In April, 1745, the regiment pitched its tents near Brussels, and in the beginning of May marched to the village of Soignies, from whence it advanced, with the army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, to the relief of Tournay, which fortress was besieged by a numerous French force. This movement brought on a general engagement, near the village of Fontenoy, on the 11th of May, when the regiment had another opportunity of distinguishing itself in conflict with the enemy.
On this occasion the regiment entered the plain in front of the French position, formed line under a heavy fire of artillery from the enemy’s batteries, and advanced to attack the formidable array of infantry and artillery posted on the right of the village of Fontenoy. The British infantry, advancing to the attack, exhibited a splendid spectacle of war, and the heroic resolution with which they precipitated themselves, with the bayonet, upon the opposing ranks, proved the innate bravery of the men; but owing to the failure of the Dutch in their attack on the village, the British were forced to retire. The attack was repeated, British prowess was again triumphant, and the French lines were forced; but the Dutch failed a second time, and the British were compelled to withdraw: the army retreated from the field of battle to Aeth.
Captain Queenchant, two serjeants, and thirty-five private soldiers of the Thirteenth foot, were killed; Captain Lieutenant Daniel Nicholas, Lieutenants William Jones and Samuel Edhouse, two serjeants, and thirty-nine private men were wounded.
Leaving Aeth on the 16th of May, the regiment encamped on the plains of Lessines, and was afterwards employed in defensive operations; but the allied army was not sufficiently numerous to prevent the enemy obtaining possession of several fortified towns.
While the army was in Flanders, Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, arrived in Scotland, and being joined by several clans, he asserted his father’s pretensions to the throne. Unaccustomed to hear the sound of war at their own gates, the British people were at first alarmed, but soon recovering, they evinced loyalty and union in sustaining the fixed rights of their sovereign and in defending their own liberties. The volunteer associations were not, however, ready to take the field for some time, and several corps were ordered to return from Flanders. The Thirteenth regiment was one of the corps ordered home on this occasion, and it landed at Blackwall on the 23rd of September. It was immediately ordered to the north; and, joining the troops assembled by Field-Marshal Wade at Doncaster, marched from thence to Newcastle-on-Tyne. When the clans penetrated into England, the regiment was employed in covering Yorkshire, and when they made their precipitate retreat to Scotland, it returned to Newcastle, where it arrived on the 26th of December.
1746
From Newcastle the regiment marched to Edinburgh, and joined the forces assembled at that place, under Lieut.-General Hawley, for the relief of Stirling Castle, which was besieged by the young Pretender. This force advanced to Falkirk, where it arrived on the 16th of January, 1746, and encamped. On the following day the outposts gave information of the approach of the rebel army, and the King’s troops left their camp-ground and formed for battle on Falkirk moor. At the moment when the battle commenced, a heavy storm of wind and rain beat violently in the faces of the King’s troops; the soldiers could scarcely see their opponents, their muskets would not give fire, confusion ensued, and a great portion of the army retired from the field of battle: a few regiments, however, remained firm, and repulsed the left wing of the rebel army.
After retiring from Falkirk moor, the Thirteenth regiment marched back to Edinburgh, where additional forces arrived, and His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland took the command of the troops in Scotland.
On the 31st of January, the army again advanced, when the young Pretender raised the siege of Stirling Castle, and made a precipitate retreat towards Inverness. The Thirteenth were engaged in the pursuit of the rebel clans; but the army was forced to halt at Perth, in consequence of the severity of the weather, until the 20th of February, when the march was resumed; and in the beginning of March, the army arrived at Aberdeen, where it was detained by heavy rain and snow storms.
In the early part of April, the King’s troops were again in motion, and on the 14th of that month they arrived at Nairn. The rebels made a sudden advance From Inverness, with the view of surprising the royal forces in the night, but finding the outposts alert, they retreated.