1802
1803
On the conclusion of the treaty of Amiens in 1802, Great Britain gave up the captured possessions of France, Spain, and Holland. The Fourteenth were relieved from duty in the West Indies in April, 1803, and returning to England, landed at Gosport, from whence they marched to Winchester, under Captain Graves, who had performed the duty of commanding officer nearly twelve months.
Previously to the arrival of the regiment in England, the short respite from the horrors of war, granted by the treaty of Amiens, had terminated; the ambitious designs of Bonaparte, First Consul of France, had involved Great Britain in another contest, and orders had been issued for augmenting the regular army. Every effort was made to complete the establishment of the Fourteenth Foot, which was attended with great success, and when Bonaparte assembled an army for the invasion of England, the regiment marched to Silver Hill Barracks, and afterwards to Winchelsea, where it was held in readiness to repel the legions of France, had they ventured to land on the British coast. At this momentous period the measures of the government were nobly seconded by the people; a patriotic enthusiasm pervaded the country; and the attitude the nation assumed, with the strength and energy it evinced, while breathing defiance to the gigantic military power by which it was menaced, left no room for doubt respecting the result of the contest had the French army attempted to carry into effect the threats of its leader.
1804
In 1804 the French army remained inactive at Boulogne, and Great Britain preserved an attitude of defence. In the autumn of this year a second battalion was added to the Fourteenth Regiment.
1805
The first battalion remained on the Sussex coast in readiness for active service whenever it might be required. In the mean time the French nation had conferred on its First Consul, Bonaparte, the dignity of Emperor, and he was also crowned King of Italy. In the autumn Napoleon reviewed his army at Boulogne, and afterwards marched against the forces of Russia and Austria, to crush the coalition forming against his interests in Germany. At this period the French troops were withdrawn from Hanover, which country they seized on resuming hostilities in 1803. Towards the end of October, the first battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment embarked for Hanover, where a body of British troops was assembled under Lieutenant-General Lord Cathcart. The defeat of the Austrians and Russians at Austerlitz, established the preponderance of the French power on the continent for a short period, and in the treaty concluded at Vienna soon afterwards, it was stipulated that Hanover should be occupied by the Prussians. Under these circumstances the troops under Lord Cathcart returned to England.
1806
The first battalion landed from Hanover in February, 1806, and was quartered in Kent.
On the decease of General Hotham, King George III. conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on Major-General Sir Harry Calvert, from the Fifth West India Regiment, by commission dated the 8th of February, 1806.