Historical Record of the Thirty-ninth, or the Dorsetshire Regiment of Foot: containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1702, and of its subsequent services to 1853.

by Richard Cannon

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS

OF

THE THIRTY-NINTH,

OR

THE DORSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT.

---

Richard Coote.

Appointed 13th February 1702.

Several regiments were raised in the beginning of the year 1702, in consequence of the anticipated renewal of the war with France, and Colonel Richard Coote was appointed to raise the regiment which is now numbered the Thirty-ninth, of which he was appointed Colonel on the 13th of February 1702. This honor he did not long enjoy, for he was killed in a duel in the beginning of 1703.

Nicholas Sankey.

Appointed 17th March 1703.

This officer attained the rank of Colonel on the 28th of September 1689, and was appointed by Her Majesty Queen Anne to be Colonel of the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 17th of March 1703. On the 1st of January 1704 he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General. He afterwards embarked with the Thirty-ninth regiment for Portugal in May 1707, on the 1st of January of which year he had been promoted to the rank of Major-General. In the action at the Caya on the 7th of May 1709, he was taken prisoner. On the 1st of January 1710, he was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-General. He died on the 6th of March 1719.

Thomas Ferrers.

Appointed 11th March 1719.

This officer served under the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough, and was promoted to the rank of Captain and Lieut.-Colonel in the Foot Guards. In May 1705 he was advanced to the rank of Colonel, and in 1710 to that of Brigadier-General. Being conspicuous for loyalty at a period when Jacobite principles were prevalent in the kingdom, he was commissioned to raise a regiment of Dragoons, which was disbanded in 1718. On the 11th of March 1719 he was appointed Colonel of the Thirty-ninth regiment, from which he was removed in September 1722 to the Seventeenth regiment. His decease occurred about three weeks afterwards.

William Newton.

Appointed 28th September 1722.

This officer served during the wars of King William III. and Queen Anne, and on the 1st of January 1707 received the brevet rank of Colonel in the army. Colonel Newton was appointed by King George I. to the Colonelcy of the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 28th of September 1722, and on the 4th of March 1727, was advanced to the rank of Brigadier-General, while serving with his regiment at the siege of Gibraltar. He died in November 1730.

Sir John Cope, K.B.

Appointed 10th November 1730.

This officer entered the army in the reign of Queen Anne, and was for several years Lieut.-Colonel of the second troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. He obtained the rank of Colonel in the army on the 15th of November 1711; and was appointed Colonel of the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 10th of November 1730, from which he was removed to the Fifth Foot on the 15th of December 1732. In 1735 he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General; in 1737 he was removed to the Ninth Dragoons; and on the 2nd of July 1739 he was advanced to the rank of Major-General.

Major-General Cope served for several years on the staff of the army in Ireland, and after having been appointed Colonel of the Seventh Dragoons in 1741, he proceeded in the summer of 1742 to Flanders with the army commanded by Field-Marshal the Earl of Stair. In the beginning of the following year he was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-General; and having signalised himself at the battle of Dettingen, on the 27th of June 1743, under the eye of his Sovereign, he was constituted a Knight of the Bath.

In 1745 Lieut.-General Sir John Cope was Commander-in-Chief in Scotland, and a small body of troops under his immediate command sustained a defeat from the Highlanders under the Young Pretender at Preston Pans, on the 21st of September, which unfortunate circumstance enabled the rebels to penetrate into England, and advance as far as Derby. The rebellion was suppressed in 1746, the victory obtained at Culloden on the 16th of April of that year having completely destroyed the hopes of the Pretender.

Lieut.-General Sir John Cope retained the Colonelcy of the Seventh Dragoons until his decease in 1760.

Thomas Wentworth.

Appointed 15th December 1732.

This officer was appointed to a commission in the army on the 10th of March 1704, and served several campaigns in the wars of Queen Anne. In December 1722 he was promoted to the rank of Colonel in the army, and on the 15th of December 1732 was appointed Colonel of the Thirty-ninth regiment, from which he was removed, in June 1737, to the Twenty-fourth regiment. Two years afterwards he was appointed Brigadier-General; in 1741 he was promoted to the rank of Major-General; and in June 1745 he was removed to the Colonelcy of the Sixth Horse, which corps became the Second Irish Horse in the following year, and in 1788 was constituted the Fifth Dragoon Guards. Major-General Wentworth served the Crown in a diplomatic as well as military capacity, and died at the court of Turin in November 1747.

John Campbell (afterwards Duke of Argyle).

Appointed 27th June 1737.

John Campbell, of Mamore, was an officer in the army in the reign of Queen Anne, and attained the rank of Lieut.-Colonel. During the rebellion in 1715 and 1716, he served as Aide-de-camp to the Duke of Argyle; he was appointed Colonel of the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 27th of June 1737; and in the following year was removed to the Twenty-first or Royal North British Fusiliers. He commanded a brigade at the battle of Dettingen on the 27th of June 1743; was promoted to the rank of Major-General in the following year; and during the rebellion in 1745 and 1746, he held a command in Scotland. He was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-General in 1747, and was removed to the Second Dragoons or Scots Greys in 1752. In April 1761 Lieut.-General Campbell was appointed Governor of Limerick, and also succeeded in that year to the title of Duke of Argyle, upon the decease of his cousin Archibald, third Duke of Argyle. The Order of the Thistle was conferred upon His Grace in 1765. His decease occurred in 1770.

Richard Onslow.

Appointed 1st November 1738.

This officer entered the army in 1716; and in 1733 he was promoted to the rank of Colonel. On the 1st of November 1738 King George II. appointed Colonel Onslow to the Colonelcy of the Thirty-ninth regiment; and in June 1739 he was removed to the Eighth regiment of Foot. He was promoted to the rank of Major-General in 1743, and was removed to the first troop of Horse Grenadier Guards in 1745. He was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-General in 1747. Lieut.-General Onslow continued at the head of the first troop of Horse Grenadier Guards until his decease in the year 1760.

Robert Dalway.

Appointed 6th June 1739.

This officer commenced his military career as a Cornet in a regiment of cavalry on the 8th of March 1704. He served several campaigns under the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough, and was distinguished for gallantry in action, and a strict attention to duty. On the 1st of February 1713 he was promoted to the Lieut.-Colonelcy of Harwich’s Horse, now Seventh Dragoon Guards, and on the 6th of June 1739 King George II. promoted him to the Colonelcy of the Thirty-ninth regiment, from which he was removed to the Thirteenth Dragoons on the 12th of May 1740. His decease occurred in November following.

Samuel Walter Whitshed.

Appointed 28th December 1740.

Samuel Walter Whitshed entered the army in August 1704, and served in Spain and Portugal during the war of the Spanish Succession, under the Earl of Galway and Archduke Charles of Austria. On the 28th of December 1740 King George II. promoted Lieut.-Colonel Whitshed from the Eighth Dragoons to the Colonelcy of the Thirty-ninth regiment of Foot; and on the 14th of June 1743 he was removed to the Twelfth Dragoons. Colonel Whitshed was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General on the 28th of May 1745, and retained the command of the Twelfth Dragoons until his decease in 1746.

Edward Richbell.

Appointed 14th June 1743.

This officer entered the army in the reign of Queen Anne, and served with reputation under the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough. He evinced a constant attention to the duties of his profession, and was promoted, on the 18th of May 1722, to the Lieut.-Colonelcy of the Thirty-seventh regiment, and was advanced to the rank of Colonel in the army on the 27th of March 1742. He was appointed Colonel of the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 14th of June 1743, and distinguished himself during the war of the Austrian Succession. On the 19th of April 1746 he was appointed Brigadier-General, in which year he commanded a brigade, under Lieut.-General St. Clair, in the expedition against Port l’Orient. In 1752, Brigadier-General Richbell was removed to the Seventeenth regiment, and on the 25th of March 1754 was promoted to the rank of Major-General. His decease occurred in 1757.

John Adlercron.

Appointed 14th March 1752.

Colonel John Adlercron was appointed by His Majesty King George II. to the Colonelcy of the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 14th of March 1752, upon Brigadier-General Edward Richbell being removed to the Seventeenth Foot. In the beginning of 1754, Colonel Adlercron embarked with his regiment for Madras; in October 1756, a portion of the Thirty-ninth proceeded to Bengal with other troops under Lieut.-Colonel Clive. Of this force Colonel Adlercron claimed the command, but it was determined that he should remain at Madras with the remainder of the regiment. In May 1757 Colonel Adlercron marched from Madras in command of the force destined for the relief of Trichinopoly, then threatened by the French, and was afterwards engaged in operations against Wandewash, and in the vicinity of that place. On the 16th of May 1758 Colonel Adlercron was advanced to the rank of Major-General, and to that of Lieut.-General on the 18th of December 1760. His decease occurred on the 31st of July 1766.

Sir Robert Boyd, K.B.

Appointed 6th August 1766.

Colonel Robert Boyd was appointed from the First Foot Guards to the Colonelcy of the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 6th of August 1766. In 1768 he was appointed Lieut.-Governor of Gibraltar, where his regiment was at that period stationed. On the 25th of May 1772, Colonel Boyd was promoted to the rank of Major-General, and on the 29th of August 1777, was advanced to that of Lieut.-General. He was constituted a Knight of the Order of the Bath in 1784, in consideration of his services during the celebrated siege of Gibraltar. It was, according to his suggestion, that red-hot shot were used, as stated at [page 32] of the Historical Record of the Thirty-ninth regiment. In 1790 Lieut.-General Sir Robert Boyd, K.B., was appointed Governor of that fortress, in succession to General Lord Heathfield, deceased. Sir Robert Boyd was appointed to the rank of General on the 12th of October 1793, and died in May of the following year, while holding the Governorship of Gibraltar.

Nisbett Balfour.

Appointed 2nd July 1794.

This officer entered the army on the 27th of January 1761, as an ensign in the Fourth Foot, was promoted Lieutenant on the 15th of November 1765, and advanced to the rank of Captain in the regiment on the 26th of January 1770. He was at the battle of Bunker’s Hill on the 17th of June 1775, where he was wounded. Captain Balfour was present in the action on landing at Long Island and taking of Brooklyn, in August 1776. The capture of New York occurred shortly afterwards, on which occasion he was sent home by the Commander of the Forces in North America, Major-General the Honorable Sir William Howe, with the public despatches, and in consequence received the brevet rank of Major.

In the spring of 1777 Major Balfour was in the action near Elizabeth Town, in the Jerseys. He was promoted Major in the Fourth Foot on the 4th of June 1777; and was present in the actions of Brandywine and Germantown on the 11th of September and 4th of October of that year. On the 31st of January 1778 he was promoted Lieut.-Colonel of the Twenty-third Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and was present at the siege of Charlestown; and after the surrender of that place in May 1780 he served under Lieut.-General Earl Cornwallis, part of the campaign in South Carolina. On the 20th of November 1782 he was appointed Aide-de-camp to His Majesty King George III., with the rank of Colonel in the army. Colonel Balfour served part of the campaign of 1794 in Flanders and Holland under His Royal Highness the Duke of York. On the 12th of October 1793 Colonel Balfour was advanced to the rank of Major-General, and was appointed Colonel of the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 2nd of July 1794. He was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-General on the 1st of January 1798, and to that of General on the 25th of September 1803. He died on the 16th of October 1823.

Sir George Airey, K.C.H.

Appointed 28th October 1823.

This officer commenced his military career as Ensign in the late Ninety-first regiment, to which he was appointed on the 6th of December 1779, and in January following proceeded with it to the West Indies. After serving for a year at St. Lucia, Ensign Airey returned home, on account of ill-health, a short time previously to the regiment being drafted, in which, however, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on the 6th of July 1781. Lieutenant Airey exchanged from the Ninety-first to the Forty-eighth regiment on the 2nd of January 1782, and in January 1788 proceeded with the latter corps to the West Indies. On the 19th of November following he was promoted to a company in the Forty-eighth, and returned to England on leave of absence, but rejoined the regiment in 1792. Prior to the expedition against the French West India Islands under General Sir Charles (afterwards Earl) Grey in the beginning of 1794, the Forty-eighth regiment was drafted, when Captain Airey volunteered his services, and was employed in the succeeding campaign, during which he commanded the light company of the Sixty-fifth regiment, in the third battalion of Light Infantry. On the conclusion of the campaign he rejoined his regiment at Plymouth in October 1794. In December Captain Airey re-embarked with the regiment for the West Indies, but, from sickness, it was with several others re-landed. He was subsequently appointed Aide-de-camp to Lieut.-General Patrick Tonyn, with whom he remained until the Forty-eighth regiment was ordered on foreign service, and with which, in the winter of 1795, he sailed to the West Indies, serving there as Assistant Adjutant-General. He was promoted to a majority in the Sixty-eighth regiment on the 1st of May 1796, and returned to England, and on the 4th of May 1798 was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel of the Eighth Foot. In May 1799, Lieut.-Colonel Airey proceeded with the Eighth regiment to Minorca, which had been captured in the previous year from the Spaniards, and in August 1800 he embarked with his corps, which composed part of the expedition under General Sir Ralph Abercromby, against Cadiz. Upon arrival at that place the enterprise was abandoned, in consequence of a contagious disease carrying off great numbers of the inhabitants, and the fleet, to avoid infection, sailed to Gibraltar, and subsequently to Malta, when Lieut.-Colonel Airey returned to Minorca as Deputy Quartermaster-General, under Lieut.-General the Honorable Henry Edward Fox, and afterwards proceeded to Elba, as Commandant of the British troops serving in Porto Ferrajo, while that place was besieged by the French, and retained possession of that island until the Peace of Amiens in 1802. For his services in Porto Ferrajo he was created a Knight of the Tuscan Order of St. Joseph. Lieut.-Colonel Airey then rejoined Lieut.-General Fox as Deputy Quartermaster-General, and remained with that officer until his return to England, Minorca being restored to Spain by the treaty of peace. Lieut.-Colonel Airey served as Assistant Quartermaster-General in Ireland from the 1st of August 1803 to the 24th of September 1804, when he accompanied General the Honorable Henry Edward Fox to Gibraltar as Military Secretary. He proceeded with the General to Sicily in 1806, where (with the exception of going to Egypt with the expedition under Major-General Alexander Fraser in 1807) he served until the year 1813 as Deputy Adjutant-General. On the 25th of April 1808, he was promoted to the brevet rank of Colonel. In the year 1810 he commanded a brigade in Sicily, in addition to his duties as Deputy Adjutant-General, and was employed with the troops, of which the first battalion of the Thirty-ninth formed part, in the defence of the coast during the threatened invasion of General Joachim Murat, King of Naples. On the 12th of February 1811, Colonel Airey was appointed Brigadier-General in Sicily, when he vacated the duties of Deputy Adjutant-General. On the 4th of June 1811, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General, and was from that date appointed Major-General on the staff of Sicily, and in December following was ordered to proceed to Zante to take the command of the Ionian Islands, where he remained until succeeded by Lieut.-General James Campbell in 1813, who was appointed Commander and Civil Commissioner.

Major-General Airey was appointed Quartermaster-General to the forces in Ireland on the 2nd of September 1813, which he held until the 24th of June 1822. On the 19th of July 1821, he had been advanced to the rank of Lieut.-General. He had also received the honor of knighthood, and had been constituted a Knight Commander of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order. On the 28th of October 1823, Lieut.-General Sir George Airey, K.C.H., was appointed by His Majesty King George IV. to be Colonel of the Thirty-ninth regiment, which he retained until his decease at Paris on the 18th of February 1833.

The Honorable Sir Robert William O’Callaghan, G.C.B.

Appointed 4th March 1833.

The above-named officer was appointed Ensign in the One hundred and twenty-eighth regiment (since disbanded), on the 29th of November 1794; and on the 6th of December following, was promoted Lieutenant in the Thirtieth light dragoons, in which regiment he rose to the rank of Captain on the 31st of January 1795, and was removed to the Twenty-second light dragoons on the 19th of April 1796: these corps were afterwards disbanded. On the 17th of February 1803, he was promoted to the rank of Major in the Fortieth regiment, and to that of Lieut.-Colonel in the Thirty-ninth on the 16th of July 1803. Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Robert William O’Callaghan embarked, in March 1805, in command of the first battalion of the Thirty-ninth regiment, which was selected to form part of the expedition destined for the Mediterranean under Lieut.-General Sir James Craig, and subsequently proceeded from Malta to Naples with the flank companies. When those companies returned to Malta in February 1806, Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Robert William O’Callaghan remained in Sicily, and at the battle of Maida, on the 4th of July following, commanded a grenadier battalion; he received a gold medal for this victory.

On the 20th of August 1811, Lieut.-Colonel O’Callaghan proceeded with the first battalion of the Thirty-ninth regiment from Sicily to join the army in the Peninsula, and on the 1st of January 1812, was advanced to the brevet rank of Colonel. At the battle of Vittoria, on the 21st of June 1813, he was placed in temporary command of the brigade, and his conduct was specially noticed in the Marquis of Wellington’s despatch. Colonel O’Callaghan also commanded the brigade during the actions in the Pyrenees in July following, and was present at the passage of the Nivelle and Nive. His conduct while in command of the first battalion of the Thirty-ninth at Garris, on the 15th of February 1814, was particularly adverted to by the Marquis of Wellington, in his Lordship’s despatch. Colonel O’Callaghan also shared in the victory gained at Orthes on the 27th of the same month. He received a cross and two clasps for Maida, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, and Orthes. Colonel O’Callaghan was promoted to the rank of Major-General on the 4th of June 1814, and was nominated a Knight Commander of the Bath on the 2nd of January 1815.

Major-General the Honorable Sir Robert William O’Callaghan, K.C.B., was placed upon the staff of the army in Flanders on the 25th of June 1815, and was appointed to the staff in France on the 22nd of April 1818. He was nominated to the command of the troops in North Britain on the 15th of June 1825; and on the 7th of September 1829 he received the colonelcy of the Ninety-seventh regiment. He was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-General on the 22nd of July 1830, which removed him from the command of the troops in North Britain.

Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Robert William O’Callaghan was appointed to the command of the army at Madras on the 4th of October 1830; and on the 4th of March 1833, was removed from the colonelcy of the Ninety-seventh to the Thirty-ninth regiment. He continued in command at Madras until October 1836, and on the departure for England of General the Right Honorable Lord William Bentinck, G.C.B., in the spring of 1835, he held for some months the command of the troops in India. On the 19th of July 1838, he was nominated a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Robert William O’Callaghan, G.C.B., who was brother to Lord Viscount Lismore, died in London on the 9th of June 1840.

Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson, G.C.B.

Appointed 15th of June 1840.

In February 1777, this officer was appointed Ensign in the Loyal American regiment, with which he served in North America; on the 11th of September 1778, he was removed to the Seventeenth regiment of infantry; and on the 1st of September 1779, Ensign Robinson was promoted Lieutenant in the fourth battalion of the Sixtieth regiment, and was removed to the Thirty-eighth regiment on the 4th of November 1780. He was a prisoner of war in America several months during the period of his belonging to the Sixtieth, and afterwards was in several engagements in that country. Lieutenant Robinson was promoted to the rank of Captain in the Thirty-eighth regiment on the 24th of March 1794, and served at the capture of the West India Islands, under General Sir Charles (afterwards Earl) Grey, in that year, including the siege of Fort Bourbon in the island of Martinique. On the 1st of September 1794, Captain Robinson was promoted to a Majority in the One hundred and twenty-seventh regiment (since disbanded), and was removed to the Thirty-second regiment on the 1st of September 1795, when he returned home from the West Indies. He was removed to the One hundred and thirty-fourth regiment (since disbanded) on the 29th of July 1796. In May of this year he had been appointed Inspecting Field Officer of the Recruiting service at Bedford, and some years after filled the same situation in the London district. While thus employed he suggested several improvements in regard to carrying on the Recruiting service. On the 1st of January 1800, he received the brevet rank of Lieut.-Colonel, and was placed on half-pay of the Ninety-first regiment on the 30th of April 1807. Lieut.-Colonel Robinson was promoted to the brevet rank of Colonel on the 25th of July 1810. He served as Brigadier-General on the staff in the Peninsula, from the 8th of August 1812 to the 3rd of June 1813. He was promoted to the rank of Major-General on the 4th of June 1813, and continued, from that date, on the staff in Spain in that capacity until the 24th of May 1814. He commanded a brigade at the battle of Vittoria on the 21st of June 1813, siege of Sebastian in August and September following, where he was wounded, and at the actions connected with the passage of the Nive, for which he received a medal and two clasps. After the termination of the war in the Peninsula, he proceeded to North America, and was employed on the staff in Canada from the 25th of May 1814 to the 24th of March 1816, when he was removed to the staff in the West Indies. On the 2nd of January 1815, Major-General Robinson was nominated a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. Major-General Sir Frederick Robinson continued in command of the troops in the Windward and Leeward Islands until the 24th of July 1821. He was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-General on the 27th of May 1825; was appointed Colonel of the Fifty-ninth regiment on the 1st of December 1827; and was nominated a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on the 20th of April 1838.

Lieut.-General Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson, G.C.B., was removed from the colonelcy of the Fifty-ninth to that of the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 15th of June 1840, and was promoted to the rank of General on the 23rd of November 1841. His decease occurred at Brighton, on the 1st of January 1852.

George Burrell, C.B.

Appointed 11th February 1852.

This officer was appointed Ensign in the Fifteenth regiment of infantry, on the 4th of February 1797; was promoted Lieutenant on the 3rd of May following; and rose to the rank of Captain, in the same corps, on the 15th of August 1805. Captain Burrell was promoted to a Majority in the Ninetieth regiment on the 30th of April 1807, and served at the capture of Guadeloupe, in February 1810, with the expedition under Lieut.-General Sir George Beckwith, K.B., which island had been restored to the French at the Peace of Amiens. He received the brevet rank of Lieut.-Colonel on the 4th of June 1813, and served during the campaign of 1814 in Upper Canada. He was appointed from the Ninetieth to be Lieut.-Colonel of the Eighteenth Royal Irish regiment, on the 22nd of July 1830, from which date he was promoted to the brevet rank of Colonel.

Colonel George Burrell embarked, in command of the service companies of the Eighteenth regiment, destined for Ceylon, on the 10th of January 1837; in 1840 they proceeded to China, hostilities having arisen between that country and Great Britain. At the first capture of Chusan in July 1840, he commanded the troops with the rank of Brigadier-General, and also a brigade at the attack upon Canton in May 1841. He was nominated a Companion of the Order of the Bath on the 14th of October 1841, and on the 23rd of November following was advanced to the rank of Major-General, and to that of Lieut.-General on the 11th of November 1851. Lieut.-General Burrell was appointed Colonel of the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 11th of February 1852, which he held only a short period, as he died at Alnwick on the 4th of January 1853.

Richard Lluellyn, C.B.

Appointed 17th January 1853.