Gibraltar, 1727.

It is somewhat difficult to understand why the defence of Gibraltar in the year 1727 has not been considered worthy of being inscribed on the colours of the regiments which fought so well under the veteran Lord Portmore. From February 22 to June 23 the garrison, barely 6,000 strong, withstood a close siege, repelling many assaults and suffering many casualties. Famine as well as disease stared them in the face. I have been unable to ascertain the complete details of the losses of individual regiments engaged, but from the accounts of contemporary writers who went through the siege it would appear that the Grenadier Guards alone lost upwards of 100, of whom nineteen were killed in one day. Surely "Gibraltar, 1727," might be added to the colours of the twelve regiments which held the fortress for England under Lord Portmore.

The story of the siege is not pleasant reading. It is an early exemplification of the manner in which the warnings of the "man on the spot" are almost invariably disregarded by the authorities at home, and how our soldiers are expected to make bricks without straw, and to undergo perils which with a little exercise of forethought might be avoided. In the month of August, 1726, the Acting Governor, Colonel Kane, reported the threatening attitude of the Spaniards, and that Malaga was being converted into a military base, where large quantities of war material were being collected. He further asked for the paltry sum of £3,000, in order to place the fortress in a better state of defence. One of the most pressing questions was the levelling of the earthworks constructed by the Spaniards during the last siege, which were still left standing, and which would afford shelter to the enemy in the event of the outbreak of hostilities. The troops were lodged in houses in the town; there were no barracks, and no casemates to the various outworks. His garrison consisted of but four weak battalions. On these representations one battalion was sent from Minorca. In December Kane reported the mobilization at Malaga of 5,000 Walloon Guards, of fourteen Spanish battalions, and eight regiments of cavalry. No doubt as to the intention of the Spaniards now remained. Orders had been published for the Governors of the four Andalusian provinces to raise 8,000 men, and in reporting this circumstance Kane drew attention to the fact that the artillery under his command consisted of three non-commissioned officers and fifteen gunners, whilst the infantry amounted to but 1,400 men. His lines of defences were three miles in extent, and the two works mounted no less than 150 guns, the large majority of which had long since been condemned. In the month of January the Spaniards openly commenced their siege-works, throwing up batteries within gunshot of the fortress; but it was not until the month of April that General Clayton arrived with the first reinforcements, but with no siege material. By the end of April the garrison had been increased to a total of 6,000 men, two only of the regiments being over 600 strong, whilst the reinforcements of artillery brought up the strength of the Royal Regiment to 127 of all ranks; and of these Lord Portmore wrote that the gunners "are the worst that ever were employed."[2] The want of fresh provisions told heavily on the men, and all ranks and all arms were busily employed in throwing up fresh defensive works. Complaints were rife as to the guns—large numbers burst—and the Governor reiterated his complaints that the Spanish guns were far superior in range and accuracy to our own. By the end of May the garrison was reduced to 4,427 effectives, the men rarely getting one night in three in bed. Still the stout old veteran answered shot for shot, warning the Government that the Spaniards were evidently determined on wresting the position from us, and that unless reinforcements were speedily sent the place was liable to be carried by assault, as his men were not sufficiently numerous to man the whole of the works. Fortunately for the garrison, diplomacy was at work, and by the end of July preliminaries of peace had been signed, and the safety of the fortress was assured.

When actual hostilities broke out, the garrison of Gibraltar, including the two regiments that had been sent from Ireland and Minorca, consisted of the 5th (Northumberland Fusiliers), 13th (Somerset Light Infantry), 18th (Royal Irish), 20th (Lancashire Fusiliers), and the 29th (Worcesters). Considerable delays occurred in despatching the reinforcements, and, as I have remarked, it was not until the month of April that these left England. The Governor, the veteran Lord Portmore, who was at home on leave, returned to his post, and at the same time a battalion of the Grenadier Guards, under Colonel Guise—a name which has ever been synonymous in the service with daring gallantry—the 14th (West Yorks), 25th (Scottish Borderers), 26th (Cameronians), 34th (Border Regiment), and 39th (Dorsets), were despatched under convoy of the fleet to Gibraltar.

There would appear to have been the same eagerness amongst the younger members of the House of Lords to see active service in those days as there was in the Crimea and in the Boer War. The Duke of Richmond, who was a Knight of the Garter and a member of the King's Household, applied for leave to join the army, and so did a son of the Duke of Devonshire. On the other hand, the Duke Wharton joined the Spanish forces, and was happily wounded very early in the siege, and so spared the shame of taking a prolonged share in the operations against his own fellow-countrymen.

I have experienced considerable difficulty in obtaining any records of the casualties, but the following list appears in a contemporary publication written by an officer who took part in the siege, and may, I think, be relied on as showing to a certain extent the losses incurred during a portion of the siege:

Regiments.Officers.Men.
K.W.K.W.
Royal Artillery1-1116
Grenadier Gds.--219
5th Fusiliers--418
13th Somerset L.I.--726
14th W. Yorks--622
18th Roy. Irish--817
20th Lanc. Fus.1-812
25th K.O. Scottish Borderers1-313
26th Cameronians--628
29th Worcesters--211
30th E. Lancs--814
34th Border Reg.--216
39th Dorsets1-613

Gibraltar, 1779-1783.

(With Castle and Key and motto, "Montis Insignia Calpe.")

The regiments permitted to bear these distinctions are the