In crossing the Nive the battalion had one man killed, and twelve rank and file wounded.
On the morning of the 10th of December the division took possession of the high ground in the neighbourhood of Bayonne, the Thirty-ninth occupying Ville Franche on the left of the line, and on the right bank of the Nive. Early on the morning of the 13th of December, Marshal Soult made a most desperate attack on the second division with all his force; but the battalion being on the extreme left of the position was not materially engaged, having only one serjeant killed, and Ensign John Burns and thirteen rank and file wounded. The enemy, being defeated in his attack, retired to Bayonne that night; the division still retained its position and continued therein until the 13th of February, the Thirty-ninth occupying the village of Petite Moguerre.
For the services connected with the passage of the river Nive, the Thirty-ninth subsequently received the royal authority to bear the word “Nive” on the regimental colour and appointments. Medals were also granted to Colonel the Honorable Robert William O’Callaghan, commanding the battalion, and to Brevet-Lieut.-Colonel Charles Bruce, commanding the light companies of the brigade.
2nd Batt.
During the year 1813 the second battalion continued to be stationed at Weymouth; and having completed its ranks from the militia, and by means of recruiting parties, it sent several large drafts to the first battalion in the Peninsula.
1814. 1st Batt.
On the 13th of February 1814, the division moved forward, and on the evening of the 15th of that month fell in with the enemy posted on some strong heights near the town of Garris; after halting a few minutes to observe him, an order was received from the Marquis of Wellington “to take the hill before dark,” when the first battalions of the Twenty-eighth and Thirty-ninth regiments, composing Major-General William Henry Pringle’s brigade, were instantly put in motion, and after crossing a deep ravine, steadily and briskly ascended the hill in contiguous close columns. The Twenty-eighth meeting with some little delay in the ascent, Major-General Pringle left them, and put himself at the head of the Thirty-ninth, who gained the summit under the continued fire of the enemy without returning a single shot. The French retired from the brow of the hill, and the battalion, wheeling to the right, continued to drive them along the ridge until it reached a spot where their principal force appeared to be concentrated: here they made an obstinate resistance. The other brigades of the division not being so soon in motion, and having a greater distance to proceed to their points of attack, did not gain the heights for some time, and the Twenty-eighth having proceeded in a different direction, the Thirty-ninth had to sustain, in this place, the whole efforts of the enemy for about twenty minutes. During this time the French made three attempts to drive the battalion from the position it had gained, and repeated instances occurred of personal conflict, and bayonets crossing: the battalion, however, maintained its ground, and charging in its turn, the enemy was eventually forced to retire in confusion with the loss of several prisoners.
On the following morning Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir William Stewart, K.B., who commanded the division, assembled the officers in front of the battalion, and expressed to them his high satisfaction at the gallant conduct of the corps on the preceding evening; and at the same time offered to recommend to the notice of the Marquis of Wellington any officer or non-commissioned officer that Colonel the Honorable Robert William O’Callaghan might point out: upon which Captain Duncan Campbell was recommended for the brevet rank of Major, which he obtained on the 3rd of the following month.
The battalion had also the proud satisfaction of being mentioned by the Marquis of Wellington, who was an eye-witness of its conduct, as having particularly distinguished itself on this occasion. In his Lordship’s despatch of the 20th of February, it was stated, “Much of the day had elapsed before the attack could be commenced, and the action lasted till after dark, the enemy having made repeated attempts to regain the position, particularly in two attacks, which were most gallantly received and repulsed by the Thirty-ninth regiment under the command of the Honorable Colonel O’Callaghan, in Major-General Pringle’s brigade. The Major-General and Lieut.-Colonel Bruce, of the Thirty-ninth, were unfortunately wounded. We took ten officers and about two hundred prisoners.”
In addition to Brevet-Lieut.-Colonel Charles Bruce, who was severely wounded, the battalion had two serjeants and eleven rank and file killed; one serjeant and twenty-eight rank and file were wounded.