The following officers of the 71st were wounded in the battle of Vimeira:—Captains Arthur Jones and Maxwell Mackenzie; Lieutenants John Pratt, William Hartley, Augustus M’Intyre, and Ralph Dudgeon; Ensign James Campbell, and Acting Adjutant R. M’Alpin.
The 71st subsequently received the royal authority to bear the word “Vimeira” on the regimental colour and appointments, in commemoration of this battle.
The “Convention of Cintra,” signed on the 30th of August, was the result of this victory. By its provisions the French army evacuated Portugal, which thus became freed from its oppressors.
In September, Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore assumed the command and made dispositions for entering Spain. The 71st was brigaded with the 36th and 92d regiments under Brigadier-General Catlin Crawfurd, and placed in the division under the command of Lieutenant-General the Honourable John Hope, afterwards the Earl of Hopetoun. On the 27th October the division left Lisbon, and joined the forces under Moore at Salamanca. The regiment took part in the disastrous retreat under Sir John Moore to Corunna, and along with the rest of the army suffered dreadfully from the severity of the weather, want of food and clothing, and disease.
“At this period the situation of the British army was dispiriting in the extreme. In the midst of winter, in a dreary and desolate country, the soldiers, chilled and drenched with the heavy rains, and wearied by long and rapid marches, were almost destitute of fuel to cook their victuals, and it was with extreme difficulty that they could procure shelter. Provisions were scarce, irregularly issued, and difficult of attainment. The waggons, in which were their magazines, baggage, and stores, were often deserted in the night by the Spanish drivers, who were terrified by the approach of the French. Thus baggage, ammunition, stores, and even money were destroyed to prevent them falling into the hands of the enemy; and the weak, the sick, and the wounded were necessarily left behind. The 71st suffered in proportion with the rest, and by weakness, sickness, and fatigue, lost about 93 men.”[399]
In January 1809, Lieutenant-General Francis Dundas was appointed from the 94th regiment to be Colonel of the 71st, in succession to Sir John Francis Cradock, removed to the 43d.
On the 11th of January the army under Moore arrived at Corunna, where the furious battle was fought in which this famous leader got his death-wound. We have already, in our account of the 42d, given sufficient details of this engagement. While waiting for the transports some skirmishing took place with the French, in which four companies of the 71st were warmly engaged, and lost several men in killed and wounded. In the general battle on the 16th, the 71st, being placed on the extreme left of the British line, had little to do therein. In commemoration of this battle, and of the conduct of the regiment during the expedition, the 71st was authorised to bear the word Corunna on the regimental colours and appointments.
On the 17th of January the army embarked for England, and reached Plymouth about the end of the month, where the men were received by the people with the utmost enthusiasm, and were welcomed into every house as if they had been relations.[400] The battalion in which was the 71st was marched to Ashford barracks, where it remained for some time. In June the first battalion was increased by the addition of several officers and 311 non-commissioned officers and men from the second battalion which continued to be stationed in Scotland, and by a number of volunteers from the militia.
In March 1809, the royal authority was granted for the 71st to be formed into a light infantry regiment, when it was directed that the clothing, arming, and discipline should be the same as those of other regiments of a similar kind. However, it cannot be said to have ceased to be a Highland regiment, for the men were permitted to retain such parts of the national dress as might not be inconsistent with their duties as a light corps. Lieutenant-Colonel Pack wrote to the Adjutant-General, in April 1810, on the subject, and received the following reply from headquarters:—
“Horse Guards, 12th April 1810.