TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

Some minor changes are noted at the [end of the book.]

BY COMMAND OF His late Majesty WILLIAM THE IV^TH.
and under the Patronage of
Her Majesty the Queen.
HISTORICAL RECORDS,
OF THE
British Army
Comprising the
History of every Regiment
IN HER MAJESTY'S SERVICE.
By Richard Cannon Esq^re.
Adjutant General's Office, Horse Guards.
London.
Printed by Authority.

HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE FIFTEENTH,
OR,
THE YORKSHIRE EAST RIDING,
REGIMENT OF FOOT,

CONTAINING

AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT
IN 1685,

AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
TO 1848.

COMPILED BY

RICHARD CANNON, Esq.

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, HORSE GUARDS.

ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES.

LONDON:

PARKER, FURNIVALL, & PARKER,

30 CHARING CROSS.

M DCCC XLVIII.

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

THE FIFTEENTH,

OR,

THE YORKSHIRE EAST RIDING,

REGIMENT OF FOOT,

BEARS ON THE REGIMENTAL COLOUR THE WORDS

"MARTINIQUE,"

AND

"GUADALOUPE,"

IN COMMEMORATION OF THE GALLANTRY
DISPLAYED IN THE CAPTURE OF
THOSE ISLANDS IN THE YEARS 1809 AND 1810.

FIFTEENTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

CONTENTS.

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS.

THE FIFTEENTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

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 stouthearted 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 calculated 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 insure 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."

FIFTEENTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

QUEEN'S COLOUR.

REGIMENTAL COLOUR.
FOR CANNONS MILITARY RECORDS

Madeley Litho: 3 Wellington St. Strand

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF THE

FIFTEENTH, OR YORKSHIRE EAST RIDING

REGIMENT OF FOOT.

1685

Peace with foreign nations and tranquillity at home, accompanied by improvements in the domestic and commercial interests of the kingdom, followed the accession of King James II. to the throne, in February, 1685; but few months elapsed before James Duke of Monmouth appeared as a competitor to the throne, and raised an army in the west of England. The King immediately augmented his regular forces; and among the corps then raised was the regiment which now bears the title of the Fifteenth Regiment of Foot.

This corps was raised in Nottinghamshire and the adjoining counties, the general rendezvous being at Nottingham; and the several companies of which it was composed were raised by the following gentlemen:— Sir William Clifton, —— Cotter, —— Baker, William Barnes, William Dobyns, Thomas Fowke, John Stanhope, —— Warren, William Stow, and Roger Kirkby. Sir William Clifton was appointed colonel by commission dated the 22nd of June, 1685; Captain Cotter was appointed to be lieut.-colonel, and Captain Baker to be major.

While many loyal men were arraying themselves under the King's banner, and the several companies of the regiment were making rapid progress towards being completed in numbers, the rebel army was overthrown at Sedgemoor, and the Duke of Monmouth was afterwards captured and beheaded.

In August, the regiment marched from Nottingham to Hounslow, and pitched its tents on the heath; where it was reviewed by the King, who thanked the officers and soldiers for the readiness they had evinced to support the Crown at the moment of danger: it afterwards marched to London, was quartered for a short period in Moorfields, and in September proceeded to Carlisle, North Shields, Landguard Fort, and Scarborough Castle, where it passed the winter.

1686

The King, having resolved to retain the regiment in his service, fixed its establishment, by warrant under the sign-manual, bearing date the 1st of January, 1685–6, at the following numbers and rates of pay (see [p. 3]).

In the spring, the regiment proceeded into Yorkshire, and was quartered at York, Hull, &c.

Colonel Sir William Clifton retired from the service, and was succeeded by Colonel Arthur Herbert, afterwards Earl Torrington, by commission dated 12th of May, 1686.

1687

The regiment passed this year in the north of England; in February, 1687, it marched to Kingston-upon-Thames, from which detachments proceeded to Windsor, to mount guard at the castle. At the same time a grenadier company was added to the establishment.

On the 12th of April, Colonel Herbert was succeeded in the command of the regiment by Colonel Sackville Tufton, brother to the Earl of Thanet.

At this period, the following officers were holding commissions in the regiment:—

1688

In June, the regiment again pitched its tents on Hounslow Heath, where it took part in several military spectacles, exhibited in the presence of the royal family; and afterwards marched into quarters in Norfolk. It once more encamped on Hounslow Heath in the summer of 1688, and subsequently proceeded to Berwick, where it arrived in September. An officer of the regiment states in his memoirs, 'I sojourned two peaceable campaigns on Hounslow Heath; where I was an eye-witness of one mock siege of Buda; after which our regiment was ordered to Berwick.'[7]

At this period, England was in an agitated state; the proceedings of the King in favour of papacy and arbitrary government had occasioned many noblemen and gentlemen to invite the Prince of Orange to come to England with an army, to enable them to oppose the Court. The Prince arrived in November; the King fled to France; and the Prince assumed the reins of government.

Colonel Tufton, not agreeing with the new order of things, was succeeded in the command of the regiment by Colonel Sir James Lesley, by commission dated the 31st of December, 1688.

1689

The Prince and Princess of Orange having been elevated to the throne by the title of King William the Third and Queen Mary, their accession was opposed in Scotland, where the Duke of Gordon held the Castle of Edinburgh in the interest of King James, and Viscount Dundee aroused the Highland clans to arms. In consequence of these proceedings, the regiment was ordered to Scotland, in the spring of 1689; and it was stationed at Leith, as a reserve and support to the troops blockading Edinburgh Castle, until the beginning of June, when it was ordered up the country to join the forces under Major-General Mackay, who was retreating before the Highlanders under Viscount Dundee. The regiment joined Major-General Mackay about six o'clock on the evening of the 5th of June; other troops also arrived, and the major-general being thus reinforced, advanced against the clans, who instantly retired towards the mountain fastnesses. The Fifteenth foot followed the retreating Highlanders to the borders of the wilds of Lochaber, and afterwards proceeded to Inverness, where the regiment was stationed some time.

Captain Carleton states in his memoirs: 'We marched to Inverness, a place of no great strength, where we lay two long winters, perpetually harassed upon parties, and hunting of somewhat wilder than their wildest game,—the Highlanders, who were, if not as nimble-footed, yet fully as hard to be found.' While the regiment was at Inverness, the battle of Killicrankie was fought, in which the King's troops were defeated, and Viscount Dundee was killed. He was succeeded by Major-General Cannon.

1690

In April, 1690, Brigadier-General Sir Thomas Livingstone, who commanded at Inverness, ascertained that a general rendezvous of the clans was appointed to take place at Strathspey, from whence they purposed descending in a body into the Lowlands; and that two thousand men, under Major-Generals Cannon and Buchan, would arrive at Cromdale on the 30th of April; he therefore advanced with the royal Scots dragoons (Greys), Fifteenth foot, and some detachments, to attack the Highlanders. At dusk, on the evening of the 30th of April, the troops arrived within two miles of Balloch Castle; they traversed the difficult defile in the dark, and arriving at the castle, had the camp-lights of the enemy, on a plain beyond the Spey, pointed out to them; when, notwithstanding the fatigue they had undergone, the soldiers expressed a wish to be led forward. After a halt of half an hour for refreshment, the troops crossed the Spey at a ford, and advanced towards the camp, when several small parties of Highlanders were seen attempting to escape towards the hills, and a squadron of the Greys galloped forward to intercept the fugitives. The soldiers rushed into the camp and commenced the work of destruction; at the same time a party of the Fifteenth attacked the enemy's guard at Cromdale-church. The Highlanders, suddenly aroused from sleep, endeavoured to escape without clothes, and through the misty dawn numbers were seen running in every direction, some attempting to escape on any terms, and others defending themselves stoutly with sword and target, against the dragoons, and soldiers of the Fifteenth foot, who made great slaughter. Major-Generals Cannon and Buchan were taken by surprise as much as their men, and the one escaped with his shirt and night-cap only, and the other without coat, hat, or sword. 'We pursued them till they got up Cromdale-hill, where we lost them in a fog; and to me, at that instant of time, they seemed rather to be people received up into the clouds, than flying from an enemy.'[8]

The enemy had placed a small garrison in Lethindy Castle, which was summoned to surrender; but the Highlanders fired upon the party, and wounded three grenadiers of the Fifteenth foot. Lieut. Carleton, of the regiment, proceeded to an old house near the castle, from whence he threw two or three hand-grenades into the works, which so alarmed the enemy, that they instantly surrendered. About three hundred Highlanders were killed on this occasion, and one hundred taken prisoners: a standard, which had been unfurled a few days previously for King James, was captured. The loss of the King's troops was limited to a few horses killed and wounded and five men wounded.[9] 'This happened on May-day, in the morning; for which reason we returned to Inverness with our prisoners and boughs in our hats; and the Highlanders never held up their heads so high after this defeat.'

'General Mackay having received orders to build a fort at Inverlochy, our regiment was commanded to that service. The two regiments appointed to the same duty, with some dragoons, having joined (in June), we marched together through Lochaber. This surely is the wildest country in the Highlands, if not in the world; I did not see one house in all our march; and the economy of the people, if I may call it such, is much the same with that of the Arabs or Tartars. In this march, or rather, if you please, most dismal peregrination, we could rarely go two abreast; so that our very little army had sometimes an extent of many miles; our enemy, the Highlanders, firing down upon us, from the summits of the mountains, all the way. Nor was it possible for our men, or very rarely at least, to return their favours with any prospect of success; for, as they popped upon us always on a sudden, they never staid long enough to allow any of our soldiers a mark, or even time enough to fire: and, for our men to march or climb up those mountains, which to them were natural champaign, would have been as dangerous as it appeared to us impracticable. Nevertheless, under all these disadvantages, we arrived at Inverlochy, and there performed the task appointed, building a fort on the same spot where Cromwell had raised one before: and, which was not a little remarkable, we had with us one Hill, a colonel, who had been governor in Oliver's time, and who was now again appointed governor by General Mackay. Thus the work on which we were sent being effected, we marched back again by the way of Killicrankie, where that memorable battle had been fought, under Dundee, the year before.'[10]

1691

After its return from Inverlochy, the regiment was stationed some time at Inverness; where Lieutenant Carleton was rewarded with a commission of captain in Brigadier-General Tiffin's regiment (now twenty-seventh foot) for his distinguished conduct at the action at Cromdale. Defeated on every occasion, and overawed by numerous garrisons, the Highlanders lost all hope of success, and in 1691 they tendered their submission to King William. A proclamation was afterwards published, offering indemnity and pardon to all who should cease opposition to the government and take the oath of allegiance, before the 1st of January, 1692.

1692

Tranquillity being thus restored in Scotland, the regiment became disposable for other service; it, however, remained in the northern districts of the kingdom during the year 1693.

1693

In the meantime, the British Monarch was engaged in war to arrest the progress of the French aggressions on the continent. The King of France brought an army of superior numbers into the field, and gained several advantages.

1694

The allies made strenuous exertions to raise new levies, augment the strength of their contingents, and to turn the balance of war in their favour; the Fifteenth foot was one of the corps selected to proceed on foreign service. The regiment embarked from Scotland in the spring of 1694, and landed at Ostend, marched from thence to Malines, where it was stationed until the army took the field.

In the beginning of June, the British train of artillery arrived at Malines, from whence it advanced under the escort of the twelfth, Fifteenth, and Buchan's (afterwards disbanded) regiments, and joined the army under King William in person, at the camp at Hertogendale, on the 6th of June. The tenth, fourteenth, Fifteenth, seventeenth, Castleton's, and Lauder's (afterwards disbanded) regiments, were formed in brigade under Brigadier-General Stuart, in the division under Major-General Bellasis.

The regiment took part in the operations of this campaign, and the numbers of the confederate forces were so far augmented, that the progress of French conquest was arrested, the enemy was forced to act on the defensive, and in the autumn the allies besieged and captured the fortress of Huy. The Fifteenth formed part of the covering army during the siege; and afterwards marched to Dixmude, where they halted a few days, and subsequently went into cantonments in the villages along the canal of Nieuport, where they were stationed during the winter.

1695

From these quarters, the regiment was called in May, 1695, to enter upon the active services of another campaign, and it pitched its tents near Dixmude, where a small force was assembled under Major-General Ellemberg; at the same time the main army took the field under King William. In June, the Duke of Wirtemburg took the command of the troops at Dixmude; reinforcements also arrived; and an attack was made on Fort Kenoque, situated at the junction of the Loo and Dixmude canals, with the view of drawing the French forces to the Flanders side of their fortified lines, to favour the design of besieging Namur. On the 9th of June, the grenadiers of the Fifteenth, and other corps employed on this enterprise, drove the enemy from the entrenchments and houses near the Loo canal; and the attempts made by the French to regain this post were repulsed. A redoubt was afterwards taken, and a lodgment effected on the works at the bridge, in which service the regiment had several men killed and wounded. These attacks produced the desired effect; the fortress of Namur was invested, and the attack on Fort Kenoque was soon afterwards desisted from, when the Fifteenth regiment returned to Dixmude.

During the early part of the siege of Namur, the Fifteenth foot, commanded by their colonel, Sir James Lesley, were in garrison at Dixmude, a fortress of very little strength, under Major-General Ellemberg, a foreign officer. On the 15th of July, this place was invested by a strong division of the French army, under General de Montal, who commenced the siege with vigour. Major-General Ellemberg failed to make that spirited opposition to the enemy which the circumstances of the case called for: he appeared to view the progress of the besieging army with apathy; and eventually called a council of war, to which he advanced several reasons why the town could not be defended, and proposed to capitulate to save the garrison, which was agreed to by the majority of the council of war, although opposed by others. When the soldiers were informed they were to become prisoners of war, they became enraged at not being permitted to defend the place, many of them broke their arms to pieces, and some tore their regimental colours from the staves, that they might not be delivered to the enemy. D'Auvergne states, in his history of this campaign,—'The body of the garrison had the same heart and soul with their comrades which did such wonders before Namur;' but the soldiers were delivered into the power of the enemy against their will.

The soldiers of the Fifteenth were sent prisoners to Ypres; the conditions of the cartel were afterwards violated by the enemy; the British were sent to Arras, Bethune, Bouchain, &c., the officers were placed in close confinement, and attempts were made to induce the men to enter the French service.

When the castle of Namur surrendered, the garrison was permitted to march out with the honors of war; but Marshal Boufflers was arrested, and detained until the British and other soldiers of the allied army, kept prisoners contrary to the cartel, were released. This produced the desired effect; the Fifteenth rejoined the army, and marched into quarters at the town of Damme, where they received new arms and equipment.

All the officers concerned in the surrender of Dixmude, were tried by a general court-martial: Major-General Ellemberg was sentenced to be beheaded, and executed at Ghent on the 20th of November. Colonel Sir James Lesley, and several other officers were cashiered.

King William conferred the colonelcy of the Fifteenth regiment on Colonel Emanuel Howe, from captain and lieut.-colonel in the first foot guards.

1696

After passing several months at Damme, and receiving a detachment of recruits from England, the regiment marched, early in 1696, to Bruges, where it was left in garrison when the army took the field. On the 20th of May, it marched out of Bruges, and pitched its tents along the banks of the canal, where it was posted several weeks.

The regiment served the campaign of this year with the army of Flanders, under the Prince of Vaudemont; it was formed in brigade with a battalion of the royals, the twelfth, and Collingwood's (afterwards disbanded) regiments, under Brigadier-General the Earl of Orkney; and was stationed, during the summer, along the banks of the Bruges canal, to cover Ghent, Bruges, and the maritime towns of West Flanders, which service was fully accomplished.

In the autumn, the regiment marched into garrison at Bruges, where five regiments of cavalry and eleven of infantry were stationed during the winter.

1697

On the 13th of March, 1697, the regiment quitted Bruges, and proceeded to Brussels, from whence it advanced, through the forest of Soignies, and pitched its tents near the village of Waterloo. It served the campaign of this year with the army of Brabant, under King William; and brought into the field forty officers, thirty-four serjeants, twenty-five drummers, sixty-three grenadiers, one hundred and sixty pikemen, and five hundred and eighty musketeers (including men detached). The Fifteenth, seventeenth, twenty-seventh, Collingwood's, and Saunderson's (afterwards disbanded) regiments, were formed in brigade under Brigadier-General Tiffin, in the division commanded by Lieut.-General Sir Henry Bellasis.

The regiment took part in the operations of the campaign; and when the French commanders menaced Brussels with a siege, the Fifteenth marched with the army, from Waterloo through the forest, during the night of the 22nd of June, in dark and tempestuous weather, and taking post before that city, was instrumental in defeating the designs of the enemy.

After the regiment had been encamped before Brussels nearly three months, hostilities were terminated by the treaty of Ryswick; and the efforts of the British monarch, to arrest the progress of French conquests and preserve the liberties of Europe, were thus attended with success. The restoration of peace being accomplished, the regiment proceeded in boats down the canal to Bruges, and during the winter it embarked for England.

1698

The regiment was placed upon a peace establishment; and, in 1698, it proceeded to Ireland, where it was stationed during the two following years.

The respite from war, ceded to Europe by the treaty of Ryswick, was of short duration. The French monarch, continuing to pursue schemes of aggrandizement, by which he had long agitated Christendom, procured the accession of his grandson, Philip Duke of Anjou, to the throne of Spain,—seized on the Spanish provinces in the Netherlands,—and detained the Dutch troops which were in garrison in the barrier towns. These proceedings produced a violent sensation throughout Europe: the house of Austria claimed the Spanish monarchy, and declared war against France; the Dutch solicited British aid; and the Fifteenth Foot was one of the corps which proceeded to Holland on this occasion.

1701

The regiment was augmented to eight hundred and thirty, officers and soldiers; and embarking from Cork on the 15th June, 1701, arrived at Helvoetsluys, on the island of Voorn, in South Holland, on the 8th of July. From this place the regiment proceeded up the Maese, in small vessels, to Gertruydenberg and Huesden, where it was stationed two months, and afterwards proceeded to the vicinity of Breda, and encamped on the heath. On the 21st of September, the regiment was reviewed, with the other British troops in Holland, by King William III., on Breda heath, and afterwards returned to its former quarters, where it was stationed during the winter.

1702

On the 10th March, 1702, the regiment marched out of garrison, and proceeded to Rosendael, where the British infantry encamped under Brigadier-General Ingoldsby. At this place, the troops received information of the death of King William, on the 8th of March, and of the accession of Queen Anne, to whom they took the oath of fidelity.

The fortress of Kayserswerth, on the Lower Rhine, was occupied by the French, and this place was besieged by the Germans, under the Prince of Saarbruck, in the middle of April; the British marched across the country to the duchy of Cleves, joined a body of Dutch and Germans under the Earl of Athlone, and encamped at Cranenburg, on the Lower Rhine, to cover the siege.

A French force of superior numbers, commanded by the Duke of Burgundy and Marshal Boufflers, made a rapid advance through the forest of Cleves, and along the plains of Goch, to cut off the communication of the troops at Cranenburg, with Grave and Nimeguen; when the allied army struck its tents a little before sunset, and making a rapid march throughout the night, arrived within a few miles of Nimeguen about eight o'clock on the morning of the 11th of June; at the same time, the French appeared on both flanks and the rear, hurrying forward to surround the allies. Some sharp skirmishing occurred, and the British corps, forming the rear-guard, evinced great gallantry; they took possession of some hedges and buildings, and held the enemy in check while the army effected its retreat under the walls of Nimeguen.

The regiment remained at Nimeguen a short time. Queen Anne declared war against France and Spain; additional troops arrived from England; and the Earl of Marlborough assumed the command of the allied army. The Fifteenth foot took part in the operations of this campaign: the French avoided a general engagement, and retired from the frontiers of Holland, and the British general commenced operations against the fortresses in possession of the enemy, on the banks of the Maese.

The Fifteenth foot formed part of the covering army during the siege of Venloo, which town surrendered on the 25th of September. The services of the regiment were afterwards connected with the siege and capture of Ruremonde, in the early part of October; and the Fifteenth foot was also one of the corps which advanced to the city of Liege, took possession of that place, and undertook the siege of the citadel. The grenadiers of the regiment took part in the storm of the citadel of Liege, on the 23rd of October, on which occasion the British soldiers highly distinguished themselves, and captured the place in gallant style. A detached fortress, called the Chartreuse, surrendered a few days afterwards: and these conquests terminated the campaign. The regiment quitted the pleasant valley of Liege on the 3rd of November, and marched back to Holland, where it passed the winter in garrison.

1703

From their pleasant quarters among the Dutch peasantry, the soldiers of the Fifteenth foot were called, in the spring of 1703, to participate in the achievements of another campaign; and while the Duke of Marlborough was besieging Bonn, they directed their march towards the Maese; and they were in position before Maestricht, when the French army, under Marshals Villeroy and Boufflers, approached that place; but after some cannonading and skirmishing, the enemy withdrew, without hazarding a general engagement.

After the surrender of Bonn, the allied army assembled at Maestricht, and the Fifteenth were formed in brigade with a battalion of the foot guards, a battalion of the royals, and the ninth, twenty-third, and twenty-fourth regiments, under Brigadier-General Withers, in the division commanded by Lieut.-General Churchill. The French forces taking post behind their fortified lines, operations were continued against their fortified towns, and the services of the Fifteenth foot were connected with the siege and capture of Huy, a fortress in the valley of the Maese, which surrendered on the 25th of August. The regiment also participated in the services connected with the siege of Limburg, and this fortress surrendered on the 28th of September. After these conquests, the regiment marched to Dutch Brabant, and passed several months in garrison.

1704

In the early part of 1704, a detachment of the regiment proceeded to Maestricht, to take part in the duties of that garrison, while the Dutch troops were working at the fortifications on the heights of Petersberg.

In the meantime, the progress of the war had assumed an unfavourable aspect in Germany; the Elector of Bavaria had embraced the French interest, and having been joined by a numerous body of the forces of Louis XIV., he had gained considerable advantage over the army of the empire. Under these circumstances, the Duke of Marlborough resolved to lead the British troops from the ocean to the Danube, and make a powerful effort to change the fortune of the war, in the heart of Germany.

To engage in this splendid enterprise, which was replete with important results, the Fifteenth foot marched towards the Rhine in the early part of May, and were joined at Bedburg by the detachment from Maestricht. The designs of the British commander were secret; the object, for which the movements were made, held Europe in perplexing anxiety, suspended the operations of the Elector of Bavaria, and confounded the French Generals; and the moment the advance assumed a specific direction, the enemy was no longer able to render the plan abortive. Arriving in the heart of Germany, the regiment was formed in brigade with a battalion of the royals, and the twenty-sixth and thirty-seventh regiments, and this brigade was posted in the second line.

At three o'clock on the morning of the 2nd of July, the army advanced in the direction of Donawerth, 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. Arriving in front of the enemy's position, the attack was commenced about six in the evening, by a detachment from each British corps, and the foot guards, royals, and twenty-third regiments. The difficulty of the ground,—the formidable preparations of the enemy,—and the steady bravery of the Bavarians, occasioned this to prove a particularly severe contest; but the determined assaults of the British soldiers shook the strength and weakened the resistance of the enemy; and eventually the soldiers of the allied army overpowered all resistance, captured the heights, and pursued the French and Bavarians across the Danube, capturing sixteen pieces of artillery, a number of standards and colours, with the enemy's tents, and the equipage and plate of the Bavarian commander.

The Fifteenth regiment shared in this splendid triumph of the British arms on the banks of the Danube. Its loss was one serjeant and nine rank and file killed; Captains Bolton and Lesley, Lieutenant Morris, three serjeants, and nineteen rank and file wounded.

After this victory the army penetrated the country of Bavaria, and the Elector concentrated his forces at Augsburg, where he formed an entrenched camp. The Fifteenth regiment advanced to the vicinity of Augsburg; but the fortified camp was found too strong to be attacked with any prospect of success, and the troops retired a few stages; the Germans commencing the siege of Ingoldstadt, and the British troops forming part of the covering army.

The Elector of Bavaria quitted his entrenched camp, and joined the reinforcements sent him by the French monarch; the united armies encamping near the village of Blenheim, in the valley of the Danube.

Commanding soldiers whose chivalrous spirit panted for distinction in the shock of battle, the British general led his columns forward, on the morning of the memorable 13th of August, 1704, in full confidence in the firmness and prowess of his troops. About mid-day a column, of which the Fifteenth foot, under Lieut.-Colonel William Britton, formed part, developed its attack against the enemy's right, under Lieut.-General Lord Cutts and Major-General Wills. The tenth, Fifteenth, twenty-first, twenty-third, and twenty-fourth regiments, under Brigadier-General Row, led the attack in gallant style, followed by four battalions of Hessians, and supported by eleven battalions of infantry, and fifteen squadrons of horse and dragoons. This column proceeded to the banks of the little river Nebel, and took possession of two water-mills, which the enemy had evacuated and set on fire; then advancing through the enclosures, made a determined attack on the French troops posted in the village of Blenheim; Brigadier-General Row striking his sword into the enemy's pallisades before he gave the word "fire." The assault was made with spirit and resolution, but the brigade was unable to force the entrenchments against the superior numbers of the enemy; and while retiring it was charged by the French troopers, who were repulsed by the Hessian brigade. After repeated attempts on the village had proved unavailing, a few corps blockaded the avenues; the army traversed the rivulet, and attacking the French position along the front, engaged in a sanguinary conflict. The combat of musketry, and the charges of the cavalry, were continued with varied success; and amidst this storm of war, the Fifteenth regiment had repeated opportunities of distinguishing itself. Eventually the legions of the enemy were overpowered, driven from the field with great slaughter, and the loss of many officers and men taken prisoners, among whom was the French commander, Marshal Tallard.

The main body of the French army being defeated with the loss of its artillery and baggage, the troops posted in Blenheim attempted to escape by the rear of the village; but were repulsed. They were environed on every side, and being unable to effect their escape, twenty-four battalions of infantry, and twelve squadrons of cavalry, surrendered prisoners of war. Thus ended the mighty struggle of this eventful day. Bavaria was subdued; the German empire was delivered from the menaced danger; the terrors of the British arms alarmed the states of Italy which supported the Bourbon cause; and the tide of war flowed prosperously in the interest of the allies.

Major Cornwallis, Captain Tankard, Lieutenants Kerr and Simpson, and Ensign Jackson, of the Fifteenth regiment, were killed; Lieut.-Colonel Britton, Major Armstrong, Captains Villebonne and Gaston, Lieutenants Barton, Dickenson, and Harrison, Ensigns Lesley, Hargrave, Edwards, Dean, Patrick, and Dawson, wounded: the number of non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the regiment killed and wounded, has not been ascertained.

After this victory, the army traversed the country in triumph; the enemy abandoning several important cities and towns, which were taken possession of by the allies. The Fifteenth regiment proceeded through the circle of Suabia, and directed its march on Philipsburg, where it crossed the Rhine on the 7th of September, and was subsequently encamped at Croon-Weissemberg, forming part of the covering army during the siege of Landau by the Germans. At the termination of this splendid campaign, the regiment struck its tents, and embarking in boats on the Rhine, sailed down that river to the Netherlands, where it passed the winter.

1705

In the spring of 1705, the losses of the preceding campaign were replaced by the arrival of one hundred and fifty recruits from England; and when the regiment took the field, its appearance and efficiency were commended by the Duke of Marlborough at the general review of the army. The regiment proceeded, in the first instance, to the vicinity of Maestricht,—afterwards marched to Juliers, from whence it traversed a mountainous country to the valley of the Moselle, and towards the end of May pitched its tents near the ancient city of Treves. In the early part of June, the army passed the Moselle and Saar rivers, and the English general was prepared to carry on the war in Alsace. The co-operation of the imperialists under the Margrave of Baden was, however, so long delayed that the British commander was forced to return to the Netherlands, to arrest the progress of the French arms in that quarter. The regiment shared in the difficulties of the retrograde movement to the Maese; and on the return of the army, the French raised the siege of the citadel of Liege and retired. The French had captured Huy, during the absence of the army up the Moselle; but this fortress was retaken in a few days.

The services of the regiment were next connected with the forcing of the stupendous fortified lines constructed by the French to cover the territory they had seized upon in the Netherlands. These lines were menaced by a detachment on the south of the Mehaine, to draw the French army to that quarter; and were afterwards passed, by a forced march in another direction, during the night of the 17th of July, at Neer-Hespen and Helixem. The French guards at these places were surprised and overpowered early on the morning of the 18th of that month, and the lines were forced with little loss. The Marquis d'Allegre advanced with a large body of French, Spanish, and Bavarian infantry and cavalry, but he was repulsed with severe loss. The Fifteenth were in reserve on this occasion. They shared in the subsequent operations of the campaign: but the designs of the English commander being frustrated by the Dutch generals, the forcing of the lines was not followed by such splendid results as had been anticipated.

1706

After passing the winter in garrison in Holland, the regiment again took the field in May, 1706, and had the honour to serve at the battle of Ramilies, where the forces of France, Spain, and Bavaria sustained a decisive overthrow. This battle occurred on Whitsunday, the 23rd of May. On the morning of that day, the allied army was advancing in the direction of Mont St. André; when the forces of the enemy were discovered in position, with their centre at the village of Ramilies, which was occupied by a numerous body of troops. Having complete reliance on the valour of his soldiers, the English general commenced the action, and in three hours the numerous legions of the enemy were overthrown, and driven from the field with a terrible slaughter. Many prisoners, with cannon, standards, and colours, were captured on this occasion.

The wreck of the French army fled to Louvain, and immediately afterwards abandoned that city and also Brussels. The States of Brabant, and the magistrates of Brussels, renounced their allegiance to King Philip. The principal towns of Brabant, and several places in Flanders, were immediately delivered up, and others surrendered on being summoned, or in a few days afterwards. Ostend, Menin, Dendermond, and Aeth were captured. Towns which had resisted numerous armies for months and years, and provinces disputed for ages, were the conquest of a summer. After sharing in these splendid achievements, the regiment was placed in garrison in Flanders.

1707

During the campaign of 1707, the services of the regiment were limited to marching, and occupying various encampments. No general engagement or siege occurred.

1708

In the spring of 1708 the regiment was called from its winter quarters in Flanders, in consequence of the King of France having fitted out a fleet, and embarked troops at Dunkirk, for the purpose of making a descent on the British coast, in favour of the Pretender. The Fifteenth, and several other regiments, marched from Ghent on the 8th of March, 1708, embarked at Ostend on the 15th, and arrived in England on the 21st; but the French fleet, with the Pretender on board, having been chased from the British shores by the English navy, the regiment returned to Flanders: it landed at Ostend on the 20th of April, and proceeded in boats, along the canal, to Ghent.

Leaving its quarters towards the end of May, the regiment joined the allied army, and was engaged in the active operations which followed. The French gained possession of Ghent and Bruges by treachery.

On the 11th of July, the regiment passed the Scheldt, on a pontoon bridge, between Oudenarde and the abbey of Eename, and engaged the French troops under the Duke of Burgundy and Marshal Vendome, in the fields and open grounds beyond the river. A fierce conflict of musketry ensued; and charge succeeded charge until the shades of evening gathered over the scene, and the progress of the conflict could only be discerned by the flashes of musketry, which pointed out the ground on which the battle raged. The French were forced from their position; part of their army was separated, and nearly destroyed; but it was preserved from complete annihilation by the darkness of the night.

This victory prepared the way for additional conquests; and the Fifteenth foot formed part of the covering army during the siege of the important fortress of Lisle, the capital of French Flanders, which was defended by fifteen thousand men under Marshal Boufflers. The regiment was in position when the united French forces advanced to raise the siege, but were frustrated by the superior tactics of the Duke of Marlborough. The grenadier company of the regiment joined the besieging army, and took part in the attacks on the town.

When the Elector of Bavaria besieged Brussels, the regiment formed part of the force which marched to the relief of that city, passed the Scheldt, and carried the enemy's positions beyond that river on the 27th of November; which was followed by the retreat of the enemy from before Brussels.

The citadel of Lisle surrendered on the 9th of December; Ghent and Bruges were afterwards recaptured, and the regiment had its winter quarters at Ghent.

1709

Having reposed a few months in quarters, and received a body of recruits from England, the regiment traversed the conquered territory to Lisle, in June, 1709, and afterwards took part in the manœuvres by which Marshal Villars was induced to reduce the strength of his garrisons in his fortified towns, to reinforce a line of entrenchments and forts, in which he expected to be attacked. This object gained, the siege of Tournay was immediately commenced; and the Fifteenth foot, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Andrew Armstrong, formed part of the covering army; but when the town surrendered, the regiment joined the besieging force, and took part in the attacks on the castle. This proved a desperate service. The citadel of Tournay was celebrated for the multiplicity of its under-ground works, and the approaches were carried on by sinking pits, and excavating subterraneous passages to the enemy's casemates and mines. The soldiers employed on these works were sometimes drowned with water, suffocated by smoke, and buried by explosions; and at other times parties of the besieging force and of the garrison met, and fought with sword and pistol in these gloomy labyrinths. In these services the Fifteenth regiment had a number of men killed and wounded; it also lost several men from the explosion of a mine, which destroyed a battery.

On the 3rd of September, the citadel of Tournay surrendered; and the army traversed the country towards Mons, the capital of the province of Hainault, leaving the Fifteenth and several other corps at Tournay, to level the approaches and fill the excavations. Immediately after this work was performed, the regiment traversed the country towards Mons, and joined the army, on the morning of the 11th of September, at the moment the columns of attack were advancing to assault the enemy's fortified position at Malplaquet. This proved one of the most sanguinary and hard-contested battles of the war: the confident and fierce attacks of the allies were made against formidable works, defended with resolution, which occasioned a great sacrifice of life; but eventually the position was forced, and the French army retreated with the loss of many colours, standards, cannon, and officers and soldiers made prisoners. The Fifteenth were in reserve on this occasion, and its loss was limited to Brevet Major Leslie, killed, and three or four private soldiers killed and wounded.

This victory was followed by the siege of Mons, and the regiment formed part of the covering army. The garrison surrendered in October.

On the 23rd of October, Major-General Howe was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment by Algernon Earl of Hertford, afterwards Duke of Somerset, who had served with reputation at several battles and sieges on the continent.

1710

The regiment quitted its winter quarters at Ghent, on the 14th of April, 1710, and marched to the rendezvous of the army near Tournay. The services of the Fifteenth foot were this year connected with the forcing of the French lines at Pont-à-Vendin, and with the siege and capture of Douay, which fortress surrendered on the 27th of June. They subsequently formed part of the covering army encamped at Villars-Brulin, during the siege of Bethune. This place having surrendered on the 29th of August, and the French army avoiding a general engagement, the fortresses of Aire and St. Venant were invested, and taken; and these conquests were the last important events of the campaign.

After taking part in these services, the regiment marched into quarters at Courtray, where it was stationed during the winter.

1711

Towards the end of April, 1711, the regiment advanced from Courtray, and joining the army near Douay, was formed in brigade with the foot guards, a battalion of the royals, and the twentieth and twenty-third regiments. It was reviewed on the 8th of June, at the camp at Warde, by the Duke of Marlborough; and afterwards took part in the skilful operations by which the enemy's formidable and newly constructed lines were passed at Arleux, on the 5th of August; and this success was followed by the siege of Bouchain, a fortified town of Hainault, situate on both sides of the river Scheldt. The regiment formed part of a division of twenty battalions of infantry, commanded by Lieut.-General the Earl of Orkney, which took post on the north and north-west side of the town and river; and it shared in the duties of the trenches, and in carrying on the attacks, in which services it had several men killed and wounded. The garrison agreed to surrender on the 13th of September.

Thus the French monarch found his armies defeated and dispirited; his fortresses wrested from him, and the victorious legions of the allies prepared to penetrate the interior of his kingdom; and he sued for peace.

1712

In the spring of 1712 the Fifteenth regiment took the field with the army under the Duke of Ormond, who had been appointed to the command in succession to the Duke of Marlborough, and advanced to the frontiers of France. Negociations for peace having commenced, a suspension of hostilities took place between the British and French, and the regiment returned to Ghent; from whence it was afterwards removed to Dunkirk, the French monarch having agreed to deliver up that fortress until the treaty of peace was concluded.

1713
1714

The regiment was stationed at Dunkirk in 1713, and at Nieuport in the early part of 1714.

While the regiment was in Flanders, the decease of Queen Anne, and the accession of King George I., occurred, on the 1st of August, 1714, and soon afterwards the Fifteenth foot, and several other corps, were ordered to return to England.

1715

On the 8th of February, 1715, the Earl of Hertford was promoted to the colonelcy of the second troop (now second regiment) of life guards, and was succeeded in the command of the Fifteenth foot by Colonel Harry Harrison.

1716

The regiment was actively employed in South Britain during the troubles in 1715; but it was not called upon to take the field against the rebels under the Earl of Mar, who were dispersed, in the beginning of 1716, by the King's troops under the Duke of Argyle.

1719

In 1719, the regiment was stationed in Scotland, when the King of Spain fitted out an armament for the invasion of Great Britain in favour of the Pretender. The Spanish fleet was dispersed by a storm; two ships, however, arrived on the coast of Scotland, and four hundred Spaniards and about a hundred Scots and English gentlemen, landed on the 27th of April, at Kintail, and were afterwards joined by about fifteen hundred Highlanders. Against this force, three troops of the Greys, and the eleventh, fourteenth, and Fifteenth regiments of foot, marched from Inverness on the 5th of June, under Major-General Wightman, and encountered the rebels on the 10th of that month, at the pass of Glenshiel; when the Spaniards and Highlanders withdrew a short distance, and formed for battle on the romantic mountain scenery in the pass of Strachell. About five o'clock in the afternoon, the grenadiers of the three regiments climbed the rocky crags, and commenced the action; they were followed by the eleventh, and a detachment of the Fifteenth under Colonel Harrison; at the same time, the Greys galloped forward along the road; and the Spaniards and Highlanders were forced from the lofty ground on which they had taken post. The rebels made a second stand on the top of the hill, but were speedily driven from thence. The Highlanders afterwards dispersed to their homes, and on the following day, the Spaniards surrendered prisoners of war.

1727

On the appearance of a continental war, in 1727, the regiment was augmented, and held in readiness to proceed to Holland, but no embarkation took place.

1728

King George II. reviewed the second and Fifteenth regiments in brigade on Blackheath, on the 29th of June, 1728, and expressed his high approbation of their appearance and movements. The signs of war disappearing, the establishment was afterwards reduced.

1739

When hostilities commenced between Great Britain and Spain, in 1739, the establishment was again augmented.

1740

In the middle of June, 1740, the Fifteenth, twenty-fourth, twenty-seventh regiments, and the six battalions of marines, were encamped on the Isle of Wight, under the orders of General Lord Cathcart. Towards the end of July, the camp broke up, and the Fifteenth, and twenty-fourth regiments, and the six regiments of marines, embarked on board the fleet for the West Indies. Some delay occurred, and after putting to sea, the fleet was twice driven back by contrary winds; on the 26th of October it sailed a third time, and was dispersed by a tempest in the Bay of Biscay; but the greater part of the vessels were recollected and proceeded on the voyage. Arriving at Dominica to provide wood and water, the troops lost their gallant leader, General Lord Cathcart (then colonel of the sixth dragoon guards or Carabineers), who died of dysentery; and the command devolved on Brigadier-General Thomas Wentworth.

1741

The expedition arrived at Jamaica in January, 1741, and the appearance of this force dispelled the apprehension of an attack on that island by the combined fleets of France and Spain, and also enabled the British commanders to act offensively. The expedition put to sea, and after some delay, an attack on Carthagena, the capital of a wealthy province in the country of Terra Firma, in South America, was resolved upon. This place was found strongly fortified, and the garrison reinforced by the crews of a squadron of large ships; at the same time the season for active service in that part of the world was fast passing away; but the design was persevered in, and the fleet having silenced several small forts, the Fifteenth mustering one thousand officers and soldiers, and several other corps, landed on an island near the mouth of the harbour, on the 10th of March, and commenced the siege of the principal fort, or castle, called Bocca-chica. On the evening of the 25th of March, the grenadiers of the Fifteenth, and other regiments, mounted the breach in gallant style, to storm the fortress, when the Spanish garrison fled, and the place was captured without loss.

Channels having been made through the sunk vessels with which the Spaniards had blocked up the entrance to the harbour, the Fifteenth and twenty-fourth re-embarked, and commenced landing near the city of Carthagena. From the place of landing, the two regiments advanced along a defile, preceded by the grenadiers, through a country covered with trees and herbage of luxuriant growth, the interwoven branches forming a shelter impenetrable both to heat and light, and several men were wounded by shots fired from the tracks and openings into the wood. Diverging from the defile, the two regiments encountered a body of Spaniards advantageously posted to dispute the passage, but as the grenadiers sprang forward to commence the attack, the enemy fled. The two regiments proceeded to the vicinity of the castle of St. Lazar, which commands the town, and were followed by the six battalions of marines. The soldiers passed three nights in the open air, for want of tents and tools, and their health was seriously injured.

The siege of the castle was commenced; and as the men were fast decreasing in numbers from the effects of hard duty and climate, Brigadier-General Wentworth was induced to attack the place by escalade, to which dangerous enterprise he was urged by Vice-Admiral Vernon. Twelve hundred men stormed the enemy's entrenchments under the walls of the fort, exposed to a heavy fire of musketry. The grenadiers, led by Colonel Grant, rushed forward with astonishing bravery, and leaping into the lines, carried the works in gallant style. The Spaniards fled over a drawbridge into the fort. The British pursued, and called for ladders to storm the fort; but the fire was so hot, that the Americans who carried the ladders threw them down and fled. Meanwhile the storming party was exposed to a destructive fire. At length three ladders were brought forward, and a serjeant and ten grenadiers mounted the walls, but were instantly cut to pieces, excepting the serjeant, who saved himself by leaping down again. Several of the ladders were found too short: it was ascertained that, owing to a guide having been killed, the attack had been made on the strongest part of the works; Colonel Grant fell mortally wounded; and after sustaining a most destructive fire for several hours with intrepidity and perseverance, the troops were ordered to retire, having sustained a severe loss in killed and wounded.

Violent periodical rains commenced; the country was deluged with water, and the change of atmosphere produced fatal effects on the health of the men, who were drenched with rain. All hope of further success immediately vanished, and the troops returned on board the fleet, where numbers died from the distempers peculiar to the climate.

The forts of the harbour of Carthagena having been demolished, the fleet sailed to Jamaica. The Fifteenth, and several other corps, afterwards sailed to the island of Cuba, where they landed, and a camp was formed twenty miles up one of the large rivers of the island. At this camp, the regiment was stationed some time; and the country was reconnoitred in various directions by detachments. The design of forming a British settlement on that part of the island of Cuba, was, however, abandoned; in November the troops returned on board ship, and were re-conveyed to Jamaica.

1742

Having sustained a severe loss in killed and wounded at Carthagena, and also from the effects of climate, the regiment returned to England in 1742, and commenced recruiting its numbers.

1743
1744

During the years 1743 and 1744, the regiment was stationed in Great Britain.

1745

In the meantime, a British army was supporting the interest of the house of Austria on the Continent; but the French monarch brought so great a superiority of numbers into the field, that the allied army, under His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, was unable to prevent the enemy gaining possession of several fortified towns in the Austrian Netherlands, during the summer of 1745. Under these circumstances the regiment was sent from England to Ostend, with the view of contributing to the preservation of that place, where it arrived on the 27th of July. The French besieged Ostend, which was defended by a garrison of British and Austrian troops under Lieut.-General Count Chanclos, of the Austrian service, who capitulated after a siege of thirteen days, the garrison being permitted to march out with the honors of war, and proceed to the Austrian territories. The Fifteenth joined the army.

At this period, Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, had aroused the Highland clans to arms, and asserted his father's pretensions to the British throne. This rebellion occasioned the regiment to be recalled from Flanders: it arrived in the river Thames, and landed at Gravesend, on the 25th of October; but it was not ordered to march against the insurgent clans—it was destined to remain in the south of England, to oppose the threatened invasion of the French.

1746

When the hopes of the Pretender had been annihilated by the battle of Culloden, on the 16th of April, 1746, part of the military force of the kingdom became disposable for other services, and the Fifteenth regiment was selected to form part of an expedition against the French possessions in Canada. Various circumstances occasioned the fleet to be detained so long, that this enterprise was deferred, and an attempt on the port of L'Orient, the principal station for the French East India Company's shipping and stores, was resolved upon. The expedition sailed from Plymouth on the 14th of September; on the 20th a landing was effected on the coast of France, and the troops assembled to oppose the debarkation were driven from the shore. On the following day, the British advanced in two columns towards L'Orient; the Fifteenth forming part of the second column. The French militia fired upon the troops from the woods, and put the men of one or two corps into some confusion, when Captain Honorable James Murray led the grenadier company of the Fifteenth forward with great gallantry, and dispersed the enemy. When the leading companies arrived at the village of Plemur, they were fired upon from the houses; but this resistance was speedily overcome, and the people were punished for their temerity. On arriving before L'Orient, the governor proposed to surrender; but the conditions demanded were not acceded to, in consequence of a report of the engineers stating the practicability of reducing the town. The siege was immediately commenced; but the artillery and stores with the expedition proved unequal to the undertaking, and the troops retreated to the coast, and re-embarked without molestation.

Another descent was made on the French coast in October: the troops landing on the peninsula of Quiberon, capturing a fort with eighteen guns, and afterwards destroying the guns and forts in the peninsula, with those in the isles of Houat and Hedic. These services performed, the regiment returned on board the fleet and sailed for England.

1748
1749

Negociations for a treaty of peace were commenced in 1748, at Aix-la-Chapelle. In 1749, the strength of the army was reduced, and the regiment proceeded to Ireland.

After commanding the regiment thirty-four years, Lieut.-General Harrison died, in March of this year, and was succeeded by Colonel John Jordan, from the lieut.-colonelcy of the tenth dragoons, by commission, dated 15th of April, 1749.

1751

In the clothing warrant, dated the 1st of July, 1751, the facing of the regiment is directed to be yellow. The first, or King's colour, to be the great union; the second, or regimental colour, to be of yellow silk, with the union in the upper canton; in the centre the number of the regiment in gold Roman characters, within a wreath of roses and thistles on the same stalk. The uniform at this period was cocked hats bound with white lace; scarlet coats faced and turned up with yellow, and ornamented with white lace; scarlet waistcoat and breeches; white gaiters; white cravats; and buff belts.

1755

The regiment remained in Ireland until the undetermined boundary of the British and French settlements in North America occasioned a rupture between the two kingdoms. The aggressions of the French led to the sending of a body of British troops to North America in 1755; at which period the establishment of the Fifteenth was augmented, and the regiment embarked for England.

1756

Colonel Jordan was removed to the ninth dragoons, in April, 1756, and King George II. conferred the colonelcy of the Fifteenth foot on Colonel Jeffery (afterwards Lord) Amherst, from captain and lieut.-colonel in the first foot guards.

In July of this year the regiment pitched its tents near Blandford, where an encampment was formed of six regiments of foot and two of dragoons under Lieut.-General Sir Charles Howard.

1757

Numerous encampments were formed also in the following year, and the troops held in readiness to repel a threatened invasion of the French. The Fifteenth foot, and four other corps, pitched their tents on Barham-downs, under Charles Duke of Marlborough.

From Barham-downs the regiment proceeded to the Isle of Wight, in order to form part of an expedition against the French naval station of Rochfort, on the river Charente. The Fifteenth, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Honorable Sir James Murray, was formed in brigade with the fifth, twenty-fourth, thirtieth, and fifty-first regiments; the land forces were under Lieut.-General Sir John Mordaunt, and the navy under Admiral Sir Edward Hawke. The fleet sailed in the early part of September; on the 23rd of that month the Isle of Aix was captured, and the forts were afterwards destroyed. Owing to unfavourable weather, a landing could not be effected near Rochfort before the enemy was alarmed and prepared for a vigorous resistance. The troops were repeatedly in readiness to land, and on one occasion the first division was in the boats; but the weather, and other causes, prevented a debarkation taking place. The expedition afterwards returned to England.

1758

Early in the following year, the Fifteenth regiment, mustering eight hundred and fifty officers and soldiers, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Honorable James Murray, embarked for North America, to take part in the attack of the French possessions in that part of the world. It proceeded to Halifax, in Nova Scotia, where the expedition was prepared against Louisburg, the capital of the island of Cape Breton,[11] in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, under the orders of its colonel, Lieut.-General Sir Jeffery Amherst, K.B., the naval force being under Admiral Boscawen. The expedition sailed from Halifax on the 28th of May, and approached Louisburg, on the 2nd of June; but the weather was so unfavourable that a landing could not be effected before the 8th of June. On that occasion, the grenadier company of the Fifteenth formed part of the centre division under the gallant Brigadier-General James Wolfe, designed to force a landing; and the regiment formed part of the left division, under Brigadier-General Lawrence, designed to make a show of landing at Fresh-water Cove, to divert the enemy's attention from the main attack. The division under Brigadier-General Wolfe approached the shore under a heavy fire, and the surf being high, several boats were overset. One boat, containing part of the grenadier company of the Fifteenth, was overset, when Lieutenant Kennedy, two serjeants, and thirteen rank and file, were drowned. The regiment had also Lieutenant Nicholson and eight men killed by the enemy's fire. The survivors, however, jumped into the water with great gallantry, formed on the beach, and being animated by their chivalrous leader, the heroic Wolfe, they rushed upon their opponents with fixed bayonets, and carried the enemy's works in a manner which excited great admiration. The other divisions followed, and before night the army was on shore.

The siege of Louisburg was afterwards commenced; and the Fifteenth regiment took part in this service. In carrying on the approaches, and in making the attacks, the troops underwent great fatigues with a cheerful alacrity, which redounded to their honor. The enemy's sallies were repulsed: the fire of the British artillery destroyed their shipping, silenced their batteries, and damaged their works to so great an extent, that, on the 26th of July, the garrison surrendered prisoners of war; the whole island was also delivered up; and two other small islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence surrendered. Eleven stand of colours were captured on this occasion, and sent to England.

Besides the officers and soldiers killed in effecting a landing, the regiment had also Lieutenant Campbell killed; Lieutenant Hamilton, Lieutenant and Adjutant Mukens, and Ensign Moneypenny, wounded during the siege of Louisburg. The regiment had also a considerable number of private soldiers killed and wounded.

The arrival of the news of this gallant exploit produced great sensation in England; the captured colours were presented to the King, and conducted by a splendid cavalcade from Kensington Palace to St. Paul's Cathedral. The meritorious conduct of the officers and soldiers of the expedition was rewarded with the approbation of their Sovereign and the thanks of Parliament.

The Fifteenth were stationed at Louisburg during the remainder of the year.