Historical Record of the Thirty-fourth, or the Cumberland Regiment of Foot / containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1702 and of its subsequent services to 1844

by Richard Cannon

Appointed 25th June, 1810.

This officer was appointed ensign in the Thirty-seventh Regiment on the 15th of April, 1774, and proceeding to North America at the commencement of the American war, he had repeated opportunities of distinguishing himself. He served at the capture of Long Island, and carried the regimental colour of his corps at the battle of Brooklyn, on the 27th of August, 1776. He also served at the capture of New York, and at the reduction of Fort Washington, and subsequently accompanied the expedition to Rhode Island; in the same year he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. He proceeded with the expedition to Pennsylvania, and served at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, in 1777, and of Monmouth in 1778; also at the reduction of Mud Island. On the 10th of August, 1778, he was promoted to captain of a company in his regiment, in which rank he was present at the attack of Washington’s dragoons, in New Jersey. He proceeded with the expedition to South Carolina, and served at the siege of Charlestown, in 1780. He also shared in the fatigues, privations, and engagements of the campaign, under Major-General Earl Cornwallis, in the Carolinas and in Virginia, and was made prisoner at the surrender of York Town, on the 18th of October, 1781. On being liberated, Captain Coote returned to England, and was appointed major of the Forty-seventh Regiment in February, 1783. After serving five years in Ireland, he was nominated lieutenant-colonel of the Seventieth, in March, 1788; and in 1793 he was selected to command the first battalion of light infantry, in the expedition to the West Indies, under General Sir Charles (afterwards Earl) Grey, who captured the islands of Martinique, St. Lucia, and Guadaloupe. Lieutenant-Colonel Coote had opportunities of distinguishing himself at the reduction of these colonies, and being afterwards sent to England with despatches, he was nominated aide-de-camp to King George III., with the rank of colonel, in 1795. In 1796 he was appointed brigadier-general on the staff of Ireland; in 1798 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and removed to the staff of South Britain; and after commanding at Dover a short period, he proceeded to Flanders, in charge of an expedition for the destruction of the sluices and works of the canal near Ostend, which was accomplished; but before the troops could re-embark, they were attacked by superior numbers, and forced to surrender. Major-General Coote was wounded on this occasion. After his exchange, he returned to his command at Dover. In 1799 he commanded a brigade in the expedition to Holland, under his Royal Highness the Duke of York; and after the return of the army, he resumed the command of the troops at Dover. In 1800 he proceeded with the expedition against Ferrol, and when the attack on that fortress was relinquished, he joined the armament in the Mediterranean, and accompanied General Sir Ralph Abercromby to Egypt. He commanded the leading division of the army which effected a landing in the Bay of Aboukir, on the 8th of March, 1801, and distinguished himself on that occasion, for which he was thanked, in orders, by Sir Ralph Abercromby. He commanded a brigade in the actions before Alexandria, and when the advance to Cairo was undertaken, he was left in command of the troops before Alexandria. After taking a distinguished part in delivering Egypt from the power of France, he returned to England, where he received the thanks of both houses of parliament, the approbation of his Sovereign, and was honored with the dignity of Knight of the Bath, and the first class of the Turkish Order of the Crescent.

On the 1st of January, 1805, Sir Eyre Coote was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general, and nominated lieutenant-governor of Jamaica, where he resided upwards of three years. Returning to England, he was appointed to the command of a division of the army sent, in the summer of 1809, against Holland, under the Earl of Chatham. He was appointed colonel of the Sixty-second Regiment in 1806, and removed to the Thirty-fourth in 1810: in 1814, he was promoted to the rank of general. He was removed from the service on the 21st May, 1816.

The Honorable Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole, G.C.B.

Appointed 21st May, 1816.

The Honorable Galbraith Lowry Cole, son of the Earl of Enniskillen, entered the army a short time before the commencement of the French revolutionary war, and the contest which followed afforded him frequent opportunities for the display of professional ability. He was appointed captain in the Seventieth Foot, on the 30th of November, 1792, major of the Hundred and Second regiment on the 31st of October, 1793, lieutenant-colonel of Ward’s Regiment in November, 1793, and lieutenant-colonel of Villette’s corps in April, 1799; on the 1st of January, 1801, he was promoted to the rank of colonel. He served in Sicily, under Major-General Stuart,—was engaged in the invasion of Calabria, and had the honor of commanding a brigade at the battle of Maida, on the 4th of July, 1806, when the superiority of British courage and discipline was fully proved.

He was promoted to the rank of major-general in April, 1808, and was subsequently placed on the staff of the army in the Peninsula, where he commanded a division in numerous battles and skirmishes, in which the reputation of the British arms was exalted, and the enemies of England were overthrown by the superior prowess of the British troops. He received the local rank of lieutenant-general in Portugal and Spain in 1811,—the colonelcy of the One Hundred and Third Regiment in 1812,—the rank of lieutenant-general in 1813,—and the colonelcy of the Seventieth Regiment in January, 1814. After taking a conspicuous part in delivering Portugal and Spain from the power of the Emperor of France, he led his division through the Pyrenees, and shared in the struggle for the liberties of Europe, until the final overthrow of the power of Napoleon, and the restoration of the Bourbon family to the throne of France. He was rewarded with the honor of Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, and received a cross and four clasps for commanding a brigade at the battle of Maida, and a division at the battles of Albuhera, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Orthes, and Toulouse.

The Honorable Sir G. Lowry Cole, G.C.B., was nominated governor of the Mauritius; in 1816 he was appointed colonel of the Thirty-fourth Regiment, and in 1818 he obtained the government of Gravesend and Tilbury Fort. He was removed to the Twenty-seventh Regiment in 1826, and promoted to the rank of general in 1830. He died at Highfield Park, Hartford Bridge, on the 5th of October, 1842.

Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, Baronet, G.C.B., and G.C.H.