Previously to this change of quarters, an order was issued by Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill, relative to the conduct of the troops in the actions of the Pyrenees, of which the following is a copy:—
“Arrizi, August 3rd, 1813.
“General Order.
“Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill requests that the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of the corps of the army under his command will accept his best thanks for the gallant conduct they have displayed during the late active and interesting operations.
“The chance of service has placed the troops under his command in situations where they were exposed to an immense superiority of forces, a circumstance unavoidable in operations so extensive as those in which this army has been engaged; and it has at all times been necessary to cede ground to the enemy. The Lieut.-General, however, has the satisfaction of knowing that the troops have on every occasion maintained their high character; that they have only withdrawn from their positions by superior orders, and then it has been invariably attended with circumstances highly creditable to them. The Lieut.-General has not failed to report to the Commander of the Forces the details of the several affairs in which the corps have been engaged, and he knows that their services are duly appreciated by his Excellency.”
The Royal authority was subsequently granted to the Seventy-first to bear the word “Pyrenees” on the regimental colour and appointments, in commemoration of the services of the first battalion in the actions of the 25th, 30th, and 31st of July, which have been designated the “Battles of the Pyrenees.”
In these actions the Seventy-first had Lieutenant Alexander Duff killed, Major Maxwell Mackenzie, Captains Leslie Walker and Alexander Grant, Lieutenants Thomas Park, John Roberts, William Woolcombe, William Peacocke, and Anthony Pack, wounded.
The following “Morning Reports” of the 14th of June and 7th of August, the former being prior to the battle of Vittoria, and the latter a few days subsequent to the actions in the Pyrenees, will show how the ranks of the Seventy-first were thinned within a period of less than two months:—
| Sergeants. | Buglers. | Rank and File. | |
| 14th June, 1813, present | |||
| and fit for duty | 54 | 21 | 909 |
| 7th August, 1813, ditto | 21 | 15 | 356 |
| — | — | —— | |
| Decrease | 33 | 6 | 553 |
For nearly three months the battalion was encamped on the heights of Roncesvalles, during which period St. Sebastian and Pampeluna were captured. The men were principally employed during this interval in the construction of block houses and batteries, and the formation of roads for the artillery.