The Campaigns and History of the Royal Irish Regiment, [v. 1,] from 1684 to 1902

by G. le M. Gretton

The Honourable John Hely Hutchinson entered the army in January, 1774, as Cornet in the 18th Light Dragoons. In 1781, he became Major in the 77th Atholl Highlanders, in which corps he rose to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel in 1783. He served through two campaigns in Flanders as A.D.C. to Sir Ralph Abercromby, and was promoted to be Major-General in 1796. During the rebellion of 1798 in Ireland, he was second in command at the action at Castlebar. Major-General Hutchinson’s next active service was in the expedition of 1799 to Holland when he was mentioned in despatches. In 1800, he was appointed second in command of the expedition to Egypt under Sir Ralph Abercromby. After the death of that officer, from wounds received in the action of the 21st of March, the command of the troops devolved upon Major-General Hutchinson. In the subsequent operations he evinced great talent and energy, and ultimately forced the French “Army of the East” to evacuate Egypt. For his services he received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament, and was raised to the peerage as Baron Hutchinson of Alexandria and of Knocklofty in the county of Tipperary. In 1803, Lord Hutchinson was promoted to be Lieut.-General, and, on the 27th of April, 1811, he was appointed Colonel of the 18th Royal Irish, which regiment had served under his command in Egypt. In 1813 he became General, and, in 1825, he succeeded to the title of Earl of Donoughmore. He died on the 6th of July, 1832.

16. General Lord Aylmer, G.C.B.

The Honourable Matthew Aylmer was born on the 25th of May, 1775, and succeeded his father as fifth Baron Aylmer on the 22nd of October, 1785. He entered the army in 1787, and served in the expedition to St Domingo in 1793 and 1794; he was present at the attacks upon Tiburon, at the storming of the Fort de l’Aeul (wounded), at the affair of Bombard, and at the reduction of Port au Prince. Lord Aylmer was present at the descent near Ostend in May, 1798, and remained a prisoner in France for six months. In 1799, he served in Holland, and was present at the battle of the Helder, the attack on the British lines of the 10th of September, and the battles of the 19th of September and the 2nd of October. He was with the Coldstream Guards in the North of Germany under Lord Cathcart in 1805, and at the taking of Copenhagen in 1807. He served on the staff of the army during the Peninsular War, and also in command of a brigade. He received a cross and clasp for Talavera, Busaco, Fuentes d’Onor, Vittoria, and the Nive. Lord Aylmer was appointed to be Colonel of the 18th Royal Irish on the 23rd of July, 1832. He died on the 3rd of February, 1850.

17. Field-Marshal Sir John Forster Fitzgerald, G.C.B.

Sir John Fitzgerald held a commission in the army for the almost unprecedented period of 84 years. He was the son of Edward Fitzgerald, Esq., of Carrigoran, M.P. for Clare in the Irish Parliament, and was born in 1786. He was gazetted to an ensigncy in October, 1793, and joined the 46th Regiment in 1801. He served throughout the Peninsular War and became Lieutenant-Colonel in 1810. He commanded his regiment at the battle of Salamanca, and subsequently a brigade in the Peninsula. He received the gold cross for Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, and the Pyrenees. As a Major-General he did good service on the staff at Bombay, and became Lieutenant-General on the 23rd November, 1841. On March 9th, 1850, he was appointed Colonel of the 18th Royal Irish, and was promoted to be General in 1854. Sir John Fitzgerald was M.P. for Clare from 1852 to 1857. He was promoted to be Field-Marshal on the 29th of May, 1875, in the same gazette with General H.R.H. Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. Sir John died at Tours on March 24th, 1877.

18. Lieutenant-General Clement Alexander Edwards, C.B.

Clement Alexander Edwards, the son of Colonel C. M. Edwards, Military Secretary to the Duke of York, was born in London on the 13th of November, 1812. He joined the Royal Military College at Sandhurst when only fourteen, and, passing out first on the list, was gazetted to the 18th Royal Irish on June 11th, 1829. He served with the regiment through the war in China of 1840-42 (Medal), and was present at the attack upon Canton, the taking of Amoy, Chapoo, Woosung, Shanghai, and Chinkiangfu; and was afterwards appointed by Lord Gough to be A.Q.M.G. to the force in China. He next served with the 18th Royal Irish in the Burmese War from July, 1852, to the conclusion; he was at the taking of Prome, and was given a detached command for several months, during which after much fighting and severe marches the provinces of Padoung and Kangheim were cleared of the enemy. In January, 1853, he led a party on special service from Prome to Arracan, for which the Government of India recorded its approbation (Medal with clasp for Pegu, and brevet of Lieutenant-Colonel). Lieutenant-Colonel Edwards served in the Crimea with the 18th Royal Irish from the 30th of December, 1854, including the siege and fall of Sebastopol (Medal with clasp, C.B., Brevet of Colonel, Knight of the Legion of Honour, 3rd class of the Medjidie, and Turkish Medal). He succeeded to the command of the regiment on the 9th of March, 1855. Colonel Edwards afterwards proceeded to India with his regiment, and commanded a brigade at Mhow. At the termination of the Mutiny, he received the thanks of the Governor-General in Council for the promptness of the measures whereby the rebels under Tantia Topee were prevented from entering Khandeish. Colonel Edwards was awarded the Distinguished and Meritorious Service Reward in January, 1860. After the Mutiny he exchanged to the 49th Regiment, and commanded it until August, 1863. He was Inspector-General of Recruiting from July, 1867, to August 1873. On the 25th of March, 1877, Lieutenant-General Edwards was appointed to the Colonelcy of the 18th Royal Irish, with which he had served so long and with such distinction. He died on the 29th of July, 1882.

19. General Sir Alexander Macdonell, K.C.B.

Alexander Macdonell joined the army in 1837, and served with the Rifle Brigade in the Kaffir War of 1846-47 (Medal). Also throughout the Crimean campaign as A.D.C. to Sir George Brown, and was present at the affair of Bulganac, capture of Balaklava, and the battles of Alma and Inkerman. He commanded the 2nd Battalion of the Rifle Brigade from May, 1853, to the fall of Sebastopol (Medal with three clasps, Brevets of Major and Lieutenant-Colonel, Knight of the Legion of Honour, Sardinian and Turkish Medals, and 5th class of the Medjidie). Colonel Macdonell commanded the 3rd Battalion of the Rifle Brigade during the Indian Mutiny, including the siege and capture of Lucknow (Brevet of Colonel, Medal and clasp). He rose to the rank of General in April, 1882, and, in recognition of his distinguished services, was awarded the K.C.B., and was appointed to the Colonelcy of the 18th Royal Irish on the 30th of July, 1882.