THREATENED INVASION—THE PENINSULAR WAR—CORUNNA—TOULOUSE—QUATRE BRAS—WATERLOO—CRIMEA—INDIA—1803–1862.

The peace of Amiens in 1803, which for a short period released our army from the bloody toils of war, was but as the portentous calm presaging the lowering storm, when the waves of angry passion, lashed into fury, should beat upon the shore of every continent of the world. The pride of France had been humbled, and the ambitious schemes of her haughty despot thwarted by British valour, which, upon the plains of Egypt, had wrested from veteran legions their boasted “invincibility.” The French navy, moreover, had been swept from the seas and all but exterminated—there remaining not an armament in Europe which could dare to dispute the British ocean sovereignty. Stung by the remembrance of many defeats by sea and land—the painful recollection of which ever and anon haunted and troubled the dreamer of universal empire, begetting

“The vengeance blood alone could quell”—

a spirit of malignity was awakened in the mind of Napoleon. These combined occasioned the concentration of the giant might of his empire upon the western shores of France, purposing therewith to crush, were it possible, the only power which, amidst the general wreck of nations, yet lived to challenge his assumed omnipotence. Vainly he hoped to bridge the channel, or, as he termed it, the “ditch,” which divided this beloved land from our natural rival and implacable enemy, France. Loudly he threatened that, with an army of 600,000 men, he would land to desolate our homes, and overwhelm our country in a doom as awful as had hitherto befallen less favoured countries. But apart from the “ditch,” which proved an impassable gulf to the mightiest efforts of his power, the patriotism of our people, appreciating the emergency, was equal to the danger, and in 1804 achieved the following magnificent result:—

Army in the British Isles,129,039
Colonies,38,630
India,22,897
Recruiting,533
Militia in Great Britain,109,947
————
301,046
Regular and Militia,301,046
Volunteers in Great Britain,347,000
————
Total in Great Britain,648,046
Irish Volunteers,70,000
Military,718,046
Navy,100,000
Grand Total in arms,818,046
————

In this vast armament we must include a second battalion raised in 1803, and attached to the Royal Forty-second. In 1805 the first battalion was removed to Gibraltar. Napoleon, disappointed in his favourite scheme of effecting our conquest, suddenly directed his march eastward, launching the thunderbolts of war with remorseless wrath upon the devoted sovereignties of Germany, yea, piercing, in his aggressions, the gloomy wilds of Russia. By a crooked policy, begetting a matchless perfidy, Napoleon had found further employment for the myriad spoilers who looked to him for prey, in the invasion and appropriation of Spain and Portugal. In this crisis of their country’s calamity, the patriots of the Peninsula invoked the friendly aid of Britain, as alone able to help them in the unequal yet protracted struggle for independence they maintained. Ever the champion of the weak and oppressed, Britain descended to the rescue; and in accordance therewith, a British army, under Sir Arthur Wellesley, landed in Portugal in 1808. The first battalion of the Forty-second was ordered to join this expedition from Gibraltar, but reached too late to participate in the glories of Roleia and Vimiera. The deliverance of Portugal being for the time accomplished, the Forty-second thereafter joined the army of General Sir John Moore, which attempted to drive the French from Spain. Inadequately supported, this gallant chief failed to do more than penetrate into the interior, occasioning the concentration of the several French armies to repel him. Unable to cope with such a vast superiority, retreat was inevitable. Shattered by the vicissitudes of the war, his army retired to the sea coast, hotly pursued by a powerful French force under Marshal Soult. At length halting near Corunna, the British, in defence of their embarkation, accepted battle from the French, which, whilst victory crowned our arms, was dearly bought in the death of Sir John Moore. Brigaded with the Fourth and Fiftieth regiments, under Major-General Lord William Bentinck, and in the division of Sir David Baird, these regiments sustained the weight of the attack. Twice on this memorable day did the Commander-in-Chief address himself to the Highlanders. In the advance to recover the lost village of Elvina, he uttered these thrilling words, awakening the recollection of the time when he himself had led them to victory—“Highlanders,” he said, “remember Egypt!” And again, when sorely pressed by the enemy, having expended their whole ammunition, he thus distinguished them:—

“‘My brave Forty-second, join your comrades, ammunition is coming, and you have your bayonets.’ At the well-known voice of their general, the Highlanders instantly sprang forward, and closed upon the enemy with bayonets. About this period Sir David Baird was wounded, and forced to quit the field, and soon afterwards Sir John Moore was struck to the ground by a cannon ball. He was raised up, his eyes were steadily fixed on the Highlanders, who were contending manfully with their numerous antagonists, and when he was assured that the Forty-second were victorious, his countenance brightened up, he expressed his satisfaction, and was removed to the rear, where he expired, to the great regret of the officers and soldiers, who admired and esteemed their excellent commander.”

On dark Corunna’s woeful day,

When Moore’s brave spirit passed away,

Our Highland men, they firmly stood,