TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

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

HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE FORTY-SIXTH,
OR
THE SOUTH DEVONSHIRE,
REGIMENT OF FOOT:

CONTAINING

AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT
IN 1741
AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
TO 1851.

COMPILED BY

RICHARD CANNON, Esq.,

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, HORSE GUARDS.

ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES.

LONDON:

PARKER, FURNIVALL, & PARKER,

30, CHARING CROSS.

M DCCC LI.

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, been 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 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."

THE FORTY-SIXTH,

OR

THE SOUTH DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT,

BEARS ON THE REGIMENTAL COLOUR AND APPOINTMENTS

THE WORD "DOMINICA,"

AS A DISTINGUISHING MARK
OF THE GOOD CONDUCT AND EXEMPLARY VALOUR
DISPLAYED BY THE REGIMENT
IN THE DEFENCE OF

THE ISLAND OF DOMINICA,

AGAINST A VERY SUPERIOR FRENCH FORCE,
ON THE 22nd OF FEBRUARY, 1805.

THE

FORTY-SIXTH,

OR,

THE SOUTH DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT,

ORIGINALLY

THE FIFTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT.

CONTENTS
OF THE
HISTORICAL RECORD.

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS

OF

THE FORTY-SIXTH,

OR

THE SOUTH DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT:

ORIGINALLY NUMBERED

THE FIFTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT.

PLATES.

FORTY-SIXTH REGIMENT.
For Cannons Military Records

Madeley lith 3 Wellington S^t Strand

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE FORTY-SIXTH,

OR THE

SOUTH DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT;

ORIGINALLY NUMBERED

THE FIFTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT.

1739

The claim of the Spanish Government to the right of search, and the aggressions committed by that power on the commerce of Great Britain, in the West Indies, by the guarda-costas, and other ships acting by authority of the King of Spain, contrary to the existing treaties, led to a convention between the two Crowns, which was concluded on the 14th of January, 1739. This convention stipulated, that compensation should be made by Spain to the English Government, in reparation for the hostilities committed on the British subjects in the American seas. The Court of Madrid, however, violated the convention, and ultimately war was proclaimed against Spain on the 23rd of October, 1739.

Augmentations were accordingly made in the army and navy; ten regiments of Marines were raised in this and the following year; these corps were embarked on board the fleets under Admirals Vernon and Sir Chaloner Ogle, which proceeded against the Spanish possessions in South America.

1740

While the war was being carried on between Great Britain and Spain, Charles the Sixth, Emperor of Germany, died on the 20th of October, 1740; and the succession of his daughter, the Archduchess Maria Theresa, to his hereditary dominions, being disputed by the Electors of Bavaria and Saxony, also by the Kings of Prussia and Spain, a continental war was the result, in which England and France, acting in the first instance as auxiliaries, finally became principals in the contest, which has since been known as the "War of the Austrian Succession." The King of France, Louis XV., supported the Elector of Bavaria, while King George II., adhering to the "Pragmatic Sanction,"[6] to which nearly all the powers of Europe had been parties, supported the claims of the Archduchess Maria Theresa.

1741

In January, 1741, seven additional regiments[7] were raised for the regular Infantry, and were numbered in succession to the ten regiments of marines, from the Fifty-fourth to the Sixtieth regiment.

The FIFTY-SEVENTH was one of these seven regiments, and the command of the corps was conferred by King George II. on Colonel John Price, from the First Foot Guards, whose commission was dated the 13th of January, 1741. The regiment consisted of ten companies, of three serjeants, three corporals, two drummers, and seventy privates each; and its numbers, including officers, amounted to eight hundred and fifteen.

1742

In March, 1742, the FIFTY-SEVENTH regiment was stationed at Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

In May, 1742, several regiments were embarked for Flanders under Field Marshal the Earl of Stair, to support Maria Theresa, the Queen of Hungary and Bohemia; but the FIFTY-SEVENTH regiment remained in Great Britain.

The FIFTY-SEVENTH regiment was afterwards stationed at Berwick, and in October received orders to proceed to North Britain.

1743

On the 23rd of June, 1743, Colonel the Honorable Thomas Murray, from the Third Foot Guards, was promoted Colonel of the FIFTY-SEVENTH regiment, in succession to Colonel John Price, removed to the fourteenth foot.

In the meanwhile King George II. had joined the army at Aschaffenberg, and on the 27th of June gained a victory over the French army, under Marshal Noailles at Dettingen.

1744

France and Great Britain, from auxiliaries, now became principals in the contest. On the 20th of March, 1744, France declared war against England, and on the 29th of that month a counter declaration was made by Great Britain, in which the French monarch was accused of violating the "Pragmatic Sanction," and of assisting the son of the Pretender in his designs on the British throne.

The operations of the British army in Flanders during the year 1744 were confined to the defensive, and no general engagement occurred.

1745

After the battle of Fontenoy, fought on the 11th of May, 1745, Louis XV. revived the claims of the Pretender[8] to the throne of Great Britain. Prince Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, arrived in the Highlands of Scotland towards the end of July, where he was joined by several clans.

The FIFTY-SEVENTH regiment at this period formed part of the force in Scotland, and Lieut.-General Sir John Cope, the Commander in Chief in North Britain, assembled all the troops under his orders at Stirling, which consisted of about fourteen hundred men. He afterwards advanced towards the great road called the Chain, leading through the Highlands to Inverness, and after a laborious march, arrived at Dalwhinny on the 25th of August. Here intelligence was received that the rebels were posted at Corryarrack, seventeen miles distant, upon which Lieut.-General Sir John Cope continued his march through Badenoch to Inverness, so that the south of Scotland was left unprotected, and the young Pretender improved this unexpected advantage, and accordingly entered the county of Athol, seized the Castle of Blair, proceeded afterwards to Perth and Dundee, proclaiming his Father by new magistrates of his own appointment, levying the public money, and assuming other acts of royalty. The number of the rebels had increased to four thousand men, and on the 11th of September the young Chevalier marched from Perth, passed the Forth on the 13th, and on the 16th of that month, at night, arrived in the vicinity of Edinburgh. At five o'clock on the following morning the city was unaccountably surrendered to him without resistance. He then made his public entry, attired in Highland costume, and occupied the royal palace of Holyrood House. General Guest, who commanded the garrison of Edinburgh Castle, removed the bank, and the effects of the principal inhabitants into that fortress, which greatly disappointed the young Prince, who expected to gain possession of the treasure. His Father was afterwards proclaimed with great ceremony at the High Cross, as King of Great Britain and Ireland.

Lieut.-General Sir John Cope, in the meanwhile, had marched with his troops from Inverness to Aberdeen, where they took shipping, and landed at Dunbar, twenty-seven miles east of Edinburgh, on the 18th of September, when he was reinforced by Brigadier-General Fowke, with two regiments of dragoons, from Edinburgh. The next day he advanced towards that city to observe the disposition of the rebels, who were now increased to upwards of five thousand men.

On the 20th of September Lieut.-General Sir John Cope encamped in the neighbourhood of Preston-Pans,[9] near the sea, and seven miles from Edinburgh. His army consisted of the following regiments:—

Information being received of the approach of the enemy, Sir John Cope drew up his army at Gladsmuir Heath, between the hamlets of Preston-Pans and Cockenzie. About three o'clock on the morning of the 21st of September, large bodies of rebel Highlanders were in motion, and before daybreak a chosen band of these hardy mountaineers advanced with great celerity and intrepidity to attack the royalists. As they drew near, they raised a fearful yell, fired a volley, threw down their muskets, and rushed sword in hand upon the troops which guarded the artillery. The sudden advance of the Highlanders in the dark, their superior numbers, and peculiar mode of fighting, dismayed the two hundred soldiers appointed to guard the artillery on the right, who saw themselves assaulted by more than three times their own numbers, and as they caught the gleam of steel flashing in their faces, gave way and fled. The two hundred and fifty dragoons on the right, seeing the artillery lost, became disheartened; they advanced to charge a large mass of Highlanders, but observing the disparity of numbers, they were seized with a panic and galloped from the field.

This inauspicious commencement of the action damped the spirits of the infantry, and the panic spread from rank to rank; several companies made resistance, and feats of valour were displayed by individuals and small parties; all semblance of order was, however, soon lost, and a confused rout ensued.

About four hundred of the royal forces were killed or wounded, and the prisoners, who amounted to nearly twelve hundred men, were removed to Edinburgh, and afterwards to the Highlands.

The FIFTY-SEVENTH regiment had the following officers taken prisoners: Lieut.-Colonel Clayton, Major Talbot, Captains Reid, John Cochran, Scot, Thomas Leslie, and Blackes; Lieutenants Thomas Hay, Cranston, Disney, Wale, Wry, and Simms; Ensigns Sutherland, Lucey, Holdane, Birnie, and L'Estrange; and Adjutant Spencer.

This successful commencement of the rebellion caused numerous adherents to flock to the Prince's standard; several regiments were recalled from the continent in October, and His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland proceeded to take the command of the royal army. The young Pretender, elated with the capture of Carlisle, marched as far as Derby, from whence, however, he commenced his retreat to the north on the 6th of December, as he found but few partisans in England to join him in his expedition.

The Duke of Cumberland, after capturing the rebel garrison of Carlisle, returned to London, leaving the command of the army to Lieut.-General Hawley.

1746

In January 1746, Stirling was closely invested by the young Chevalier, and Lieut.-General Hawley marched to its relief. An engagement occurred at Falkirk on the 17th of January, in which the Prince was again victorious. The Duke of Cumberland now proceeded to Edinburgh, reassumed the command of the army, and on the 2nd of February entered Stirling.

Fortune no longer favored the young Chevalier, who fixed his head-quarters at Inverness. The inclemency of the season having abated, the Duke of Cumberland, on the 8th of April, advanced towards the enemy, and gained a complete victory over him on the 16th of April, near Culloden House, four miles east of Inverness.[10]

By official documents it appears, that on the 22nd of March, 1746, the FIFTY-SEVENTH regiment was stationed at Berwick, and on the 16th of April following, the date of the Battle of Culloden, the subjoined letter was addressed to the officer commanding the first division of the regiment, then at Tuxford, in Nottinghamshire, which indicates that the corps had commenced its march towards London:—

"War Office, 16th April, 1746.

"Sir,

"I am commanded to signify to you it is His Majesty's pleasure, that you cause the regiment of Foot under your command to continue its march in two divisions, with the utmost expedition, and without halting.

"I am, &c.
(Signed) "W. Yonge.

"Officer Commanding in Chief the first division
of Colonel Murray's regiment, at Tuxford."

Prince Charles, after enduring many hardships, succeeded in escaping to France in September. In the following month the FIFTY-SEVENTH regiment embarked at Portsmouth for Jersey.

1747

The rebellion being suppressed, several regiments returned to Flanders, and on the 2nd of July, 1747, the Duke of Cumberland engaged the French at Laffeld, or Val, where the Allies suffered severely from the misconduct of the Dutch troops.

1748

The Allies again took the field in the summer of 1748, but hostilities were at length terminated by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which was signed on the 7th of October, 1748. By it all the great treaties, from that of Westphalia in 1648, which first recognised the principle of a balance of power in Europe, to that of Vienna in 1738, were renewed and confirmed. Prussia retained Silesia, and the Empress-Queen Maria Theresa was guaranteed in the possession of her hereditary dominions, according to the Pragmatic Sanction. France surrendered her conquests in Flanders, and England those in the East and West Indies; all therefore Great Britain gained by the war was the glory of having supported the German sovereignty of Maria Theresa, and of having adhered to former treaties.

Several regiments were disbanded in consequence of the termination of the war. On the disbandment of Colonel Spotswood's (afterwards Gooche's) American Provincial Corps, then numbered the forty-third regiment, and of the ten Marine regiments from the forty-fourth to the fifty-third, the numerical titles of six of the seven regiments raised in 1741, were changed, and the fifty-seventh became the FORTY-SIXTH regiment.[11]

1749

In the year 1749 the FORTY-SIXTH regiment proceeded to Ireland, where it remained for eight years.

1751

In the Royal Warrant, dated the 1st of July, 1751, for ensuring uniformity in the clothing, standards, and colours of the army, and regulating the number and rank of regiments, the facings of the FORTY-SIXTH regiment were directed to be yellow. The first, or King's colour, was the Great Union; the second, or Regimental colour, was of yellow silk, with the Union in the upper canton; in the centre of the colour the number of the rank of the regiment, in gold Roman characters, within a wreath of roses and thistles on the same stalk.

1756

While the regiment was stationed in Ireland, the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle was interrupted by the aggressions of the French on the British territory in North America, and early in 1756 the King of France prepared a powerful armament for the capture of the island of Minorca. In consequence of this attack on Minorca, hostilities became inevitable on the part of Great Britain, and on the 18th of May war was declared against France.

1757

On the 7th of May 1757, the FORTY-SIXTH, and other regiments, embarked at Cork, for Nova Scotia, being intended to form part of an expedition under Major-General the Earl of Loudoun, for the attack upon Cape Breton, an island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. On arriving at Halifax, the seventeenth, forty-second, FORTY-SIXTH, and the second battalion of the sixtieth regiments were formed in brigade under Major-General James Abercromby; but the French at Louisburg having been reinforced, the expedition was deferred until the following year, and the regiment remained in Nova Scotia during the winter.

1758

While the expedition under Lieut.-General (afterwards Lord) Amherst proceeded in May, 1758, against Cape Breton,[12] the FORTY-SIXTH regiment was ordered to join the body of troops under Major-General James Abercromby, selected to attack the fort of Ticonderoga. This force, which comprised the twenty-seventh, forty-second, forty-fourth, FORTY-SIXTH, and fifty-fifth regiments, embarked on Lake George on the 5th of July, and landed on the following day near the extremity of the lake, from whence the troops marched through a wild and thickly-wooded country, in four columns, upon Ticonderoga; the guides mistook the route through the trackless woods, and on the 6th of July, a skirmish ensued with a body of French troops, in which Brigadier-General George Augustus Viscount Howe (of the fifty-fifth regiment) was killed. With this exception the British sustained but small loss, while the enemy had three hundred killed, and one hundred and forty-eight taken prisoners. On the 8th of July, the British appeared before the fort, which was situated on a tongue of land, projecting into Lake Champlain, and was built by the French in 1756. It could only be approached on one side, which was strongly fortified; the other three sides being surrounded by water. Felled trees, with their branches outward, were spread before the works, which were defended by between four and five thousand men.

The engineer having reported that the entrenchment might be forced by musketry alone, Major-General Abercromby, unfortunately, determined to attack the place without waiting for the artillery, which, on account of the badness of the ground, could not be easily brought up. A rumour also that the French were about to be reinforced with three thousand men, confirmed the General in his resolution. Although the troops behaved with the utmost gallantry in the attack on fort Ticonderoga, on the 8th July, it was found impossible to succeed in the undertaking, and after many unavailing efforts, during a desperate contest of upwards of four hours, Major-General Abercromby gave orders to withdraw, and the British returned to their camp on the south of Lake George, where they arrived on the following evening.[13]

1759

The following officers belonging to the FORTY-SIXTH regiment were killed on this occasion: Lieut.-Colonel Samuel Beaver, Captains George Needham and Edward Wynne; Lieutenants Jacob Laulhé and Arthur Lloyd; Ensign George Crofton, and Quarter-Master Thomas Carbonell.

In the year 1759, it was proposed to attack the French in all their strong posts in Canada at once, so as to fall as nearly as possible at the same time upon Crown Point, Niagara, and the forts to the south of Lake Erie, while a great naval armament, and a considerable body of land forces under Major-General James Wolfe, should attempt Quebec by the river St. Lawrence.

Lieut.-General Amherst, who commanded the British forces in America, was to attack Ticonderoga and Crown Point, by Lake George; the reduction of these forts would command the Lake Champlain, where having established a sufficient naval force, he was by the river Sorel, which forms the communication between this lake and the river St. Lawrence, to proceed to Quebec, and effect a junction with Major-General Wolfe.

The third of the grand operations was against Fort Niagara, near the celebrated falls of that name, a place of great consequence. The reduction of this place was committed to Brigadier-General John Prideaux (fifty-fifth regiment), under whom Sir William Johnson commanded the provincials of New York, and several Indians of the Five Nations, who were engaged in the British service, by the credit that gentleman had obtained among their tribes. It was to this portion of the army that the FORTY-SIXTH regiment was attached.

The troops which had been appointed to proceed to Niagara, arrived at the fort in July. This was a very important post, and was situated at the entrance of a strait by which Lake Ontario is joined to Lake Erie. A little above the fort is the cataract of Niagara, the most remarkable in the world, for the quantity of water, and the greatness of the fall. The siege of the place had not been long formed, before Brigadier-General Prideaux was killed in the trenches, by the bursting of a cohorn. This occurred on the 20th of July, and the accident threatened to throw a damp on the operations; but Sir William Johnson, upon whom the command devolved, omitted nothing to continue the vigorous measures of his predecessor, and added to them everything his own genius could suggest.

The French were alarmed for the safety of the fort, and collected all the troops they could draw from their posts about the lakes, and to these were joined a large body of Indians; the whole advanced to raise the siege, and they amounted in all, to seventeen hundred men.

It was on the 23rd of July, that Sir William Johnson received intelligence of the approach of the enemy to relieve the fort, and instantly made a disposition to defeat their designs. The guard of the trenches was commanded by Major John Beckwith, of the forty-fourth regiment, and, lest the garrison should sally out, and either attempt to surprise or overpower that guard, by which the British would have been hemmed in between two fires, the forty-fourth regiment, under Lieut.-Colonel William Farquhar, was posted in such manner as to be able to sustain Major Beckwith.

The road on the left of the line, which led from the cataract to the fort, was occupied by the light infantry, and piquets of the army, on the evening of the 23rd of July; early next morning these were reinforced by the grenadiers and part of the FORTY-SIXTH regiment, the whole commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Eyre Massey, of the FORTY-SIXTH, to whose good conduct in the distribution of the troops, and the steadiness with which he received the enemy in front, while the Indians in British pay, attacked them on the flanks, the honor of the day was in a great degree attributable. The French were completely defeated, and all their officers were made prisoners, among whom were Monsieur Aubry, De Lignery, Marin, and Repentini.

This action sealed the fate of Fort Niagara, which surrendered on the following day (25th of July), and Sir William Johnson, Bart., in his despatch to Lieut.-General Amherst, of that date, thus alluded to the conduct of the troops:—

"Permit me to assure you, in the whole progress of the siege, which was severe and painful, the officers and men behaved with the utmost cheerfulness and bravery."

In the meantime the siege of Ticonderoga was prosecuted with vigour by the troops under Lieut.-General Amherst, and on the 25th of July the garrison blew up the fort, and sailed to Crown Point, another fort on Lake Champlain, which place the French also abandoned, and retired down the lake to Isle aux Noix; Crown Point was occupied by the British on the 4th of August following.

The operations against Quebec by the troops under Major-General James Wolfe, caused the year to end in a most triumphant manner to the British Arms. The battle fought on the 13th of September, 1759, on the Heights of Abraham, in which the Major-General was killed, led to the surrender of Quebec, which capitulated five days afterwards.

While the above operations were being performed, Lieut.-General Amherst found that the command of Lake Champlain was still an object of some difficulty, although the retreat of the French from Crown Point and Ticonderoga had left him master of Lake George. In October the troops embarked in boats, and proceeded a considerable distance along the lake, but the season became too advanced for operations, which were postponed to the following year, and the force returned to Crown Point and Ticonderoga for winter-quarters.

1760

The French endeavoured to regain possession of Quebec, and after the battle of Sillery fought before that place on the 28th of April, 1760, in which, from their superiority in numbers they had the advantage, trenches were immediately opened by them before the town. The arrival of the English fleet in May dissipated all fears for the safety of Quebec, and nothing now remained to cloud the prospect of the reduction of Canada, by the united efforts of three British armies, which, by different routes, were marching to attack those parts of the country that remained in the power of France.

A large army was collected at Oswego by Lieut.-General Amherst, which the FORTY-SIXTH regiment joined in the afternoon of the 6th of August. The whole army embarked on the 10th of August, and the grenadiers, amounting to about six hundred men, were embodied, and placed under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Eyre Massey of the FORTY-SIXTH regiment. Dispositions were afterwards made for the attack of Fort Levi, on L'Isle Royale, and after two days' sharp firing, the fort surrendered on the 25th of August, of which Lieut.-Colonel Massey, with three companies of grenadiers, took possession.

After spending some days in repairing this post, and in fitting out the vessels for passing the troops down the river St. Lawrence, the most difficult part of which was now to be encountered; notwithstanding all precautions, nearly ninety men were drowned in passing the dangerous falls, and a great number of vessels broke to pieces. After a tedious voyage the British came in sight of the Island of Montreal on the 6th of September.

The troops were immediately landed, and all dispositions were made for attacking the place, and so excellently was the plan concerted, that Brigadier-General the Honorable James Murray landed from Quebec on that very day, and Colonel Haviland with his force from Isle-au-Noix on the following day.

The Marquis of Vaudreuil, the French Governor-General, saw himself entirely enclosed, and was compelled to surrender the garrison of Montreal on the 8th of September; thus was completed the Conquest of Canada, which vast country has since continued under the dominion of Great Britain.

1761

The regiment remained in North America until October 1761, when it embarked for Barbadoes, where an armament was being assembled for the attack of the French West India Islands, and the land forces were placed under the orders of Major-General the Honorable Robert Monckton.

1762

The armament sailed from Carlisle Bay, in Barbadoes, on the 5th of January, 1762, and proceeded against the island of Martinique, which was settled by the French about the year 1635. After menacing the coast at several points, a landing was effected in the middle of January in Cas des Navières Bay; many difficulties were encountered from the rugged surface of the country, and from the formidable heights occupied by the enemy, but these were overcome by British skill, discipline, and valour; the heights of Morne Tartenson were carried on the 24th of January, and of Morne Garnier on the 27th; Fort Royal surrendered on the 4th of February, and these successes were followed by the submission of the island to the British Crown.

Major-General the Honorable Robert Monckton commended the conduct of the troops in his despatch, and added,—"The difficulties they had to encounter in the attack of an enemy, possessed of every advantage that art or nature could give them, were great. Their perseverance in surmounting these obstacles furnishes a noble example of British spirit:" and in alluding to the conduct of the three divisions of grenadiers, one division of which was commanded by Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable John Vaughan, at this period Lieut.-Colonel commandant of the ninety-fourth (since disbanded), but who was appointed to the FORTY-SIXTH regiment in November following, added, that "they had particularly distinguished themselves, the warmest part of the service having fallen to their lot."

The capture of Martinique was followed by the submission of Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent.

War had in the interim been declared against Spain, and the FORTY-SIXTH joined the armament under General the Earl of Albemarle, destined to proceed against the wealthy Spanish settlement of the Havannah, in the Island of Cuba. On the 7th of June a landing was effected, and on the 9th the troops took up a position between Coximar and the Moro Fort. Extraordinary difficulties were encountered in making the approaches, and carrying on the siege, while a severe sickness prevailed amongst the seamen and soldiers. Every obstacle was, however, overcome by the unanimity which existed between the land and sea forces. The Moro fort, which protected the harbour, and was regarded as almost impregnable, was captured by storm on the 30th of July; on the 11th of August a series of batteries opened so well-directed a fire on the defences of the town, that the guns of the garrison were soon silenced, and flags of truce were hung out. On the 13th of August the town of the Havannah, with all its dependencies, and the ships of war in the harbour, surrendered, and the British troops took possession of this valuable settlement. Negociations for peace were shortly afterwards commenced, and the preliminary articles were signed at Fontainebleau by the Duke of Bedford on the 3rd of November, 1762.

1763

The treaty of Fontainebleau was concluded at Paris on the 10th of February, 1763, the ratifications were exchanged on the 10th of March, and peace was proclaimed in London on the 22nd of that month.

By this treaty the whole of Canada, part of Louisiana, together with Cape Breton, and the other islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, were ceded to Great Britain. In the West Indies, the islands of Tobago, Dominica, St. Vincent, and Grenada, were retained by Great Britain; but Martinique, Guadaloupe, Marigalante, and St. Lucia, were restored to France. In the East Indies, the French obtained the restitution of their settlements, but agreed not to erect any fortifications in Bengal. Minorca was restored to England in exchange for Belle-Isle, which had been captured by the British in 1761, and it was stipulated that the fortifications of Dunkirk should be demolished. Spain ceded East and West Florida to Great Britain, in return for the restitution of the Havannah, Manilla, and all the places which Spain had lost since the commencement of the war.

1764

In the meanwhile the FORTY-SIXTH regiment had returned to North America, where it remained for the four following years.

Colonel the Honorable William Howe was appointed by His Majesty King George III. from the fifty-eighth to the colonelcy of the FORTY-SIXTH regiment on the 21st of November, 1764, in succession to Lieut.-General the Honorable Thomas Murray, deceased.

1767

In the autumn of the year 1767 the FORTY-SIXTH regiment returned to Great Britain, and was stationed in Ireland for eight years.

Serious disputes had, in the meantime, arisen, on the subject of taxation, between the colonists in North America and the British Government. The passing of the Stamp Act, in 1764, was the first cause of irritation, but the spirit of discontent was partially allayed by its repeal in 1766. This feeling was again aroused, in the following year, by the Bill for levying duties on certain articles imported from England, which was repealed in 1770, with the exception of the duty on tea, which was retained as an assertion of the right of taxation inherent in the British Legislature. After the cargoes of tea sent to Boston in 1773 had been emptied into the sea, an Act of Parliament was passed in the year 1774 for closing that port.

The colonists adopted retaliatory measures, and subsequently made preparations for an appeal to arms.

1775

On the 19th of April, 1775, the first hostile collision took place at Lexington, between His Majesty's troops and the Colonists in the unhappy contest, which was soon to assume a most formidable character.

Upon Major-General the Honorable Sir William Howe, K.B., being removed to the colonelcy of the twenty-third Royal Welsh Fusiliers, on the 11th of May, 1775, Brevet Colonel the Honorable John Vaughan was appointed to the vacant colonelcy of the FORTY-SIXTH regiment.

The conflict at Lexington was followed by the battle of Bunker's Hill, which was fought on the 17th of June, 1775.

1776

These events caused several regiments to be embarked for America early in the year 1776; the FORTY-SIXTH embarked from Ireland at this period, and arrived on the coast of North Carolina early in April, when Major-General Henry Clinton, who was serving with the local rank of General in America, assumed the command. The men landed at Cape Fear to refresh themselves after the voyage, and returning on board the transports, sailed on the 1st of June with the expedition against Charleston. After passing Charleston bar, the troops landed on one of the islands; but the armament proved of insufficient strength for the capture of the capital of South Carolina, and the troops re-embarked and proceeded to Staten Island, where the main body of the British forces had assembled under Major-General the Honorable Sir William Howe, K.B., who was serving with the local rank of General in America. The seventeenth, fortieth, FORTY-SIXTH, and fifty-fifth regiments were here formed in brigade under Major-General James Grant.

On the 4th of July, 1776, the American Congress issued their declaration of independence, abjuring their allegiance to the Crown of Great Britain, and all hope of accommodation failed.

A landing was effected by the British on Long Island on the 22nd of August, and in the evening of the 26th the army was put in motion to pass a range of woody heights, which intersect the island, and to attack the American force in position beyond the hills. The column under Major-General Grant, of which the FORTY-SIXTH formed part, was directed to advance along the coast, with ten pieces of cannon, to draw the enemy's attention to that quarter. Moving forward at the appointed hour, this column fell in with the advanced parties of the Americans about midnight, and at daybreak on the following morning, encountered a large body of troops formed in an advantageous position, defended by artillery. Skirmishing and cannonading ensued, and were continued until the Americans discovered by the firing at Brooklyn, that the left of their army had been turned and forced, when they retreated in great confusion through a morass. The American army, being driven from its positions with severe loss, made a precipitate retreat to their fortified lines at Brooklyn.

The Americans quitted their fortified lines during the night of the 28th of August, and retired across the East River, in boats, to New York; the reduction of Long Island was accomplished in a few days, with little loss.

The regiment shared in the operations by which the capture of New York was accomplished: also in the movements by which the Americans were driven from White Plains, and in the reduction of Fort Washington.

After the reduction of Fort Washington, and of Fort Lee on the opposite side of the North, or Hudson's River, the regiment continued the pursuit of the enemy across the Jerseys, by Elizabeth Town, Raway, &c. towards Philadelphia, and remained during the following winter at Amboy.

The FORTY-SIXTH regiment occupied an old transport ship as a barrack, and being actively employed during the winter in constant escorts of ammunition, was continually attacked between that place and New Brunswick, on the way to Trenton, Princetown, and Burlington, where the advance of the British army had taken up winter quarters.

During the winter, General Washington suddenly passed the Delaware river, and succeeded in surprising and making prisoners a corps of Hessians at Trenton, but he afterwards made a precipitate retreat. Being reinforced, he again crossed the river, and took up a position at Trenton.

1777

Information having been received that the Americans were forming magazines at Peek's Hill, about fifty miles up the North River, the FORTY-SIXTH regiment was detached against that post, with a body of troops, which sailed from New York on the 22nd of March, 1777, and as they approached Peek's Hill, the Americans set fire to the stores, and retreated. The British landed, completed the destruction of the magazines, barracks, &c., and subsequently returned to their former quarters at New York.

Afterwards taking the field with the army in the Jerseys, the FORTY-SIXTH regiment was engaged in the operations designed to bring the enemy to a general engagement; but the Americans kept close in their fortified lines in the mountains; an expedition against the populous and wealthy city of Philadelphia was next undertaken.

Embarking from Sandy Hook, the army, of which the FORTY-SIXTH formed part, proceeded to the Chesapeake, and landed on the northern shore of the Elk river on the 25th of August. The American army took up a position at Brandywine, to oppose the advance, and on the 11th of September the Royal forces moved forward to engage their opponents. The action proved decisive; the enemy was driven from his position, and forced to make a precipitate retreat. The FORTY-SIXTH sustained but trifling loss on this occasion.

In order to harass the Royal forces, General Washington posted several detachments in such a manner as to command all the roads and avenues to their encampment. He seized every opportunity of drawing detached parties into ambuscades, which was the more readily effected, as the country was in his interest, and the provincial army abounded with persons fully acquainted with all its local advantages.

A very considerable detachment employed in this manner, lay concealed in the depth of a forest at a short distance behind the British camp; it consisted of fifteen hundred men, commanded by General Wayne.

General Sir William Howe, upon receiving this intelligence, despatched Major-General Charles (afterwards Earl) Grey with a body of troops in the middle of the night of the 20th of September to surprise the detachment of the enemy.

The light company of the FORTY-SIXTH regiment was engaged in this enterprise, which was conducted with singular address and intrepidity. The troops advanced in profound silence to the outposts of the enemy, which were surprised and secured without the least noise. It was then between twelve and one. The main body of the American army, unapprised of its danger, had retired to rest. Directed by the light of the camp fires, the party under Major-General Grey proceeded undiscovered to the enemy's encampment, and rushed upon the foe with their bayonets. Three hundred Americans were killed and wounded, and a great number taken prisoners, with most of their arms and baggage. Obscurity saved those that escaped, as it had before at Brandywine Creek. The British had only one officer, one serjeant, and one private soldier killed, and a few men wounded, in this attack.

It was this affair which gave the FORTY-SIXTH regiment Red Feathers, which it has ever since worn. The origin of the distinction is as follows:—

The Americans having vowed vengeance for the above attack, and that they would give no quarter, the soldiers of the light battalion on this declared, that to prevent any one not engaged in the action from suffering on their account, they had stained their feathers red, as a distinguishing mark.

The British army advanced upon Philadelphia, took possession of that city, and occupied a position at Germantown. The Americans attempted to surprise the British troops early on the morning of the 4th of October, and at first gained some advantage, but were speedily repulsed with severe loss.

1778

The regiment passed the winter in quarters at Philadelphia, and in the spring of 1778, it furnished several detachments, which ranged the country in various directions to open communications for obtaining provisions. At this period General the Honorable Sir William Howe had returned to England, and resigned the command of the army to General Sir Henry Clinton, K.B. The regiment also took part in the fatigues and difficulties of the march of the army from Philadelphia, through the Jerseys, in order to return to New York, and the flank companies were engaged on the 28th of June in repulsing the attack of the enemy on the rear of the column at Monmouth Court-House, near Freehold, in New Jersey.

The army had marched from Philadelphia to New York in consequence of the King of France having engaged to aid the Americans, which circumstance changed the character of the war. Shortly after the arrival of the British army at New York a powerful French armament appeared off that port. The enemy had a great superiority of numbers; but the enthusiasm in the British navy and army was unbounded, and the hour of contest was looked forward to with sanguine expectations. The enemy did not, however, venture to hazard an attack; but proceeded against Rhode Island; a numerous body of Americans co-operated in the enterprise, and besieged Newport. The British fleet put to sea, and the thirty-third, forty-second, FORTY-SIXTH, and sixty-fourth regiments embarked, under Major-General Grey, to join the fleet at the east end of Long Island.

When the transports were about to sail, information was received of the departure of the French fleet from Rhode Island, and while at sea, news arrived of the Americans having raised the siege of Newport. The troops were then directed to proceed against Bedford, on the Accushnet river, a noted place for American privateers. On the evening of the 5th of September the troops landed,—overcame all opposition,—destroyed seventy privateers and other ships,—demolished the fort and artillery,—blew up the magazine,—destroyed an immense quantity of naval stores, &c., and returned on board the transports at noon on the following day. The troops afterwards proceeded against Martha's Vineyard,—destroyed the defences,—took three hundred and eighty-eight stand of arms from the militia,—obliged the inhabitants to deliver up three hundred oxen, ten thousand sheep, and a thousand pounds sterling collected by the Congress. After this success the regiment returned to New York.

A powerful French armament menacing the British possessions in the West Indies, the FORTY-SIXTH, and other regiments, sailed from North America, early in November, for Barbadoes, under Major-General James Grant.

Upon the arrival of the reinforcements at Barbadoes, the British naval and military commanders resolved to attack the French island of St. Lucia. On this occasion the FORTY-SIXTH regiment was formed in brigade with the fifteenth, twenty-eighth, and fifty-fifth regiments, under Major-General Prescott.

The expedition sailed from Carlisle Bay on the 12th of December, a landing was effected at St. Lucia on the following day, and on the 14th the French troops were driven from several important posts. In the meantime a French armament of very superior numbers approached the island, and the British took up positions to repel the enemy. The French fleet made a desperate attack on the British naval force, but was repulsed.

A numerous body of the enemy landed, and, on the 18th of December, stormed the post of La Vigie, which was occupied by the grenadiers and light infantry (of which the flank companies of the FORTY-SIXTH formed part), and the fifth regiment, under Brigadier-General Medows. The enemy amounted to nine thousand men, commanded by Monsieur D'Estaing, the Marquis de Bouillé, and M. Lavendahl, and advanced in three columns; their first two attacks were made, to quote the words of Major-General Grant's despatch, "with the impetuosity of Frenchmen, and repulsed with the determined bravery of Britons." The French made a third attempt, but were soon broken, and were forced to re-embark, leaving the ground covered with killed and wounded.[14]

The flank companies of the FORTY-SIXTH regiment had an opportunity of distinguishing themselves on this occasion, and Lieutenant William Gomm was wounded.

The loss of the French amounted to about four hundred killed and eleven hundred wounded, while the killed on the side of the British was only ten, and one hundred and thirty wounded. The sense Major-General Grant entertained of the services of Brigadier-General Medows and the detachment under his command, was expressed in the following letter, dated from Morne Fortunée, the 19th of December, 1778:—

"Sir,

"I cannot express how much I feel obliged to you, and the troops under your command, for repulsing, with so much spirit and bravery, so great a body of the enemy, and own it was just what I expected from you and them; and I am sure, under your command, they will always behave in such a manner as to do honor to you, themselves, their King, and their country; and I must beg of you to express my gratitude.

"I have, &c.,
(Signed) "James Grant,
"Major-General.

"Brigadier-General Medows, &c., &c., &c."

Immediately after the departure of the French armament, the governor surrendered the island of St. Lucia to the British troops, the capitulation being signed on the 30th of December.

1779

In 1779 the Court of Spain commenced hostilities against Great Britain, and this example was followed by the Dutch.

1782

The FORTY-SIXTH regiment remained in the West Indies until the year 1782, when it returned to England.

A letter, dated the 31st of August, 1782, conveyed to the regiment His Majesty's pleasure, that County Titles should be conferred on the Infantry, and the FORTY-SIXTH was directed to assume the designation of the SOUTH DEVONSHIRE regiment, in order that a connexion between the regiment and that part of the county should be cultivated, which might be useful in promoting the success of the recruiting service.

On the 30th of November, 1782, the preliminary Articles of Peace were signed at Paris between Great Britain and the United States of America, and the treaty was concluded in the ensuing February.

1783

The preliminaries of the treaties between England, France, and Spain, were signed at Versailles on the 20th of January, 1783. St. Lucia was restored to France, also the settlements on the river Senegal and the city of Pondicherry in the East Indies. France relinquished all her West India conquests, with the exception of Tobago; Spain retained Minorca (which had surrendered to the combined French and Spanish forces in the previous year), and West Florida; East Florida was ceded in exchange for the restitution of the Bahamas to Great Britain.

On the 2nd of September, 1783, were signed the preliminary Articles of Peace with Holland, the treaty with that country having been postponed in consequence of the Dutch claiming an indemnification for the expenses of the war, and the restoration of Trincomalee, in Ceylon, which had been captured from the Dutch by the English in January of the previous year, and retaken by the French in August following. The place was, however, restored to Holland at the general peace.

1784

The FORTY-SIXTH regiment proceeded from Plymouth to Ireland on the 21st of February, 1784, and continued in that country during the eight following years.

1792

In February, 1792, the regiment proceeded from Ireland to Gibraltar.

1794

While the FORTY-SIXTH regiment was stationed at Gibraltar, the French revolutionary war commenced, and in the year 1794, the islands of Martinique, St. Lucia, and Guadaloupe were captured by the British. The French republican government fitted out an expedition for the recovery of these islands, and some success attended their efforts. This occurrence occasioned an order to be given for the FORTY-SIXTH regiment to be embarked from Gibraltar to reinforce the British troops in the West Indies. The regiment accordingly embarked in November, 1794, and arrived in the following month at the island of Martinique.

1795

The republican emissaries employed by France having organized an insurrection in the island of St. Vincent, where the native Caribs, and several of the French inhabitants were in arms against the British government, occasioned the FORTY-SIXTH regiment to be ordered to St. Vincent.

At Dorsetshire Hill, the Caribs hoisted the tri-coloured flag, and burnt every plantation in their power. The loyal inhabitants of the island assembled at Kingston, and in the fort, and every means of defence which the colony afforded, were used by Governor Seton.

It being determined to storm Dorsetshire Hill, Governor Seton selected a force for this enterprise, of which a company of the FORTY-SIXTH regiment, which had arrived from Martinique, under the command of Captain Dugald Campbell, formed part. Shortly after twelve o'clock, on the night of the 14th of March, the troops mounted the steep and rugged path in regularity and silence. They ascended within eighty yards of the main post, when they were discovered by the enemy's sentry, who challenged and fired. The Caribs, undismayed by the surprise, shouted, and opened a smart fire of musketry on the British. As soon as the troops were within twenty yards of the enemy, orders were given to fire a volley and charge, which were obeyed with the greatest alacrity. While a portion of the British force mounted the bank at one place, the detachment of the FORTY-SIXTH regiment, under Captain Campbell, ascended another part of the bank. The buildings which sheltered the enemy were stormed, but many escaped through the darkness of the night. Chatoye, the Carib king, was killed with several of his adherents, and the enemy's two pieces of cannon were captured.

Dorsetshire Hill being too extensive a position, was abandoned early on the following morning, and the British returned to Sion Hill.

The remainder of the FORTY-SIXTH regiment having arrived, enabled the governor to make a second attack upon the enemy on the 10th of April, when the Caribs were driven from their positions with considerable loss on their side, but small on the part of the British.