TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources.

More detail can be found at [the end of the book.]

HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE EIGHTEENTH,
OR
THE ROYAL IRISH REGIMENT OF FOOT;

CONTAINING

AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT
IN 1684,

AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
TO 1848.

COMPILED BY

RICHARD CANNON, Esq.,

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, HORSE GUARDS.

LONDON:

PARKER, FURNIVALL, & PARKER,

30, CHARING CROSS.

MDCCCXLVIII.

LONDON: PRINTED BY W. CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET,
FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE.

GENERAL ORDERS.

HORSE-GUARDS,

1st January, 1836.

His Majesty has been pleased to command that, with the view of doing the fullest justice to Regiments, as well as to Individuals who have distinguished themselves by their Bravery in Action with the Enemy, an Account of the Services of every Regiment in the British Army shall be published under the superintendence and direction of the Adjutant-General; and that this Account shall contain the following particulars, viz.:—

—— The Period and Circumstances of the Original Formation of the Regiment; The Stations at which it has been from time to time employed; The Battles, Sieges, and other Military Operations in which it has been engaged, particularly specifying any Achievement it may have performed, and the Colours, Trophies, &c., it may have captured from the Enemy.

—— The Names of the Officers, and the number of Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates Killed or Wounded by the Enemy, specifying the place and Date of the Action.

—— The Names of those Officers who, in consideration of their Gallant Services and Meritorious Conduct in Engagements with the Enemy, have been distinguished with Titles, Medals, or other Marks of His Majesty's gracious favour.

—— The Names of all such Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, and Privates, as may have specially signalized themselves in Action.

And,

—— The Badges and Devices which the Regiment may have been permitted to bear, and the Causes on account of which such Badges or Devices, or any other Marks of Distinction, have been granted.

By Command of the Right Honorable

GENERAL LORD HILL,

Commanding-in-Chief.

John Macdonald,

Adjutant-General.

PREFACE.

The character and credit of the British Army must chiefly depend upon the zeal and ardour by which all who enter into its service are animated, and consequently it is of the highest importance that any measure calculated to excite the spirit of emulation, by which alone great and gallant actions are achieved, should be adopted.

Nothing can more fully tend to the accomplishment of this desirable object than a full display of the noble deeds with which the Military History of our country abounds. To hold forth these bright examples to the imitation of the youthful soldier, and thus to incite him to emulate the meritorious conduct of those who have preceded him in their honorable career, are among the motives that have given rise to the present publication.

The operations of the British Troops are, indeed, announced in the "London Gazette," from whence they are transferred into the public prints: the achievements of our armies are thus made known at the time of their occurrence, and receive the tribute of praise and admiration to which they are entitled. On extraordinary occasions, the Houses of Parliament have been in the habit of conferring on the Commanders, and the Officers and Troops acting under their orders, expressions of approbation and of thanks for their skill and bravery; and these testimonials, confirmed by the high honour of their Sovereign's approbation, constitute the reward which the soldier most highly prizes.

It has not, however, until late years, been the practice (which appears to have long prevailed in some of the Continental armies) for British Regiments to keep regular records of their services and achievements. Hence some difficulty has been experienced in obtaining, particularly from the old Regiments, an authentic account of their origin and subsequent services.

This defect will now be remedied, in consequence of His Majesty having been pleased to command that every Regiment shall, in future, keep a full and ample record of its services at home and abroad.

From the materials thus collected, the country will henceforth derive information as to the difficulties and privations which chequer the career of those who embrace the military profession. In Great Britain, where so large a number of persons are devoted to the active concerns of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and where these pursuits have, for so long a period, being undisturbed by the presence of war, which few other countries have escaped, comparatively little is known of the vicissitudes of active service and of the casualties of climate, to which, even during peace, the British Troops are exposed in every part of the globe, with little or no interval of repose.

In their tranquil enjoyment of the blessings which the country derives from the industry and the enterprise of the agriculturist and the trader, its happy inhabitants may be supposed not often to reflect on the perilous duties of the soldier and the sailor,—on their sufferings,—and on the sacrifice of valuable life, by which so many national benefits are obtained and preserved.

The conduct of the British Troops, their valour, and endurance, have shone conspicuously under great and trying difficulties; and their character has been established in Continental warfare by the irresistible spirit with which they have effected debarkations in spite of the most formidable opposition, and by the gallantry and steadiness with which they have maintained their advantages against superior numbers.

In the official Reports made by the respective Commanders, ample justice has generally been done to the gallant exertions of the Corps employed; but the details of their services and of acts of individual bravery can only be fully given in the Annals of the various Regiments.

These Records are now preparing for publication, under his Majesty's special authority, by Mr. Richard Cannon, Principal Clerk of the Adjutant General's Office; and while the perusal of them cannot fail to be useful and interesting to military men of every rank, it is considered that they will also afford entertainment and information to the general reader, particularly to those who may have served in the Army, or who have relatives in the Service.

There exists in the breasts of most of those who have served, or are serving, in the Army, an Esprit de Corps—an attachment to everything belonging to their Regiment; to such persons a narrative of the services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove interesting. Authentic accounts of the actions of the great, the valiant, the loyal, have always been of paramount interest with a brave and civilized people. Great Britain has produced a race of heroes who, in moments of danger and terror, have stood "firm as the rocks of their native shore:" and when half the world has been arrayed against them, they have fought the battles of their Country with unshaken fortitude. It is presumed that a record of achievements in war,—victories so complete and surprising, gained by our countrymen, our brothers, our fellow citizens in arms,—a record which revives the memory of the brave, and brings their gallant deeds before us,—will certainly prove acceptable to the public.

Biographical Memoirs of the Colonels and other distinguished Officers will be introduced in the Records of their respective Regiments, and the Honorary Distinctions which have, from time to time, been conferred upon each Regiment, as testifying the value and importance of its services, will be faithfully set forth.

As a convenient mode of Publication, the Record of each Regiment will be printed in a distinct number, so that when the whole shall be completed, the Parts may be bound up in numerical succession.

INTRODUCTION
TO
THE INFANTRY.

The natives of Britain have, at all periods, been celebrated for innate courage and unshaken firmness, and the national superiority of the British troops over those of other countries has been evinced in the midst of the most imminent perils. History contains so many proofs of extraordinary acts of bravery, that no doubts can be raised upon the facts which are recorded. It must therefore be admitted, that the distinguishing feature of the British soldier is Intrepidity. This quality was evinced by the inhabitants of England when their country was invaded by Julius Cæsar with a Roman army, on which occasion the undaunted Britons rushed into the sea to attack the Roman soldiers as they descended from their ships; and, although their discipline and arms were inferior to those of their adversaries, yet their fierce and dauntless bearing intimidated the flower of the Roman troops, including Cæsar's favourite tenth legion. Their arms consisted of spears, short swords, and other weapons of rude construction. They had chariots, to the axles of which were fastened sharp pieces of iron resembling scythe-blades, and infantry in long chariots resembling waggons, who alighted and fought on foot, and for change of ground, pursuit or retreat, sprang into the chariot and drove off with the speed of cavalry. These inventions were, however, unavailing against Cæsar's legions: in the course of time a military system, with discipline and subordination, was introduced, and British courage, being thus regulated, was exerted to the greatest advantage; a full development of the national character followed, and it shone forth in all its native brilliancy.

The military force of the Anglo-Saxons consisted principally of infantry: Thanes, and other men of property, however, fought on horseback. The infantry were of two classes, heavy and light. The former carried large shields armed with spikes, long broad swords and spears; and the latter were armed with swords or spears only. They had also men armed with clubs, others with battle-axes and javelins.

The feudal troops established by William the Conqueror consisted (as already stated in the Introduction to the Cavalry) almost entirely of horse; but when the warlike barons and knights, with their trains of tenants and vassals, took the field, a proportion of men appeared on foot, and, although these were of inferior degree, they proved stout-hearted Britons of stanch fidelity. When stipendiary troops were employed, infantry always constituted a considerable portion of the military force; and this arme has since acquired, in every quarter of the globe, a celebrity never exceeded by the armies of any nation at any period.

The weapons carried by the infantry, during the several reigns succeeding the Conquest, were bows and arrows, half-pikes, lances, halberds, various kinds of battle-axes, swords, and daggers. Armour was worn on the head and body, and in course of time the practice became general for military men to be so completely cased in steel, that it was almost impossible to slay them.

The introduction of the use of gunpowder in the destructive purposes of war, in the early part of the fourteenth century, produced a change in the arms and equipment of the infantry-soldier. Bows and arrows gave place to various kinds of fire-arms, but British archers continued formidable adversaries; and, owing to the inconvenient construction and imperfect bore of the fire-arms when first introduced, a body of men, well trained in the use of the bow from their youth, was considered a valuable acquisition to every army, even as late as the sixteenth century.

During a great part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth each company of infantry usually consisted of men armed five different ways; in every hundred men forty were "men-at-arms," and sixty "shot;" the "men-at-arms" were ten halberdiers, or battle-axe men, and thirty pikemen; and the "shot" were twenty archers, twenty musketeers, and twenty harquebusiers, and each man carried, besides his principal weapon, a sword and dagger.

Companies of infantry varied at this period in numbers from 150 to 300 men; each company had a colour or ensign, and the mode of formation recommended by an English military writer (Sir John Smithe) in 1590 was:—the colour in the centre of the company guarded by the halberdiers; the pikemen in equal proportions, on each flank of the halberdiers: half the musketeers on each flank of the pikes; half the archers on each flank of the musketeers, and the harquebusiers (whose arms were much lighter than the muskets then in use) in equal proportions on each flank of the company for skirmishing.[1] It was customary to unite a number of companies into one body, called a Regiment, which frequently amounted to three thousand men: but each company continued to carry a colour. Numerous improvements were eventually introduced in the construction of fire-arms, and, it having been found impossible to make armour proof against the muskets then in use (which carried a very heavy ball) without its being too weighty for the soldier, armour was gradually laid aside by the infantry in the seventeenth century: bows and arrows also fell into disuse, and the infantry were reduced to two classes, viz.: musketeers, armed with matchlock muskets, swords, and daggers; and pikemen, armed with pikes from fourteen to eighteen feet long, and swords.

In the early part of the seventeenth century Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, reduced the strength of regiments to 1000 men. He caused the gunpowder, which had heretofore been carried in flasks, or in small wooden bandoliers, each containing a charge, to be made up into cartridges, and carried in pouches; and he formed each regiment into two wings of musketeers, and a centre division of pikemen. He also adopted the practice of forming four regiments into a brigade; and the number of colours was afterwards reduced to three in each regiment. He formed his columns so compactly that his infantry could resist the charge of the celebrated Polish horsemen and Austrian cuirassiers; and his armies became the admiration of other nations. His mode of formation was copied by the English, French, and other European states; but so great was the prejudice in favour of ancient customs, that all his improvements were not adopted until near a century afterwards.

In 1664 King Charles II. raised a corps for sea-service, styled the Admiral's regiment. In 1678 each company of 100 men usually consisted of 30 pikemen, 60 musketeers, and 10 men armed with light firelocks. In this year the King added a company of men armed with hand-grenades to each of the old British regiments, which was designated the "grenadier company." Daggers were so contrived as to fit in the muzzles of the muskets, and bayonets similar to those at present in use were adopted about twenty years afterwards.

An Ordnance regiment was raised in 1685, by order of King James II., to guard the artillery, and was designated the Royal Fusiliers (now 7th Foot). This corps, and the companies of grenadiers, did not carry pikes.

King William III. incorporated the Admiral's regiment in the second Foot Guards, and raised two Marine regiments for sea-service. During the war in this reign, each company of infantry (excepting the fusiliers and grenadiers) consisted of 14 pikemen and 46 musketeers; the captains carried pikes; lieutenants, partisans; ensigns, half-pikes; and serjeants, halberds. After the peace in 1697 the Marine regiments were disbanded, but were again formed on the breaking out of the war in 1702.[2]

During the reign of Queen Anne the pikes were laid aside, and every infantry soldier was armed with a musket, bayonet, and sword; the grenadiers ceased, about the same period, to carry hand grenades; and the regiments were directed to lay aside their third colour: the corps of Royal Artillery was first added to the Army in this reign.

About the year 1745, the men of the battalion companies of infantry ceased to carry swords; during the reign of George II. light companies were added to infantry regiments; and in 1764 a Board of General Officers recommended that the grenadiers should lay aside their swords, as that weapon had never been used during the Seven Years' War. Since that period the arms of the infantry soldier have been limited to the musket and bayonet.

The arms and equipment of the British Troops have seldom differed materially, since the Conquest, from those of other European states; and in some respects the arming has, at certain periods, been allowed to be inferior to that of the nations with whom they have had to contend; yet, under this disadvantage, the bravery and superiority of the British infantry have been evinced on very many and most trying occasions, and splendid victories have been gained over very superior numbers.

Great Britain has produced a race of lion-like champions who have dared to confront a host of foes, and have proved themselves valiant with any arms. At Crecy King Edward III., at the head of about 30,000 men, defeated, on the 26th of August, 1346, Philip King of France, whose army is said to have amounted to 100,000 men; here British valour encountered veterans of renown:—the King of Bohemia, the King of Majorca, and many princes and nobles were slain, and the French army was routed and cut to pieces. Ten years afterwards, Edward Prince of Wales, who was designated the Black Prince, defeated, at Poictiers, with 14,000 men, a French army of 60,000 horse, besides infantry, and took John I., King of France, and his son Philip, prisoners. On the 25th of October, 1415, King Henry V., with an army of about 13,000 men, although greatly exhausted by marches, privations, and sickness, defeated, at Agincourt, the Constable of France, at the head of the flower of the French nobility and an army said to amount to 60,000 men, and gained a complete victory.

During the seventy years' war between the United Provinces of the Netherlands and the Spanish monarchy, which commenced in 1578 and terminated in 1648, the British infantry in the service of the States-General were celebrated for their unconquerable spirit and firmness;[3] and in the thirty years' war between the Protestant Princes and the Emperor of Germany, the British Troops in the service of Sweden and other states were celebrated for deeds of heroism.[4] In the wars of Queen Anne, the fame of the British army under the great Marlborough was spread throughout the world; and if we glance at the achievements performed within the memory of persons now living, there is abundant proof that the Britons of the present age are not inferior to their ancestors in the qualities which constitute good soldiers. Witness the deeds of the brave men, of whom there are many now surviving, who fought in Egypt in 1801, under the brave Abercromby, and compelled the French army, which had been vainly styled Invincible, to evacuate that country; also the services of the gallant Troops during the arduous campaigns in the Peninsula, under the immortal Wellington; and the determined stand made by the British Army at Waterloo, where Napoleon Bonaparte, who had long been the inveterate enemy of Great Britain, and had sought and planned her destruction by every means he could devise, was compelled to leave his vanquished legions to their fate, and to place himself at the disposal of the British Government. These achievements, with others of recent dates in the distant climes of India, prove that the same valour and constancy which glowed in the breasts of the heroes of Crecy, Poictiers, Agincourt, Blenheim, and Ramilies, continue to animate the Britons of the nineteenth century.

The British Soldier is distinguished for a robust and muscular frame,—intrepidity which no danger can appal,—unconquerable spirit and resolution,—patience in fatigue and privation, and cheerful obedience to his superiors. These qualities,—united with an excellent system of order and discipline to regulate and give a skilful direction to the energies and adventurous spirit of the hero, and a wise selection of officers of superior talent to command, whose presence inspires confidence,—have been the leading causes of the splendid victories gained by the British arms.[5] The fame of the deeds of the past and present generations in the various battle-fields where the robust sons of Albion have fought and conquered, surrounds the British arms with a halo of glory; these achievements will live in the page of history to the end of time.

The records of the several regiments will be found to contain a detail of facts of an interesting character, connected with the hardships, sufferings, and gallant exploits of British soldiers in the various parts of the world, where the calls of their Country and the commands of their Sovereign have required them to proceed in the execution of their duty, whether in active continental operations, or in maintaining colonial territories in distant and unfavourable climes.

The superiority of the British infantry has been pre-eminently set forth in the wars of six centuries, and admitted by the greatest commanders which Europe has produced. The formations and movements of this arme, as at present practised, while they are adapted to every species of warfare, and to all probable situations and circumstances of service, are well suited to show forth the brilliancy of military tactics calculated upon mathematical and scientific principles. Although the movements and evolutions have been copied from the continental armies, yet various improvements have from time to time been introduced, to ensure that simplicity and celerity by which the superiority of the national military character is maintained. The rank and influence which Great Britain has attained among the nations of the world have in a great measure been purchased by the valour of the Army, and to persons who have the welfare of their country at heart the records of the several regiments cannot fail to prove interesting.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] A company of 200 men would appear thus:—

20	20	20	30	20	30	20	20	20
Harquebuses.		Muskets.		Halberds.		Muskets.		Harquebuses.
	Archers.		Pikes.		Pikes.		Archers.

The musket carried a ball which weighed ¹/₁₀th of a pound; and the harquebus a ball which weighed ¹/₂₅th of a pound.

[2] The 30th, 31st, and 32nd Regiments were formed as Marine corps in 1702, and were employed as such during the wars in the reign of Queen Anne. The Marine corps were embarked in the Fleet under Admiral Sir George Rooke, and were at the taking of Gibraltar, and in its subsequent defence in 1704; they were afterwards employed at the siege of Barcelona in 1705.

[3] The brave Sir Roger Williams, in his Discourse on War, printed in 1590, observes:—"I persuade myself ten thousand of our nation would beat thirty thousand of theirs (the Spaniards) out of the field, let them be chosen where they list." Yet at this time the Spanish infantry was allowed to be the best disciplined in Europe. For instances of valour displayed by the British Infantry during the Seventy Years' War, see the Historical Record of the Third Foot, or Buffs.

[4] Vide the Historical Record of the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot.

[5] "Under the blessing of Divine Providence, His Majesty ascribes the successes which have attended the exertions of his troops in Egypt to that determined bravery which is inherent in Britons; but His Majesty desires it may be most solemnly and forcibly impressed on the consideration of every part of the army, that it has been a strict observance of order, discipline, and military system, which has given the full energy to the native valour of the troops, and has enabled them proudly to assert the superiority of the national military character, in situations uncommonly arduous, and under circumstances of peculiar difficulty."—General Orders in 1801.

In the General Orders issued by Lieut.-General Sir John Hope (afterwards Lord Hopetoun), congratulating the army upon the successful result of the Battle of Corunna, on the 16th of January, 1809, it is stated:—"On no occasion has the undaunted valour of British troops ever been more manifest. At the termination of a severe and harassing march, rendered necessary by the superiority which the enemy had acquired, and which had materially impaired the efficiency of the troops, many disadvantages were to be encountered. These have all been surmounted by the conduct of the troops themselves; and the enemy has been taught, that, whatever advantages of position or of numbers he may possess, there is inherent in the British officers and soldiers a bravery that knows not how to yield,—that no circumstances can appal,—and that will ensure victory, when it is to be obtained by the exertion of any human means."

THE EIGHTEENTH,

OR

THE ROYAL IRISH REGIMENT OF FOOT,

BEARS ON THE REGIMENTAL COLOUR

"THE HARP AND CROWN,"

AS THE BADGES OF DISTINCTION CONNECTED WITH ITS ROYAL TITLE;

THE ARMS OF NASSAU,

WITH THE MOTTO

"VIRTUTIS NAMURCENSIS PREMIUM,"

AS A LASTING TESTIMONY OF THE GALLANTRY DISPLAYED IN THE STORMING

AND CAPTURE OF THE CASTLE OF NAMUR IN 1695 IN THE

PRESENCE OF HIS MAJESTY KING WILLIAM III.;

THE WORD "EGYPT" WITH THE "SPHINX,"

IN COMMEMORATION OF ITS DISTINGUISHED SERVICES IN THE EXPULSION OF

THE FRENCH ARMY FROM EGYPT IN THE YEAR 1801;

AND

THE WORD "CHINA" WITH THE "DRAGON,"

FOR ITS SERVICES IN THE WAR WITH CHINA FROM 1840 TO 1842.

EIGHTEENTH,

OR

THE ROYAL IRISH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

CONTENTS

OF THE

HISTORICAL RECORD.

1848.

PLATES.

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS

OF THE

EIGHTEENTH, OR ROYAL IRISH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

EIGHTEENTH.
ROYAL IRISH REGIMENT.
QUEEN'S COLOUR.

REGIMENTAL COLOUR.

FOR CANNON'S MILITARY RECORDS

Madeley lith 3 Wellington S^t Strand

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE EIGHTEENTH,

OR THE

ROYAL IRISH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

1684

The Royal Irish Regiment of Foot existed many years, as independent companies of pikemen and musketeers on the establishment of Ireland, previous to the formation of the regiment in 1684; several of these companies having been in the service of the Commonwealth in the time of Oliver Cromwell. At the Restoration in 1660, King Charles II. disbanded the army of the Commonwealth in England, and embodied several new corps. Little alteration was, however, made in the Irish forces, excepting the formation of a regiment of foot guards, called the "Royal Regiment of Ireland," which, with about twenty independent troops of horse and eighty companies of foot, constituted the military force of Ireland. Towards the close of his reign, King Charles II. took particular interest in improving the organization of the military establishments of his dominions, and the Irish independent troops of horse were embodied into three regiments of cavalry; at the same time the companies of foot were constituted seven regiments of infantry. The colonelcy of one of these corps was conferred on Arthur Earl of Granard, by commission dated the 1st of April, 1684; it is the only one of these ten regiments which has continued in the service of the British crown; and it now bears the title of the Eighteenth, or the Royal Irish Regiment of Foot.[6]

1685

On the 6th of February, 1685, King Charles II. died, and was succeeded by his brother, James II.; and in June following James Duke of Monmouth erected the standard of rebellion in the west of England, and asserted his own pretensions to the throne. On this occasion the Earl of Granard's regiment was ordered to proceed to England: it embarked from Dublin, landed at Park Gate, and marched to Chester. In a few days after its arrival in England the rebel army was overthrown at Sedgemoor, and the Duke of Monmouth was subsequently captured and beheaded; when the regiment returned to Ireland.

1686

The King, being of the Roman Catholic persuasion, soon evinced a determination to use his utmost endeavours to subvert the Protestant religion and the constitution of the kingdom; commencing in Ireland, where the Catholics were more numerous than the Protestants. The Earl of Clarendon was nominated Lord-Lieutenant; but "Colonel —— Talbot, a furious Papist, was empowered to model the army, and he dismissed the greater part of the Protestant officers, filling their places with those of his own religion. After having performed this signal service, he came over to England, where he was created Earl Tyrconnel and lieut.-general of the Irish army."[7] The Earl of Granard, not approving of these proceedings, resigned the colonelcy of the regiment in favour of his son, Arthur Lord Forbes, whose commission as colonel was dated the 1st of March, 1686.

1687

In the summer of 1687, the regiment was encamped, with the other Irish corps, on the Curragh of Kildare; and the Earl Tyrconnel made a minute inspection of every troop and company, inquiring the name of every man, and discharging many because they were the descendants of men who had served Oliver Cromwell. When the regiment went into quarters, nearly all the Protestant officers and soldiers were dismissed from the service, a few only being retained to discipline the recruits, and the ranks were completed with men of the Roman Catholic religion.[8]

Colonel Lord Forbes being a spirited young nobleman of the Protestant religion, Earl Tyrconnel paid some deference to his Lordship, to avoid an open collision with so chivalrous an officer; and more Protestants were retained in Lord Forbes's regiment than in any other Irish corps.

1688

In the summer of 1688, the regiment was again encamped on the Curragh of Kildare. Meanwhile the proceedings of the Court in favour of Papacy and arbitrary government, had alarmed the kingdom, and a number of noblemen and gentlemen had invited the Prince of Orange to come to England with an army to support the Protestant interest. On this occasion Lord Forbes's regiment was ordered to proceed to England:[9] it landed at Chester, marched to London, and was quartered in the borough of Southwark.

The Prince of Orange having passed Dover with a powerful armament, the regiment was ordered to march to Salisbury, where it joined King James's army a few days after the Prince had landed at Torbay, and marched to Exeter. The English army, which amounted to thirty thousand men, had not been remodelled as the Irish forces had been, but consisted principally of Protestant officers and soldiers, who refused to fight in the cause of Papacy and arbitrary government, and many of them joined the Prince of Orange. Under these circumstances, the King ordered the army to withdraw towards London, and Lord Forbes's regiment marched to Colnbrook, where it was quartered when King James attempted to escape to France Lord Forbes waited on the Prince of Orange, who directed him to disband the Roman Catholic officers and soldiers, and to keep the Protestants to their colours: upwards of five hundred officers and soldiers were dismissed, and about two hundred Protestants, of all ranks, remained with the colours.

In a few days after this event, a report was circulated that the Irish soldiers had commenced murdering the country people and setting fire to the villages in the south of England. This proved false; but on the first circulation of the report, Major Sir John Edgeworth, who commanded the regiment in the absence of Colonel Lord Forbes, who was with the Prince of Orange in London (the Lieut.-Colonel, Lord Brittas, being a Papist, had left the regiment), assembled the men at his quarters, and formed them on parade in the court of Lord Oslington's house, which was walled in. "The country people, hearing that an Irish regiment was there, came flocking from all parts to knock us on the head; but Sir John bid them, at their peril, not to approach, and told them we were not Irish Papists, but true Church of England men; and seeing among the crowd a gentleman, called to him, and desired he would send to the minister of the parish to read prayers to us, and if the minister did not convince them we were all of the Church of England, we would submit to their mercy. The minister was soon sent for, and to prayers we went, repeating the responses of the Liturgy so well and so exactly, that the minister declared to the mob he never before heard the responses of the Church of England prayers repeated so distinctly and with so much devotion, upon which the mob gave a huzza, and cried 'Long live the Prince of Orange!' and so returned home."[10]

Soon afterwards the regiment marched to Hertfordshire, and the Protestant officers of Hamilton's Irish regiment were added to its numbers. The Irish Roman Catholic soldiers were sent prisoners to the Isle of Wight, and afterwards transferred to the service of the Emperor of Germany.

Lord Forbes retiring from the service at this period, the Prince of Orange conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on Major Sir John Edgeworth, by commission dated the 31st of December, 1688: at the same time measures were adopted to recruit its diminished numbers.

1689

In the beginning of April, 1689, the regiment marched to Chester, where it was stationed several weeks.

Colonel Sir John Edgeworth having been guilty of irregularity in procuring clothing, viz., purchasing the old clothing of disbanded Roman Catholic soldiers, from the Jews, to supply the recruits, instead of providing new clothing, was deprived of his commission; and on the 1st of May, 1689, the colonelcy was conferred on Edward Earl of Meath: Major Newcomb was appointed lieut.-colonel, and Captain Frederick Hamilton major.

Early in May the regiment marched into Wales.

Meanwhile the Prince of Orange had been elevated to the throne; but Earl Tyrconnel, who had been nominated lord-lieutenant of Ireland in the preceding year, had retained that country in the Roman Catholic interest; King James had arrived there with a body of French troops, and the whole country was subject to him, excepting Enniskillen and Londonderry, which were defended by Protestants. To rescue the suffering Protestants of Ireland from the power of their enemies, King William assembled an army at Chester, under Marshal Frederick Duke Schomberg; and the Earl of Meath's regiment being selected for this service, marched to Highlake, where it embarked for Ireland, and landing at White-house, near Belfast, on the 22nd of August, joined the troops under Duke Schomberg, who had commenced the siege of Carrickfergus, which fortress surrendered a few days afterwards.

The regiment advanced with the army to Dundalk, where a camp was formed on low, wet ground, which occasioned great loss of life among the troops from disease. No action of importance occurred during this campaign, and the regiment passed the winter in quarters at Lisburn, where it furnished a daily guard at Duke Schomberg's quarters: its ranks were completed by zealous Protestants, who were eager to enrol themselves under its colours, and it was the strongest corps in the army.

1690

In the summer of 1690, King William arrived in Ireland, and the officers and soldiers of the regiment had the honor of serving under the eye of their Sovereign. They took part in the memorable battle of the Boyne, on the 1st of July, when the army of King William forced the passage of the river in the face of the French and Irish forces under King James, and gained a decisive victory.

From the Boyne the regiment marched with the army towards Dublin, and at the general review at Finglass, on the 7th and 8th of July, it mustered six hundred and seventy-eight rank and file. It afterwards proceeded towards Limerick, where the defeated army of King James had rallied, and was prepared to make a determined stand. On arriving before the town, the regiment was detached, with three other corps, against Castle-Connell, which surrendered on being summoned.

The British battering train was destroyed by a detachment of the enemy, before it arrived at the camp; but the King resolved to prosecute the siege, and on the 20th of August the grenadiers of the regiment, commanded by Captain Needham, with those of Lord Cutts's regiment under Captain Foxon, entered the trenches to storm one of the outworks near the south-east corner of the wall. At two o'clock in the afternoon the signal was given, when the grenadiers rushed forward under a heavy fire, threw a shower of hand-grenades into the outwork, and scaling the wall with distinguished gallantry, captured the fort, killing about fifty men, and making a captain and twelve men prisoners: the remainder of the garrison escaped into the town. The grenadiers maintained the post they had captured; a sortie of the enemy was repulsed; and when the soldiers of the regiment were relieved, they retired: as they withdrew, Captain Needham was killed by a random shot from the town.[11]

A breach being made in the wall, and the approaches carried to the foot of the glacis, the King ordered a general assault to be made, on the 27th of August, by half the grenadiers of the army, supported by seven battalions, to capture the covered way and two towers near the breach: the Earl of Meath's regiment was one of the corps selected for this service. The assault was made with great gallantry; but, owing to some misapprehension of orders, the attack failed, and the several regiments engaged were forced to retire to the trenches, with the loss of five hundred officers and soldiers killed, and upwards of a thousand wounded.

The regiment had Lieutenant Latham and Ensign Smith killed; Lieut.-Colonel Newcomb died of his wounds; Colonel the Earl of Meath, Lieutenants Blakeney and Hubblethorn, wounded; and upwards of a hundred soldiers killed and wounded.[12]

The failure of this attack, with the approach of unfavourable weather, occasioned His Majesty to raise the siege, when the regiment marched with several others, under Major-General Kirke, towards Mullingar; but afterwards proceeded to the relief of Birr, which was besieged by a body of the enemy under Major-General Sarsfield, who retired behind the Shannon on the approach of the British troops.

The regiment was afterwards stationed at Mullingar, which was one of the frontier garrisons, and was actively employed during the winter in making incursions into the enemy's cantonments.

1691

Towards the end of April, 1691, a detachment of the regiment, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Hamilton, accompanied a party under Colonel Brewer in a sudden advance towards Dunore, to surprise two thousand armed Roman Catholic peasantry, who had taken post near that place. At daybreak on the following morning the detachment approached the post, and the enemy formed for battle, but soon fled, and the soldiers pursued and killed about fifty fugitives.

Quitting Mullingar in the early part of June, the regiment was engaged in the operations of the army under Lieut.-General Baron De Ghinkel, afterwards Earl of Athlone:[13] it took part in the siege of Ballymore, which place was captured in a few days; and afterwards appeared before Athlone, in the siege of which fortress it had several men killed and wounded.

A strong detachment of the regiment took part in the capture of Athlone by storm, on which occasion the assailants rushed through the rapid stream of the Shannon, which was breast high, carried the enemy's works in gallant style, and in less than half an hour were masters of the town, to the surprise of General St. Ruth, who commanded King James's army, which was encamped near the fortress, and who was giving a public entertainment in his camp, when the news of the loss of Athlone reached him.

After putting the captured fortress in repair, the army marched towards the enemy, who occupied a strong position near the castle of Aghrim, and on the 12th of July a general engagement took place, in which the Irish forces were overpowered and driven from the field with severe loss, including General St. Ruth, who was killed by a cannon ball. On this occasion the regiment formed part of the brigade under Major-General Talmash: it had seven rank and file killed; one major, two captains, one lieutenant, one ensign, and eight rank and file wounded.

After this victory, the army marched to Galway, which surrendered in a few days; and the victorious English troops proceeded to Limerick, where the remains of the defeated Irish forces had assembled, and appeared determined to make a resolute stand, in the hope of being reinforced from France. The regiment had the honour to take part in the siege of Limerick; and, the army having crossed the river Shannon and completed the investment of the place, the Irish soon afterwards surrendered the city, and with it every other part of Ireland of which they retained possession, the Irish regiments being permitted to follow King James to France, or remain in their own country, as they should choose: the "Royal Regiment of Ireland" was one of the corps which proceeded to France, and was taken into the service of Louis XIV. The Earl of Meath's, now EIGHTEENTH regiment, was the only one of the eleven Irish corps embodied by King Charles II. which remained in the service of the English crown.

Ireland being rescued from the domination of King James, the regiment went into quarters in the county of Wicklow, and in December it proceeded to Waterford and Youghal.

1692

In the spring of 1692, the King of France assembled an army near La Hogue, and prepared an immense fleet to convey the troops to England, to replace King James on the throne. When this menace of invasion was given, the Earl of Meath's and several other regiments embarked at Waterford for England, and landing at Bristol, proceeded from thence to Portsmouth. Meanwhile the British and Dutch fleets had put to sea, and while the nations of Europe were gazing, in anxious expectation, at these preparations, the French navy was nearly annihilated in a decisive action off La Hogue, when the alarm of invasion ceased.

Soon after this victory a powerful armament was placed under the orders of Lieut.-General Meinhardt Duke of Leinster (afterwards Duke Schomberg) for the purpose of making a descent on the coast of France, and the Earl of Meath's regiment was one of the corps which embarked on this service. The court of France had, however, drawn so immense a number of troops to the coast, that it was not thought advisable to land, and the fleet sailed to the Downs, where orders were received for a number of regiments to proceed to Flanders. The transports sailed to Ostend, where the Earl of Meath's and several other corps landed, and being joined by a detachment from the confederate army under King William, they took and fortified the towns of Furnes and Dixmude. This service being completed, the regiment embarked for England; it encountered a severe storm at sea, and the transports were separated, but no loss was sustained; part of the regiment arrived in the Thames, the remainder landed at Harwich, and the whole were united at Bristol.

The Earl of Meath, being desirous of devoting his attention to the interests of Ireland, retired from the regiment, and was succeeded in the colonelcy by the lieut.-colonel, Frederick Hamilton; Major Ormsby was promoted Lieut.-Colonel, and Captain Richard Stearne Major.

1693

From Bristol the regiment marched in May, 1693, to Portsmouth, where it embarked on board the fleet to serve as marines, and in June sailed to Torbay, where the Dutch squadron joined. The first service undertaken was the protection of about four hundred merchant ships belonging to England, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Hamburg, and Flanders, engaged in the Mediterranean trade. As the fleet proceeded through the Channel, it presented a splendid appearance. Captain Parker states—"All the sea, from the line of battle to our English coast, seemed as a floating wood covered with canvass; and as the weather was very fair, the whole made a most glorious appearance." After protecting the merchant-vessels through the Bay of Biscay, the grand fleet returned, leaving a squadron under Admiral Sir George Rooke, to continue the voyage with them. The French monarch had made powerful efforts to send to sea a formidable fleet, which attempted to intercept the merchantmen and convoy under Sir George Rooke. The English admiral avoided an engagement with so superior a force, and brought off the greater part of his fleet; but many valuable vessels were captured or destroyed by the enemy. On receiving news of this event, the combined fleets of England and Holland attempted to intercept the French naval force, but it got safe into port.

In the autumn the regiment landed and marched to Norwich.

During the campaign of this year, the confederate army in Flanders had sustained severe loss at the battle of Landen, and efforts were made to increase its numbers, for which purpose Colonel Hamilton's regiment was ordered to proceed abroad. It marched to London in December, was reviewed by King William in Hyde Park, and embarking on the Thames, sailed to Ostend, where it landed, and was stationed several months.

1694

Taking the field in the spring of 1694, the regiment proceeded to the vicinity of Louvain, where it was reviewed by the King, and afterwards took part in the operations of the army. At the camp near Ramilies it was formed in brigade under Major-General Ramsay, and posted between two divisions of cavalry, in the left wing; it afterwards shared in many toilsome marches, also formed part of the covering army during the siege of Huy, and subsequently marched into winter quarters at Ghent.

During this campaign a question arose respecting the rank of regiments, and the King directed the subject to be submitted to a board of general officers.[14] Captain Parker states,—"As the general officers were most of them colonels of regiments raised in England by King James II., they showed great partiality on this occasion, for they would not allow the regiments, raised in Scotland or Ireland, to have any rank in the army previous to the time of their coming to England and entering upon English pay. By this regulation, ours, that had been regimented in the time of King Charles II., lost rank of eleven regiments, that had been raised by King James II. The King thought it very hard; but as he had left the matter to them, he confirmed their sentence." The rank of the regiment was thus fixed as EIGHTEENTH in the British line; numerical titles were, however, not generally used until the reign of George II.[15]

1695

Taking the field to serve the campaign of 1695, the regiment was formed in brigade with the Fifth, Seventh, Twenty-third, Collingwood's (afterwards disbanded), and La Melonière's regiment of French Protestants, in the English service, under Brigadier-General Fitzpatrick.

When King William undertook the siege of the important fortress of Namur, the regiment formed part of the covering army under the Prince of Vaudemont, against which a French force of very superior numbers advanced under the orders of Marshal Villeroy. During the night of the 14th of July, the hostile columns confronted each other; the French, confident of success, detached a body of troops to gain the rear of the allies, and anxiously waited for daylight to commence the action. The Prince of Vaudemont ordered his cavalry forward; the dragoons dismounting and forming on foot, while the artillery, and infantry with pikes trailed, withdrew unobserved. The French prepared for the attack, when the dragoons of the confederate forces retired a few paces, mounted their horses, and retreated, presenting to the surprised French what appeared to be the magic spectacle of an army vanishing out of sight. The enemy pursued, but the allies retreated in good order, and took up a position in front of Ghent. This retreat has been celebrated by historians as a fine specimen of the art of war.

The EIGHTEENTH were afterwards engaged in several manœuvres for the preservation of the maritime towns of Flanders; in the early part of August they were encamped between Genappe and Waterloo, and afterwards joined the forces under King William. In the mean time the town of Namur had surrendered; but the castle, a strong fortress situate on a rock, still held out, and, on the 11th of August, the EIGHTEENTH relieved one of the regiments which had suffered severely in the siege, and took its turn of duty in the trenches. A breach having been effected, arrangements were made for a general assault. Three thousand British, under Lord Cutts, were to attack the counterscarp and the breach of the Terra Nova; three thousand Bavarians the breach of the Cohorn; two thousand Brandenburgers (Prussians) the upper point of the Cohorn; two thousand Dutch the Casotte; and six hundred men were to storm the lower town: the EIGHTEENTH formed part of the British storming party.

The regiment marched into the trenches on the 20th of August, to take part in storming the Castle of Namur, and the soldiers were elated with the expectation of distinguishing themselves under the eye of their Sovereign. The trenches being crowded with troops, the EIGHTEENTH and two other regiments were ordered to Salsine Abbey, half a mile from the breach to be attacked. A little before mid-day the assault was made with heroic ardour, but, owing to some mistake in the signal, all the corps did not advance simultaneously, and the British grenadiers, who headed the storming party, were opposed by very superior numbers, and sustained severe loss; Lord Cutts being among the wounded. Hurrying from Salsine Abbey to share in the assault, the EIGHTEENTH approached the scene of conflict a few moments after the grenadiers had been repulsed and forced to retire; the regiment, however, rushed forward, stormed the breach with signal gallantry, and planted the regimental colours on the summit; but the enemy had constructed a strong work within the breach, which the utmost efforts of the officers and soldiers could not force, and after performing "prodigies of valour" they were obliged to retreat with severe loss. The other attacks were more successful; and lodgments were effected in the works. Captain Parker states—"The King saw this action from a rising ground at the back of Salsine Abbey, and took particular notice of the behaviour of our regiment; for ours, only, mounted the top of the breach, and we planted our colours thereon, but could not proceed farther, because a strong retrenchment had been thrown up on the inside, which we could not see till we had mounted the very top of the breach, so we were obliged to follow the crowd. His Majesty, on this occasion, was pleased to honour us with the title of 'THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF FOOT OF IRELAND.'"[16] The King also conferred on the regiment the privilege of bearing his own arms, "the Lion of Nassau," on its colours (on which the cross of St. Patrick had previously been displayed); also the "Harp in a blue field and a crown over it," and the motto, "Virtutis Namurcensis Præmium."

The title was afterwards changed to "ROYAL IRISH REGIMENT."

The regiment sustained severe loss on this occasion; Lieut.-Colonel Ormsby, Captains Purefoy, Pinsent, and Cateret, Lieutenants Fitzmorris and Ramme, Ensigns Fettyplace, Blunt, Baker, and Hayter, with eighty-six non-commissioned officers and soldiers, were killed: Captain John Southwell and Ensign Lister died of their wounds; Colonel Frederick Hamilton, Captains Kane, Duroure, Seymour, and William Southwell, Lieutenants La Planche, Brereton, Hybert, Arphaxad, and Rolleston, Ensigns John Gifford, Ormsby, and Blakeney, with one hundred and eighty-five non-commissioned officers and soldiers, were wounded.[17]

The fire against the castle was continued, and preparations were made for another assault, which was prevented by the surrender of the garrison. Thus was captured the celebrated fortress of Namur, which reflected great credit on the confederate armies.

This conquest terminated the campaign, and the regiment passed the winter in garrison at Ghent.

1696

During the campaign of 1696, the regiment served with the army of Flanders under the Prince of Vaudemont; and was formed in brigade with a battalion of the Royals, the third, fifth, and seventeenth regiments under Brigadier-General Selwyn; and its services were limited to the protection of Ghent, Bruges, and the maritime towns of Flanders. In the autumn it returned to Ghent.

1697

Leaving Ghent in the spring of 1697, the regiment joined the army of Brabant under King William, and took part in the movements of this campaign; which were terminated by the treaty of Ryswick, when the British monarch saw his efforts for the liberty of Europe, and the preservation of the Protestant religion, attended with success.

On the termination of hostilities, the regiment marched to Ghent, where it was quartered several weeks, and on the 10th of December embarked at Ostend for Ireland. As two of the transports approached the Irish coast, they were chased by a Sallee man-of-war of eighteen guns, carrying Zealand colours. Seeing his brave soldiers in danger of being made slaves, Lieut.-Colonel Stearne called them on deck; the whole resolved on a desperate defence; and it was arranged that when the Sallee man-of-war attacked one transport, the other should come to its assistance, and the enemy should be boarded by the soldiers sword in hand, not doubting but that they would overpower the Turks and Moors, and capture the ship. With this view the soldiers were kept out of sight to induce the enemy to make an attack, and every man was ready for action. "The Sallee man-of-war kept us company about an hour, and was once, as we thought, coming up to board us; however, she thought better of it, fell astern, and stood off without firing a shot."[18] During the following night the two transports narrowly escaped destruction from a storm; they afterwards arrived safe in Bantry Bay; the soldiers landed on the 24th of December, and marched to Cork, where the regiment was assembled.

1699

From Cork the regiment marched, in July, 1698, to Waterford; in the spring of 1699 it proceeded to Dublin, and in 1700 it was removed to Kinsale.

1700

Pursuing those schemes of aggrandizement which had repeatedly involved Europe in war, Louis XIV. procured the accession of his grandson, Philip Duke of Anjou, to the throne of Spain, in violation of existing treaties; seized on the Spanish Netherlands; and made prisoners the Dutch troops in garrison in the barrier towns. The sudden acquisition of the Spanish monarchy by a grandson of the most ambitious and potent monarch of Europe, with the prospect of France and Spain being eventually united under one sovereign, affected the interests and agitated the public mind of all countries.

1701

War was resolved upon: the standing armies were augmented; and while the din of hostile preparation was heard on every side, the ROYAL IRISH regiment was placed upon a war establishment, and embarked for Holland, where it arrived, with several other corps, in July, 1701, and was placed in garrison at Huesden. On the 21st of September it was reviewed on Breda-heath by King William III.

1702

Quitting Huesden in March, 1702, the regiment proceeded to Rosendael, where the British infantry was assembled under Brigadier-General Ingoldsby; and at this place the troops received information of the death of King William III., on the 8th of March, and of the accession of Queen Anne.

From Rosendael the regiment marched to the duchy of Cleves, and formed part of the army encamped at Cranenburg during the siege of Kayserswerth, on the Lower Rhine, by the Germans. A French force of very superior numbers attempting to cut off the communication of the army at Cranenburg with Nimeguen, the troops struck their tents on the 10th of June, and by a forced march during the night arrived within a few miles of Nimeguen as the French legions approached. Some sharp fighting occurred, in which the British corps in the rear-guard evinced great gallantry, and the army effected its retreat under the works of the fortress.

Additional forces having arrived from England, the Earl of Marlborough[19] assumed the command of the allied army, and by a series of skilful movements he forced the French army to make a precipitate retreat from the frontiers of Holland to their own lines, and he twice attempted to bring on a general engagement under advantageous circumstances, but was restrained by the Dutch field deputies. The French forces having fled to their lines, the English General resolved to attack their fortified towns, and the ROYAL IRISH regiment was one of the corps detached from the main army to undertake the siege of the fortress of Venloo, situate on the east side of the river Maese, in the province of Limburg.[20] On the west side of the river was a detached fortification of five bastions, called Fort St. Michael, against which the British troops carried on their approaches;—the Dutch and Germans attacking other parts of the town: the whole were under Veldt-Marshal Prince Nassau-Saarbruck. The approaches being carried to the foot of the glacis, orders were given to storm the covered-way, and make a lodgment on the top of the glacis; and the ROYAL IRISH regiment, being on duty in the trenches at the time, was appointed to make the attack, together with the grenadiers of the brigade, and a party of chosen fusiliers. Captain Parker has given the following account of this attack:—

"The Lord Cutts sent for all the officers, and told them, the design was to drive the enemy from the covered-way, that they might not disturb the workmen in making a lodgment; however, if the enemy gave way with precipitation, we were to jump into the covered-way, and pursue them, let the consequence be what it would. We all thought these were very rash orders, contrary both to the rules of war, and the design of the attack.

"About four in the afternoon (18th September), the signal was given, and, according to our orders, we rushed up the covered-way; the enemy gave us one scattering fire, and away they ran: we jumped into the covered-way, and ran after them. They made to a ravelin, which covered the curtain of the fort, in which were a captain and sixty men. We, seeing them get into the ravelin, pursued them, got in with them, and soon put most of them to the sword. They that escaped us fled over a small wooden bridge, that led over the moat to the fort; and here, like madmen, without fear or wit, we pursued them over that tottering bridge, exposed to the fire of the great and small shot of the fort. However, we got over the fausse-braye, where we had nothing for it but to take the fort or die. They that fled before us climbed up by the long grass that grew out of the fort; so we climbed after them. Here we were hard put to it to pull out the palisades, which pointed down upon us from the parapet, and, was it not for the great surprise and consternation of those within, we could never have surmounted this very point: but, as soon as they saw us at this work, they quitted the rampart, and retired down to the parade in the body of the fort, where they laid down their arms and cried for quarter, which was readily granted them. Thus were the unaccountable orders of Lord Cutts as unaccountably executed, to the great surprise of the whole army, and even of ourselves, when we came to reflect on what we had done."

The enemy had about four hundred killed, and two hundred made prisoners. The British loss, in killed and wounded, did not exceed forty men.

Captain Parker, of the ROYAL IRISH regiment, adds,—"This affair was the occasion of another almost as surprising. An express came to Prince Nassau which gave an account that Landau was taken; whereupon he ordered the army to draw down near the town, to fire three rounds (as a feu de-joie); the cannon also of all the batteries, the mortars, and cohorns, were ordered to fire, with the troops, into the town. When the garrison and inhabitants saw us drawing down on all sides, they judged it was with a design of making such an attack on the town as we had made on the fort, which struck such a terror into them, that the magistrates begged the Governor to capitulate, and not suffer them all to be put to the sword. The first round of all our batteries, and the small shot of the army, so affrighted them, that men, women, and children, came flocking to the ramparts with white cloths in their hands, crying, 'Mercy! mercy!' and the Governor, in as great a consternation as the rest, sent out an officer to the Prince to desire a capitulation, which was immediately granted; as we had other sieges to carry on this season, the Prince allowed them honourable terms."

After the capture of Venloo, the regiment was employed in the siege of the fortress of Ruremonde, which was captured in a short time; and Stevenswart having also been reduced by a detachment from the covering army, the navigation of the Maese was thus cleared of the enemy up to Maestricht.

Rejoining the main army after this achievement, the regiment advanced towards the city of Liège, the French forces retiring as the British approached, but leaving a strong garrison in the citadel and Chartreuse. The ROYAL IRISH regiment was employed in the siege of the citadel of Liège, and its grenadier company had the honour to take part in the capture of that fortress by storm, on the 23rd of October, when the British soldiers highly distinguished themselves. They were permitted to appropriate a large quantity of dollars and silver plate, captured on this occasion, to their own use.

From the pleasant valley of Liège, the regiment commenced its march, on the 3rd of November, back to Holland, and passed the winter in garrison at Huesden.

1703

Quitting its winter quarters in April, 1703, the regiment traversed the country to Maestricht, and was in position near that city when the French forces, under Marshals Villeroy and Boufflers, made a sudden advance to surprise the British troops in their quarters, but were defeated in their design.

The Duke of Marlborough assembled the army near Maestricht, and the ROYAL IRISH regiment was formed in brigade with the eighth, thirteenth, seventeenth, and thirty-third, under its colonel, Brigadier-General F. Hamilton; and it advanced with the army towards Tongres, when the French quitted their post and eventually retired within their fortified lines, where the English General was desirous of attacking them, but was prevented by the Dutch commanders and field deputies. The services of the regiment were afterwards connected with the siege of Huy, which fortress was captured in ten days.

The ROYAL IRISH regiment formed part of the covering army during the siege of Limburg, which was commenced on the 10th of September, and on the 27th of that month the Governor surrendered. Spanish Guelderland being thus delivered from the power of France, the Dutch were freed from the danger of an invasion.

After taking part in these services the regiment marched to Breda: during the severe frosts of winter it proceeded to Bergen-op-Zoom, to reinforce the garrison of that fortress, and afterwards returned to Breda, from whence it detached three hundred men to Maestricht, to join the garrison of that city, while the Dutch soldiers were working at the entrenchments on the heights of Petersberg.

1704

Meanwhile the united French and Bavarian armies had gained considerable advantage in Germany, and the Duke of Marlborough resolved to lead his British brigades from the ocean to the Danube, to rescue the Emperor of Germany from the menaced danger. To engage in this splendid undertaking, the ROYAL IRISH regiment marched from Breda on the 5th of May, N.S., and proceeded towards the Rhine; being joined at Bedburg by the detachment from Maestricht. Continuing its route, the regiment proceeded to Coblentz, where it passed the Moselle and the Rhine, and afterwards traversed the minor states of Germany towards the seat of war on the Danube; all Europe being surprised at the ability evinced by the British commander in conducting this daring enterprise.

Having united with the forces of the Empire, the British advanced on the 2nd of July to attack a body of French and Bavarians under Count d'Arco, in an entrenched camp on the heights of Schellenberg, on the left bank of the Danube. About six in the evening the leading division, of which a detachment of the ROYAL IRISH regiment formed part, moved forward under a heavy fire, and attacked the enemy's entrenchments with distinguished gallantry. The enemy made a determined resistance, and the assailants were repulsed; but the attack was renewed with heroic courage, and, after a protracted contest, the Germans co-operated in the attack, when the entrenchments were forced, and the French and Bavarians driven from the heights with great slaughter. The British cavalry, charging, completed the discomfiture of the enemy, and sixteen pieces of ordnance, a number of standards and colours, with the enemy's tents, and the equipage and plate of the Count d'Arco, were captured.

The regiment had one serjeant and eleven rank and file killed; Captain Lea, Ensigns Gilman, Walsh, and Pensant, three serjeants, and thirty-two rank and file wounded.[21]

The victory at Schellenberg was followed by the flight of the enemy from Donawerth; and the regiment was engaged in the operations of the army which penetrated Bavaria, and captured Rayn after a short siege. The Elector of Bavaria formed an entrenched camp at Augsburg, to which city the allied army advanced; but found the enemy's camp too strong to be attacked with any prospect of success, and the troops retired a short distance. The siege of Ingoldstadt was commenced by the Germans, and the ROYAL IRISH regiment formed part of the covering army.

Quitting his camp at Augsburg, the Elector of Bavaria joined a strong body of French troops sent to reinforce his army, and the united divisions encamped in the valley of the Danube, near the village of Blenheim.

At three o'clock on the morning of the memorable 13th of August, 1704, the allied army advanced towards the enemy, and about three o'clock in the afternoon the British developed their attack against the French brigades posted in the village of Blenheim; thus commencing an engagement in which the English troops acquired great distinction. The village being found strongly fortified, it was environed by a few corps, and the army passed the little river Nebel to attack the enemy's lines. The ROYAL IRISH regiment directed its attacks against the right wing of the Gallo-Bavarian army, and was engaged with the chosen troops of France, under Marshal Tallard; its heroic conduct reflected the highest lustre on the British arms, and it contributed materially to the complete overthrow and discomfiture of the opposing host. The French were chased from the field with great slaughter, and the loss of their cannon, baggage, and many troops captured, including the brigades posted in the village of Blenheim: Marshal Tallard, and several officers of distinction, were among the prisoners. The left wing of the enemy was also overpowered by the Germans, and the victory was complete and decisive: the powerful armies of France and Bavaria being literally destroyed. Thus, on the banks of the Danube, was achieved by British valour a trophy which will serve as a monument to commemorate the national glory to the end of time. The conduct of the brave soldiers who conquered in the interior of Germany was the admiration of surrounding states, and has been lauded by numerous historians: the Duke of Marlborough was elevated to the dignity of a Prince of the Roman Empire.

The loss of the ROYAL IRISH regiment was Captains Brown, Rolleston, and Vaughan, Ensign Moyle, five serjeants, and fifty-two rank and file killed; Major Kane, Captains Lepenitor and Hussey, Lieutenants Smith, Roberts, Blakeney, and Harvey, Ensign Trips, nine serjeants, and eighty-seven rank and file wounded.[22]

From the Danube, the regiment traversed the country to the banks of the Rhine, crossed that river at Philipsburg on the 7th of September, and formed part of the covering army encamped at Croon-Weissemberg during the siege of Landau, which was undertaken by the Germans. When the siege drew towards a close, the regiment marched to Germersheim, where it embarked in boats on the Rhine, and in twelve days arrived at Nimeguen, where it landed, and, marching to Ruremonde, passed the winter at that place.

EIGHTEENTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.
THE BATTLE OF BLENHEIM.
Aug^t the 13^th 1704.

J.M. Jopling del^t Madeley lith 3 Wellington S^t Strand

For Cannon's Military Records

1705

Brigadier-General Hamilton, having become advanced in years, retired from active service, and was permitted to dispose of the colonelcy of the regiment to Lieut.-General Ingoldsby, from the twenty-third foot, who was appointed colonel of the ROYAL IRISH regiment by commission dated the 1st of April, 1705.

From Ruremonde the regiment marched to the vicinity of Maestricht, where it joined the army; and afterwards proceeded by Juliers, through a mountainous country, to the valley of the Moselle, where it encamped near the city of Treves. The army passed the Moselle and the Saar in the early part of June, with the view of carrying on the war in that direction; but the Duke of Marlborough, being disappointed of the co-operation of the Germans, marched his army back to the Netherlands, which occasioned the soldiers much fatigue. On arriving at the Maese, a detachment was employed in recapturing Huy, which the enemy had taken during the absence of the army up the Moselle.

A formidable barrier of forts and entrenchments had been constructed with great labour and expense to arrest the progress of the British General; but by menacing the lines to the south of the Mehaine, to draw the French army to that quarter, and afterwards making a forced march to the right during the night of the 17th of July, these stupendous works were passed at Helixem and Neer-Hespen, with little opposition; and the French and Bavarian troops, which hurried to the spot to drive back the leading corps of the allied army, were repulsed with severe loss. The ROYAL IRISH regiment was formed in brigade on this occasion with the twenty-fourth, twenty-ninth, and Temple's (afterwards disbanded), under Brigadier-General Webb, and, being in the main body of the army, did not sustain any loss. After this brilliant success, the designs of the British commander were frustrated by the opposition of the Dutch Generals, and little further advantage was gained.

The regiment returned to Holland for winter quarters, and was stationed at Worcum.

1706

Taking the field in May, 1706, the regiment proceeded to the general rendezvous of the army near Tongres, and, advancing from thence in the direction of Mont St. André, on Whit-Sunday the 23rd of May, the British commander discovered a powerful French army, under Marshal Villeroy and the Elector of Bavaria, in position at that place, with their centre at the village of Ramilies, which was occupied by a considerable body of troops.

Diverging into the plain, the allied army formed line and advanced towards the enemy; the ROYAL IRISH regiment, being in the right wing, formed on the heights of Foulz, and, descending into the low grounds near the Little Gheet river, menaced the enemy's left, at Autreglise and Offuz, with an attack. This movement occasioned the enemy to weaken his centre to support his left flank, when the Duke of Marlborough instantly reinforced his centre, and made a determined attack upon the enemy's position at the weakened point. For some time the officers and soldiers of the ROYAL IRISH regiment were spectators of the fight; but at a critical moment they were brought forward, and they contributed to the complete overthrow of the forces of France, Spain, and Bavaria. The warlike brigades of the enemy, a few hours before so formidable and menacing, were driven from the field with great slaughter, and the loss of many officers and soldiers taken prisoners, also of their cannon and many standards and colours. After pursuing the fugitives a considerable distance, the regiment halted for the night, surrounded by the ensanguined trophies of this day of glorious triumph to the British arms.

Retreating to Louvain, the broken remains of the enemy's splendid army halted a short time, and soon afterwards abandoned that city, and also Lierre, Ghent, Damme, and Bruges. The magistrates of these towns, together with those of Brussels, Malines, and Alost, renounced their allegiance to the Duke of Anjou, and declared in favour of the House of Austria. The garrisons of Oudenarde and Antwerp surrendered; Ostend withstood a short siege and then capitulated. Thus the successes of the allied arms were splendid beyond all precedent.

Towards the end of July, the ROYAL IRISH regiment was detached from the main army to take part in the siege of the fortress of Menin, which was considered one of the masterpieces of Vauban, the celebrated French engineer, and was provided with a numerous garrison well supplied with everything necessary for a protracted defence. The garrison disputed every yard of ground with sanguinary tenacity; but the allies carried on the siege with vigour, and brought their approaches to the foot of the glacis, where a storming party was assembled to attack the covered-way. The ROYAL IRISH regiment was appointed to take part in this service. The signal being given, the assailants rushed forward to the palisades, and threw a shower of hand-grenades into the covered-way; then, entering amidst the confusion, overthrew all opposition. General Stearne states,—"This proved warm service; for though we drove the enemy at once out of the counterscarp, they sprung two mines upon us, and from their works plied us with a most violent fire, which we lay exposed to until our workmen had thrown up an entrenchment sufficient to cover us. In this action our regiment had six officers and upwards of eighty soldiers killed and wounded."[23]

The Governor, finding himself unable to arrest the progress of the besieging force, surrendered.

The fortress of Aeth was afterwards captured, and this event terminated the campaign. Thus fortresses which had resisted powerful armies for months and years, and provinces disputed for ages, were the conquests of a summer: the nations of Europe witnessing with astonishment the splendid achievements of the forces under the Duke of Marlborough. After sharing in the brilliant successes of this campaign, the ROYAL IRISH regiment passed the winter at Ghent.

1707

In May, 1707, the regiment again took the field, and was formed in brigade with the second battalion of the Royals, the eighth, twenty-fourth, and Temple's regiments, under Brigadier-General Sir Richard Temple (afterwards Viscount Cobham). During this campaign, the French army avoided a general engagement, and the summer was passed by the opposing armies in manœuvring and watching each other's movements. In the autumn, the regiment marched to the castle of Ghent, of which its commanding officer, Colonel Stearne, was appointed governor.

1708

Finding his armies beaten on the continent, the French monarch fitted out an expedition for the purpose of landing the Pretender in Scotland, to embroil Great Britain in civil war; and the EIGHTEENTH regiment was one of the corps ordered home to repel the invaders: it embarked from Ostend in the middle of March, 1708, and sailed to the river Tyne; but the English fleet chased the French squadron from the British coast, and the regiment returned to Flanders.

When the opposing armies took the field, the French had obtained possession of Ghent and Bruges by treachery; but the English General surprised the French on the march near Oudenarde on the 11th of June, and gained a decisive victory. The EIGHTEENTH regiment formed part of the leading brigade of the van of the army, under Major-General Cadogan, and with the eighth, twenty-third, and thirty-seventh regiments, descended from the high grounds between Eyne and Bevere, forded a rivulet, and attacked seven battalions of the Swiss regiments of Pfeffer, Villars, and Gueder, which had taken post at Eyne: after a sharp contest British valour prevailed, and Brigadier-General Pfeffer, with three entire battalions, were made prisoners of war: the remainder were either killed, or intercepted in their attempt to escape, and made prisoners. The EIGHTEENTH afterwards attacked a body of troops posted in the enclosures, and soon drove the French from their ground. As the regiment was advancing in pursuit, a numerous body of French cavalry menaced it in front and flank, and it fell back to the hedges, where it repulsed the French horsemen. Other British brigades arriving, the whole advanced; a fierce conflict of musketry ensued, and charge succeeded charge until darkness put an end to the conflict, and thus saved the French army from complete annihilation. The enemy made a precipitate retreat during the night.

Lieut.-Colonel Stearne commanded the regiment on this occasion, and he states in his journal,—"Our regiment, though the first that engaged, had only one lieutenant and eight men killed, and twelve men wounded."

The ROYAL IRISH regiment formed part of the force employed in the siege of the important fortress of Lisle, the capital of French Flanders, and the regiment had numerous opportunities of distinguishing itself during the long and determined defence made by a numerous garrison under Marshal Boufflers. The citadel did not surrender until the 9th of December. The EIGHTEENTH had two captains and three subalterns killed, the major and several other officers wounded, and two hundred non-commissioned officers and soldiers killed and wounded.

1709

A strong detachment of recruits replaced the losses of the regiment, and it was in a highly efficient state when it took the field to serve the campaign of 1709. The Duke of Marlborough menaced the French army with an attack, which occasioned Marshal Villars to weaken the garrisons of the fortified towns to strengthen the army in the field, when the allies besieged Tournay. The EIGHTEENTH were detached, under the Prince of Orange, to drive the French detachment from Mortagne and St. Amand, and, having accomplished this service, joined the besieging army, and carried on its approaches at the seven fountains. The regiment was engaged in storming the breaches in the Ravelin and Half-Moon; and on the 29th of July it was in readiness to take part in storming the town, which was prevented by the surrender of the place, the garrison retiring into the citadel.

The EIGHTEENTH took part in the siege of the citadel of Tournay, which was celebrated for the extent of its underground works. Captain Parker, of the regiment, states in his journal,—"Our approaches against this citadel were carried on mostly underground, by sinking pits several fathom deep, and working from thence until we came to their casemates and mines. These extended a great way from the body of the citadel, and in them our men and the enemy frequently met, and fought with sword and pistol. We could not prevent them springing several mines which blew up some of our batteries, guns and all, and a great many men, in particular a captain, lieutenant, and forty (the London Gazette says thirty) men of our regiment." The EIGHTEENTH lost a lieutenant and several men in the combats underground; and ten grenadiers were suffocated in one of the galleries. In the early part of September the governor surrendered.

From Tournay the army marched in the direction of Mons, and, the French taking up a position near Malplaquet, a general engagement took place on the 11th of September, when the enemy was forced from his entrenchments with loss. Captain Parker states,—"The part which our regiment acted in this battle was something remarkable. We happened to be the last of the regiments which had been left at Tournay to level the approaches, and did not come up till the lines were formed. We were ordered to draw up on the right of the army, opposite a skirt of the wood of Sart, and, when the army advanced to attack the enemy, we entered the wood in our front. We continued marching till we came to a small plain, on the opposite side of which we perceived a battalion of the enemy drawn up, a skirt of the wood being in its rear. Colonel Kane, who was then at the head of the regiment, having drawn us up, and formed our platoons, advanced towards the enemy, with the six platoons of our first fire made ready. When we arrived within a hundred paces of them, they gave us a fire of one of their ranks; whereupon we halted, and returned them the fire of our six platoons at once, and immediately made ready the six platoons of our second fire, and advanced upon them again. They then gave us the fire of another rank; and we returned them a second fire, which made them shrink; however they gave us the fire of a third rank, after a scattering manner, and then retired into the wood in great disorder; on which we sent our third fire after them and saw them no more. We advanced up to the ground which they had quitted, and found several of them killed and wounded; and among the latter was one Lieutenant O'Sulivan, who told us the battalion we had engaged was the 'Royal Regiment of Ireland.'[24] Here, therefore, was a fair trial between the two Royal Regiments of Ireland, one in the British and the other in the French service; for we met each other upon equal terms, and there was none else to interpose. We had but four men killed and six wounded; and found near forty of them on the spot killed and wounded. The advantage on our side will be easily accounted for, first from the weight of our ball; for the French arms carry bullets of 24 to the pound, whereas our British firelocks carry ball of 16 only to the pound, which will make a considerable difference in the execution: again, the manner of our firing was different from theirs; the French, at that time, fired all by ranks, which can never do equal execution with our platoon firing."

Lieut.-Colonel Stearne gives nearly the same particulars, and adds—"We marched into the wood after them (the Royal Irish in the French service); and when we had got through, we found our army mounting the enemy's last entrenchments, and our brother harpers[25] scoured off as fast as their heels could carry them. Thus ended this great and terrible battle, which was the most obstinate engagement on both sides that has been known in the memory of man: the killed and wounded on both sides was very great."

The EIGHTEENTH were afterwards employed in covering the siege of Mons, and passed the winter in quarters at Ghent.

1710

From Ghent the regiment advanced on the 14th of April, 1710, and took part in the operations by which the French lines were passed at Pont-à-Vendin; and also formed part of the covering army during the siege of Douay, and also during the siege of Bethune; and was afterwards detached, under the Prince of Anhalt, to attack the town of Aire, situate on the banks of the river Lys. In the siege of this place many difficulties had to be overcome, from the nature of the ground, and from the determined defence of a numerous garrison: the EIGHTEENTH regiment had three officers killed, and five wounded; also about eighty soldiers killed and wounded. The garrison surrendered on the 9th of November; and the regiment, afterwards returned to Ghent.[26]

1711

The ROYAL IRISH again took the field in April, 1711, and were employed in the operations by which the boasted impregnable French lines were passed at Arleux, and the opportunity of attacking the fortified town of Bouchain, situated on both sides of the river Scheldt, was ensured. The regiment formed part of a detachment of twenty battalions, commanded by Lieut.-General the Earl of Orkney, which took post on the north and north-west side of the town and river, and advanced to drive the French from the heights of Wavrechin. Captain Parker states, "Our British grenadiers marched to the top of the hill on the left of their works, in order to begin the attack on that side: here we were posted in a field of wheat, about seventy or eighty paces from their works, expecting every moment the signal to fall on. I must confess I did not like the aspect of the thing: we plainly saw their entrenchment was a perfect bulwark, strong and lofty, and crowded with men, and cannon pointed directly at us: we wished much that the Duke might take a nearer view. * * * * While I was musing, the Duke of Marlborough, ever watchful, ever right, rode up unattended, and posted himself on the right of my company of grenadiers, from whence he had a fair view of the greater part of the enemy's works. It is quite impossible for me to express the joy which the sight of this man gave me. I was well satisfied he would not push the thing unless he saw a strong probability of success; nor was this my notion alone; it was the sense of the whole army, both officers and soldiers, British and Foreigners; and, indeed, we had all the reason in the world for it, for he never led us on to any one action that we did not succeed in. He stayed only three or four minutes, and then rode back: we were in pain for him while he stayed, lest the enemy might have discovered him, and fired at him, in which case they could not well have missed him. He had not been longer from us than he stayed when orders came to us to retire. As the corn we stood in was high, we slipped off undiscovered, and were a good way down the hill before they perceived that we were retiring, and then they let fly all their great and small shot after us; but as we were by this time under the brow of the hill, all their shot went over our heads." This statement of a distinguished officer of the EIGHTEENTH regiment shows how fully the great Duke of Marlborough possessed the confidence of his troops.

During the siege of Bouchain, the ROYAL IRISH regiment was actively engaged in the trenches and the attacks; but did not sustain a very severe loss. Lieut.-Colonel Stearne states,—"In this siege our regiment had four officers wounded but none killed, and about forty men killed and wounded; the grenadiers suffered most. Bouchain being taken, our regiment was ordered to Tournay, where we were quartered the remaining part of the campaign, from whence we escorted what provision came that way to the army which continued about Bouchain." In October the regiment marched to Lisle, where it passed the winter.

1712

In February, 1712, Lieut.-General Ingoldsby died, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment by Lieut.-Colonel Stearne, who had held a commission in the corps thirty-four years, and wrote an account of its services.[27]

From Lisle the regiment advanced in April to some high ground beyond Bouchain, where a camp was formed of several corps, and entrenchments thrown up. The ROYAL IRISH regiment afterwards joined the army under the orders of the Duke of Ormond, and its grenadier company advanced on a reconnoitring party into Picardy; but a suspension of hostilities took place soon afterwards, and the army withdrew to Ghent, where the regiment passed the winter. The power of France was reduced, its armies defeated, its frontier towns captured, its ambitious monarch was forced to sue for peace, and the treaty of Utrecht gave repose to Europe.

1713

The ROYAL IRISH regiment had acquired a high reputation during the war; and a board of officers being assembled in London, to decide on the rank of regiments, Colonel Stearne sent Captain Parker to England to claim rank for the regiment from the date of its formation in 1684, which would have given it rank as FIFTH foot; but this was not granted, and it continued to take date and rank in the English army from the time of its arrival in England in the autumn of 1688.[28]

During the winter, a very serious mutiny occurred among the troops stationed at Ghent, to which the soldiers were incited by a man, whom Captain Parker calls "a pettifogging attorney from London," who had entered the EIGHTEENTH regiment. This dangerous combination was suppressed, and ten of the ringleaders were executed.

1714

After the conclusion of the treaty of peace, the British regiments quitted Flanders, excepting the eighth and EIGHTEENTH, which were appointed to garrison the citadel of Ghent until the barrier treaty was signed. The Duke and Duchess of Marlborough passing through Ghent, the officers of the two regiments met His Grace without the town, to show their respect to the character of their former commander.

1715

On the breaking out of the rebellion of the Earl of Mar, in the autumn of 1715, the regiment was ordered to proceed to England, leaving the lieut.-colonel and a hundred men in the castle of Ghent; it landed at Greenwich, and marched to Gloucester, where it was joined by the party from Ghent in February following.

1716

From Gloucester the regiment marched to Oxford; many persons at this celebrated university were disaffected to the government of King George I., and on the Prince of Wales's birthday, when the officers of the regiment were assembled at one of the inns, to celebrate the day, they were assailed by stones thrown from a house on the opposite side of the street. A number of soldiers, hearing that their officers had been thus assailed by the Jacobites, came running to the spot, and soon destroyed the windows of the house from whence the stones had been thrown. They afterwards went from street to street, and broke the windows of persons who refused to illuminate for the Prince of Wales's birthday. The Vice-Chancellor sent a complaint to His Majesty's privy council, and the officers were called upon for an explanation. The subject was afterwards investigated by the House of Lords, and, after several debates, the university was censured for not observing the birthday of the Prince of Wales, afterwards King George II.

1717

In May, 1717, the regiment marched to Portsmouth, where it received orders to hold itself in readiness to proceed abroad.

Brigadier-General Stearne obtained permission to dispose of the colonelcy of the regiment to Lieut.-Colonel William Cosby, from the first troop, now first regiment of life guards.