“Seventy-first!!
“The deep interest, which you will all give me credit for feeling, in everything that affects the corps cannot fail to be awakened upon an occasion such as the present, when holding in my hands, to transfer to yours, these honourable rewards bestowed by your Sovereign for your share in the great and glorious exertions of the army of His Grace the Duke of Wellington upon the field of Waterloo, when the utmost efforts of the army of France, directed by Napoleon, reputed to be the first captain of the age, were not only paralyzed at the moment, but blasted beyond the power of even a second struggle.
“To have participated in a contest crowned with victory so decisive, and productive of consequences that have diffused peace, security, and happiness throughout Europe, may be to each of you a source of honourable pride, as well as of gratitude to the Omnipotent Arbiter of all human contests, who preserved you in such peril, and without whose protecting hand the battle belongs not to the strong, nor the race to the swift.
“I acknowledge to feel an honest and, I trust, an excusable, exultation, in having had the honour to command you on that day, and in dispensing these medals destined to record in your families the share you had in the ever memorable battle of Waterloo, it is a peculiar satisfaction to me that I can present them to those by whom they have been fairly and honourably earned, and that I can here solemnly declare that in the course of that eventful day I did not observe a soldier of this good regiment whose conduct was not only creditable to the English nation, but such as his dearest friends could desire.
“Under such agreeable reflections, I request you to accept these medals, and to wear them with becoming pride, as they are incontestable proofs of a faithful discharge of your duty to your King and your country. I trust that they will act as powerful talismans to keep you in your future lives in the paths of honour, sobriety, and virtue.”
At the conclusion of the above address the arms were presented, “God save the King” was played, and the battalion, by signal, gave three cheers. Colonel Reynell then, from the lists of companies in succession, called over the names of those entitled to receive a medal, and with his own hand placed it in that of the soldier.
1817.
New colours were presented to the regiment on the 18th of January, 1817, by Major-General Sir Denis Pack, K.C.B., who made the following address on the occasion:—
“Seventy-first Regiment!
“Officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, it affords me the greatest satisfaction, at the request of your commanding officer, Colonel Reynell, to have the honour of presenting these colours to you.