On the 30th of October, King George III. nominated the Earl of Effingham to the command of the first troop of Horse Grenadier Guards, (which was incorporated in the First Regiment of Life Guards in 1788,) and his Majesty conferred the colonelcy of the Thirty-fourth on Lord Frederick Cavendish, from the Sixty-seventh Regiment[11].
1761
During the summer of 1761, the regiment was encamped, with the Seventy-second Foot, at Sandheath, under Lieutenant-General Cornwallis.
1762
Meanwhile the conduct of the Spanish Government had led to an interruption of the amicable relations existing between the two countries, and in the early part of 1762 an attack on the Havannah, in the island of Cuba, which was looked upon as a key to the Spanish settlements in the West Indies, was resolved upon by the British Government; and the Thirty-fourth Regiment, mustering one thousand officers and soldiers, under Lieutenant-Colonel John Reed, embarked for this service; the expedition being under General the Earl of Albemarle. On arriving at the West Indies, the regiment was formed in brigade with the Thirty-fifth, Forty-third, and Seventy-fifth Regiments, under Brigadier-General Reed; and proceeding with the armament through the Straits of Bahama, arrived in the vicinity of the Havannah on the 6th of June. On the following day a landing was effected, and the siege of the Moro Fort was commenced by a body of troops under Major-General the Honorable William Keppel. In the attack of this fortress, the troops evinced that courage and patient perseverance under severe toil and privation, for which British soldiers have been distinguished, and united with the cordial co-operation of the royal navy, overcame all difficulties. Batteries were erected, the sallies of the Spaniards repulsed, and the Moro Fort captured by storm on the 30th of July. This success facilitated the attack on the Havannah, and a series of batteries opened so well-directed a fire on the works of the town, and on the shipping in the harbour, on the 11th of August, that in a few hours the guns of the garrison were silenced, and the Spaniards solicited terms of capitulation, which were speedily agreed upon. The wealthy city of the Havannah, with a valuable fleet of Spanish men-of-war, and numerous stores, were thus captured by British skill and valour, and prize money to a large amount was afterwards distributed to the army and navy. “This conquest was, without doubt, in itself the most considerable, and in its consequences the most decisive, of any we had made since the beginning of the war; and in no operation were the courage, steadiness, and perseverance of the British troops, and the conduct of their leaders, more conspicuous. It was a military achievement of the highest class[12].”
The regiment was commanded, on this occasion, by Major Robert Farmar, (Lieutenant-Colonel Reed being at the head of the brigade,) and after taking part in this splendid conquest, it was stationed a short time at the Havannah.
1763
In the following year a treaty of peace was concluded, and the Spaniards ceded to Great Britain the country of Florida, in North America, on condition of having the Havannah restored to them, which was agreed to; and the Thirty-fourth Regiment was one of the corps which proceeded to North America, to take possession of the ceded territory.
1764
1768
1769
In the pleasant and fertile country of West Florida, the regiment was stationed some time; in 1768 it was relieved from duty in North America, and returned to Europe, and in 1769 it was stationed in Ireland.