[6] The regiments of infantry which were raised in 1702, and since retained on the establishment of the army, commenced with the Twenty-eighth, and ended with the Thirty-ninth regiment.
[7] The Thirty-ninth formed part of the garrison of Gibraltar when that fortress was besieged by the Spaniards in 1727, and it also shared in the memorable defence made by General Eliott, afterwards Lord Heathfield, from 1779 to 1782.
[8] A tradition has been preserved in the Thirty-ninth, that the regiment was present at the battle of Almanza on the 25th of April 1707, and that it was for some years known as “Sankey’s Horse,” in consequence of its being said to have been mounted on mules for the purpose of expediting its advance. The regiment, however, did not embark for Portugal until the 22nd of May 1707, and therefore was not present at the battle of Almanza.
[9] Minorca, an island in the Mediterranean, on the eastern coast of Spain, is about thirty miles in length and twelve in breadth, and is chiefly valuable for the excellent harbour of Port Mahon. In September 1708 Minorca was taken by Admiral Leake and a land force under Lieut.-General Stanhope, after a siege of about three weeks. The island was ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Utrecht, and remained in its possession until 1756, when, in April of that year, it was besieged by the French, under Marshal the Duke de Richelieu. After a brave defence by the Governor, General Blakeney, the garrison surrendered, and, in consideration of its gallantry, was permitted to march out with all the honours of war. At the Peace of Fontainebleau, in 1763, Minorca was restored to the English in exchange for Belle-Isle. In February 1782, the garrison, under the Governor, Lieut.-General the Honourable James Murray, after suffering severely from sickness, surrendered to the Duke de Crillon, the Commander-in-Chief of the combined French and Spanish forces, and Minorca was retained by Spain at the peace of 1783. Minorca again surrendered to a British force under General the Honourable Charles Stuart, on the 15th of November 1798; and at the Peace of Amiens, in 1802, Minorca was restored to the Spaniards, under whose sway it remains at the present period.
[10] The following return of killed and wounded during the siege of Gibraltar, from the 11th of February to the 12th of June 1727, is extracted from “The Political State of Great Britain,” vol. xxxiv. p. 413:—
| Regiments. | Officers. | Men. | ||
| Killed. | Killed. | Wounded. | Died of Wounds. | |
| Foot Guards | - | 2 | 19 | 2 |
| Royal Artillery | 1 | 11 | 16 | 2 |
| Pearce’s, 5th Foot | - | 4 | 9 | - |
| Lord Mark Kerr’s, 13th ditto | - | 7 | 26 | 3 |
| Clayton’s, 14th ditto | - | 7 | 13 | 5 |
| Egerton’s, 20th ditto | 1 | 8 | 12 | 8 |
| Middleton’s, 25th ditto | 1 | 3 | 14 | - |
| Anstruther’s, 26th ditto | - | 6 | 29 | 3 |
| Disney’s, 29th ditto | - | 2 | 12 | - |
| Bissett’s, 30th ditto | - | 8 | 15 | 4 |
| Hayes’s, 34th ditto | - | 2 | 16 | 2 |
| Newton’s, 39th ditto | - | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| Detachment from the regiments at Minorca, under Colonel Cosby, 18th Foot | - | 6 | 17 | 1 |
| Total | 3 | 72 | 202 | 34 |
[11] The numbers of the two armies are taken from the Life of Robert Lord Clive, by Major-General Sir John Malcolm, G.C.B., in which is published a letter from Lieut.-Colonel Clive to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, containing an account of the battle of Plassey, and of the loss sustained in killed and wounded.
[12] Topasses were black infantry, descended from Portuguese who had married natives, and were so named because they wore hats.
[13] These distinctions having, in after years, been discontinued, His Majesty King William IV., on the 17th of November 1835, was graciously pleased to authorise their being resumed. A handsome silver-mounted drum-major’s cane (now in possession of the regiment) was presented to the Thirty-ninth by the Nabob of Arcot, with the following device and inscription thereon:—Device: an Elephant, with motto “Primus in Indis,” Plassey, 1757:—Inscription: Nabob of Bengal overturned by the 39th Regiment and the Company’s troops, 5th February 1757.
It will be observed that the date 5th February 1757, is not that of the battle of Plassey, but of the action fought near Calcutta, which is narrated at [page 18]. The battle of Plassey took place on the 23rd of June 1757.