APPENDIX.
Copy of the General Orders issued by the Commander-in-Chief of Madras upon the Thirty-sixth regiment being ordered to return to Great Britain.
“General Orders.
“Head-Quarters,
“Choultry Plain, 24th September 1798.
“In taking leave of Lieut.-Colonel Burne, the officers, and men of His Majesty’s Thirty-sixth regiment, the Commander-in-Chief cannot refrain from expressing his sincere regret at losing from under his command a corps so eminently distinguished for important services in the field, and for discipline, order, and regularity, in every situation. Of a regiment whose merits are so well known, it is unnecessary to say much: their gallant exertions will receive their best reward in the applause and gratitude of their country.
“The Commander-in-Chief cannot more strongly evince his high opinion of this corps than by exhorting the men, wherever their King and Country may hereafter require their services, to make it their first care to preserve unblemished the name and reputation they have acquired in the Thirty-sixth regiment.
(Signed) “Keith Young,
“Acting Deputy Adjutant General.”
Copy of an Order issued by the Governor in Council upon the Thirty-sixth regiment quitting Madras for Great Britain.
“Madras, 14th October 1798.
“The remainder of His Majesty’s Thirty-sixth regiment is to embark from the North Glacis at six o’clock to-morrow morning for Europe, in the ships under despatch, according to the distribution they have received from the Deputy Adjutant General.
“The occasion cannot fail to recall the memory of those glorious and important services which have been rendered by this gallant corps to the British Empire in India; services for which the Right Honorable the President in Council offers the warmest thanks of this Government to Lieut.-Colonel Burne, the officers, and men of the regiment.
“The Governor in Council, impressed with a just sense of the discipline and hardiness of the men, of the experience and gallantry of the officers, cannot but feel sincere regret at the loss which the army under this Government is about to sustain in the departure of this efficient corps.”
Copy of a Letter from Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley, K.B. to Viscount Castlereagh, Secretary of State.
Contained in Vol. iv., page 100, “of the Despatches of Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington.” Compiled by Colonel Gurwood.
“Vimiera, 22d August 1808.
“My dear Lord,
“After I wrote to you yesterday morning we were attacked by the whole of the French army, Sir Harry Burrard being still on board ship, and I gained a complete victory. It was impossible for troops to behave better than our’s did: we only wanted a few hundred more cavalry to annihilate the French army.
“I have sent my Report upon this action to Sir Harry Burrard, who will send it home. You will see in it that I have mentioned Colonel Burne of the 36th regiment in a very particular manner, and I assure you that there is nothing that will give me so much satisfaction as to learn that something has been done for this old and meritorious soldier.
“The Thirty-sixth regiment is an example to the army.
“Sir Harry did not land till late in the day in the midst of the attack, and he desired me to continue my own operations; and, as far as I am personally concerned in the action, I was amply rewarded for any disappointment I might have felt in not having had an opportunity of bringing the service to a close, by the satisfaction expressed by the army that the second and more important victory had been gained by their old General.
“I have also the pleasure to add, that it has more effect than all the argument I could use to induce the General to move on, and I believe he will march to-morrow. Indeed, if he does not, we shall be poisoned here by the stench of the dead and wounded, or we shall starve, everything in the neighbourhood being already eaten up.
“From the number of dead Frenchmen about the ground, and the number of prisoners and wounded, I should think their loss could not be far short of 3,000 men. The force which attacked us was very respectable, and probably not short of 14,000 men, including 1,300 dragoons and artillery, and 300 chasseurs à cheval.
“Sir Hew Dalrymple arrived last night, and will land this morning.
“Believe me, &c.
(Signed) “Arthur Wellesley.”
“The Viscount Castlereagh,
&c. &c.”
“General Orders.
“His Majesty’s Ship, “Audacious,”
“18th January 1809.
“The irreparable loss that has been sustained by the fall of the Commander of the Forces (Lieut.-General Sir John Moore), and the severe wound which has removed Lieut.-General Sir David Baird from his station, render it the duty of Lieut.-General Hope to congratulate the army upon the successful result of the action of the 16th instant.
“On no occasion has the undaunted valour of British troops ever been more manifest. At the termination of a severe and harassing march, rendered necessary by the superiority which the enemy had acquired, and which had materially impaired the efficiency of the troops, many disadvantages were to be encountered.
“These have all been surmounted by the conduct of the troops themselves; and the enemy has been taught, that whatever advantages of position or of numbers he may employ, there is inherent in the British officers and soldiers a bravery that knows not how to yield, that no circumstances can appal, and that will ensure victory when it is to be obtained by the exertion of any human means.
“The Lieut.-General has the greatest satisfaction in distinguishing such meritorious services as came within his observation, or have been brought to his knowledge.
“His acknowledgments are, in a peculiar manner, due to Lieut.-General Lord William Bentinck, and the brigade under his command, consisting of the fourth, forty-second, and fiftieth regiments, and which sustained the weight of the attack.
“Major-General Manningham, with his brigade, consisting of the Royals, the twenty-sixth and eighty-first regiments, and Major-General Warde, with the brigade of Guards, will also be pleased to accept his best thanks for their steady and gallant conduct during the action.
“To Major-General Paget, who, by a judicious movement of the reserve, effectually contributed to check the progress of the enemy on the right; and to the first battalion of the fifty-second and ninety-fifth regiments, which were thereby engaged, the greatest praise is justly due.
“That part of Major-General Leith’s brigade which was engaged, consisting of the fifty-ninth regiment, under the conduct of the Major-General, also claims marked approbation.
“The enemy not having rendered the attack on the left a serious one, did not afford to the troops stationed in that quarter an opportunity of displaying that gallantry which must have made him repent the attempt.
“The piquets and advanced posts, however, of the brigades under the command of Major-Generals Hill and Leith, and Colonel Catlin Craufurd, conducted themselves with determined resolution, and were ably supported by the officers commanding these brigades, and by the troops of which they were composed.
“It is peculiarly incumbent upon the Lieut.-General to notice the vigorous attack made by the second battalion of the fourteenth regiment under Lieut.-Colonel Nicolls, which drove the enemy out of the village, of the left of which he had possessed himself.
“The exertions of Lieut.-Colonel Murray, Quartermaster-General, and of the other officers of the General Staff, during the action, were unremitted, and deserve every degree of approbation.
“The illness of Brigadier-General Clinton, Adjutant-General, unfortunately deprived the army of the benefit of his services.
“The Lieut.-General hopes the loss in point of numbers is not so considerable as might have been expected; he laments, however, the fall of the gallant soldiers and valuable officers who have suffered.
“The Lieut-General knows that it is impossible, in any language he can use, to enhance the esteem, or diminish the regret, that the army feels with him for its late Commander. His career has been unfortunately too limited for his country, but has been sufficient for his own fame. Beloved by the army, honored by his Sovereign, and respected by his country, he has terminated a life devoted to her service by a glorious death,—leaving his name as a memorial, an example, and an incitement to those who shall follow him in the path of honor, and it is from his country alone that his memory can receive the tribute which is its due.
(Signed) “John Hope, Lieut.-General.”
“General Orders.
“Horse Guards, 1st February 1809.
“The benefits derived to an army from the example of a distinguished Commander do not terminate at his death; his virtues live in the recollection of his associates, and his fame remains the strongest incentive to great and glorious actions.
“In this view the Commander-in-Chief, amidst the deep and universal regret which the death of Lieut.-General Sir John Moore has occasioned, recalls to the troops the military career of that illustrious officer for their instruction and imitation.
“Sir John Moore from his youth embraced the profession with the feelings and sentiments of a soldier; he felt that a perfect knowledge and an exact performance of the humble but important duties of a subaltern officer are the best foundations for subsequent military fame, and his ardent mind, while it looked forward to those brilliant achievements for which it was formed, applied itself with energy and exemplary assiduity to the duties of that station.
“In the school of regimental duty he obtained that correct knowledge of his profession so essential to the proper direction of the gallant spirit of the soldier, and he was enabled to establish a characteristic order and regularity of conduct, because the troops found in their leader a striking example of the discipline which he enforced on others.
“Having risen to command, he signalised his name in the West Indies, in Holland, and in Egypt. The unremitting attention with which he devoted himself to the duties of every branch of his profession obtained him the confidence of Sir Ralph Abercromby, and he became the companion in arms of that illustrious officer, who fell at the head of his victorious troops in an action which maintained our national superiority over the arms of France.
“Thus Sir John Moore at an early period obtained, with general approbation, that conspicuous station in which he gloriously terminated his useful and honorable life.
“In a military character obtained amidst the dangers of climate, the privations incident to service, and the sufferings of repeated wounds, it is difficult to select any one point as a preferable subject for praise; it exhibits, however, one feature so particularly characteristic of the man, and so important to the best interests of the service, that the Commander-in-Chief is pleased to mark it with his peculiar approbation—
“The life of SIR JOHN MOORE was spent among the troops.
“During the season of repose his time was devoted to the care and instruction of the officer and soldier; in war he courted service in every quarter of the globe. Regardless of personal consideration, he esteemed that to which his country called him the post of honor, and by his undaunted spirit and unconquerable perseverance he pointed the way to victory.
“His country, the object of his latest solicitude, will rear a monument to his lamented memory, and the Commander-in-Chief feels he is paying the best tribute to his fame by thus holding him forth as an EXAMPLE to the ARMY.
“By order of His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief,
“Harry Calvert, Adjutant-General.”
The following regiments composed the army under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore at Corunna on the 16th of January 1809:—
| Corps. | Commanding Officers. | |||
| 7th Light Dragoons | Lieut.-Colonel | Vivian. | ||
| 10th ” | ” | Leigh. | ||
| 15th ” | ” | Grant. | ||
| 18th ” | ” | Jones. | ||
| 3d ” (King’s Germ. Leg.) | Major Burgwesel. | |||
| Artillery | Colonel Harding. | |||
| Engineers | Major Fletcher. | |||
| Waggon Train Detachment | Lieut.-Colonel | Langley. | ||
| 1st Foot Guards, | 1st | Battalion | ” | Cocks. |
| ” | 3d | ” | ” | Wheatley. |
| 1st Foot | 3d | ” | Major Muller. | |
| 2d ” | 1st | ” | Lieut.-Colonel | Iremonger. |
| 4th ” | 1st | ” | ” | Wynch. |
| 5th ” | 1st | ” | ” | Mackenzie. |
| 6th ” | 1st | ” | Major Gordon. | |
| 9th ” | 1st | ” | Lieut.-Colonel | Cameron. |
| 14th ” | 2d | ” | ” | Nicolls. |
| 20th ” | ” | Ross. | ||
| 23d ” | 2d | ” | ” | Wyatt. |
| 26th ” | 1st | ” | ” | Maxwell. |
| 28th ” | 1st | ” | ” | Belson. |
| 32d ” | 1st | ” | ” | Hinde. |
| 36th Foot | 1st | ” | ” | Burne. |
| 38th ” | 1st | ” | ” | Hon. Charles Grenville |
| 42d ” | 1st | ” | ” | Stirling. |
| 43d ” | 1st | ” | ” | Gifford. |
| 43d ” | 2d | ” | ” | Hull. |
| 50th ” | 1st | ” | Major Charles Napier. | |
| 51st ” | Lieut.-Colonel | Darling. | ||
| 52d ” | 1st | ” | ” | Barclay. |
| 52d ” | 2d | ” | ” | John Ross. |
| 59th ” | 2d | ” | ” | Fane. |
| 60th ” | 2d | ” | ” | Codd. |
| 60th ” | 5th | ” | Major Davy. | |
| 71st ” | 1st | ” | Lieut.-Colonel | Pack. |
| 76th ” | 1st | ” | ” | Symes. |
| 79th ” | 1st | ” | ” | Cameron. |
| 81st ” | 2d | ” | Major Williams. | |
| 82d ” | ” M‘Donald. | |||
| 91st ” | 1st | ” | ” Douglas. | |
| 92d ” | 1st | ” | Lieut.-Colonel | Alexander Napier. |
| 95th (Rifle Reg.) | 1st | ” | ” | Beckwith. |
| ” | 2d | ” | ” | Wade. |
| Staff Corps Detachment | ” | Nicolay. | ||
| 1st Light Batt. King’s German Legion. | ” | Leonhart. | ||
| 2d ” | ” | ” | Halkett. | |
Documents relating to the word “Firm,” borne by the Thirty-sixth regiment, alluded to in Sir George Nayler’s letter, dated 6th of January 1817, inserted at [page 94].
“Monte Video, 30th July 1807.
“Sir,
“I do myself the honour of acknowledging the receipt of your letter dated the 9th of May last, and now transmit a sketch of the regimental colours of the first battalion of the Thirty-sixth regiment, as represented in the accompanying paper, marked D and E.; at present there are no camp colours with the 36th, they having been destroyed by fire when the regimental store was burned at Battle barracks, a few days before the regiment embarked for foreign service.
“I likewise do myself the honour of sending a sketch from the regimental seal, and beg to be informed by you if we have not a right to the word ‘Firm’ embroidered on the colours as represented in that sketch. How long the seal has been in the regiment I cannot pretend to say, only it is the same seal that has been made use of since I came into the Thirty-sixth, which will be thirty-four years the month after next. Should there be any office where the devices of different regiments are recorded, I should imagine it would be a matter easily ascertained.
“I have, &c.
(Signed) “Robert Burne,
“Lieut.-Colonel, Commanding 1st Battalion,
“36th Regiment.”
George Nayler, Esq., York Herald,
&c. &c. &c.
“Treasury Chambers,
“24th April 1809.
“Dear Sir,
“I am desired by my brother of the Thirty-sixth regiment to make application to you for a drawing (furnished you some time past by Colonel Burne) of a regimental seal, for the purpose of registering the bearings on the colours, and having the word ‘Firm’ inserted.
“The drawing is now wanted by the regiment, and I have to beg that you will send me the same to give to my brother, who will be in town in the course of the present week.
“I am, &c.
(Signed) “Joseph Vernon.”
“Mr. Vernon presents his compliments to Mr. Nayler, and requests to be informed if the Thirty-sixth regiment of foot is not entitled to have the word ‘Firm’ emblazoned in the regimental colours, that word appearing on the regimental seal, a drawing of which Colonel Burne furnished the Heralds’ Office, and which, to his knowledge, had been in the regiment thirty-six years, and most probably many years previous thereto. The return of the regiment, about the year 1772, from the West Indies, with their colours in a very shattered state, and the almost entire change of officers, most probably occasioned the omission, and which from that time has been continued. Colonel Burne is very anxious to ascertain the point of being at liberty to have it inscribed in the colours, fully confident that, unless the regiment had previously obtained it, and by authority held it, it never could have been engraved upon their seal.”
“Treasury Chambers,
3rd July 1809.”
“Captain Vernon presents his compliments to Mr. Nayler, and will be much obliged by his enclosing him the certificate for Colonel Burne’s signature, in order that he may forward it to the regiment before he leaves town. Captain Vernon begs to return Mr. Nayler his best thanks for the very early attention he gave to the object of the Colonel’s wishes in the insertion of the motto which Captain V. had the pleasure of seeing on calling at Mr. Nayler’s office on Wednesday last.”
“52, Charlotte Street, Portland Place,
17th March 1810.”
“52, Charlotte Street, Portland Place,
“21st March 1810.
“Dear Sir,
“I was favoured with your note and the enclosure last night, but in one part, as it does not exactly meet the facts, I have taken the liberty of enclosing you a certificate, which, from the conversation I have had with the Colonel, I think will. It is not in the power of the Colonel to certify that they positively have borne the word ‘Firm’ on the colours; but he has every reason to believe so, as the bearings of the colours are usually on the regimental seals of regiments. The Colonel has been in the regiment thirty-seven years, and the oldest officer by very many years now remaining in it. During his time the regiment must have had three pairs of regimental colours;—the pair when the regiment returned from the West Indies, I presume, now entirely worn out and destroyed; the pair on the regiment’s return from the East Indies was, from the same cause, burned at Winchester; and the present pair of colours consists of as many rags as might form the size of a silk handkerchief, but not a piece that is whole six inches square. These rags are tied together round the staff. Therefore, concluding that the former colours were before disposed of, at least in as bad a state as those, it would become impossible to say what bearings or mottoes might have been upon the pair when Colonel Burne joined, which was on their return from the West Indies, to which is to be added the great mortality and change among officers who served at that time in those climates. I should have had the pleasure of waiting upon you this day upon the subject, but as I leave town to-morrow I am compelled to confine my business to writing. May I, therefore, beg the additional favour (should the certificate meet your approbation, or any other form that may accord with the fact stated) that you will enclose it to my brother, who will forward it to me? I feel extremely anxious to get the business completed as soon as possible, the regiment being again down for service, &c., which I trust, in your goodness, will plead as my apology for intruding so much upon your time.
“I am, &c.
(Signed) “Henry Vernon.”
“G. Nayler, Esq.”
“Captain Vernon presents his compliments to Mr. Nayler, and with many thanks encloses him the certificate signed by Colonel Burne. Should there be any expenses incidental to Mr. Nayler’s office in this business, he requests to be favoured with them, as the Colonel, as well as himself, are unacquainted with these matters.”
“Battle, Sussex, 5th April 1810.”
“I Robert Burne, Lieut.-Colonel of the first battalion of the Thirty-sixth regiment, a Colonel in the army, and Governor of His Majesty’s garrison of Carlisle, do hereby certify and declare, that during the space of thirty-seven years to my own positive knowledge, and how long previous thereto I cannot set forth, the said regiment has used on its regimental seal the word ‘Firm;’ and that I verily believe, by reason thereof, the said regiment to be entitled to bear the same upon its colours, and that the said word may have lapsed and been forgotten by the frequent change of officers and the mutilated or almost destroyed state in which the colours of the regiment have been on their return from service, and that I am, therefore, extremely anxious that the said word ‘Firm’ should be inscribed in the painting of the colours of the aforesaid Thirty-sixth regiment, now preparing, by His Majesty’s command, under the inspection of George Nayler, Esquire, York Herald, and Inspector of Regimental Colours. In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name, and affixed the seal of the said regiment, at Battle, Sussex, this fifth day of April one thousand eight hundred and ten.
(Signed) Robt. Burne,
Lieut.-Col. Commanding 1st Battn.
36th Regt., and Colonel.
“Signed and sealed in the presence of
“A. Mackenzie,
Major 36th Regt.,
“Hy. Vernon, Capt.,
1st Battn. 36th Regt.”
“36th Regiment of Foot
“Permitted to bear the word ‘Firm’ having so done for upwards of thirty years, as appears by Lieut.-Colonel Robert Burne’s letter to Sir George Nayler, dated Monte Video, 30th July 1807.”
Memoir of the services of Lieut.-General Robert Burne, formerly Lieut.-Colonel of the Thirty-sixth regiment.
Robert Burne entered the army as Ensign in the Thirty-sixth, his commission being dated 28th of September 1773; and it is remarkable that he obtained all his regimental promotions in that corps. On the 13th of January 1777 he was advanced to the rank of Lieutenant. On the 10th of March 1783 Lieutenant Burne embarked with the Thirty-sixth regiment for Madras, and arrived in that Presidency in July following. In 1784 he succeeded to the Captain-Lieutenancy, and on the 7th of May of that year was appointed Captain of a company in the regiment. Upon the army taking the field against Tippoo Saib he was Captain of the Grenadier company. Captain Burne was in the battles of Sattimungulum and Shawoor on the 13th and 14th of September 1790, and was afterwards at the storming of the pettah and fort of Bangalore in March 1791. Captain Burne served at the attack of Nundydroog in October 1791; he was also present in the operations before Seringapatam during the night of the 6th of February 1792, under General the Earl Cornwallis, which compelled Tippoo to enter into a treaty of peace with the British. He was at the siege and capture of Pondicherry in August 1793; and on the 1st of March 1794 he was promoted to the brevet rank of Major, which rank he attained in the Thirty-sixth regiment on the 15th of April 1796. On the 1st of January 1798 Major Burne was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel by brevet, and he embarked at Madras in command of the Thirty-sixth regiment on the 15th of October, but did not arrive in England until July 1799, the want of convoy having caused the Indiamen to be detained three months at St. Helena.
On the 13th of November 1799 Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Burne was appointed Lieut.-Colonel of the Thirty-sixth regiment, with which he embarked, in the year 1800, for the coast of France, with the expedition under Brigadier-General the Honorable Sir Thomas Maitland; he afterwards proceeded with his regiment to Minorca, from which island, in 1801, he was compelled, by severe illness, to return to England for the recovery of his health, being the first time he was ever absent from the regiment. Upon the conclusion of the peace of Amiens in 1802 Minorca was restored to the Spaniards, and the Thirty-sixth returned to Ireland, when Lieut.-Colonel Burne resumed the command of the regiment.
Lieut.-Colonel Burne embarked with the first battalion of the regiment for Germany in October 1805, and returned with it to England in March following. In November 1806 he proceeded with the first battalion of the regiment on the expedition to South America under Brigadier-General Robert Craufurd; and in June 1807 landed in that country; was with the advance of the army at the operations in the suburbs of Buenos Ayres on the 2d, 3d, and 4th of July; and also shared in the attack on the town of Buenos Ayres on the 5th of July.
The first battalion of the Thirty-sixth regiment embarked at Buenos Ayres in September, and arrived at Cork in December 1807. On the 25th of April 1808 Lieut.-Colonel Burne was promoted by brevet to the rank of Colonel, and in July following embarked with the first battalion for the Peninsula. Colonel Burne was present at the battles of Roleia and Vimiera on the 17th and 21st of August 1808. Lieut.-General the Honourable Sir Arthur Wellesley in his despatch particularly noticed the conduct of Colonel Burne and that of the battalion. On the 8th of September following Colonel Burne was appointed Governor of Carlisle by His Majesty King George III. After these services Colonel Burne proceeded in command of the battalion with the troops destined to join Lieut.-General Sir John Moore at Salamanca, and was present at the battle of Corunna on the 16th of January 1809; after which he embarked with the army for England. Colonel Burne, for his services at Roleia, Vimiera, and Corunna, received the honorary distinction of a medal and clasp.
On the 16th of July 1809 Colonel Burne embarked in command of the first battalion of the Thirty-sixth regiment, with the expedition to the Scheldt, and served in August at the siege and capture of Flushing, in the island of Walcheren. He was afterwards appointed Colonel on the staff at that place, where he continued until the evacuation of the island.
Colonel Burne was appointed a Brigadier-General on the staff in Portugal on the 21st of January 1811, and landed in the Peninsula prior to the retreat of the French army from Santarem, and was present at the battle of Fuentes d’Onor on the 3d and 5th of May, together with the other operations in which the sixth division of the army was engaged. On the 4th of June 1811 he was advanced to the rank of Major-General, and continued on the staff in the Peninsula until the 24th of April 1812, when he returned to England; and, on the 25th of June following, was appointed to the staff of Great Britain, and was ordered to take the command of the camp near Lichfield; upon the breaking up of that encampment Major-General Burne was ordered to the command of the Nottingham district, where he remained on the staff until the 24th of September 1814.
On the 19th of July 1821 Major-General Burne was advanced to the rank of Lieutenant-General. His decease occurred in June 1825.
LONDON:
Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode,
Printers to the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty.
For Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
The roman page numbering at the front of the book goes from i to xix, then from v to xii; this has not been changed.
The table on [page 6] in the original book was very wide. It has been modified by splitting it into two parts, for each of the three ships.
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources.
Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.
[Pg v]: ‘707. Battle’ replaced by ‘1707. Battle’.
[Pg viii]: ‘against of Tippoo’ replaced by ‘against Tippoo’.
[Pg 14]: ‘corps of infanty’ replaced by ‘corps of infantry’.
[Pg 27]: ‘in garison at’ replaced by ‘in garrison at’.
[Pg 38]: ‘the Europeau Powers’ replaced by ‘the European Powers’.
[Pg 40]: ‘In the begining’ replaced by ‘In the beginning’.
[Pg 52]: ‘were opposed to’ replaced by ‘were exposed to’.
[Pg 58]: ‘Seringpatam’ replaced by ‘Seringapatam’.
[Pg 78]: ‘marched ot Gallegos’ replaced by ‘marched to Gallegos’.
[Pg 126]: ‘recals to the troops’ replaced by ‘recalls to the troops’.