Villena; at the same time the opposing army, under the Duke of Berwick, advanced to Almanza, where he was attacked by the allies on the 25th of April. The enemy was considerably superior in numbers to the confederates. Smollet remarks of this action, 'The English and Dutch squadrons on the left, sustained by the Portuguese horse of the second line, were overpowered after a gallant resistance. The centre, consisting chiefly of battalions from Great Britain and Holland, obliged the enemy to give way, and move their first upon the second line; but the Portuguese cavalry on the right being broken at their first charge, their foot betook themselves to flight, so that the English and Dutch troops being exposed on the flanks, were surrounded and attacked on every side. In this dreadful emergency they formed themselves into a square, and retired from the field of battle. By this time the men were quite spent with fatigue, and their ammunition exhausted; they were ignorant of the country, abandoned by their horse, destitute of provisions, and out of all hope of supply. Moved by these dismal considerations they capitulated, and surrendered themselves prisoners of war, to the amount of thirteen battalions.' In this disastrous battle the allies lost 5000 men killed on the spot.
The following Return contains the number of officers killed, wounded, and prisoners of war, in this most unfortunate battle.
Return of the Number of the British Officers killed, wounded, and taken prisoners, at the battle of Almanza, on the 25th of April, 1707.
KEY:
A = Colonels and Lieut.-Colonels.
B = Majors.
C = Captains.
D = Subalterns.
E = Staff and Quarter-Masters.
Dn. Gds. = Dragoon Guards
Dns. = Dragoons
| REGIMENTS. | KILLED. | PRISONERS. | |||||||||
| A | B | C | D | E | A | B | C | D | E | ||
| Harvey's Horse | 2nd Dn. Gds. | 1 | .. | 1 | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | 2 | 1 |
| Carpenter's Dns. | 3rd Dns. | 1 | .. | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| Lord Essex's | 4th " | 1 | .. | .. | 1 | ||||||
| Killigrew's | 8th " | 1 | .. | .. | 1 | ||||||
| Lord Peterborough's | Dns. | 1 | .. | 2 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| Edward Pearce's | Dns. | 1 | .. | .. | 2 | 1 | .. | .. | 6 | 2 | |
| Foot Guards (1st and 2nd) | 1 | .. | 2 | .. | .. | 2 | .. | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| Lord Portmore's | 2nd Foot | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | 1 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 1 |
| Southwell's | 6th " | 1 | .. | 4 | 4 | .. | .. | .. | 2 | 9 | 3 |
| Stewart's | 9th " | .. | .. | 5 | 3 | .. | .. | .. | 4 | 12 | |
| Hill's | 11th " | .. | 1 | 3 | 2 | .. | 1 | 1 | 5 | 13 | |
| Blood's | 17th " | 2 | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 4 | 13 | 1 |
| Lord Mordaunt's | 28th " | .. | .. | 1 | 1 | .. | 1 | 1 | 3 | 12 | |
| Wills's Marines | 30th " | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | |
| Borr's Marines | 32nd " | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | |
| Wade's | 33rd " | .. | .. | 2 | 3 | .. | .. | .. | 6 | 11 | |
| Gorge's | 35th " | .. | .. | 3 | .. | .. | 1 | .. | 5 | 11 | |
| Allnutt's | 36th " | .. | .. | 2 | 3 | .. | 3 | .. | .. | 10 | |
| Lord Montjoy's, disbanded in 1713 | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | ||
| Bowles's | ditto | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | .. | 8 | 13 | |
| Bretton's | ditto | .. | .. | .. | 3 | .. | 3 | .. | 7 | 12 | |
| Mackartney's | ditto | 1 | .. | .. | 4 | .. | 2 | 1 | 6 | 11 | 1 |
| Lord Mark Kerr's | ditto | 2 | .. | 3 | 3 | .. | .. | 1 | 2 | 11 | |
| Nassau's | ditto | .. | .. | 1 | 4 | .. | 1 | 1 | 6 | 10 | |
| Total | 13 | 2 | 30 | 39 | 3 | 18 | 7 | 69 | 181 | 9 | |
| Number of wounded included as prisoners | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 3 | 1 | 16 | 67 | 5 | |
Of the Queen's Royal, Lieutenant Brady was killed; Lieutenant-Colonel Kirke, Major Cullyford, Captains Laton, Arnott, Hart, Gossin, Giles, and Phillips; Lieutenants Jackson, Slack, May, Sawyers, Bracelay, Frazier, and Arthlony; Ensigns Nichols, Brown, Graham, Johnson, and Downs, and Surgeon Dalrimple, were made prisoners of war.
The severe losses sustained on this occasion, and on other services in Spain, induced the Earl of Galway to order the Queen's Royal and the 9th Regiments of Foot, after transferring their serviceable men to other regiments in Spain, to return to England, for the purpose of recruiting their ranks.
1708
The regiment accordingly arrived in England in 1708, and, by active exertions, its casualties were soon replaced, and the men rendered fit to enter upon active service.
1710
Lieutenant-Colonel Piercy Kirke was promoted Colonel by purchase, on the 19th of September, 1710, vice General the Earl of Portmore[22]. He was the son of its old Colonel, Lieutenant-General Kirke, and had served in the corps from the rank of Ensign, in 1686.
1711
In 1711 the regiment formed part of a force of 5000 men ordered to proceed to America under General Hill, and to make an attempt on Quebec, with the object of effecting the conquest of Canada. A large fleet of men-of-war formed part of the armament, which was to be further strengthened by troops from the American colonies. The expedition did not reach the river St. Lawrence until the 21st of August, when it encountered storms, and being furnished with bad pilots, eight transports, a store ship, and a sloop were lost by shipwreck, and 29 officers, 676 soldiers, and 35 women of the 4th, 37th, Colonel Kane's, and Colonel Clayton's regiments, perished. There was also a scarcity of provisions. It was therefore determined, in a council of war, that further operations should be abandoned. Some of the regiments engaged in the expedition proceeded to Annapolis Royal, in Nova Scotia, but the Queen's returned to England, and arrived at Portsmouth on the 9th of October.
1712
1713
In consequence of the sudden death of the Emperor Joseph of Austria, and the election of Charles III. of Spain to the dignity of Emperor of the Romans, negociations were entered into by England and France, and hostilities were terminated by the peace of Utrecht, which was concluded on the 31st of March, 1713. The Queen's Royal were now permitted to remain for a period on home-duty.
Queen Anne was not unmindful of the arduous and faithful services which had been rendered by her troops in time of need, and recommended them to the consideration of parliament, as 'brave men who had exposed their lives in the service of their country, and could not be employed in time of peace.'
1714
1727
After the demise of her Majesty Queen Anne, on the 1st of August, 1714, King George I. not having a Queen Consort, this regiment was styled 'Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales's own Regiment of Foot;' and when the death of King George I. on the 11th of June, 1727, brought the Princess of Wales to share the throne of England, its appellation was again changed to 'The Queen's own Regiment of Foot.'
1728
The Queen's own Regiment was reviewed on Blackheath, in June, 1728, by his Majesty King George II., and furnished a guard of honour to her Royal Highness the princess Amelia, during her residence at Tunbridge Wells, in June and July, 1728.
1730
In June, 1730, the regiment embarked for Gibraltar, and was employed in that fortress in 1740, when it was blockaded by the Spaniards, with whom war had been declared in 1739; but no serious impression was made on the place at that time, nor at any subsequent period of the war, which was terminated in 1748 by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
1741
Lieutenant-General Kirke, after commanding the regiment upwards of thirty years, died on the 1st of January, 1741; and was succeeded on the 12th of August following by Colonel Thomas Fowke, from the Forty-third Regiment.
1749
In 1749, the year following the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, the regiment embarked from Gibraltar, and proceeded to Ireland.
1751
Prior to 1751, the several regiments, both of cavalry and infantry, had been called after the names of their respective colonels: on the 1st of July of this year, a royal warrant was issued, for regulating the clothing, standards, guidons, colours, &c., of regiments, in which numerical titles were given to the regiments of horse, dragoons, and foot. In this warrant the Royal Regiment of Foot, from its antiquity, was numbered 'The First Regiment of Foot;' and the Queen's Royal being the next in seniority, was numbered 'The Second Regiment of Foot.'
1755
General Fowke was removed to the 14th Foot, and was succeeded in the Colonelcy of the Second, or Queen's Royal, on the 12th of November, 1755, by the Honourable John Fitzwilliam.
1756
From the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, arts and sciences, trade and manufactures, had greatly flourished in England, and a rivalry existed with continental Europe for pre-eminence in advancing refinements and civilization. This prosperous state of things was interrupted in 1756 by war with France, and hostilities continued during the remainder of the reign of George II., and for three years in the reign of his successor George III. Peace was restored in 1763 by the treaty of Paris. This war had been pursued with vigour by Great Britain, whose fleets and armies triumphed in all quarters of the world. The Queen's Regiment was kept on duty in Ireland, which country was threatened by France with invasion. That nation, however, found sufficient occupation for her troops elsewhere, and the threat of invasion, as on other occasions, terminated on the part of France in wasteful preparations and presumptuous boast.
1760
Major-General the Honourable John Fitzwilliam was removed to the 2nd Irish Horse, (now the 5th Dragoon Guards) and was succeeded by Sir Charles Montague, K.B., on the 27th of November, 1760.
1765
The Queen's Royal Regiment continued in Ireland until June, 1765, when it was removed to the Isle of Man, where it remained until 1768.
1768
In February, 1768, it was removed from the Isle of Man to Cork, whence it embarked for Gibraltar to relieve the 54th Regiment.
1775
It remained at Gibraltar until 1775, when it returned to England and landed at Portsmouth on the 26th of December of that year. Lieutenant-Colonel Oswald, who was then in command of the regiment, issued, previous to its landing, some orders, expressing, among other things, his hope that the corps would insure its welcome to England, after an absence of half a century, by the closest attention to its duties, both civil and military.
1776
The first quarters occupied by the Queen's Royal on its return to England were at Alton and Farnham, from whence the regiment marched, on the 9th of May, 1776, on a route for the north. Passing through London, the regiment was reviewed by its Colonel, Sir Charles Montague, on the 14th, and by his Majesty King George III. on the 17th of the same month, and arrived on the 26th of July at Tynemouth barracks, where it continued three years.
1777
Sir Charles Montague[23] dying in 1777, Lieutenant-General Daniel Jones was promoted from the Third Foot Guards to the Colonelcy of the Queen's Royal on the 7th of August of that year.
1779
In the summer of 1779 the Queen's Royal was one of the regiments of the line and militia assembled in the camp of exercise on Warley Common, after which it was quartered in Rumford, Ongar, and Epping.
1780
On the breaking out of the riots in London in 1780, the Queen's Regiment was among the troops ordered to the metropolis, and encamped in Hyde Park on the 7th of June, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel William Dalrymple, on which occasion it received the thanks of Major-General Rainsford for its regularity and good conduct. On the breaking up of the camp in Hyde Park in August following, the Queen's Regiment, with a large portion of the troops proceeded to Finchley Common.
1783
1790
The regiment remained in England until the autumn of 1783, when it again embarked for Gibraltar; and during the time of its service in that garrison, his Royal Highness Prince Edward (afterwards Duke of Kent) having arrived, was appointed to the command of the Queen's, as appears from the following order, dated the 26th of February, 1790:—'His Royal Highness Prince Edward is posted to the Queen's Royal Regiment, of which he is to take command until further orders.' In the ensuing August the command of the regiment was resumed by Lieutenant-Colonel Woollicombe.
1792
The regiment embarked from Gibraltar on the 25th of March, 1792, and landed at Portsmouth on the 24th of April following, where it went into barracks. On the 22nd of July it was encamped at Wickham Bushes, near Bagshot, under the Duke of Richmond, with two battalions of Royal Artillery, the 3rd, 14th, and 29th regiments, where it was reviewed by his Majesty; after the breaking up of the camp it returned to Portsmouth.
The repose granted to England by the peace of 1763 was, a few years after that period, interrupted by legislative differences with the North American Colonies, and at length by measures, which led to a desperate and sanguinary war. Hostilities were commenced in 1775, and terminated in 1783, with the loss to Great Britain of that large portion of territory, the United States of America. During this important struggle, France had afforded active assistance in promoting the disunion of England and her American subjects. A spirit of republicanism soon afterwards began to spread in France. Anarchy, revolution, and bloodshed, and the execution of their king, followed in rapid succession. The latter act took place in 1793, and was the immediate cause of a war on the part of Great Britain and of Europe, against France.
1793
1794
In February, 1793, the Queen's Regiment was ordered to Dover and Folkstone to do duty over French prisoners of war. While on this duty, two of the newly-raised independent companies were added to the regiment, and a brigade of six-pounders attached to it. In August following it was embarked, with the exception of the staff, to serve as marines in the fleet under Admiral Earl Howe, and shared in the glorious victory over the French fleet on the 1st of June, 1794, which Earl Howe completely defeated, and seven of the enemy's ships were captured. Lieutenant John Neville, of the Queen's Royals, was killed on board the Charlotte, and Ensign Boycott was wounded on board the Defence. The gallant Admiral, in his public dispatch of the 2nd of June, expressed his thanks to the crews and military corps for the highly distinguished examples of resolution, perseverance, and spirit testified by them in the actions of the 28th and 29th of May, and the 1st of June.
Lieutenant-General Jones[24] died on the 20th of November, 1793, and was succeeded in the Colonelcy of the regiment by Major-General Alexander Stewart.
The regiment continued to serve on board the fleet until the 24th of November, 1794, when, with the exception of two companies, it was re-landed, and, by the incorporation of some independent companies, augmented to twelve companies, of four serjeants, two drummers, and 100 rank and file each. Of these, the ten companies on shore were formed into a Second Battalion, as appears by the Adjutant-General's letter of the 29th of November. Some time, however, elapsed before the regiment had either two pair of colours, or the staff of two battalions; but the corps, thus formed, was designated the Second Battalion, while the two companies, which remained doing marine duty on board the fleet, continued the nucleus of the First Battalion, waiting an opportunity, when their services should be no longer required as marines, to be filled up, which took place in the following year.
On the 20th of December, 1794, Major-General James Coates was appointed Colonel, vice Major-General Alexander Stewart, deceased[25].
On the 25th of December the Second Battalion embarked, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel the Earl of Dalhousie, for the West Indies, and arrived in Carlisle Bay, Barbadoes, on the 29th of March, 1795.
1795
The year in which the regiment arrived in the West Indies was rendered remarkable by a series of brilliant achievements performed by the British forces serving in that part of his Majesty's dominions; and the valuable French possessions of Martinique and Guadaloupe were but a part of the captures made by the army and fleet under their respective commanders, General Sir Charles Grey and Admiral Sir John Jervis.
The National Convention, which at this period governed France, although busily and successfully employed in extending revolutionary power in Europe, was not indifferent to the events above alluded to; and an expedition to the West Indies was despatched from Brest, commanded by the famous Victor Hughes, a republican commissioner, for the purpose of recovering the conquered islands. A force of 2000 French troops arrived at Guadaloupe, and were quickly reinforced by a multitude of Mulattoes and Blacks, who were speedily clad in uniforms. Among this motley group, comprising slave and freeman, the doctrines of liberty and equality were disseminated, and led to a rapid overthrow of regular government, and to a frightful catalogue of outrages and disasters.
The same spirit of disorganization that devastated Guadaloupe was soon spread, through the instrumentality of agents, to the other conquered islands, and thus tended to weaken the power of the English forces at the principal point of attack:—added to this circumstance, the ranks of the British battalions had been thinned by an epidemic, most malignant in its nature, and it was found impossible to oppose an effectual resistance to the accumulated force which now assailed them. The island of Martinique was the only settlement that could be preserved, and this was not done without great exertions of the British troops, ably supported by the colonists.
The Queen's Royal had proceeded to Martinique shortly after its arrival in the West Indies; and so great had been its sufferings, that, at the termination of 1795, the total strength of the battalion in that country was reduced to 162 men, and of those, two serjeants and four privates were afterwards killed in an engagement with the French brigands at Vaughlin, and in the same affair we find Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Dalhousie numbered with the wounded.
In the month of July, 1795, the two flank companies of the regiment, already mentioned as being left on board the Fleet, were disembarked at Guernsey, and proceeded in the month following to Southampton: they had been augmented, and now formed the First Battalion of the regiment, which was already in a state of readiness for foreign service. In October, eight companies of the First Battalion, under Lieutenant-Colonel Harris, embarked, and formed part of the memorable expedition destined for the West Indies, under Major-General Sir Ralph Abercrombie and Admiral Christian.
1796
On this occasion about 16,000 troops were collected at Portsmouth, and on the 18th of November the fleet containing them stood down the Channel, but in a few hours it was overtaken by a dreadful hurricane, which caused many ships laden with men to be wrecked, and the coast about Weymouth to be strewed with dead bodies. Amongst the transports lost, was that having on board the flank companies of the First Battalion of the Queen's, who were afterwards collected at Plymouth, and commanded by Major Eyre. No further attempt was made to forward this portion of the regiment to its previous destination; but the six companies, under Lieutenant-Colonel Harris, proceeded onwards with the fleet, and in February, 1796, were landed at Martinique, where they formed a junction with the Second Battalion, serving in that island.
In addition to this timely reinforcement, the Second Battalion, during its service in the West Indies, was augmented by drafts from the Forty-sixth and Sixty-first regiments, and also by men of different regiments who had been prisoners at Guadaloupe, and who had been exchanged.
By Returns of the battalion in the West Indies, made at the above period, its casualties for a half year, ending
| Officers. | Serjeants. | Corporals. | Drummers. | Privates. | |
| In December, 1795, were | 2 | 19 | 9 | 5 | 115 |
| And for a half-year ending June, 1796 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 139 |
| The Deaths for Twelve Months amounted to | 6 | 31 | 19 | 6 | 254 |
1797
In 1797 the Second Battalion of the Queen's formed part of the expedition when Sir Ralph Abercrombie captured the Spanish island of Trinidad; and in the course of the same year, the serviceable men were transferred to the Fifty-seventh regiment, and the battalion, comprising altogether seventy persons, was embarked, and returned to Europe.
The flank companies, which had been wrecked and left in England, were made the basis of another First Battalion, which was formed accordingly, and removed from Plymouth to Lyndhurst and Lymington.
In March, 1797, Lord Dalhousie, who had a short time previously returned from the West Indies, assumed the command of the First Battalion, which was marched to Tiverton, where it was brigaded with the Twenty-ninth and Fifty-eighth Regiments.
The quarters of the Queen's Royal, during the year 1797, continued in the western district, and in June the regiment moved to Plymouth Lines.
When the mutiny broke out in the fleets at Spithead and the Nore, and attempts were made to disseminate seditious publications among the soldiery, Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Dalhousie, and the Captains of the Queen's Royal, addressed a letter to the General Commanding the district, expressive of their firm reliance on the unshaken loyalty of the corps; at the same time, the non-commissioned officers and privates subscribed the sum of one hundred guineas to be applied towards the detection and punishment of any persons who should attempt to distribute unlawful papers, or offer, by bribes or any other means, to seduce the soldiers from their allegiance. The letter from the Lieutenant-Colonel and Captains, as also the resolution of the men, signed by the Serjeant-Major, Michael Eager, were entered, by order of the Colonel, in the Orderly Book of the regiment.
The latter document is transcribed into this record, as characteristic of British soldiers, who, in periods of political excitement, do not permit themselves to be withdrawn from the fidelity and allegiance which they owe to their Sovereign, whom they have sworn to defend against all enemies.
Head Quarters, Plymouth Lines,
10th June, 1797.
Regimental Orders.
The following is the declaration of the 2nd or Queen's Royal Regiment of Foot, dated Barnstaple, 7th June, 1797:—
'We, the Non-commissioned Officers, Drummers, and Privates of the above regiment, do most willingly subscribe One Hundred Guineas, in order to detect any Author, Printer, or Distributor of papers, or hand-bills, criminal to the Military Establishment and the Laws of the country, or for information against any person or persons found guilty of bribing with money, or holding out other false allurements against His Most Sacred Majesty King George the Third, or against this country.
'We unanimously agree to give a reward of Ten Guineas out of the above subscription (to be paid on conviction) to the person or persons who will inform against, secure, or deliver over, to any man of the above regiment, the Author, Printer, or Distributor of papers or hand-bills, or any person or persons found guilty of bribing with money, or of holding out other false allurements to any soldier in this district. God save the King!'
Signed at the particular request of the Non-Commissioned Officers, Drummers, and Privates of the regiment,
Michael Eager, Serjeant-Major.
On the 7th of October, the remainder of the Second Battalion, under Lieutenant-Colonel Harris, arrived from the West Indies, joined the corps at Penzance, and the whole were incorporated into one battalion. In December the regiment was again marched to Plymouth, to do duty in Mill Prison; and on the 25th of the same month twelve lieutenants and two companies were reduced.
1798
In February, 1798, the Queen's received orders to hold itself in readiness for embarkation. It was brigaded at Plymouth with the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-ninth, under the command of Lord Dalhousie, in March; and on the 12th of June following embarked at Barnstaple, under Lieutenant-Colonel Eyre, for Ireland, where republican principles had gained ground, and being encouraged by promised aid from France, the malcontents broke into acts of open rebellion. The regiment landed in Ireland on the 20th of February, and arrived at Fowke's Mill in the middle of the action between Major-General Sir John Moore and the rebels. On the next day, the army moved on to Wexford, which Lord Dalhousie entered with the flank companies of the Queen's Royal, and liberated Lord Kingsborough, and several other Protestant gentlemen, who were to have been put to death. Lieutenant Charles Turner[26], of the Queen's Royal, was one of the officers who, a few days after, surprised and took prisoner the celebrated Bagenal Harvey, who had concealed himself in a cave in Saltee Island, and whose character for courage and desperation was such that few people would have ventured to approach his hiding-place.
When the French expedition under General Humbert landed in Ireland in July, 1798, the Queen's Royal marched to Tuam, where the army assembled. After the surrender of General Humbert, the regiment returned to Phillipstown, and wintered in Kilkenny, where they were brigaded with the Twenty-ninth regiment, under Major-General Peter Hunter.
1799
In the early part of the following year, the brigade, with some guns, marched to Tullamore and to Phillipstown, to be ready in case of a rising in that part of the country: this, although apprehended, did not take place, and in six weeks the brigade returned to Kilkenny, and in June the Queen's moved from thence to Cork, and encamped at Monkstown.
In the month of July, the regiment embarked for England, landed at Southampton, and marched to the camp on Barham Downs, near Canterbury, where it was recruited by volunteers from the militia; and with the Twenty-seventh, Twenty-ninth, and Eighty-fifth regiments, it formed the third brigade of the army commanded by Major-General Coote. With this brigade, to which the Sixty-ninth regiment was afterwards added, it served during the expedition to Holland, and was engaged with the enemy at the Helder, on the 27th of August, 1799, when the army commanded by Sir Ralph Abercrombie made good its landing, in defiance of great natural obstacles at the point of debarkation, and also made an advanced movement, in opposition to every exertion on the part of an active enemy, to prevent it.
A detail of this gallant exploit states, 'the first success of this day was principally owing to General Coote's brigade, and the advance, consisting of the 23rd and 55th regiments, commanded by Colonel Macdonald, who, instead of waiting the attacks of the enemy, advanced on every occasion to meet them.' These brave efforts cost the British forces a loss of about 500 men.
In subsequent operations, during this arduous expedition, the Queen's Royal had the honour of contributing a full portion of its services, and was present when his Royal Highness the Duke of York, in Command of the Anglo-Russian forces, on the 2nd of October, 1799, gained a decided victory at Egmont-op-Zee, over a numerous army opposed to him on that occasion. Alluding to this action, his Royal Highness observes, 'Under Divine Providence, this signal victory, obtained over the enemy, is to be ascribed to the animated and persevering exertions which have been at all times the characteristics of the British soldier, and which, on no occasion, were ever more eminently displayed; nor has it often fallen to the lot of any general to have such just cause of acknowledgment for distinguished support.'
On the 6th of October the French and Dutch armies again contested the field with their opponents, and were once more forced by British valour to retire. In his report of this victory, the Duke of York remarks, that 'the gallantry the troops displayed, and the perseverance with which they supported the fatigues of the day, rival their former exertions.' The loss of the Queen's Royal in this action proves they were honourable competitors for glory.
Notwithstanding the successes of the British forces, they were precluded from a further advance, and from profiting by the just reward of their labours, in consequence of the lateness of the season, and the difficulty of obtaining supplies during the winter; besides which, the French army was receiving large reinforcements.
These and other causes induced his Royal Highness to desist from further offensive operations, and finally led to the withdrawing of the Anglo-Russian army from Holland, and to the termination of an expedition which, although unattended with full success, evinced distinguished merit and bravery on the part of the British commander and his army.
Nor must it be omitted, in alluding to this expedition, that at this period the old regiments had been considerably reduced by the arduous services against St. Domingo and the French West India islands, and were now chiefly made up from volunteers from the militia, hastily got together, and employed in active offensive operations before they could be properly organised and rendered fit for such duty.
Notwithstanding these disadvantages, the British troops employed in Holland upheld, by their gallantry and discipline, the honour of their country, and by the skill and attention of their officers, this short but active campaign prepared this little army to advance the glory of England in succeeding years, against the best organised troops in Europe.
Major-General Coote expressed, in orders, his approbation of the conduct of the Queen's Royal; and after the evacuation of Holland, the regiment landed at Yarmouth, from whence it proceeded to Ashford, in Kent, for the winter.
1800
In May, 1800, the Queen's Royal marched to Plymouth, and embarked on board the Europa and Thisbe, on a flying expedition, under the command of General Sir Thomas Maitland and Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, which was employed in making descents upon the coast of France, and destroying batteries and small crafts. In this service, Major Ramsay, of the Queen's, led some successful attacks, and on one occasion (as recorded in 'Baine's History of the Wars') 'he seized several sloops and gun-vessels, and burned a national corvette of eighteen guns, by means of a detachment from the Queen's Regiment, assisted by the gun-launches under Lieutenant Pinfold.'
On the 15th of June, the regiment was encamped in the island of Houat, preparatory to an intended attack upon Belle Isle; but the plan was abandoned; the regiment re-embarked, and, with other corps, to the number of 5000 men, sailed, under the command of the Earl of Dalhousie, to reinforce Sir Ralph Abercrombie at Minorca, where it arrived on the 19th of July.
On the 29th of August, 1800, it was again on ship-board, forming part of the expedition against Cadiz, on the abandonment of which it became necessary to dispose of this force, which, although small, was considered the corps d'élite of England, and included almost the entire disposable force of the country.
The attention of Sir Ralph Abercrombie was directed towards the Mediterranean, and the reduction of Malta encouraged an expedition to that quarter. At this time Egypt was occupied by 30,000 French veterans, emboldened by conquest, and inured to the climate of the country. They had been taken from that army which, under Napoleon Bonaparte, had astonished Europe by its successes in Italy and in Germany, and they were now awaiting a favourable opportunity to forward the ambitious projects that had been planned for them by their great leader, who had exultingly named them 'The army of the East.'
The attention of all Europe was directed to the struggle about to take place, in which the ambition of Bonaparte was supposed to have attained a crisis, and the fate of Asia was to be decided on the shores of Africa, by the two most powerful European nations.
A British army, amounting to about 15,000 men, assembled under Sir Ralph Abercrombie, at Marmorice Bay, on the coast of Asiatic Turkey, towards the end of December, 1800.
1801
The Queen's Royal Regiment had proceeded from Cadiz to Gibraltar and Minorca, from whence it sailed to Malta, and now formed part of the above force. Some weeks were lost at Marmorice, in expectation of receiving reinforcements of Greeks and Turks; and the expedition did not proceed to its final destination until the 23rd of February, 1801. On the 1st of March it anchored in the bay of Aboukir, eastward of Alexandria; but notwithstanding all the exertions of the navy under Admiral Lord Keith's orders, the necessary arrangements could not be made for landing the troops, chiefly in consequence of unfavourable weather, until the 8th of March. On the morning of that day a signal rocket caused 150 boats, laden with 5000 men, to approach the shore. The clear silence of the morning broken by the deep murmur of thousands of oars urging forward the flower of a brave army, whose polished arms glittered in the rays of the morning sun, produced an interesting scene:—the floating battalions drew near the shore, which was crowded with French troops; a combat ensued; and the bay of Aboukir resounded to the roar of cannon.
A body of French troops, supported by several batteries, awaited the arrival of their enemies, but were forced to give way in defiance of every exertion, and after severe loss. The loss of the British amounted to 576 rank and file, in killed, wounded, and missing.
The Queen's Royal Regiment was first employed under the command of Sir Sydney Smith, at the siege of Fort Aboukir; but on the 12th of March, seven companies, under Lieutenant-Colonel Jones, were ordered to join the army, and arrived in time to take a share in the victory of the 13th of March. The other three companies of the regiment remained with the Twelfth Light Dragoons (dismounted) before Aboukir, until the surrender of that fort on the 19th of March. The regiment was afterwards attached to the fourth brigade, under Major-General Sir John Doyle's command, and was present at the glorious Battle of Alexandria, on the 21st of March; when a protracted and well-contested fight terminated in victory to the British troops after a loss of between 1400 and 1500 men.
After the battle of the 21st of March, the Queen's Royal was detached, with the flank companies of the Fortieth regiment, under Colonel Spencer, to Rosetta, and was employed in the reduction of that town, and of the fortress of St. Julien, which commanded the navigation of the Nile, on which occasion one of the 'French Invincible Standards' was taken. The Regiment then proceeded with the army towards Cairo, and was engaged in the affair at Rahmanie,—the capture of the French convoy in the Desert,—at the surrender of Cairo—and in the escort of the French garrison from that city to its place of embarkation. Subsequently, the regiment joined that part of the army which was engaged in the blockade of Alexandria, and was attached to the reserve brigade commanded by Major-General (afterwards Sir John) Moore. Alexandria surrendered on the 2nd of September, 1801, and the Queen's Royal was ordered to Fort Pharos, at the entrance of the harbour, where it continued until the following December.
In this campaign, the severe loss sustained by the British army in their active operations against the enemy was greatly augmented by deaths caused by fatigue, as well as by the climate of Egypt. The casualties in the Queen's were 36 killed and 70 wounded[27].
In the action of the 21st of March, Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercrombie, the commander-in-chief of the army, received a mortal wound, and died on the 28th of the same month. His merits are attested in General Orders issued to the army on the 16th of May, 1801[28], and in the dispatch of his successor, General Hutchinson, in the following terms: 'His memory will be recorded in the annals of his country, will be sacred to every British soldier, and embalmed in the recollection of a grateful posterity.' The same officer adds, 'It is impossible for me to do justice to the zeal of the officers, and to the gallantry of the soldiers, of this army.'
By the conquest of Egypt, Great Britain effected a revolution, which, in a great degree, influenced the politics of nations throughout the world. The vaunting ambition of France received a timely check, by the defeat of the boldest project which the mind of her greatest General had ever conceived; and the 'Army of the East' returned to their country, relieved, in a short campaign, of the fruits of four years' toil and glory.
The successful efforts of the British fleet and army were followed by a treaty of peace with France, which was concluded at Amiens on the 1st of October, 1801, by which Egypt was again restored to the Ottoman empire. The troops, as opportunities offered, were withdrawn from the scene of their brilliant achievements, and about the end of the year 1801 the Queen's Regiment embarked for Gibraltar.
The peace concluded at the above period was, however, of short duration, and did not tend to check the hostile spirit of Bonaparte, whose perfidious conduct and insatiable ambition rendered an appeal to arms again necessary, and Great Britain was obliged to declare war against France in May, 1803.
1802
1804
From the spring of 1802 until the end of 1805, the Queen's Royal formed part of the garrison of Gibraltar, and was highly complimented by his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, for its loyalty, steadiness, and good conduct throughout the mutiny which occurred there. By the malignant fever which raged with great violence in that garrison in 1804, it lost in a few weeks one captain, six subalterns, and about 90 men, besides women and children.
While the regiment was at Gibraltar, the officers received permission to wear the medals which had been presented to them by the Grand Signior, for their services in the Egyptian campaign.
1805
In November, 1805, the regiment embarked for England. One of the transports, having on board the two flank companies, and one battalion company under the command of Captain Wilson, was taken on the 15th of December by the squadron of the French Admiral, Guillaumet, consisting of six sail of the line (one commanded by Jerome Buonaparte) and several frigates. The captured companies were put on board La Voluntaire frigate, where they remained prisoners about three months: they were subsequently restored to liberty in consequence of that vessel putting into the Cape of Good Hope, which she expected to find a friendly port, but which had surrendered a short time before to the British forces under Lieut.-General Sir David Baird and Admiral Sir Home Popham. At the Cape these companies remained about seven months, when they embarked once more for England, and rejoined the regiment in April, 1807.
In the mean time the head-quarters and the remainder of the regiment had landed, in December, 1805, at Portsmouth, its strength amounting to 20 officers, 31 serjeants, 12 drummers, and 289 rank and file.
1806
In January, 1806, the regiment received new colours, on which, in addition to former devices, were the Sphynx, and the word Egypt, granted to it by his Majesty, in consideration of its distinguished conduct in that country in 1801, as already detailed.
1807
In 1807 the establishment of the regiment was 696. In the month of June of that year it embarked for Guernsey, and remained there till June of the following year, receiving, during its stay in that island, 330 general-service men from the depôt in the Isle of Wight, and above 150 militia volunteers.
1808
In June, 1808, the regiment returned to England, 860 rank and file strong, and was quartered at Ipswich, until the 18th of July, when it was brigaded with the Twentieth Foot and a battalion of the Ninety-fifth Rifles, under the command of Major-General Acland, and embarked at Harwich for Portugal, to join the forces about to be assembled in that country.
The peace of Tilsit, which was concluded at this period between France and other continental powers, gave a more determined character to the war pursuing between England and France. Napoleon, who by this time had become sensible of his inability successfully to invade Great Britain, sought the humiliation of his rival in excluding, by the above treaty, the manufactures of England from the markets of Europe. As a part of his scheme for universal empire, he gained the royal family of Spain into his power by treachery, placed his brother Joseph on the throne of that kingdom by force, and effected the conquest of Portugal. Such acts of tyrannical ambition failed not to rouse the just resentment of England, and led to the bold determination of rescuing the Peninsula from the rapacious conqueror. Portugal was destined to receive the advance-guard of a British army, which, as in Egypt, was to encounter the victorious legions of Napoleon, and, as in Egypt, also to triumph. On the 1st of August, 1808, a body of British troops, commanded by Major-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, landed near Lisbon, and on the 17th of the same month they defeated a French force at Roleia. At this first meeting of the great rival powers, a severe struggle terminated in favour of English valour, and was a faithful precursor of the ability of the commander, and of the successes which were to accompany the gallant army on their future career.
After a tedious passage from England, Major-General Acland's brigade arrived in a small bay near Peniché, where it landed in the night of the 20th of August, and in a few hours joined the army under Sir Arthur Wellesley, in time to share the honours and triumphs of the memorable battle of Vimiera. The brigade underwent much fatigue, and suffered some loss; and the General's dispatches bear evidence that it did its duty. After the convention of Cintra, by which Portugal was delivered from the power of France, the Queen's Royal crossed to Old Lisbon, and marched to escort prisoners of war from Fort La Lippe. His Majesty has graciously permitted the regiment to bear the word Vimiera on its colours and appointments, in commemoration of its gallantry in that battle.
In the autumn, when the army under Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore advanced from Lisbon into Spain, the Queen's formed part of Sir John Hope's division, which protected the march of the artillery by the south bank of the Tagus to Talavera de la Reyna, and from thence by the pass of the Guadarrama mountains, to form a junction at Salamanca with the Commander-in-Chief, the same being the only route considered passable for heavy guns.
1809
Before the British troops were concentrated at Salamanca, the Spanish force which was to have co-operated with them had ceased to exist; it had been attacked, defeated, and dispersed by the French, who had 300,000 men in Spain. Sir John Moore, however, advanced with his army of about 23,000 men, until Bonaparte directed 80,000 veterans with 200 cannon against him: a retreat was immediately commenced. In all the fatigues, distresses, and privations of this memorable winter campaign, the Queen's regiment had its full share, and was brigaded with the 5th, 14th, and 32nd regiments under command of Major-General (now Lord) Hill. This brigade was posted in line on the left of Sir John Moore's position, when that officer fought and defeated the French forces in front of Corunna on the 16th of January, 1809. The glory of the day was clouded by the loss of many brave soldiers, among whom the British army had to lament the death of its gallant commander[29].
The withdrawing of the British troops from Spain after the battle of Corunna was the consequent operation of Sir John Moore's retreat to the coast: arrangements for this purpose were therefore hastily concerted, and as speedily acted upon. A great portion of the army was enabled to embark in the harbour of Corunna during the night after the battle; at the same time General Hill's brigade retired to a position near the ramparts of the town, leaving the piquets of the brigade, under Lieutenant-Colonel Kingsbury, of the Queen's Regiment, employed as a rear-guard to cover the retreat of the army, and to keep the enemy in check by fires and other stratagems, until the embarkation was completed, almost without molestation; and General Hill's brigade followed from the citadel on the succeeding day. The troops embarked in such vessels as they could reach; the ships made the best of their way to England, and, in consequence of the stormy season, landed the troops at the first port they could gain. The Queen's Regiment arrived in parties, and was subsequently re-united at Ipswich.
In consequence of the gallant conduct of the Queen's Royal in the action at Corunna, the regiment has received his Majesty's permission for the word Corunna being borne on its colours and appointments[30].
A detachment of the Queen's Royal had been left in Portugal, when the corps advanced from Lisbon to Salamanca, and was assembled at Elvas under the command of Captain Gordon, who, with his detachment, joined the army of Sir Arthur Wellesley previous to its entering Spain. Captain Gordon's party was attached to the Second Battalion of Detachments, and had the honour of sharing in the victory at Talavera de la Reyna on the 28th of July, 1809[31].
When the militia regiments were allowed, in 1809, to volunteer into the line, the Queen's Royal was very successful in recruiting, and its establishment was increased to 1000.
In July of the same year, the regiment formed part of the expedition under the Earl of Chatham to the Scheldt; was employed at the siege of Flushing, and, after the surrender of that fortress, it remained in quarters at Middleburgh, where it suffered severely from the Walcheren fever. On the evacuation of the island in December, the regiment embarked at Flushing, and returned to its old quarters at Ipswich.
1810
During the year 1810, the regiment remained in England, where it was joined in August by the detachment which had been left in Portugal; and its numbers were thus increased to 1126 rank and file.
1811
On the 25th of January, 1811, the Queen's Royal embarked at Portsmouth, with the Thirty-sixth, Second Battalion of the Forty-third, Fifty-first, and Eighty-fifth regiments, to reinforce the British army in Portugal. The fleet, commanded by Sir Joseph Yorke, encountered contrary gales, which so prolonged the voyage, that the convoy did not reach its destination until the 2nd of March, when the regiment disembarked at Lisbon, and went into barracks in the castle. It was afterwards attached to the Sixth Division of the army, and engaged with it in the pursuit of the French army under Marshal Massena, who evacuated his position at Santarem, and commenced his retreat into Spain a few days after the arrival of the above re-inforcements. Many brilliant exploits were performed by the adverse armies during this retreat, and also in the subsequent operations on the eastern frontier of Portugal. The Sixth Division was subsequently employed in the south, under Sir Thomas Graham, covering the siege of Badajoz, which was menaced by the French Marshal, but surrendered to the bold and superior tact of Lord Wellington in April, 1812.
1812
When Lord Wellington advanced into Spain in 1812, and occupied Salamanca, the Sixth Division was quartered in that city, and charged with the siege of the three fortified convents, in which the enemy had left garrisons. In the unsuccessful attempt to carry one of these forts, (that called St. Vincente) by escalade, on the night of the 23rd of June, in which Major-General Bowes fell, the light company of the Queen's lost Captain Sir George Colquhoun, Lieutenant Mathews, one serjeant, and six men killed, and was otherwise so reduced, that it was found necessary next day to draft ten men from each battalion company to complete it. After the reduction of these forts, the St. Caetano and La Mercea by storm, and St. Vincente by capitulation, the Sixth Division joined the army in the advance to Toro, and took part in the several movements which preceded and led to the battle of Salamanca.
On this glorious day, the 22nd of July, 1812, the Sixth Division was originally posted in reserve, to support the Fourth and Fifth in the intended attack upon the enemy's centre and the heights of Arapiles. After the crest of the height had been carried by the Fourth Division, one division of the French made a determined stand, and after a sharp contest, obliged the British to give way. Marshal Beresford, who was on the spot, directed General Spry's brigade of the Fifth Division to change its front, and attack the flank of the enemy; and Lord Wellington ordered up the Sixth Division under Sir Henry Clinton, to relieve the Fourth, and the battle was soon restored to its former success. The French had now but one hill left, on which they had concentrated all their remaining forces. The Sixth Division was ordered to advance in line upon the enemy's position, which it did in a most gallant manner, under a heavy fire of 21 pieces of cannon and of musketry; and after a severe contest, the enemy fled through the woods towards the Tormes, protected by the approaching darkness of the night, by which many were enabled to escape: the defeat of the French army was now completed.
The loss of the Queen's on this day amounted to nearly one-half its number present, the light company being detached. One lieutenant (Denwoody) and 20 men were killed; its two majors, Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Kingsbury and Major Graham, (both of whom afterwards received honorary medals from his Majesty,) severely wounded; one captain (Scott) and three lieutenants (Gordon, Williams, and Hudson), and 100 men wounded. In fact, towards the close of the action, a subaltern officer, Lieutenant Borlase, had the honour of commanding the regiment. In honour of its gallant services in this action his Majesty has been graciously pleased to permit that Salamanca should be added to other distinctions on the colours of the regiment.
After the above defeat, Marshal Marmont withdrew the army of Portugal in the direction of Burgos, and Lord Wellington crossed the Douro and entered Madrid. The allied army made a further advance to Burgos, the siege of which was undertaken and pushed with vigour, but was abandoned in October, in consequence of a junction of the disposable French force in Spain, amounting to between 80,000 and 90,000 men, and the determination of the British commander to retire on the Douro, and subsequently to Salamanca and to Ciudad Rodrigo. When the army halted, the Queen's Regiment was quartered at Fulgoza de Salvador; and being much reduced in numbers, the head-quarters, with six skeleton companies, were sent to England, and the remaining four companies formed the right wing of the Second Provisional Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Bingham of the Fifty-third regiment. The companies of the Queen's were about one hundred effective rank and file each, and the battalion was posted to the Fourth Division, under Major-General the Honourable Sir G. Lowry Cole.
1813
In the campaign of 1813, the four companies of the Queen's were frequently engaged, and showed the same spirit of valour and discipline for which the regiment had been distinguished on former occasions. In consideration of the services rendered by this portion of the regiment at the battle of Vittoria on the 21st of June of this year, and of its uniform good conduct in the series of actions which took place in the Pyrenees between the 26th of July and the 2nd of August following, his Majesty has graciously approved of the words Vittoria and Pyrenees, being borne by the regiment, in addition to its other honourable badges of merit and royal favour.
In reporting the above brilliant affairs, in which the army of the allies, commanded by the Duke of Wellington, was eminently successful in driving the French force under Marshal Soult from their strong holds, his Grace observes, 'In the course of this contest (28th July) the Fourth Division, which has so frequently been distinguished in this army, surpassed its former good conduct.' In the action fought two days subsequently, when Marshal Soult's army was posted in a position so formidable, that the Duke of Wellington, in his dispatches, characterises it as one of the strongest, and most difficult of access, he had ever yet seen occupied by troops, the steep hill, crowned with French soldiers, was boldly ascended, and the front of the enemy's main position was fearlessly attacked by a part of Sir Lowry Cole's Division; on which occasion the Battalion, comprising the Queen's and Fifty-third Regiments, is mentioned as having been led by Colonel Bingham.
In conjunction with this operation, the Third Division, under Sir Thomas Picton, having advanced on the enemy's left, the French fled in great confusion, leaving 4000 of their infantry unsupported in the valley, one half of whom were obliged to surrender at discretion. Thus were the attempts of the French Marshal to relieve Pampeluna frustrated, and his army doomed to suffer defeat and severe loss in defiance of extraordinary exertions, which gave them sanguine expectation of success. In these affairs several men of the Queen's were killed, and Lieutenant Hutton and a great number wounded.
On the 2nd of August, the Fourth Division advanced to the Puerto de Echalar, and afterwards moved to Lezaca to cover the head-quarters. At the latter place the Duke of Wellington remained stationary with his army in position to cover the siege of St. Sebastian, at this time pushed with great vigour by a portion of the allied army under Sir Thomas Graham.
No movement of consequence was made until the 31st of August, when the French crossed the Bidassoa in considerable force. With great fury they made repeated attacks on the Spanish position on the heights of San Marcial. The First and Fourth Divisions were, in consequence, moved forward to protect the flanks of the Spaniards, but the latter repulsed the enemy with such spirit, that they sought protection under their cannon; and giving up all hope of the relief of St. Sebastian, they re-crossed the Bidassoa, and during the night retreated from their position on the left bank of that river. In this operation the Second Provisional Battalion was left at the pass of the Crown Mountain, to keep up the communication with the Seventh Division.
On the 31st of August also the fortress of St. Sebastian was attacked and carried by assault. The British army had the proud satisfaction of victoriously entering the territory of France, and was led by its able commander to a position in front of the Bidassoa, considered one of the strongest in the Pyrenees, extending from Zugano Mardie by La Rhona to the sea.
In the storming of Marshal Soult's intrenched position on the river Nivelle, on the 10th of November, the attack of the centre columns was led by the four companies of the Queen's, supported by their comrades of the Fifty-third. The men carried bags of fern to fill up the ditch, and small scaling-ladders to mount the rampart of a redoubt which they were ordered to take. In this service they were completely successful. The battalion advanced with a British huzza, and the enemy abandoned the redoubt and fled. A deep ravine, immediately in the rear of the work, prevented the further advance of the Queen's, who from the crest of the hill had opened a sharp fire upon the fugitives. For the gallant and successful services on this occasion, his Majesty has graciously sanctioned the addition of the word Nivelle to its other badges of distinction.
Soon after this action the army went into quarters for a short time, while preparations were making for crossing the Adour, and forming the blockade of Bayonne. The Queen's was sent to St. Jean de Luz for new clothing, and rejoined the division at St. Severe. The Fourth Division proceeded towards Bourdeaux, to support the Seventh under Lieutenant-General Lord Dalhousie, and after the surrender of that city returned to the Plains of Toulouse.
1814
In the night of the 8th of April, 1814, the Fourth Division struck its tents, and proceeding by forced marches crossed the Garonne over a pontoon bridge; on the next day the army closed upon Toulouse. On the 10th the Division proceeded along the front of the enemy's strongly fortified position, exposed to a galling fire of grape, until it reached the right of their line, when it advanced up the heights; while the rest of the troops formed in two lines in its rear. A strong column of French now issued from the works, and threatened the flank and rear of the Fourth Division; but the Second Provisional Battalion, being thrown back en potence, opened a heavy fire and charged the enemy, who thereupon retreated to their trenches; the brigade then pushed up the hill, and carried the point to which its efforts had been directed. The city of Toulouse was now enclosed on all sides except that of the canal of Languedoc, along which a road was left open by the Duke of Wellington, in order to save the town from the destruction which must have followed its being taken by storm. Of this road the French availed themselves, and, retreating during the night, encamped about three leagues off. Both armies being now apprised of the abdication of Napoleon, the battle of Toulouse closed at once the campaign and the war. In addition to the other marks of distinction granted to the regiment for meritorious services, it has been authorised by his Majesty to assume the word Toulouse.
In commemoration of the meritorious services performed during the Peninsula war, his Majesty was also graciously pleased to authorise the word Peninsula, to be borne upon the colours and appointments of the Queen's Royal.
The division of the Queen's Royal serving on the continent embarked at Barsac in June, and landing at Cork marched to Fermoy, where it stayed about a month, after which it proceeded to Plymouth, and subsequently joined the head-quarters at Chichester.
1815
During the whole of the year 1815 the regiment was stationed at Gosport; and in January 1816 it was moved to Chatham, and from thence, on the 11th of April, to Portsmouth, where it embarked for the West Indies on the 24th of April, 1816, having previously received 300 general service men from the depôt in the Isle of Wight. It landed at Barbadoes on the 5th of June, where it was quartered in barracks at St. Anne's.
Some time before the Queen's arrived in Barbadoes, martial law had been proclaimed in consequence of an insurrection among the negroes, which, however, was soon quelled. The sickly season, which usually sets in about the month of September, was this year one of the most fatal remembered for a long period, and the Queen's Royal felt all its severity. In October the yellow fever broke out and raged with unabated fury until Christmas, during which short space it carried off 11 officers, upwards of 200 men, and more than half the women and children of the regiment. The officers who fell victims to its fury were Major Conolly, Captain Gordon, Lieutenants Clutterbuck, M'Dougall, Grey, Norman, and Grant; Lieutenant and Adjutant Spencer, Assistant-Surgeon Pendergrast, and Ensigns Massie and Richmond, to whose memory their surviving brother-officers erected a handsome marble monument in the Cathedral Church of Bridgetown.
1817
In 1817, the right wing of the regiment embarked for St. Vincent, and the left for Grenada; the men continued to suffer from dysentery, and other complaints which followed the ravages of the fever, and many were carried off. Amongst the number was Lieutenant Adams, who died of fever in Grenada.
1819
1820
In April, 1819, the regiment embarked for Demerara and Berbice, the head-quarters with seven companies being stationed at the first, and the three other companies at the latter place. The men were very healthy at the time of their arrival, but the climate of these colonies (originally settled by the Dutch), the soil of which lies below the level of the sea, soon, and severely, affected both officers and privates. They suffered first under intermittent fever, but the yellow fever afterwards made its appearance, and carried off great numbers. The detachment stationed at Berbice, which remained perfectly healthy until the month of November 1820, was, in a few subsequent weeks, nearly annihilated by that baneful malady, amongst whose victims were Major Thistlethwaite, the commandant, and Lieutenant Glasson.
About this time the regiment received a new pair of colours, which were consecrated, in due form, on the parade ground near Eve Leary barracks, on the 10th of November, 1820, and presented by Mrs. Jordan, wife of Lieutenant-Colonel John Jordan, then commanding the regiment. After the ceremony a splendid entertainment was given by the officers.
1821
The regiment having completed five years' service on the West Indian station, was relieved, in 1821, by the Twenty-first Fusiliers, and ordered home; it embarked on the 10th, sailed on the 13th of April, and landed at Gosport on the 13th of June. From Gosport it proceeded to Winchester, and after a short stay there, to Brighton, where it was reviewed by the Duke of York, when his Royal Highness was pleased to express his approbation of the appearance of the corps. On the 24th of August, 1821, the regiment, still at Brighton, was reduced to eight companies on the following establishment:—1 colonel, 1 lieutenant-colonel, 2 majors, 8 captains, 10 lieutenants, 6 ensigns, 5 staff, 29 serjeants, 24 corporals, 12 drummers, and 552 privates.
1822
In April, 1822, the regiment received a route to march to Hull in Yorkshire, where it remained in garrison a few weeks: in June it was ordered to proceed to Dublin, and arrived there on the 13th of July following.
General Coates[32], after commanding the regiment nearly twenty-eight years, died on the 22nd of July, 1822, and was succeeded in the Colonelcy by Major-General Sir Henry Torrens, K.C.B., Adjutant-General to the Forces.
1824
The regiment remained at Dublin until May, 1824, when it embarked for England, and proceeded to Gosport, and in the month of August following it was moved to Chatham.
1825
1826
1827
In the early part of February, 1825, the regiment, consisting of thirty-two serjeants, twenty drummers, and seven hundred and forty rank and file, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel J. Williams[33], marched from Chatham, and embarked at Gravesend for Bombay, where it arrived in the beginning of June, 1825. An augmentation of two companies, with a recruiting company, was made to the regiment on its embarkation for India service. This reinforcement sailed shortly after, and the whole corps, after assembling at Bombay, marched to Poonah, the capital of the Deccan, in which cantonment it arrived early in 1826. From Poonah four companies of the Queen's Royal were detached in September, 1827, on an expedition against the Rajah of Koolapore, in the Mahratta country, south of Bombay. The light company of the Queen's, with the light companies of the 20th and other regiments, were formed into a light battalion, under Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Place[34], of the Queen's, and proceeded for the above destination. The service terminated the same year by the surrender of the territory and the capitulation of the Rajah.
1828
Major-General Sir Henry Torrens, K.C.B.[35] (Adjutant-General of the Forces), died on the 22nd of August, 1828, and was succeeded, as Colonel of the Queen's Royal, by General the Right Honourable Sir William Keppel, G.C.B., from the Sixty-seventh Regiment.
1831
In the beginning of 1831, the regiment marched to Bombay, to take a tour of duty at the Presidency, and occupied its former cantonments at Calaba. The monsoon of 1831 passed off without any of the destructive effects which marked that of 1825, when the regiment lost many valuable men. The casualties in the regiment, from climate, were little beyond what might be expected in European countries; and during its service in India, the same result has attended the good order and regularity maintained in the Queen's. It is due to the corps to observe, that drunkenness has so far been kept within bounds as to be considered an unusual crime, and to be unknown in a company for a month together. To this happy cause may be attributed the healthy state of the regiment, and the circumstance of the hospital having at times been without a single soldier in it. If greater proof of the efficiency of the regiment were required, such would be perceived by reference to the reports of the inspecting generals.
1834
In 1834 the Queen's was relieved by the 40th Regiment, and returned to its former cantonments in the Deccan.
General the Right Honourable Sir William Keppel[36], G.C.B., died on the 11th of December, 1834, and the Colonelcy of the Queen's Royal was by his Majesty given to Lieutenant-General the Right Honourable Sir James Kempt, G.C.B. and G.C.H., from the 40th Regiment.
1837
The Queen's Royal Regiment has continued to be employed in the Presidency of Bombay to the end of the year 1837, the period of the termination of this Record. It remains an efficient corps, and the laurels which it acquired in every quarter of the globe are preserved untarnished in the distant shores of India.
Note.—The Compiler of this Record feels it his duty to acknowledge the most effective assistance which he has derived from Major Charles Head, late of the Queen's Royal Regiment, and from the devotedness which that gentleman has evinced in searching for the detail of all occurrences in which the honour of his late corps was concerned.