HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE SIXTEENTH,
OR THE
BEDFORDSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT.
1688
In the autumn of 1688, when the pernicious counsellors of King James II. had induced His Majesty to adopt measures which indicated a design to overthrow the constitution and established religion of the country, and many patriotic noblemen and gentlemen had solicited the Prince of Orange to come to England with an army, to preserve the liberties and religion of the people, the King then became sensible of the dangerous position into which he had been brought, and resolved to augment his army: and among the corps embodied on that occasion was a regiment of pikemen and musketeers, which has been retained in the service to the present time, and now bears the title of "The SIXTEENTH, or the Bedfordshire Regiment of Foot."
This corps was raised in the southern counties of England, and the colonelcy was conferred on Lieut.-Colonel Archibald Douglas, from the royal regiment of foot, by commission dated the 9th of October, 1688. Captain Robert Hodges, from the grenadier company of the royal regiment, was appointed Lieut.-Colonel, and Murdock M'Kenzie was nominated Major. The establishment was fixed at nine hundred and twenty-seven officers and soldiers, including a grenadier company, which was afterwards ordered to be added to the regiment. The uniform was round hats, ornamented with white ribands; red coats, lined and faced with white; white waistcoats and breeches.
Five days after the warrants for the formation of the regiment were issued, a number of men had enrolled themselves under the standards of this corps,—principally from the county of Middlesex; and they were ordered to march to Reading in Berkshire, where the several enlisting parties were directed to assemble, and the formation of the corps was completed.
Early in November, when the armament under the Prince of Orange had passed Dover, the regiment was ordered to march to London, and occupy quarters in the borough of Southwark; it was afterwards directed to join the army: but the pernicious advice of the King's counsellors proved fatal to his interests; his soldiers refused to fight against the Prince of Orange; and some irregular orders were issued which appeared to leave the officers and men at liberty to quit their colours, when a number of corps were disbanded. The Prince of Orange issued orders for the several corps to be re-organised, and appointed quarters for every regiment;—the SIXTEENTH were directed to occupy quarters at Stony Stratford, in Buckinghamshire. King James afterwards fled to France.
Colonel Douglas adhered to the interest of King James, and the Prince of Orange promoted Lieut.-Colonel Hodges to the colonelcy of the regiment, by commission dated the 31st of December, 1688.
1689
In the early part of 1689 the Prince and Princess of Orange were elevated to the throne by the titles of King William the Third and Queen Mary; and soon afterwards the SIXTEENTH regiment received orders to proceed to Holland, to aid the Dutch in their war with France. It embarked for the United Provinces in April, and served the campaign of that year under Prince Waldeck; in August it was in position in the province of Namur.
Early on the morning of the 25th of August, the musketeers of the regiment, with the piquets of several other corps, commanded by Colonel Hodges of the SIXTEENTH, advanced to cover the numerous foraging parties sent to the villages and fields in front of the army, and Colonel Hodges posted his men at, and in front of, the village of Forgé. About nine o'clock the French army under Marshal d'Humières was seen advancing to attack the confederate forces, when three guns were fired to call in the foragers, and Colonel Hodges prepared to resist the leading corps of the enemy to give time for the several parties to withdraw. The Dutch and Danish horse in front were speedily driven in; but the musketeers of the SIXTEENTH and other corps under Colonel Hodges lined the hedges, and held a force of very superior numbers in check nearly two hours, when, the foraging parties having all returned to camp, Colonel Hodges withdrew to a mill, and, posting his men behind walls and out-buildings, he held the French army in check nearly an hour, the shots of his marksmen smiting the leading companies of the enemy with sure aim. At length he received orders to retire, and withdrew fighting, until he came to the village of Walcourt, where a regiment of Lunenburgers was posted. The French attempted to carry the village by storm; but were repulsed, and were eventually forced to retreat, with severe loss. Colonel Hodges' party had Lieut.-Colonel Graham, Captain Davison, and thirty men, killed.
In October the regiment marched to Bruges, where it was stationed during the winter.
1690
The regiment marched for Brussels in June, 1690, in order to join the Dutch forces; but Prince Waldeck engaged the French at Fleurus, without waiting for the arrival of the British troops, and his army was nearly annihilated; which reduced the confederate forces to the necessity of limiting their services to defensive operations during the remainder of the campaign.
1691
Leaving its winter quarters in March, 1691, the regiment joined the army in South Brabant, and was formed in brigade with the Scots foot guards, a battalion of the royals, and the Scots regiments of Ramsay, Angus, and Mackay; but the confederate army was not sufficiently numerous to prevent the French capturing Mons. During the summer the regiment took part in various manœuvres; but no general engagement occurred.
1692
In the spring of 1692, when the French besieged Namur, the SIXTEENTH were called from their winter quarters, and joined the army under the command of King William III., who advanced to relieve the besieged fortress, but was delayed by heavy rains, and the garrison surrendered before the end of June.
After several movements King William resolved to attack the French army, under Marshal Luxemburg, at its camp at Steenkirk, on the 3rd of August. The leading corps penetrated along difficult roads, and attacked the French army with great gallantry; but the main body of the confederate troops was too far in the rear to afford timely support, and the King ordered a retreat. The SIXTEENTH were brought into action on this occasion, and exposed to the enemy's fire, when Colonel Hodges was killed at the head of the regiment by a cannon-ball: his death was much regretted, he being a gallant and intelligent officer, much esteemed and beloved by the soldiers.
King William conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on the Honorable James Stanley, afterwards Earl of Derby, from Captain and Lieut.-Colonel in the first foot guards.
Towards the end of August the regiment was detached, with other troops, under Lieut.-General Talmash, who moved towards Bruges: at the same time Furnes and Dixmude were taken possession of and fortified.
1693
The regiment served the campaign of 1693 in the brigade commanded by Brigadier-General Erle. It took part in several movements, and was in position when the confederate army was attacked at Landen, on the 29th of July, by the French, under Marshal Luxemburg. The enemy had a great superiority of numbers on this occasion, and the confederate army was forced to retreat. It was stated in the London Gazette, "the enemy had above eighty thousand effective men; we were not more than forty-five thousand. * * * Our troops in general behaved themselves extremely well, but the English did particularly distinguish themselves." The regiment had Captain Cole and Ensign Johnston killed, and Ensign Campion taken prisoner; it also lost upwards of fifty men, killed, wounded, and taken prisoners.
At the end of the campaign the regiment was placed in garrison at Dendermond.
1694
Quitting its winter quarters in May, 1694, the regiment joined the army, and served the campaign of this year in the brigade commanded by Brigadier-General Collier: it afterwards returned to Dendermond.
1695
In 1695 King William undertook the siege of Namur, and the SIXTEENTH had the honor to take part in the capture of this important fortress. They joined the besieging army, and were on duty in the trenches on the 7th of July; and they were repeatedly engaged in storming the outworks and exterior defences. On the 17th of July Ensign Gardiner of the regiment was killed, and Ensign Devreux wounded, at the attack on the counterscarp; and on the 2nd of August, Captain Holiday of the grenadier company was wounded at the extending of the lodgment on the covered way. On the following day, when preparations were making for another assault, the garrison hoisted a white flag and agreed to surrender the town.
The SIXTEENTH were selected to take part in the siege of the castle of Namur, and were encamped at Maison Blanche; but, having lost many men, they were relieved on the 11th of August, and joined the covering army under the Prince of Vaudemont. They were encamped a short time between Genappe and Waterloo; afterwards near Namur; and the grenadier company took part in the attack on the castle, which capitulated on the 2nd of September. The regiment afterwards returned to Dendermond.
1696
1697
Leaving its winter quarters in the spring of 1696, the regiment joined the army of Brabant under King William, and served the campaign of that year in Brigadier-General Fitzpatrick's brigade. It served the campaign of 1697 in the brigade under Brigadier-General Ingoldsby; and in the autumn the British monarch witnessed his efforts to preserve the reformed religion, and the balance of power in Europe, attended with success. The treaty of Ryswick gave peace to the nations of Europe; and the SIXTEENTH regiment embarked for Ireland, where it was stationed until the summer of 1701, reposing on the reputation which it had acquired on the continent, where it had served seven campaigns.
1701
In the meantime the French monarch had violated the liberties of Europe, by procuring the accession of his grandson, the Duke of Anjou, to the throne of Spain,—by seizing on the Spanish Netherlands and detaining the Dutch garrisons in the barrier towns: and the SIXTEENTH were called from their quarters in Ireland to reinforce the Dutch army. The regiment embarked from Carrickfergus on the 7th of June, and sailed to the island of Voorn, where it was removed on board of Dutch vessels, and proceeded up the Maese to the fortress of Huesden, where it remained two months, then proceeded to Breda, and was reviewed on Breda heath by King William on the 21st of September, afterwards returning to Huesden.
1702
In March, 1702, the regiment traversed the country to Rosendael, where the British corps were assembled under Brigadier-General Ingoldsby, and received information of the death of King William, and the accession of Queen Anne, on the 8th of March. The regiment afterwards marched across the country to the duchy of Cleves, and encamped at Cranenburg, forming part of the covering army during the siege of Kayserswerth by the Germans. On the night of the 10th of June the covering army made a forced march to Nimeguen to avoid the loss of communication with that fortress, in consequence of the movements of the enemy. On the following morning the British corps in the rear-guard distinguished themselves in a sharp skirmish with the leading columns of the French army.
Queen Anne declared war against France; additional troops were sent to Holland, and the Earl of Marlborough assumed the command of the allied army. The SIXTEENTH shared in the operations by which the French army was forced to retire from the frontiers of Holland; and they formed part of the covering army during the sieges of Venloo, Ruremonde, and Stevenswaert; took part in delivering the city of Liege from the power of the enemy; and their grenadier company distinguished itself in the capture of the citadel by storm on the 23rd of October. The regiment afterwards marched back to Holland for winter quarters.
1703
Towards the end of April, 1703, the regiment commenced its march towards Maestricht, and was in position near that city when the French army approached in order of battle, but did not venture to hazard a general engagement. The regiment shared in the operations by which the French were afterwards forced to make a precipitate retreat and take post behind their fortified lines. The services of the regiment were also connected with the siege and capture of the fortress of Huy, on the Maese river, above the city of Liege; and with the siege of the city of Limburg, situate on a pleasant eminence among woods near the banks of the Wesdet, which place surrendered on the 28th of September. After these conquests the SIXTEENTH returned to Holland.
1704
During the winter six hundred men of the regiment joined the garrison of Maestricht, while the Dutch soldiers were working at the entrenchments on the heights of Petersberg: in May, 1704, the remainder of the regiment marched towards the Rhine, and was joined at Bedburg by the detachment from Maestricht.
The Duke of Marlborough led his army from Holland to the heart of Germany, and, there encountering the legions of France and Bavaria, he gained two important victories on the banks of the Danube, and exalted the reputation of the British arms. The SIXTEENTH had the honor to share in this splendid enterprise, and to take a distinguished part in gaining the victory at Schellenberg on the 2nd of July, when the regiment had Major Mordaunt, Ensign Charleston, one serjeant, and nineteen soldiers killed; Lieut.-Colonel Hamilton, Captain Coghlan, Ensign Key, one serjeant, and thirty-four rank and file wounded.
After this victory the regiment crossed the Danube and marched to the vicinity of the enemy's fortified camp at Augsburg, which was found too strong to be attacked, and the army retired a few stages, the Germans commencing the siege of Ingoldstadt. The enemy, being reinforced from France, took up a position in the valley of the Danube, near the village of Blenheim, which was occupied by a considerable body of troops; and on the memorable 13th of August a general engagement took place, in which the English general was once more victorious; the French and Bavarian army sustaining a decisive overthrow, with the loss of its artillery and baggage, and many entire regiments being made prisoners; the French commander, Marshal Tallard, being among the captives. The SIXTEENTH regiment was one of the corps which sustained the brunt of the battle on this occasion, and acquired great honor. The loss of the regiment was very great: Captain Coghlan, Lieutenant Brown, Ensigns Sabine and Hesketh, were among the killed; and Lieut.-Colonel Hamilton, Captains Hesketh, Fleming, Lee, and Horne, Lieutenants Vicariage, Jackson, Ayloffe, and Reddish, Ensigns Mackrich, Hook, and Gordon, wounded.
From the banks of the Danube the regiment traversed the country to Philipsburg, where it crossed the Rhine, and formed part of the covering army encamped at Croon-Weissemberg, during the siege of Landau by the Germans. In the autumn the regiment embarked in boats on the Rhine, and sailed to Holland.
1705
The losses of the preceding campaigns were replaced in the spring of 1705 by recruits from England, and, when the regiment took the field to serve the campaign of 1705, its appearance and efficiency were admired. It was employed in the expedition up the Moselle, and, passing the Moselle and the Saar rivers on the 3rd of June, advanced towards Syrk; but the designs of the British commander were frustrated by the tardy movements of the Germans, and he marched back to the Netherlands.
In May of this year the Earl of Derby retired from the service, and was succeeded in the colonelcy by Lieut.-Colonel Francis Godfrey, from the foot-guards.
A stupendous barrier of fortified lines, forts, and batteries opposed the progress of the British commander; but by skilful movements these works were passed at the slenderly-guarded posts of Helixem and Neer-Hespen on the 18th of July. On this occasion the SIXTEENTH formed part of Brigadier-General Fergusson's brigade in the main body of the army, and did not sustain any loss. It shared in the subsequent operations of the campaign, and passed the winter in garrison in Holland.
1706
The SIXTEENTH had the honor to take part in the battle of Ramilies, on the 23rd of May, 1706, when the French, Spanish, and Bavarian forces, commanded by Marshal Villeroy and the Elector of Bavaria, were forced from their formidable position with severe loss, and pursued many miles.
Important results followed this triumph over the forces of Louis XIV.; the states of Brabant and magistrates of Brussels renounced their allegiance to the Duke of Anjou; the principal towns of Brabant and several fortified places in Flanders were immediately delivered up, and others surrendered after short sieges. Thus provinces disputed for ages, and towns which had resisted powerful armies for months and years, were conquered in one campaign. After taking part in these splendid achievements, the SIXTEENTH marched into quarters at Ghent.
1707
The regiment was in the field during the campaign of 1707; but the French avoided an engagement, and nothing of importance occurred.
1708
In the spring of 1708 the King of France fitted out a fleet, and prepared a land force for the invasion of Great Britain in favour of the Pretender, and the SIXTEENTH were ordered to return to England to repel the invaders: they arrived at Tynemouth on the 21st of March; but the French fleet having been chased from the British coast by the English navy, the regiment returned to Flanders.
After remaining a few weeks at Ghent, the regiment joined the army in the field, and took part in achieving another victory over the armies of Louis XIV., in the fields near Oudenarde, on the 11th of July. The SIXTEENTH formed part of a division of twenty battalions commanded by the Duke of Argyle, which traversed the Scheldt by the pontoon bridge between Oudenarde and the abbey of Eename, ascended the heights of Bevere, and, inclining to the right, engaged the enemy in the open grounds beyond the rivulet; when a fierce conflict of musketry ensued, and the French were driven from field to field, with great slaughter, until the darkness of the night rendered it impossible to distinguish friends from foes, when the troops were directed to cease firing. The wreck of the French army made a precipitate retreat.
The siege of the important fortress of Lisle was afterwards undertaken, and the SIXTEENTH were selected to take part in this gigantic enterprise, which excited universal attention throughout Europe; the strength of the place,—the garrison consisting of fifteen thousand men under the celebrated Marshal Boufflers, and being provided with everything necessary for a protracted defence,—gave an interesting character to this undertaking.
When the besieging army appeared before Lisle, the French out-guards retired, and Serjeant Littler of the SIXTEENTH regiment swam across the river with a hatchet, and cut the fastenings which held up a drawbridge to enable a party to pass the stream, for which act of gallantry he was rewarded with a commission in the third foot, or the Buffs.
The SIXTEENTH regiment took its turn of duty in the trenches and shared in the attacks during the siege of Lisle, evincing, on all occasions, the same heroic gallantry for which it had previously been distinguished. It had one serjeant and eleven rank and file killed, and four serjeants and fifty rank and file wounded, at the storming of the counterscarp; and sustained severe loss on several other occasions. Numerous difficulties had to be overcome in carrying on this siege; but the skill, valour, and perseverance of the officers and soldiers of the allied army, overcame every obstacle, and on the 9th of December the citadel surrendered.
1709
After reposing a few weeks in quarters, and receiving a draft of recruits from England, the regiment advanced up the country, and was encamped with the army on the Upper Dyle; it was subsequently employed in covering the siege of Tournay, and after the surrender of the town, on the 29th of July, 1708, the SIXTEENTH were selected to take part in the siege of the citadel. This proved a difficult service, in consequence of the extensive subterraneous works by which the fortress was surrounded. The approaches were carried on underground, and the working parties frequently penetrated the subterraneous labyrinths of the castle, and, encountering detachments of the enemy, fought underground with sword, pistol, and bayonet. Several parties were destroyed by the mines; but the works were persevered in, and the garrison surrendered in the beginning of September.
After the capture of Tournay the army marched towards Mons; but finding a numerous French force, under Marshals Villars and Boufflers, in position at Malplaquet, the enemy was attacked in his fortified post on the morning of the 11th of September, and the SIXTEENTH had the honor to contribute to the gaining of another victory over the armies of France. On this occasion, the regiment was formed in brigade with the Buffs and the regiments of Temple and Evans (afterwards disbanded), and was engaged in the attack of the woods in which the enemy's left wing was posted, and in its advance it encountered entrenchments and breastworks bristling with bayonets, and emitting a storm of musket-shot and cannon-balls, which thinned the British ranks. The leading corps were repulsed; but, fresh troops arriving, a general attack was made with so much resolution that the French were driven from their entrenchments into the wood, where a sharp fire of musketry was kept up, and the SIXTEENTH were engaged among the trees. Finally the French were overpowered at every part of the field, and forced to retreat.
The regiment had about fifty men killed and wounded; and Captain Ayloffe, Lieutenants Macrath, Whiting, and Lawder wounded. It was afterwards employed in covering the siege of Mons, and passed the winter in quarters at Ghent.
1710
Having received another draft of recruits, the regiment marched in April, 1710, to the vicinity of Tournay, where the army was directed to assemble; its services were connected with the forcing of the enemy's fortified lines at Pont-à-Vendin; it also formed part of the covering army during the siege of Douay, which fortress surrendered on the 27th of June. The regiment was afterwards employed in covering the siege of Bethune, and this fortress was captured before the end of August. The French army avoiding a general engagement, the fortresses of Aire and St. Venant were besieged at the same time, and after the capture of these towns, the regiment returned to Ghent.
1711
Brigadier-General Godfrey withdrew from the service, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment by Brigadier-General Henry Durell, from the foot guards, by commission dated the 17th of February, 1711.
In the campaign of this year the regiment shared in the operations by which the boasted impregnable lines, prepared by the French to arrest the progress of the allied armies, were passed at Arleux, on the 5th of August, and it was subsequently engaged in the siege of the strong fortress of Bouchain,—services which called forth all the powers of the active mind of the Duke of Marlborough, who proved himself superior to the French generals in all the qualities which constitute a great commander. Bouchain having been captured, the regiment was placed in garrison for the winter.
1712
Once more taking the field in April, 1712, the regiment joined the army near Tournay, from whence it marched to the vicinity of Bouchain, and was encamped at Cateau-Cambresis during the siege of Quesnoy by the Germans; it brought six hundred and eighty-one rank and file into the field. The garrison of Quesnoy surrendered on the 4th of July; and soon afterwards a suspension of arms was proclaimed preparatory to a treaty of peace, and the British troops withdrew to the vicinity of Ghent, from whence the SIXTEENTH were detached to Dunkirk, which city the French monarch delivered into the hands of the British, as a pledge of his sincerity in the negotiations for peace.
1713
On the 1st of December, 1712, Brigadier-General Durell died, and Queen Anne conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on Brigadier-General Hans Hamilton, from the thirty-fourth regiment, by commission dated the 23rd of June, 1713.
1714
The regiment was stationed at Dunkirk until April, 1714, when it embarked for Scotland, and, landing at Leith, relieved the twenty-fifth regiment, which was ordered to embark for Ireland. The SIXTEENTH were stationed at Stirling in September, 1714, with the Inniskilling dragoons, when the arrival in London of King George I. from Hanover, was celebrated with public rejoicings.
1715
In the summer of 1715 the colonelcy of the regiment was conferred on the Lieut.-Colonel, Richard Viscount Irving, in succession to Brigadier-General Hamilton.
1716
A rebellion in favour of the Pretender broke out in Scotland in the autumn of this year, and the Earl of Mar headed the insurgent clans; but the SIXTEENTH did not take the field: the protection of Fort William was entrusted to their charge; and they were in garrison at this place in the early part of 1716, when the rebellion was suppressed by the troops under the Duke of Argyle.
1717
1724
In December, 1717, Viscount Irving was removed to the second horse, now first dragoon guards, and was succeeded by Lieut.-Colonel John Cholmeley; and this officer dying in April, 1724, King George I. conferred the colonelcy on Henry Earl of Deloraine (son of James Duke of Monmouth), from the Scots troop of horse-grenadier-guards.
1725
1727
The regiment was employed on home service in Great Britain during the whole of the reign of King George I.; it was one of the corps selected to proceed to Holland in 1727, to assist the Dutch in their war with the Imperialists; but no embarkation took place.
1730
On the 9th of July, 1730, the Earl of Deloraine was removed to the seventh horse, now sixth dragoon-guards, and the colonelcy of the regiment was conferred by King George II. on Colonel Roger Handasyd, from the twenty-second regiment.
1737
In 1737 the British merchants complained of the depredations committed on their vessels by the Spaniards in South America. A Convention was entered into between the two Crowns, which was, however, violated by the Spaniards in many instances.
1739
On the 23rd of October, 1739, a declaration of war against Spain was proclaimed, when the establishment of the regiment was augmented.
1740
In the summer of 1740 the regiment pitched its tents near Newbury, where an encampment was formed of two regiments of horse, three of dragoons, and four of infantry, under Lieut.-General Wade. The SIXTEENTH left the camp and embarked on board the fleet, where they served as Marines a short time, and afterwards landed at Portsmouth. In the autumn they furnished a detachment to accompany the expedition to the West Indies, under General Lord Cathcart, who died on the passage.
1741
The expedition arrived at Jamaica in January, 1741, and the detachment of the SIXTEENTH was employed in the attempt on Carthagena, the capital of an extensive and wealthy province in the country of Terra Firma, in South America. The violent periodical rains occurred before the conquest was achieved, and the armament proved of insufficient strength to capture the place; the country became deluged with water, the health of the soldiers was seriously impaired, and the enterprise was abandoned. The detachment of the SIXTEENTH was nearly annihilated by disease.
1742
In this year the war of the Austrian succession commenced; and in 1742 a British army proceeded to Flanders to support the interests of the Archduchess, Maria Theresa; but the SIXTEENTH were employed on home service.
1745
Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, arrived in Scotland in the summer of 1745, and being joined by a number of the Highland clans, he made a desperate effort to overthrow the existing government, and to procure the accession of his father to the throne. At first some partial successes were gained by the insurgents; but the British nation evinced firmness and decision in supporting the rights of their sovereign, and in preserving the constitutional privileges of the people. The services of the regiment were, at this period, limited to the south of England, where a body of troops was held in readiness to repel a menaced invasion by the French.
1746
In January, 1746, the royal troops, under Lieut.-General Hawley, were defeated by the Clans, on Falkirk moor, and additional forces were ordered to proceed to Scotland. In March the SIXTEENTH regiment embarked from Gravesend, with several other corps, for Edinburgh, and arrived at Leith as the guns of Edinburgh castle were firing for the decisive victory gained over the clans at Culloden. The regiment waited a few days on board the transports, until the return of an express from the army, when it received orders to sail northwards, and landed at the royal burgh of Nairn on the 1st of May. It was subsequently stationed at Elgin, &c.
1747
The regiment remained in Scotland, and in the summer of 1747 it was encamped in a valley environed by lofty mountains, near Fort Augustus.
1748
1749
The war on the Continent terminated in 1748; and in the following year the regiment was reduced in numbers to the peace establishment, and sent to Ireland, where it was stationed nearly twenty years.
1751
On the 1st of July, 1751, King George II. issued a warrant for establishing uniformity in the clothing, standards, and colours of the several regiments of the regular army; and in this warrant the uniform of the SIXTEENTH, or Lieut.-General Roger Handasyd's regiment, was directed to be red, faced with yellow.[6] The first, or the King's colour, to be the great Union: the second, or regimental colour, to be of yellow silk, with the Union in the upper canton; in the centre of the colours, the rank of the regiment, in gold Roman characters, within a wreath of roses and thistles on the same stalk.
At this period the soldiers of the regiment wore three-cornered cocked hats, bound with white lace, and ornamented with a white loop and a black cockade; red waistcoats; red breeches; white gaiters reaching above the knee, and fastened below the knee with a black garter; and white cravats; they also wore buff cross-belts.
1755
1756
1757
1758
1760
The undetermined extent of the British territory in North America gave rise to hostilities with France in 1755, and the establishment of the army was considerably augmented in that and the two following years. Several expeditions were also fitted out; but the SIXTEENTH regiment was detained on home service in Ireland. In 1760 a plan was formed for attacking the French island of Belleisle, and the SIXTEENTH, mustering seven hundred men, under Lieut.-Colonel Gabbet, embarked on board of the fleet; but the enterprise was laid aside in consequence of the death of King George II., and the regiment returned to Ireland.
1762
On the termination of the war in 1762, the regiment was again reduced to the peace establishment.
1763
General Roger Handasyd died in January, 1763, and in June King George III. conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on the Honorable Robert Brudenell, third son of George Earl of Cardigan, from captain and lieut.-colonel in the third foot guards.
1765
In 1765 Colonel Brudenell was removed to the Fourth regiment of foot, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the SIXTEENTH, by Colonel William Draper, who had commanded one of the regiments raised in 1757, and numbered the Seventy-ninth regiment, which was disbanded in 1763.
1766
Colonel Draper was honoured with the dignity of a Knight of the Bath, and in 1766 he exchanged to the colonelcy of one of the corps disbanded in 1763 (the 121st regiment) with Colonel James Gisborne, who was performing the duty of Quartermaster-General in Ireland.
1767
The regiment embarked from Ireland in 1767, for North America, and was stationed in the pleasant and fertile territory of Florida, which had been ceded to Great Britain, by the Spaniards, in 1763, in exchange for the Havannah.
1768
The head-quarters were established at Pensacola,—a town of West Florida, situate at the head of a delightful bay, or basin, in the Gulf of Mexico; and the regiment furnished various detachments to occupy military stations in East and West Florida.
1775
1776
1777
In these pleasant and healthy quarters the regiment was stationed when a number of the British colonies in North America revolted, and declared themselves a free and independent people, under the title of the United States. This occurred in 1775, and in the following year the SIXTEENTH were withdrawn from Florida, to join the army at New York, under Lieut.-General Sir William Howe; but the necessity of having a small force in the ceded Spanish province was evident, and the SIXTEENTH having, during their residence of eight years in East and West Florida, acquired the confidence of the inhabitants and a knowledge of the country, and of the habits and language of the people, the regiment received orders to return to Pensacola, and other stations in East and West Florida, and on the confines of Georgia.
1778
Lieut.-General Gisborne died on the 20th of February, 1778, and King George III. conferred the colonelcy on Major-General James Robertson, from Colonel Commandant of the second battalion of the Sixtieth, who had previously performed the duties of Lieut.-Colonel of the SIXTEENTH regiment, many years, with reputation.
1778
1779
Had the British revolted provinces been left unaided by European states, they would, doubtless, have been reduced to submission; but in 1778 the French monarch sent a numerous fleet and an army to their assistance; and in 1779 the court of Spain commenced hostilities against Great Britain, and this example was followed by the Dutch.
Don Bernard de Galvez, governor of the Spanish province of Louisiana, assembled a numerous force, and suddenly invaded the British territories on the banks of the Mississippi; and Lieut.-Colonel Dickson, of the SIXTEENTH, who commanded the troops in that district, being unable to oppose the invading army, withdrew to Baton Rouge, where he caused a redoubt to be constructed, which was scarcely completed when the Spanish army advanced in force against this post, which was invested on the 12th of September. On the 21st the enemy opened a battery of heavy cannon against the works, which were so much damaged in a few hours, that Colonel Dickson was obliged to surrender. The garrison, consisting of a detachment of the SIXTEENTH, Sixtieth, and of the Waldeck regiments, was sent prisoners of war to New Orleans, and afterwards exchanged.
The French armament, under the Comte d'Estaing, approached the city and port of Savannah in Chatham county, in the state of Georgia, early in September, and a detachment of the SIXTEENTH regiment, commanded by Major Graham, formed part of the force under Major-General Prevost, which defended that place. The French troops landed, and were joined by an American force under General Lincoln; but they encountered a resistance which proved the determined valour of the garrison. A detachment from the SIXTEENTH was engaged in a sally on the 24th of September, under Major Graham of the regiment, and this service was performed with judgment and bravery. "Major Graham artfully drew the enemy into a snare, by which the French and Americans fired on each other, and had fifty men killed before the mistake was discovered."[7] Before daylight on the 9th of October, the French and Americans made a desperate effort to capture the place by storm; but were repulsed at every point with severe loss. They afterwards raised the siege and retired.
1781
In 1781 the Spaniards sent a numerous sea and land force against Florida, under Don Bernard de Galvez, and the invading army commenced operations by an attack upon the works defending Pensacola, where a detachment of the SIXTEENTH regiment was stationed. From the strength of the Spanish force, mustering nine thousand men, and a numerous fleet, at the same time the British garrison only amounted to twelve hundred men, the reduction of the place appeared inevitable; yet a gallant defence was made, and the soldiers displayed that innate bravery and resolution for which British troops have always been distinguished. On the morning of the 8th of May a shell burst near the door of the magazine of the advanced redoubt, set fire to the powder, and the redoubt and its garrison were destroyed by the explosion, excepting a few men, who were forced to retire, after spiking the guns. The Spaniards carried the redoubt, and threatened to storm the remaining works; but were intimidated by the determined bearing of the garrison. The British commander, Major-General John Campbell, afterwards agreed to surrender, on condition that the garrison should march out with the honours of war, and be sent to a part belonging to Great Britain, but not serve against the Spaniards, or their allies, until exchanged. The SIXTEENTH had Lieutenant Edward Carroll and seven soldiers killed; Captain Anthony Foster and five soldiers wounded. Pensacola was a flourishing place while under the British; but it declined after it was taken by the Spaniards.
1782
The regiment having sustained severe loss from various services in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, where detachments had been employed, it was ordered to return to Europe, and arrived in England in March, 1782.
In August the regiment received directions to assume the title of the sixteenth, or the Buckingham Regiment, and to cultivate a connection with the respectable inhabitants of that county, which might be useful towards recruiting the regiment.
1783
The American War terminated in 1782; and the regiment was placed upon a peace establishment in 1783.
1784
In 1784 it embarked for Ireland, where it was stationed several years under the orders of Lieut.-Colonel James Henry Craig, an officer of great zeal and ability.
1788
Lieut.-General Robertson, died on the 4th of March, 1788, and was succeeded in the colonelcy by Major-General the Honorable Thomas Bruce, from the late 100th regiment, which was reduced after the termination of the American War.
1790
1791
On the 18th of August, 1790, the regiment embarked from Ireland for Nova Scotia, and in 1791 it was removed to the island of Jamaica, where it remained five years.
1793
1794
A revolution broke out in France, and the republican principles which filled that kingdom with anarchy, confusion, and bloodshed, soon extended to the French West India Settlements, where the blacks and mulattoes rose in arms against the European planters, and filled the islands with rapine and devastation. Many of the respectable inhabitants of the French island of St. Domingo solicited the protection of the British government against the fury of the blacks, and a detachment of British troops proceeded to their aid, from Jamaica, in 1793. The SIXTEENTH regiment furnished a portion of this detachment, but the climate of St. Domingo proved injurious to the health of the British troops, and the whole of the party of the SIXTEENTH died of a pestilential fever, excepting Lieutenant Vernon and one serjeant, who rejoined the regiment at Jamaica.
1795
The island of Jamaica was taken from the Spaniards, by an English armament in 1655 (during the commonwealth under Cromwell), when the slaves belonging to the Spanish planters fled to the mountains, where they lived in savage independence, and were called "Maroons." They procured arms, became expert marksmen, and frequently committed outrages against the British inhabitants. In 1738 a treaty was concluded with them, and they received a grant of land; but the pernicious doctrines of the French republicans were circulated among the Maroons, who were joined by a number of runaway slaves, and commenced hostilities against the English in 1795. The SIXTEENTH served in the Maroon war, when the soldiers encountered many difficulties, and at first sustained some reverses, from the difficult nature of the mountainous districts into which they had to penetrate, and from the expert character of the Maroon warriors in bush-fighting among rocks and dells covered with trees and underwood. A detachment of the SIXTEENTH was first called into action; and in October the regiment, commanded by Major John Skinner, who held the local rank of Colonel, was called into the field. This officer had served many years in the regiment; he had distinguished himself in the American war, while serving with Tarleton's Legion, with which corps he was present at numerous engagements, and on joining the field force in the Maroon war, his presence inspired the troops with confidence. Offensive operations were conducted with prudence and skill, and by a strict combination in the movements of the troops employed, united with valour and discipline, the Maroons were driven from their mountain-fastnesses, and chased from post to post, until they were forced to submit. In performing this service, the soldiers underwent great fatigue and privation, and they conquered the Maroons in a part of the island where no European had ever before thought of penetrating. Captain Drummond, of the SIXTEENTH, distinguished himself in this war.
1796
The Maroons tendered their submission in March, 1796, and they were afterwards removed from the island.
1797
Having become considerably reduced in numbers, the regiment returned to England, towards the close of this year, and was stationed a short time at Greenwich, from whence it embarked for Scotland, early in 1797; at the same time it was ordered to recruit with boys.
Lieut.-General the Honorable Thomas Bruce having died, he was succeeded in the colonelcy by Major-General Henry Bowyer, from the Eighty-ninth regiment, by commission dated the 15th of December, 1797.
1798
The regiment was quartered in Fifeshire, under the orders of Major John Skinner, and afterwards proceeded to Fort George; Lieut.-Colonel Hugh Wallace assuming the command. The boys were transferred to the Thirty-fourth and Sixty-fifth regiments, under orders for India, and the SIXTEENTH were completed by volunteers from the English militia, principally limited service men.
1799
In 1799 the regiment embarked from Scotland for London, from whence it proceeded to Margate, to join the expedition to Holland, under His Royal Highness the Duke of York; but the order to proceed on this service was countermanded, and the regiment was stationed a few months at Horsham in Sussex.
1800
1801
Embarking from Portsmouth in 1800, the regiment sailed to Cork, and was stationed in the south of Ireland; where Lieut.-Colonel St. John Fancourt joined and assumed the command in 1801.
1802
At the conclusion of the peace of Amiens in 1802, the limited service men were discharged; and the regiment was completed from disbanded fencible and militia corps.
1803
War was resumed in 1803; and Lieut.-Colonel Fancourt having been removed to the Thirty-fourth regiment, the command of the SIXTEENTH devolved on Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Skinner.
1804
On the 7th of January, 1804, the regiment embarked from Monkstown, for the West Indies, and arrived at Barbadoes on the 26th of March. It was immediately ordered to hold itself in readiness to proceed with the expedition under Major-General Sir Charles Green and Commodore Samuel Hood, against the Dutch colony of Surinam, in Guiana, in South America. This colony was ceded to the Dutch, by King Charles II., in exchange for New York, in North America; it was captured by the British in 1799, and restored at the peace of Amiens in 1802.
On the 7th of April, 1804, the expedition sailed from Barbadoes, and a landing was effected on the 26th of that month; the SIXTEENTH were actively employed in operations, until the surrender of the colony on the 4th of May.
1806
While the regiment was at Surinam, the post occupied by a detachment of the light company and a few men of the fourth West India regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Richard Greene, of the SIXTEENTH, at Armena, was attacked by a large force of predatory negroes and banditti, and defended with great gallantry, the greater part of the garrison being killed in the successful resistance made to the assailants. The inhabitants of the colony afterwards presented Lieutenant Greene with a valuable sword, in token of their sense of his conduct.
1807
In 1807 Lieut.-Colonel Skinner was succeeded in the duties of commanding officer by Major Brabazon Dean Vernon.[8]
1808
On the decease of General Bowyer, in 1808, King George III. conferred the colonelcy on Major-General Sir Charles Green, Bart., from the York light infantry volunteers.
1809
In May, 1809, His Majesty was graciously pleased to approve of the regiment being styled the SIXTEENTH, or the BEDFORDSHIRE, instead of the Buckinghamshire, Regiment: this exchange of County titles took place with the Fourteenth Regiment of Foot.
1810
Lieut.-Colonel Henry Tolley assumed the command of the regiment, in June, 1810.
1811
1812
During its stay at Surinam and Barbadoes, the regiment lost twenty-seven officers and upwards of five hundred men by disease. The survivors returned to England by detachments in 1810, 1811, and 1812, and landed at Falmouth and Portsmouth. One ship, the "Islam," having on board the remainder of the grenadiers and of one battalion company, was wrecked on the Tuscan Rock off the coast of Ireland. By the exertions of some workmen, who were making preparations to erect a lighthouse on the rock, all were saved excepting one man, one woman, and some children; all the arms, appointments, and baggage were lost. On the following day the party was taken off the rock by a brig, and conveyed to Beaumaris in Wales.
1813
After occupying quarters at various stations, and receiving many volunteers from the English and Irish militia, the regiment marched to Sunderland in July; and in March, 1813, embarked from thence for Perth: in July of this year it proceeded to Ireland.
1814
Sir Charles Green, Baronet, was removed to the Thirty-seventh regiment in February, 1814, when His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, conferred the colonelcy of the SIXTEENTH on Lieut.-General Sir George Prevost, from the Seventy-sixth regiment.
During this period the war was continued in Europe, and British troops were acquiring laurels under the Duke of Wellington: at the same time the measures pursued to counteract the decrees made by Napoleon, Emperor of the French, for the destruction of the commerce of Great Britain, brought on a war between the British Crown and the United States of North America; and in the spring of this year the SIXTEENTH embarked from Monkstown to join the British troops in Canada. The regiment was commanded by Colonel Tolley, and arriving at Quebec on the 29th of May, was stationed a short period at that fortress; it was afterwards removed to Chambly, from whence it proceeded to Montreal. The British troops having failed in the attack of the American post at Plattsburg, the SIXTEENTH were relieved from duty at Montreal, sent to the upper province, and stationed at Fort Wellington.
1815
A treaty of peace having been concluded with the Americans, the regiment was ordered to return to Europe; it sailed from Quebec in July, and arrived at Portsmouth in August. The return of Buonaparte to France,—his reassumption of the imperial dignity,—his overthrow at Waterloo, and surrender to a British man-of-war, had occurred while the regiment was in Canada, and on the passage to Europe; on its arrival at Portsmouth, it was ordered to proceed to the Continent, to join the army commanded by the Duke of Wellington. The regiment landed at Ostend, and marching to Paris, encamped at St. Denis.
On the conclusion of the definitive treaties of peace, the regiment marched to Calais, where it embarked for England, and landing at Dover, remained there fourteen days.
1816
Lieut.-General Sir George Prevost, Baronet, having died, the Prince Regent nominated Major-General Hugh Mackay Gordon to the colonelcy of the regiment, from the York Chasseurs, by commission dated the 8th of January, 1816.
From Dover the regiment embarked for Ireland; it landed at Monkstown on the 3rd of February, and was stationed successively at Fermoy, Limerick, and Cashel.
1817
1818
In 1817 the regiment was removed to Kilkenny; and in 1818 to Athlone.
1819
1820
On the 25th of August, 1819, the regiment embarked from Cork, under the command of Colonel Tolley, for colonial service, and touching at the Cape of Good Hope, the flank companies landed, and remained at Cape Town a month. The battalion companies continued their voyage to Ceylon, and landed at Colombo on the 20th of February, 1820, under Major William Vandeleur. The flank companies, under Colonel Tolley, arrived in March.
1821
1822
The regiment remained seventeen months at Colombo, where it was joined by one hundred and twenty-eight volunteers from the Seventy-third; in August, 1821, it marched, under Major Vandeleur, for Kandy, where Colonel Tolley resumed the command, and on his proceeding on leave of absence, in October, 1822, the command devolved on Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Lionel Hook.
1823
Lieut.-General Gordon died in the spring of 1823, and was succeeded in the colonelcy by Lieut.-General William Carr, Viscount Beresford, G.C.B., and G.C.H.
1824
In March, 1824, the regiment returned to Colombo, where it lost several officers and a number of men by a malignant fever.
1825
1826
Colonel Tolley was promoted to the rank of Major-General; Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Hook was nominated to a Lieut.-Colonelcy in the Ceylon rifle corps; and Colonel David Ximenes was appointed Lieut.-Colonel of the SIXTEENTH; this officer arrived at Colombo in March, 1826, and assumed the command of the regiment, which marched from Colombo, in July following, for Point de Galle.
1827
On the 2nd of July, 1827, Lieutenants Alexander, Mylius, and Hyde, Ensigns Cassidi and Hannagan, three serjeants, and one hundred and eight rank and file, joined from the depôt in England.
1828
1829
The regiment, having been appointed to proceed to Bengal, was relieved from duty at the island of Ceylon, by the Sixty-first, in November, 1828, and embarking from thence in four divisions, arrived at Calcutta in January, 1829, when Colonel Ximenes was appointed to command the garrison of Fort William, and Major John W. Adain assumed the command of the regiment; which received one hundred and fourteen volunteers from the Fifty-ninth, and forty-six from the Thirtieth and Forty-seventh regiments. In April Major Adain obtained leave to proceed to England, and the command of the regiment devolved on Major Adam Gordon Campbell, until the arrival of Lieut.-Colonel Lionel Smith Hook, in November: this officer was appointed to the regiment in February of this year.
1830
The SIXTEENTH remained on duty at Calcutta, where, in October and November, 1830, they received sixty-four volunteers from other corps.
1831
In January, 1831, Colonel Hook was nominated to the command of the garrison of Fort William, and Major Campbell resumed the command; but on the regiment quitting Calcutta, in March following, to proceed in steam-boats to Chinsurah, Colonel Hook again assumed the command. At this period twenty volunteers joined from the Royal regiment.
1832
1833
1834
The SIXTEENTH regiment remained at Chinsurah until December, 1833, when it commenced its march for Ghazepore: while on the march its destination was altered for Cawnpore; and on the 7th of February, 1834, it had the misfortune to lose its commanding officer, Colonel Hook, who died at the camp at Secrole, Benares, when the command again devolved on Major Campbell: on the 28th of February the regiment arrived at Cawnpore.
1835
1836
In March, 1835, Captain H. McManus, Ensigns Henry A. O'Molony and Edward Brabazon, two serjeants and forty-three rank and file, joined from England. Another detachment joined in May; and in March, 1836, one hundred and six volunteers were received from the Thirty-eighth regiment,—also eighty-four recruits from England, under Captain R. Brown, Ensigns Hook and Lawson, and Surgeon Steele. They were followed by Ensigns G. M. Ross and H. C. M. Ximenes, in September.
1837
1838
In March, 1837, Lieutenant Gibbs, and thirty-two recruits joined; and in May, twenty-two volunteers from the Twentieth regiment. Thirty-nine volunteers also joined from the Forty-fifth, in April, 1838.
1839
1840
On the 24th of December, 1839, the regiment received orders to proceed by water to Calcutta; but in January, 1840, it received orders to disembark at Dinapore, and relieve the Forty-ninth regiment, under orders to proceed with the expedition to China. The SIXTEENTH remained at Dinapore until October, when they were relieved by a wing of the Twenty-first fusiliers, and embarked for the Presidency, where they arrived on the 4th of November.
1841
Orders having been issued for the regiment to return to England, it transferred a number of volunteers to other corps, and embarked, in three divisions, in December, 1840, and January, 1841, under Lieut.-Colonel Campbell, Major H. Clements, and Brevet-Major Dalzell; and landing at Gravesend in April following, marched from thence to Canterbury, from whence four companies were afterwards detached to Dover.
In August the regiment was supplied with new Percussion Arms. In December it marched to London, and proceeded from thence by railway to Winchester.
1842
Leaving Winchester in April, 1842, the regiment proceeded by railway to Gosport, and in August it was removed to Portsmouth.
On the 22nd of September NEW COLOURS were presented to the regiment, on Southsea Common, by the Honorable Lady Pakenham; the Rev. Richard Bingham conducted the ceremony of consecration; and the regiment was afterwards addressed by Major-General the Honorable Sir Hercules R. Pakenham, K.C.B., commanding the South-west District, who detailed, in a very impressive manner, the ancient achievements of the corps. A large assemblage of nobility and gentry were present at the ceremony, and were afterwards entertained by the officers at a déjeuné and ball.
1843
The regiment proceeded from Portsmouth to Manchester, in May, 1843, and from thence to Ireland in July. During the remainder of the year it was stationed at Newbridge and Birr.
1844
From Birr the regiment marched, in February, 1844, to Naas, and in March removed to Dublin, where it remained until December, when the regiment proceeded to Cork.
1845
In June, 1845, the SIXTEENTH regiment marched to Buttevant, and in October to Cork, for the purpose of proceeding on foreign service.
1846
The service companies of the regiment, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Henry McManus, embarked at Cork for Gibraltar, on the 17th and 19th January, 1846, in the freight ships Cressy and Earl Grey, and arrived at Gibraltar on the 11th February. The depôt companies marched from Buttevant to Birr, in April, 1846, and proceeded in November to Fermoy.
1847
On the 9th of March, 1847, the regiment, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel McManus, embarked in Her Majesty's ship Belleisle for Corfu, where it arrived on the 27th March; and on its embarkation for the Ionian Islands, a favourable report was received by the Adjutant-General from the Governor of Gibraltar, General Sir Robert Wilson, who stated, that the corps was "very efficient and soldier-like," and that it was "distinguished by very commendable conduct throughout its service in the garrison."
The depôt companies marched from Fermoy to Youghal in September, 1847.
1848
Lieut.-Colonel McManus retired on half-pay on the 10th March, 1848, and Major Robert Luxmoore was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel; Captain Charles Grey succeeded to the Majority.
In April, 1848, the depôt companies proceeded to Cork, and embarked for Guernsey on the 4th May, where they are now stationed.
On the 1st June, 1848, the date to which the Record has been continued, the service companies were stationed at Corfu, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Robert Luxmoore.
1848
SIXTEENTH REGIMENT.
QUEEN'S COLOUR.
REGIMENTAL COLOUR.
FOR CANNON'S MILITARY RECORDS
Madeley lith 3 Wellington St Strand