SUCCESSION OF COLONELS
OF
THE SEVENTH REGIMENT;
OR,
THE ROYAL FUSILIERS.
GEORGE LORD DARTMOUTH,
Appointed 11th June, 1685.
Lord Dartmouth was the son of Colonel William Legge, a zealous royalist, who was with King Charles I. at the battle of Newbury and other engagements, was also in the design of the Earl of Holland to restore His Majesty in 1648, and was wounded and taken prisoner. The King was so sensible of Colonel Legge's services, and esteemed him so highly for his fidelity, that a short period before his execution, his Majesty requested the Duke of Richmond to inform the Prince of Wales (afterwards Charles II.) "that whenever he was restored to his rights, he should be sure to take care of honest Will Legge, for he was the faithfullest servant that ever any prince had."
Colonel Legge also displayed great devotion to the cause of King Charles II., and was one of the commissioners appointed by the King, in 1659, to promise pardon to all who should endeavour to effect His Majesty's restoration; excepting the individuals who sat as judges on his royal father. After the restoration His Majesty informed Colonel Legge of the message of King Charles I. by the Duke of Richmond; but the colonel declined being advanced to the peerage, at the same time expressing a hope that his sons might deserve his Majesty's favour.
George Legge (the eldest son of Colonel William Legge) went to sea at the age of seventeen, under the care of Sir Edward Spragg, a distinguished officer who commanded the rear squadron of the combined English and French fleets against Holland in 1673, and fought the Dutch Admiral Tromp, ship to ship, until both their ships were so disabled that they quitted them, and, hoisting their flags in other vessels, renewed the battle with incredible fury. Sir Edward Spragg's ship being terribly torn, he designed to go on board of a third vessel; but his boat was struck by a shot and he was drowned. Under this gallant preceptor George Legge acquired a knowledge of his profession; in 1667 he commanded the Pembroke man-of-war; in 1671 the Fairfax; and in the following year the Royal Catherine. In 1672 he was appointed lieutenant-governor of Portsmouth; in 1673 he was appointed governor of that fortress; also master of the horse and gentleman of the bedchamber to His Royal Highness the Duke of York (afterwards King James II.). At the augmentation of the army in 1678 he was appointed colonel of a newly-raised regiment of foot, which was disbanded after the peace of Nimeguen; he was also lieutenant-general of the ordnance, and was sworn a member of the privy council in 1681; in 1682 he was constituted master-general of the ordnance, and was commissioned to inspect all the forts and garrisons in England.
On the 2nd of December, 1682, he was advanced to the dignity of Baron of Dartmouth, with remainder, in default of issue, to his brother William; which remainder the King particularly ordered himself "in justice" (as he was pleased to say) "to the memory of old Colonel Legge, whose modesty ought not to prejudice his children."
The preamble of the patent imports—"That His Majesty, remembering the great merits of William Legge, one of the grooms of the royal bedchamber to his late father King Charles I., especially in that unparalleled rebellion raised against him, in which, being a person of singular skill and experience in military affairs, and also a valiant and expert commander, he faithfully served His Majesty in most of the battles and sieges of those unhappy times; that he also performed several eminent services to King Charles II. since his most happy restoration; and further, considering that George Legge, eldest son of the said William Legge, following his father's example in divers military employments, especially in sundry sharp and dangerous naval fights, wherein he did freely hazard his life, for which respect, being made general of the ordnance and artillery, and one of His Majesty's most honourable privy council, His Majesty has thought fit to dignify him with some further honour. &c."
In 1683 Lord Dartmouth was sent with the fleet to Africa, to destroy the works of Tangier and bring home the garrison and English inhabitants; on his return he was rewarded by his Majesty with a grant of ten thousand pounds. On the accession of King James II. his lordship was continued as master-general of the ordnance, and one of the privy council; he also held the appointment of constable of the Tower of London; and on the augmentation of the army in 1685, he was appointed Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. In 1687, when King James II. was making a tour through part of his dominions, the city of Coventry presented His Majesty with a large gold cup and cover, which he immediately delivered to Lord Dartmouth, telling him, "There was an acknowledgment from the citizens of Coventry for his father's sufferings in their town:"—Colonel Legge having endured a long imprisonment there, after being wounded and taken prisoner at the battle of Worcester, in 1651, and he escaped from thence by a stratagem on the part of his wife, in woman's attire.
When the Prince of Orange prepared an armament for a descent on the English coast, Lord Dartmouth was appointed admiral of the fleet of England sent out in the autumn of 1688 to intercept the Dutch. He accepted this employment out of gratitude to the King, "who," as Bishop Burnet observes, "loved him, and in whose service he had long been." The bishop adds,—"He was, indeed, one of the worthiest men of his court, and, although much against the conduct of his affairs, he was resolved to stick to him at all hazards." His conduct while in command of the fleet has been variously represented; but it appears evident he was only prevented fighting the Dutch fleet by unfavourable weather.
On the accession of the Prince of Orange to sovereign power, Lord Dartmouth was deprived of his appointments, and in 1691 he was imprisoned in the Tower of London for corresponding with King James. After three months' confinement, he died suddenly of apoplexy, and King William commanded the same honours to be paid at his lordship's funeral which would have been due to him if he had died possessed of all his late employments. He was interred near his father, in a vault in Trinity Chapel, in the Minories.
JOHN, EARL OF MARLBOROUGH,
Appointed 26th August, 1689.
This talented and brave nobleman attained the summit of military fame, and was equally celebrated for sound judgment in the cabinet, and for persuasive eloquence in conversation; while he swayed the councils of foreign courts, and reconciled conflicting interests among the states of Christendom, he led their armies to battle and to victory, acquiring a renown which will live in the page of history to the remotest ages, and the record of his achievements serves as a monument to commemorate the national glory. He was born on the 24th of June, 1650, and before he was sixteen years of age he was page of honour to the Duke of York, who procured him the commission of ensign in the first foot guards in 1666. Being an enthusiast in his profession, he resigned the pleasures of the court to engage in actual warfare on the shores of Africa, and distinguished himself as a volunteer against the Moors under the walls of Tangier. In 1672 he was appointed captain of a company in the Duke of Monmouth's regiment of foot, and served with the French army, commanded by Louis XIV. in person, against the Dutch, where he signalized himself by a regular attention to duty, and volunteered his services on every occasion of difficulty and danger. He soon attracted the attention of the celebrated Marshal Turenne; distinguished himself at the siege of Nimeguen in 1672; and, in 1673, added to his rising honours by his gallantry at the siege of Maestricht, where he was wounded. In the following campaign he served with the French army on the Rhine, and was rewarded on the 3rd of April, 1674, with the colonelcy of an English regiment in the pay of Louis XIV., with which corps he continued to serve in the German war. In 1678 his regiment was recalled from France; and he proceeded to Flanders in command of a brigade of infantry; but the peace of Nimeguen taking place, he returned to England, and his regiment was disbanded. He continued in the suite of the Duke of York, whose constant attendant he became, and was employed in several delicate missions between His Royal Highness and the King, in which he evinced signal address. In 1633, he raised a troop of dragoons, and was appointed colonel of the royal regiment of dragoons,—a corps formed of two newly-raised troops of dragoons and four troops of Tangier horse. He was also elevated to the peerage of Scotland by the title of Baron Churchill of Aymouth; and soon after the accession of the Duke of York to the throne, he was created an English peer by the title of Baron Churchill of Sundridge, and promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. On the breaking out of the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth, in June, 1685, Lord Churchill was detached with a body of troops against the insurgents, and his excellent conduct at the battle of Sedgemoor was rewarded with the colonelcy of the third troop of Life Guards, which gave him the privilege of taking the court duty of gold stick; but his devotion to the Protestant cause having induced him to join the standard of the Prince of Orange at the revolution in 1688, he was deprived of his appointment.
On the accession of King William III. and Queen Mary, Lord Churchill was restored to the command of the third troop of Life Guards; advanced to the title of Earl of Marlborough; and subsequently appointed colonel of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. He commanded the troops on the continent in 1689; gained additional laurels at the battle of Walcourt; and was appointed commander-in-chief in June, 1690. In the autumn of the same year he reduced Cork and Kinsale in Ireland;—and served at the head of the British infantry under King William III. in Flanders, in 1691; but, in May, 1692, he was sent prisoner to the Tower on a charge of high treason, which was not substantiated. In 1698 he was again received into royal favour; and in 1701 King William III. appointed him to the command of the British troops in the Netherlands, and to negotiate the treaties to be formed with foreign powers on the prospect of a war with France; he also appointed him, on the 12th of February, 1702, colonel of the twenty-fourth regiment of foot. On the accession of Queen Anne, he was appointed captain-general of the forces, and to the chief command of the English, Dutch, and auxiliary armies employed against the French; and all his operations were crowned with success. He took Venloo, Ruremonde, Stevenswaert, and Liege with surprising rapidity;—extended and secured the Dutch frontiers, and forced the enemy to seek shelter behind their lines. His great ability had become so conspicuous that on his return to England he was raised to the rank of Duke of Marlborough. In the spring of 1703 he once more took the field;—forced Bonn, Huy, and Limburg; but was impeded in his brilliant career by the jealousy or timidity of the Dutch generals. In April, 1704, he was appointed colonel of the first foot guards;—and in the succeeding campaign his grace led the army from the Ocean to the Danube;—he attacked the enemy on the 2nd of July, 1704, and forced the intrenchments at Schellenberg with distinguished gallantry. The decisive battle of Blenheim was fought on the 13th of August following, and the legions of France and Bavaria were overthrown;—there, the heaps of slain gave dreadful proofs of British valour; and whole legions of prisoners were proofs of their mercy. This victory, which exalted the reputation of the Duke of Marlborough, and displayed in its true light the distinguished character of the British troops, produced the most important results;—Bavaria was subdued:—Ratisbon, Augsburg, Ulm, Meminghen,—all were recovered. From the Danube he marched towards the Rhine and Moselle. Landau, Treves, and Traerback were taken; and the British commander was created a Prince of the Empire. His abilities in the field were equalled by his judgment in the cabinet; and his council guided the confederate princes of Europe. In the spring of 1705 he once more took the field, and menaced the French in Alsace. From the Moselle he proceeded to the Maese. Liege was relieved, Huy retaken, and the boasted impregnable French lines were forced at Helixem and Neer-Hespen; but his career of victory was again impeded by the opposition he met with from the Dutch generals. These difficulties were however removed. In the spring of 1706 another campaign opened,—when the discipline he had introduced, and the confidence he inspired, again proved invincible. He met, attacked, and triumphed over the French and Spaniards at Ramilies on the 23rd of May, 1706. This decisive victory was followed by the surrender of Louvain, Brussels, Malines, Liere, Ghent, Oudenarde, Antwerp, Damme, Bruges, and Courtray: in the meantime Ostend, Menin, Dendermond, and Aeth, were taken:—places which had resisted the greatest generals for months—for years:—provinces disputed for ages were the conquests of a summer. So great was the reputation of the armies of the allies, and of their distinguished commander, that throughout the campaign of 1707 the enemy avoided a general engagement; but in the following summer a gallant French army, led by the princes of the blood, was overcome at Oudenarde:—new armies and new generals appeared; but the career of Marlborough could not be stopped. The barriers of France on the side of the Low Countries, the work of half a century, were attacked. A numerous French army were spectators of the fall of Lisle,—the bulwark of their barriers. Every campaign added new conquests. Tournay was taken. The French army—posted near Malplaquet, in a position covered by thick woods, defended by treble entrenchments—was attacked. The battle was bloody—the event decisive. The woods were pierced. The fortifications were trampled down. The enemy fled. After this victory Mons was taken; and in the succeeding years, Douay, Bethune, Aire, St. Venant, Bouchain,—all underwent the same fate. Nothing availed against a general whose sagacity foresaw everything, whose vigilance attended to everything, whose constancy no labour could subdue, whose courage no danger could dismay, and whose intuitive glance always caught the decisive moment and insured victory; while the discipline he maintained and the confidence he inspired were equivalent to an army. The ambitious Louis XIV. saw his generals over-matched,—his armies beaten and dispirited,—his possessions wrested from him,—the barriers of his kingdom trampled down, and a powerful army ready to carry the horrors of war into the heart of his kingdom. The disasters of ten campaigns having proved that Marlborough was invincible, the French monarch sued for peace. The din and calamities of war were succeeded by the smile of plenty, tranquillity, and enjoyment: but, for some political cause, the gallant Marlborough was divested of all his offices dependent on the British crown. Continuing a stedfast adherent to the Protestant succession, he retired to the continent until the accession of George I., and was then replaced in his former posts, in which he continued until his decease in 1722. His unremitting exertions to inculcate the principles of order and discipline; his discernment in bringing merit into notice; his impartiality; and a series of glorious victories by which he upheld the national honour, and proved himself a valuable servant of the crown and kingdom, occasioned his memory to be deeply engraved on the hearts of the brave men who had fought under his command.
LORD GEORGE HAMILTON,
Appointed 23rd January, 1692.
Lord George Hamilton, fifth son of William Duke of Hamilton, was an officer in the Royal Regiment in the reign of Charles II., and also of James II., and, adhering to the Protestant interest at the Revolution in 1688, he was advanced to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and on the 1st of March, 1690, to the brevet rank of colonel. He served under King William III. in Ireland, and distinguished himself at the battle of the Boyne; and in 1691 he was at the siege of Athlone, at the battle of Aghrim, and the capture of Limerick. In January, 1692, he was appointed colonel of the Royal Fusiliers, at the head of which corps he distinguished himself at the battle of Steenkirk, and his gallantry was rewarded with the colonelcy of the Royal Regiment. Continuing to serve under King William in the Netherlands, he distinguished himself in 1693 at the unfortunate battle of Landen, and in 1695 at the siege of Namur, and while engaged in this service he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. On the 3rd of January, 1696, he was advanced to the peerage by the titles of Baron Dechmont, Viscount of Kirkwall, and Earl of Orkney; and in March, 1702, he was promoted to the rank of major-general. He served the campaign of this year under the Earl of Marlborough, and was engaged in the siege of Stevenswaert. He commanded a brigade of infantry during the campaign of 1703, was advanced to the rank of lieutenant-general, and invested with the order of the Thistle in 1704; and, having proceeded with the army into the heart of Germany, took part in gaining the glorious victories of Schellenberg and Blenheim. In 1705 he distinguished himself at the siege and capture of Huy; and in the following year at the battle of Ramilies, and the siege of Menin. He also took a distinguished part in the battle of Oudenarde in covering the siege of Lisle; and in forcing the passage of the Scheldt in 1708. In 1709 he distinguished himself in the movements which preceded and led to the battle of Malplaquet, and during this hard-contested action he signalized himself at the head of fifteen battalions of infantry. He also signalized himself at the siege of Douay in 1710; and in the beginning of the following year he was promoted to the rank of general. He was also engaged in passing the French lines in 1711, and commanded twenty battalions of infantry at the siege of Bouchain.
On these occasions the Earl of Orkney had evinced personal bravery and military talents of a superior character. At the close of the war he was a member of the privy council, and governor of Edinburgh Castle. On the accession of George I. he was appointed one of the lords of the bedchamber to his Majesty, and governor of Virginia; and in January, 1736, he was promoted to the rank of field marshal. He was many years one of the sixteen representatives of the Scottish peerage; and died in January, 1737.
EDWARD FITZPATRICK,
Appointed 1st August, 1692.
Edward Fitzpatrick was many years an officer of the Holland Regiment, now third foot or buffs, in which corps he rose to the rank of captain, and was so distinguished for a regular attention to duty, and for devotion to the Protestant interest, that at the revolution in 1688 he was promoted to the colonelcy of a regiment of foot (afterwards disbanded) with which he served in King William's wars. He was at the battle of Walcourt in 1689; and at the siege of Cork and Kinsale in 1690; and having signalized himself at the battle of Steenkirk in 1692, he was rewarded with the colonelcy of the Royal Fusiliers. In 1693 he was wounded at the battle of Landen; and in 1694 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. In 1695 he commanded a brigade of infantry at the siege of Namur, and he acquired the confidence of his sovereign, and the esteem of his companions in arms. He was drowned on the 10th November, 1696.
SIR CHARLES O'HARA,
Appointed 12th November, 1696.
Charles O'Hara was an officer of the English brigade in the Dutch service in the time of King Charles II., and commanded a company in the Earl of Ossory's regiment. He subsequently held a commission in the first foot guards, was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the regiment, and was knighted by King William III. at Whitehall in 1689. He subsequently served under His Majesty in Flanders; was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1695, and was rewarded with the colonelcy of the Royal Fusiliers in 1696. On the breaking out of the war of the Spanish succession, he was advanced to the rank of major-general, and he commanded a brigade under the Duke of Ormond in the expedition against Cadiz in 1702, on which occasion he was charged with participating in the plunder of Port St. Mary's, and brought to trial, but acquitted: in 1704 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general. In 1706 Queen Anne advanced him to the dignity of a peer of Ireland by the title of Baron of Tyrawley in the county of Mayo; and proceeding to Spain, he commanded the left wing of the allied army at the battle of Almanza, in 1707, where he was wounded. His Lordship was sworn a member of the privy council of Queen Anne in 1710; and also of King George I. in 1714; and in November, 1714, he was promoted to the rank of general. He had previously resigned the colonelcy of the Royal Fusiliers in favour of his son; and on the breaking out of the rebellion in 1715 he raised a regiment of foot in Ireland; this corps was, however, disbanded in 1718. He held, for several years, the appointment of commander-in-chief in Ireland; also the government of Minorca, and of the Royal Hospital near Dublin. He died on the 8th of June, 1724.
THE HONOURABLE JAMES O'HARA,
Appointed 29th January, 1713.
The Hon. James O'Hara was appointed lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers, commanded by his father, on the 15th of March, 1703, and in 1706 he proceeded with his regiment to the relief of Barcelona. In the following year he served on the staff of the army in Spain, and was wounded at the battle of Almanza, where, it is said, he was instrumental in saving the Earl of Galway's life. He served several years at Minorca, and in 1713 he succeeded his father in the colonelcy of the Royal Fusiliers. In 1721 King George I. advanced him to the dignity of Baron of Kilmaine; and in 1724 he succeeded his father in the title of Baron of Tyrawley, and was sworn a member of the privy council in the same year. The rank of brigadier-general was conferred on his lordship on the 23rd of November, 1735; that of major-general on the 2nd of July, 1739; and in August of the latter year he was removed from the Royal Fusiliers to the fifth horse, now fourth dragoon guards. In March, 1743, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general, and in the following month obtained the colonelcy of the second troop of horse grenadier guards, from which he was removed, in 1745, to the third troop of life guards, which gave him the privilege of taking the court duty of Gold Stick. In 1746, when King George II. had resolved to disband the third and fourth troops of life guards, his lordship was removed to the tenth foot; he was again removed, in 1749, to the fourteenth dragoons; in 1752, to the third dragoons; and, in 1755, to the second, or Coldstream regiment of foot guards. He was appointed governor of Portsmouth on the 1st of May, 1759, and was promoted to the rank of general on the 7th of March, 1761. He held the appointment of governor of Minorca for several years; and was employed as envoy and ambassador to the courts of Portugal and Russia. He died at Twickenham on the 13th of July, 1773.
WILLIAM HARGRAVE,
Appointed 27th August, 1739.
This Officer entered the army in April, 1694, and served under King William in Flanders. He also served with distinction in the wars of Queen Anne; was major of the thirty-sixth regiment, with the rank of colonel in the army, at the battle of Dumblain in 1715; and in 1730 he was appointed to the colonelcy of the thirty-first foot: from which he was removed to the ninth foot in 1737, and in 1739 King George II. gave him the colonelcy of the Royal Fusiliers, which he retained until his decease in January, 1751.
JOHN MOSTYN,
Appointed 26th January, 1751.
John Mostyn obtained a commission in the army in February, 1732; he rose to the rank of captain in the thirty-first foot, and was appointed captain-lieutenant in the second foot guards in 1742. He served with his regiment on the continent; was wounded at the battle of Fontenoy, and in December, 1747, he was appointed aide-de-camp to the King, who gave him the colonelcy of the Royal Fusiliers in 1751. In 1754 he was removed to the thirteenth dragoons; in 1757 he was promoted to the rank of Major-General; in 1758 he obtained the colonelcy of the fifth dragoons, and was removed to the seventh dragoons in 1760. He had previously been promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general, and he highly distinguished himself at the head of the British cavalry in Germany in numerous actions and skirmishes in 1759, and the three succeeding years. In 1763 he obtained the colonelcy of the first dragoon guards, and he was promoted to the rank of general in 1772. He died in 1779.
LORD ROBERT BERTIE,
Appointed 20th August, 1754.
Lord Robert Bertie, son of the Duke of Ancaster, entered the army in July, 1737, as ensign in the second foot guards, and in 1744 he was promoted to the rank of captain and lieutenant-colonel. He was wounded at the battle of Fontenoy in 1745, and appointed aide-de-camp to the King in 1752: in 1754 he obtained the colonelcy of the Royal Fusiliers. He accompanied his regiment on board the fleet in 1756, and was in the engagement off the island of Minorca. In 1758 he was promoted to the rank of major-general; in 1760 to that of lieutenant-general; in 1776 he obtained the colonelcy of the second troop (now second regiment) of life guards; and was promoted to the rank of general in 1777. He died in 1782.
RICHARD PRESCOTT,
Appointed 12th November, 1776.
This Officer entered the army in the reign of George II. He saw much service; and on the augmentation, in 1755, he was appointed major of the fiftieth foot. In 1761 he was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the Royal Fusiliers, and the zeal and attention with which he performed the duties of commanding officer during the succeeding fifteen years was rewarded with the colonelcy of the regiment in 1776. In 1777 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and in 1782 to that of lieutenant-general. He died in 1788.
THE HONOURABLE WILLIAM GORDON,
Appointed 20th October, 1788.
This Officer was appointed captain in the sixteenth light dragoons in 1759; he subsequently held the commission of major in the eighty-fourth, and lieutenant-colonel in the one hundred and fifth regiment, which was disbanded at the peace in 1763. In 1777 he was appointed colonel of the eighty-first regiment, and was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1781: in 1783 his regiment was disbanded; in 1787 he was appointed colonel commandant in the sixtieth, and in 1788 he obtained the colonelcy of the Royal Fusiliers, from which he was removed in the following year to the seventy-first regiment. In 1793 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general. He obtained the colonelcy of the twenty-first regiment in 1803, which he retained until his decease in 1816.
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE EDWARD,
Afterwards Duke of Kent,
Appointed 9th April, 1789.
During the early part of this century the Royal Fusiliers had the honour of being commanded by a Prince who was distinguished alike for his social and military virtues:—namely, Prince Edward, afterwards Field Marshal His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent and Strathearn, the father of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen Victoria.
Prince Edward, fourth son of His Majesty King George III., was born on the 2nd of November, 1767. Being destined for the profession of arms, in the eighteenth year of his age he proceeded to Germany for the completion of his studies, and resided successively at Lunenberg and Hanover, and was appointed, on the 30th of May, 1786, colonel of the Hanoverian Guards. During the succeeding year he removed to Geneva, and while pursuing his studies at this place, His Majesty conferred upon him the Colonelcy of the 7th Royal Fusiliers. Early in 1790 he returned to England; and after passing a few days with his family he embarked, in obedience to the King's commands, for Gibraltar, in order to acquire a knowledge of garrison duty under Major-General O'Hara. While at Gibraltar he commanded for several months the 2nd, or Queen's Regiment, until the arrival of the 7th Royal Fusiliers, as a reinforcement to the garrison, in August, 1790. In 1791 he sailed with his regiment from Gibraltar for Quebec; and while serving in Canada he was promoted to the rank of major-general. From North America he proceeded, during the winter of 1793-4, through the United States to Boston, where he embarked for the West Indies, and joined the army under General Sir Charles Grey, at the commencement of the siege of Fort Bourbon, in the island of Martinique, and commanded the detached camp at La Coste, above Point Petre. During the several attacks His Royal Highness's conduct excited the admiration of the army; his life was frequently exposed to the most imminent peril; and his aides-de-camp, Captain, the late General Sir Frederick Wetherall, and Lieutenant Vesey, were wounded near his Royal Highness's person.[27] In compliment to the gallantry evinced by His Royal Highness on this occasion, the lower fort, called Fort Royal, was subsequently named Fort Edward.
After the capture of Martinique the array proceeded to St. Lucie; and His Royal Highness commanded the grenadier brigade, which, in conjunction with the light infantry brigade, under Major-General Thomas Dundas, formed the storming-party which carried Morné Fortuné. From St. Lucie the army proceeded to the island of Guadaloupe; and the flank companies were detached under Prince Edward and Major-General Dundas, who succeeded in gaining possession of Morné Marscot, and Fleur D'Epée, commanding Point à Petre. His conduct during this course of active and perilous service again excited admiration, and His Royal Highness received the thanks of Parliament. After the capture of the French West India Islands[28] His Royal Highness returned to North America, and was shortly afterwards appointed Commander of the Forces in Nova Scotia and its dependencies. On the 12th of January, 1796, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General; and, having returned to England on account of ill health, he was created, on the 23rd of April, 1799, Earl of Dublin, in Ireland, and Duke of Kent and Strathearn, in Great Britain; in the following month he was promoted to the rank of General, and appointed Commander-in-Chief of all the forces in British North America. On his return to North America his arrival was greeted by all ranks; and during his stay in that country he introduced numerous improvements in the system of conducting public business. In August, 1800, His Royal Highness returned to England; and in the following year he was appointed to the Colonelcy of the Royal Regiment of Foot. In 1802 he was appointed Governor of the important fortress of Gibraltar, whither he immediately proceeded. His habits were abstemious and regular; and he was himself a model of that strict attention to duty and discipline which he required from others; but while attempting to effect the removal of several long existing abuses and irregularities, His Royal Highness experienced that opposition which has attended every attempt to remedy evils, when the private interests and privileges of individuals are concerned. The Duke of Kent returned in 1803 to England, where he continued to reside upwards of fifteen years. He was promoted to the rank of Field-Marshal on the 5th of September, 1805; he was also elected a Knight of the Garter, constituted a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath, and appointed Keeper and Ranger of Hampton Court Park.
During the period His Royal Highness resided in England, the Royal Regiment of Foot experienced the advantage of his constant care and anxiety for its interests, and of his influence in the kingdom; and the service was benefited by the care he bestowed in the introduction of regimental schools. His concern, however, embraced the welfare of all His Majesty's subjects, and there was scarcely a public charity in the metropolis which did not derive benefit from his patronage, personal eloquence, and contributions, and over many he presided. His private acts of benevolence in the cases of widows and orphans who were known to His Royal Highness as deserving objects of relief were very numerous, and the instances of his charity and philanthropy were attested by the grateful acknowledgments of those who had no claim on His Royal Highness's bounty beyond the circumstance of a husband, father, or other relative having performed faithful service under his command. The provision made by His Majesty's Government for His Royal Highness had not been equal to his necessary expenditure to support the dignity of a Prince of the royal blood; particularly for the periods he was on foreign service; and in 1816 economical views induced him to proceed to the Continent. In May, 1818, he was married at Coburg, according to the Lutheran rites, to Her Serene Highness Victoria Maria Louisa, youngest daughter of the late reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg. Shortly after the solemnities the royal pair proceeded to England, and were remarried at Kew Palace on the 11th of July, 1818, according to the rites of the Church of England. In a few weeks after this ceremony the Duke returned with his bride to the Continent; in the succeeding year they revisited England; and on the 24th of May, 1819, the Duchess gave birth, at Kensington Palace, to a daughter, named Alexandrina Victoria, Her present Majesty.
In a few months after this happy event this amiable Prince, whose social, private, and public virtues endeared him to his family and friends, and procured him a place in the affections of the British people, was attacked by pulmonary inflammation, produced by accidental cold, and he died at his temporary residence at Sidmouth on the 23rd of January, 1820. The remains of His Royal Highness were removed from Sidmouth and deposited in the royal vault at St. George's Chapel, in Windsor Castle, on the 12th of February, 1820, with the usual honours and solemnity observed at the funerals of the members of the Royal family.
SIR ALURED CLARKE, G.C.B.,
Appointed 21st August, 1801.
Alured Clarke was appointed ensign of the fiftieth foot in 1755, and lieutenant of the same corps in 1760. He served under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick in Germany, in the Seven Years' War; and was appointed to the command of a company in the fifth foot in 1767; in 1771 he was promoted to the majority of the fifty-fourth regiment, and in 1777 to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the Royal Fusiliers, with which corps he served in America, and obtained the rank of colonel in 1781. In 1790 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and in 1794 he was rewarded with the colonelcy of the fifth foot. In 1795 he commanded the land force at the capture of the Cape of Good Hope; his services were afterwards transferred to the East Indies, in which country he obtained the local rank of lieutenant-general in 1796, and he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general in the army in 1797. In 1801 he was removed to the Royal Fusiliers, and in 1802 he was promoted to the rank of general: he was advanced to the rank of field-marshal on the 22nd July, 1830. He died in 1832.
SIR EDWARD BLAKENEY, G.C.B.
Appointed 20th September, 1832.