A treaty of peace was established between Great Britain and France; Louis XVIII. was restored to the throne of France; and Napoleon Bonaparte was permitted to reside at Elba, the sovereignty of that island having been conceded to him by the allied powers.
The war being ended, the first battalion of the Seventy-first regiment marched from Toulouse to Blanchfort, where it was encamped for sixteen days, and afterwards proceeded to Pouillac, where it embarked on the 15th of July for England, on board of His Majesty’s ship “Sultan,” of seventy-four guns.
Prior to the breaking up of the Peninsular army, the Duke of Wellington issued the following General Order:—
“Bordeaux, 14th June 1814.
“General Order.
“The Commander of the Forces, being upon the point of returning to England, again takes this opportunity of congratulating the army upon the recent events which have restored peace to their country and to the world.
“The share which the British army have had in producing those events, and the high character with which the army will quit this country, must be equally satisfactory to every individual belonging to it, as they are to the Commander of the Forces, and he trusts that the troops will continue the same good conduct to the last.
“The Commander of the Forces once more requests the army to accept his thanks.
“Although circumstances may alter the relations in which he has stood towards them for some years so much to his satisfaction, he assures them he will never cease to feel the warmest interest in their welfare and honor, and that he will be at all times happy to be of any service to those to whose conduct, discipline, and gallantry their country is so much indebted.”
In addition to the other distinctions acquired during the war in Spain, Portugal, and the south of France, the Seventy-first subsequently received the Royal authority to bear the word “Peninsula” on the regimental colour and appointments.