In the spring of 1745 the French besieged Tournay; and the Royals formed part of the army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, who advanced to the relief of the town. The French took up a position near the village of Fontenoy to cover the siege; and the Duke of Cumberland, though inferior to the enemy in numbers, resolved to attack the position. The army accordingly advanced to the vicinity of Tournay, drove in the French out-posts on the 10th of May, and on the morning of the following day moved from its camp-ground to attack the enemy. Having passed through some narrow defiles and broken ground, the troops deployed on the plain in front of the enemy, and the British infantry commenced the attack with a spirit and resolution which overcame all opposition. But the Dutch having failed in their attack on the village of Fontenoy, and a brigade of infantry ordered to storm a battery above Vezont having delayed its attack, the British infantry, which had forced the French lines, were exposed to a dreadful cross-fire, and were ordered to retire. A second attack was afterwards made, with similar results: the cavalry advanced to charge; but the failure of the Dutch on Fontenoy, and the delay of the brigade detached against the flank battery at Vezont, rendered a retreat necessary; and the army withdrew from the field of battle, and halted that night under the cannon of Aeth. Although the attack failed, yet the army succeeded in impressing the French with a sense of British valour and magnanimity, and the honour of the British arms was preserved untarnished. The loss on both sides was nearly equal; that of the first battalion of the Royal Regiment was 2 serjeants and 85 rank and file killed; with Captains Thompson and Edmonstone, Lieutenants Cockburn, Nairn, Elliott, Abernethy, and Grant, Ensign Jones, 5 serjeants, and 178 rank and file, wounded; also 8 rank and file missing.
The Royals were subsequently encamped with the army on the plain of Lessines, from whence they retired to Grammont, and afterwards occupied a position near Brussels to cover Dutch Brabant; but the French, by means of their immense superiority of numbers, captured several towns in the Austrian Netherlands. In the autumn the army went into winter quarters.
Meanwhile Charles-Edward, the eldest son of the Pretender, being encouraged by several chiefs of the Highland clans, who were disaffected to the Protestant succession, landed on the western coast of Scotland, and was soon joined by a number of hardy mountaineers, with whom he advanced to Edinburgh, and obtained possession of that city. This success of the young Pretender occasioned the first battalion of the Royal Regiment to be withdrawn from the Netherlands, and it arrived in the Thames on the 25th of October. It was afterwards ordered to form part of the army assembled in the south of England to oppose the threatened descent of the French.
2nd Batt.
1746
In the meantime the second battalion, having embarked from Dublin on the 30th of September, 1745, had arrived in England, and formed part of the army under Field Marshal Wade, assembled in order to prevent the advance of the Highlanders into England. The rebels, however, succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the King's troops, and penetrated as far as Derby. The second battalion of the Royal Regiment was at this time in Yorkshire; and when the young Pretender, being disappointed of the expected aid in England, was forced to make a precipitate retreat to Scotland, this battalion marched in pursuit of the rebels, and arrived at Newcastle-on-Tyne on the 24th of December. From Newcastle this battalion marched to Edinburgh, where it arrived in the early part of January, 1746, and was placed under the command of Lieut.-General Hawley.
The young Pretender had, in the meantime, been joined by some new levies, and having procured a supply of artillery and ammunition, he occupied the town of Stirling and commenced the siege of the Castle. A few regiments having been assembled at Edinburgh, one division, commanded by Major-General Huske, advanced on the 13th of January and drove a party of rebels out of Linlithgow; another division advanced to Barroustouness, and on the 16th the whole proceeded to Falkirk and encamped near the town. On the 17th, about mid-day, the rebel army was discovered advancing towards the high grounds on Falkirk Moor; the King's troops quitted their camp and marched through the broken and rugged grounds towards the enemy, and between three and four in the afternoon the action commenced. But at this moment a tremendous storm of wind and rain beat in the faces of the King's troops and nearly blinded them, and their muskets became so wet that the soldiers could not fire. At the same time the storm beating on the backs of the Highlanders caused them little annoyance, and they charged their nearly blinded antagonists under such advantageous circumstances, that several regiments were instantly broken and driven from the ground. The reserve, however, stood firm, and the Royals having rallied, joined these troops under Major-General Huske. This body of troops made a resolute stand; the storm had abated a little, and when the Highlanders attempted to charge the reserve, they were assailed by a shower of bullets, which caused them to shrink back; and they were eventually driven up the hill with precipitation. This division, of which the Royals formed part, maintained its ground to the last, and remained on the field until dark, when no enemy being in sight, and the night being cold and stormy, the troops retired from the Moor to their camp, and afterwards to Linlithgow, where the soldiers, who were all dripping wet and nearly exhausted, were put under cover, and on the following day they marched to Edinburgh.
Additional forces were afterwards sent to Scotland; the Duke of Cumberland arrived at Edinburgh and took the command; and on the 31st of January the troops were again in motion towards the Highlanders, who raised the siege of Stirling Castle and made a precipitate retreat for Inverness, and one division for the Highlands.
The second battalion of the Royal Regiment also took part in the several movements which preceded the battle of Culloden, which was fought on the 16th of April, on Culloden Moor, a few miles from Inverness. The army had advanced on the 14th to the Royal burgh of Nairn, about 16 miles from Inverness. During the night between the 15th and 16th of April, the Pretender attempted, by a forced march, to surprise the Royal camp, but the out-posts were found alert and the surprise impracticable, and he retreated towards Inverness, and halted on Culloden Moor. On the following day the King's army was discovered advancing in order of battle, with the second battalion of the Royal Regiment on the right of the first line, commanded by Lieut.-General the Earl of Albemarle. The action commenced between twelve and one, and in less than one hour the rebel army was overpowered and chased from the Moor with dreadful slaughter. This victory was decisive. The young Pretender fled from the field, and after wandering for some time in disguise amongst the isles and mountains, he escaped to France. The Royals, after returning from the pursuit of the fugitive Highlanders, pitched their tents near Inverness, where they remained for several weeks, and afterwards marched to Perth.
1st Batt.