TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE

Some handheld devices may display an old-style roman numeral date CIƆ.IƆC.LXXIIII incorrectly. (The CIƆ represents 1000; the IƆ represents 500; so the date is then 1000+500+100+74 = 1674.)

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

HISTORICAL RECORDS

OF THE

BRITISH ARMY.

PREPARED FOR PUBLICATION UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE
ADJUTANT-GENERAL.

THE SIXTH,

OR

ROYAL FIRST WARWICKSHIRE REGIMENT
OF FOOT.

LONDON:
Printed by William Clowes and Sons,
14, Charing Cross.

GENERAL ORDERS.

HORSE-GUARDS,

1st January, 1836.

His Majesty has been pleased to command, that, with a 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 Honourable
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 honourable 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 every thing 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 civilised 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 musket 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 bandaliers, 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 Crècy, 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 monarch, 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 Abercrombie, 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 Crècy, 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 an 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 ensure that simplicity and celerity by which the superiority of the national military character is maintained. The rank and influence, which Great Britain has attained among the nations of the world, have in a great measure been purchased by the valour of the Army; and to persons, who have the welfare of their country at heart, the records of the several regiments cannot fail to prove interesting.

1838.

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 ¹/₁₀ of a pound; and the harquebus a ball which weighed ¹/₂₅ 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."

HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE SIXTH,
OR
ROYAL FIRST WARWICKSHIRE
REGIMENT OF FOOT.

CONTAINING

AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT
IN THE YEAR 1674,

AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
TO 1838.

ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES.

LONDON:

PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN, ORME, AND CO.,

PATERNOSTER ROW;

AND BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS,

14, Charing Cross;

AND TO BE HAD OF ALL BOOKSELLERS.

1839.

LONDON:
Printed by William Clowes and Sons,
Stamford Street.

THE

SIXTH,

OR

ROYAL FIRST WARWICKSHIRE

REGIMENT OF FOOT,

BEARS ON ITS COLOURS, AS A REGIMENTAL BADGE,

"THE ANTELOPE;"

ON THE THREE CORNERS OF THE SECOND COLOUR,

"THE ROSE AND CROWN;"

ON THE GRENADIER CAPS,

"THE KING'S CREST;"

ON THE DRUMMERS' COATS,

"THE ANTELOPE;"

ALSO THE FOLLOWING INSCRIPTIONS ON THE COLOURS:

CONTENTS.

LIST OF PLATES.

The Regimental Colours to follow the Regimental Title Page.

The present Costume of the Regiment to follow Page 100.

SIXTH (THE ROYAL FIRST WARWICKSHIRE) REGIMENT OF FOOT.

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF THE

SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

The spirit of enterprise, intrepidity, firmness, endurance, physical strength, and innate love of fame exhibited by the British troops, have not only contributed to elevate this Kingdom to its present exalted station among the nations of Europe, but in the numerous wars which have taken place in Christendom, other States have evinced strong desires to obtain British aid. In the Dutch war of independence, from 1572 to 1648, British valour was eminently displayed in procuring the advantages of civil and religious liberty for the inhabitants of the United Provinces: British courage gave important aid to Henry IV. of France in his struggles for the throne: in the splendid achievements of the great Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, the British had an important share: many of the conquests of Louis XIV., surnamed "The Great," were achieved by the aid of British troops; and the regiment which forms the subject of this memoir is one of the English corps raised for the service of a foreign state under the following circumstances.

1673

The only remaining corps[6] of the numerous bands of English lancers, cuirassiers, carabineers, archers, musketeers, harquebusiers, pikemen, and battle-axemen, who fought in the Dutch war of independence from 1572 to 1648, was recalled from Holland on the breaking out of hostilities between the English and Dutch in 1665: during the negociations for the peace of London in the winter of 1673-4, the States General pressed King Charles II. to recall his troops from the service of France[7], and solicited permission again to employ in their army a British division. The king refused to recall his regiments from France; but his majesty engaged not to permit any additional British corps to be levied for the service of Louis XIV., and to prevent the others being recruited: at the same time permission was given to the States to raise for their service a body of troops in England and Scotland, to be commanded by the colonel of the old Holland Regiment, Sir Walter Vane, who was promoted to the rank of major-general in the Dutch army, and appointed colonel of one of the regiments to be raised for this service, now the Sixth Regiment of Foot, his commission bearing date the 12th of December, 1673.

1674

The interests of the United Provinces and those of the reformed religion being intimately connected, their cause was popular in England; and when the king disbanded a great part of his army on the settlement of the peace in 1674, many officers and men voluntarily entered the Dutch service, particularly from the old Holland Regiment, which was reduced on that occasion from eighteen to ten companies. Among the most zealous in this service were Captains Sir Henry Bellasis, Thomas Monk, John Morgan, Philip Savage, Roger M'Eligott, Alexander Cannon, and four others, who arrived at the Briel during the summer of 1674 with a number of men, who were formed into ten companies. The Prince of Orange had in the meantime taken the field with the army, and Sir Walter Vane proceeding to the camp to complete some arrangements with his Highness, served as a volunteer at the battle of Seneffe on the 1st of August, 1674 (O. S.), and was killed.

Sir William Ballandyne was next appointed to command the British division, and the ten companies marched from the Briel to Bois-le-duc; from whence they were suddenly called to join the army and take part in the siege of Grave. They were commanded, while on this service, by Captain Hugh Mackay (afterwards lieutenant-general and commandant of the Scots brigade), who had transferred his services a few weeks previously from the French to the Dutch army; and was appointed major-commandant of the ten companies pro tempore. On the second day after their arrival before Grave, the ten companies were on duty in the trenches; and such was the fervour and eagerness of some of the officers and soldiers to signalize themselves, that Captain Savage and a few men stormed the counterscarp in the night without orders: they evinced great bravery, and gained some advantage, but were eventually repulsed, and Captain Savage was put in arrest, and reprimanded for his over-heated valour.

After the surrender of Grave on the 28th of October, the ten companies returned to Bois-le-duc, where four British regiments were formed during the winter;—two English, commanded by Colonels Lillingston and Disney;—one Scots, commanded by Colonel Graham;—and one Irish, of which the Viscount of Clare was colonel. Two old Scots regiments in the Dutch service were purged of foreigners and added to the above four: the six regiments formed as fine a body of troops as any in Europe, and they soon had opportunities of proving that they possessed the same heroic spirit and contempt of danger as their predecessors in the war of independence, and as the valiant English and Scots who so highly distinguished themselves under the great Gustavus Adolphus. Such was the origin of the Sixth Regiment of Foot. Its commanding officer was Colonel Luke Lillingston, whose appointment was dated in August, 1674.

1675

The campaign of 1675 was passed in marching, manœuvring, and watching the operations of the enemy. During the winter the regiment was in garrison in Holland, and the colonelcy was conferred on Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Ashley; the command of the second English regiment was conferred on Colonel Ralph Widdrington; and the Irish regiment having previously been given to Colonel John Fenwick, it lost its designation of Irish, and the three were accounted English regiments.

1676

In the summer of 1676 the regiment marched to Bois-le-duc, where, in the early part of July it was suddenly aroused about midnight by the drums beating to arms; and assembling on its parade ground, it immediately proceeded towards the province of Limburg. After several days' march it arrived in the vicinity of Maestricht, and, the Prince of Orange having joined the army, the siege of this celebrated city was commenced.

The three English regiments were commanded by Brigadier-General John Fenwick. Being proud of their national character, and jealous of their fame, they obtained permission to act separately, and to have a particular point of attack allotted them; "and they made it appear, by their fierce attacks, that they deserved this distinction[8]." They signalized themselves by the spirit with which they beat back the sallies of the garrison; and on the 30th of July they furnished two hundred men, in equal proportions from each regiment, to storm the Dauphin Bastion. A lodgment was effected; but the troops afterwards lost their ground, and they had one hundred and fifty men killed and wounded out of the two hundred. Colonel Widdrington was killed, and the command of his regiment was given to Lieut.-Colonel Dolman. The brigade was again on duty in the trenches on the 2nd of August, when Brigadier-General Fenwick was wounded.

At three o'clock on the morning of the 4th of August, a storming party of one hundred and eighty-three officers and men, with a support of sixty men, furnished in equal proportions from each of the three regiments, paraded at the head of the brigade; a similar detachment of the blue Dutch foot-guards was also in readiness, and at five this little band rushed forward in the face of a storm of fire, and made a second attack on the Dauphin Bastion with signal gallantry. The English, being emulous of fame, gained the lead of the Dutch, and throwing forward a shower of hand-grenades, assaulted the breach sword in hand, and effected a lodgment. Suddenly the ground under the soldiers' feet was agitated, a tremendous explosion blew a number of men into the air, and the bursting of the mine being succeeded by a fierce attack of the enemy, the storming party was driven back. Instantly rallying, and being exasperated by this repulse, the English and Dutch returned to the charge breathing vengeance and slaughter, by a powerful effort drove back their antagonists, and re-established themselves on the bastion, but with the loss of more than half their numbers killed and wounded. English valour shone conspicuously on this occasion, and the Dutch authorities acknowledged the superior gallantry of the brigade. In the Hague Gazette it was stated "the English gained very great honour;" and in the Brussels Gazette it was stated, "the Prince of Orange having resolved to retake the Dauphin Bastion, appointed two hundred English, and as many of his guards, to make the attack, which they did with great courage and resolution, and with very great honour to the English, who first entered the breach." Sir William Temple, Harris, Boyer, Carleton, Bernardi, and other authors, bore ample testimony to the native valour of the English soldiers. A Scots regiment, commanded by Sir Alexander Colyear, also distinguished itself at this siege.

A desperate sally was made from the town, on the morning of the 6th of August, by three hundred Swiss infantry, who, owing to the neglect of a sentry, surprised and made prisoners the English guard on the bastion; but a reinforcement coming forward, the Swiss were overpowered and destroyed, except about twenty men, who escaped into the town. The Prince of Orange complimented the English on their bravery: and being desirous of conferring on merit a special mark of his approbation, and of inciting other corps to emulate the English brigade, he made each of the three regiments a present of a fat ox and six sheep, which, however, occasioned some murmuring among the Dutch.

A strong horn-work was afterwards captured by the Dutch, and preparations were made for a general storm of the main breach; but Marshal de Schomberg advancing at the head of a powerful French army to relieve the town, the siege was raised, and the three English regiments, having sustained a severe loss, were sent into quarters in Holland.

1677

The French monarch commenced the campaign of 1677 with great vigour; and the advantage derived from an army being under the sole direction of, and conducted by immediate orders from one head, over a confederate force, which meets with delays and obstructions from different interests, councils, negligences, and tempers, was very conspicuous,—the feeble preparations of the Dutch, and the apathy of the Spaniards, having left the Prince of Orange without a force capable of contending with the immense army of the enemy. Colonel Ashley's regiment, after replacing its losses with recruits from England, quitted Holland, and advanced with the remainder of the brigade to West Flanders. It formed part of the army, under the Prince of Orange, employed in the attempt to relieve the town of St. Omer; and was engaged on the 11th of April at the battle of Mont-Cassel, which was fought under great disadvantages in numbers and the nature of the ground. Two newly-raised regiments of Dutch marines, posted between the Prince's foot-guards and the English brigade, gave way at the first onset, and, confusion ensuing, the Prince retreated with the loss of his baggage and artillery.

1678

At the close of the campaign, the ministers of the confederate states pressed King Charles II. to recall his troops from the service of France, attributing many of the French monarch's successes to the bravery of the British regiments; and in 1678 the king acceded. At the same time the gallant Earl of Ossory, eldest son of the Duke of Ormond, was appointed to the command of the British brigade; and Sir Henry Bellasis succeeded Colonel Ashley in the command of the regiment which is now the Sixth Foot. Ten thousand English troops were also embarked for Flanders, to take part in the war.

During the early part of the campaign of 1678, the British brigade, under the Earl of Ossory, was employed on detached services in Brabant and Flanders; and on the morning of Sunday, the 14th of August, it moved from its camp near the little river Senne, to attack the French army, commanded by Marshal Luxemburg, before Mons.

The French commander imagined himself safe in inaccessible entrenchments; but he was surprised by a party of Dutch dragoons while at dinner in the Abbey of St. Denis, near the village of that name, and his army was unexpectedly attacked, with great fury, about three o'clock in the afternoon. The Dutch, under Count Waldeck, assaulted and carried the abbey; the Spaniards, commanded by the Duke of Villa Hermosa, advanced by the village of Castehau; and the Dutch foot-guards, with the Earl of Ossory's brigade, prolonged the attack on the heights of Castehau, where the action was maintained with particular obstinacy. The Earl of Ossory drew his sword, and, pointing to the dark masses of the enemy, whose polished arms gleamed on the distant heights, led his British bands to the attack with signal intrepidity: his gallant mien and lofty bearing infused a noble ardour into the breasts of his officers and men, who urged, with resolute tread, their way through every difficulty to encounter their adversaries. The grenadiers of Bellasis's regiment (now Sixth Foot) headed by Major William Babington, led the attack on a body of French troops, posted in a hop-garden, with a spirit and resolution which were imitated by the musketeers and pikemen, and a vehement struggle ensued among the trees and umbrageous foliage which adorned the scene of conflict. Sir Henry Bellasis and Lieutenant-Colonel Monk were wounded, Major Babington was also wounded and taken prisoner, and the contest was fierce and sanguinary; but British valour prevailed, and the French were driven from among the hop-poles with great slaughter. Another stand was made by the enemy beyond the enclosure, and the storm of battle was renewed with additional fury. The Scots, under Major-General Kirkpatrick, Sir Alexander Colyear, and Colonel Mackay, vied with the English in their gallant efforts, and the Prince of Orange and Duke of Monmouth arriving at that part of the field, witnessed their heroic behaviour. Attack succeeded attack, and as the shades of evening gathered over the scene of conflict, the blaze of musketry and showers of hand-grenades indicated the fury of the opposing ranks of war. At length darkness put an end to the fight; and the French forsook their entrenchments and retreated. The excellent conduct of the British troops was appreciated by the Prince of Orange and the States-General; and in the narratives of the battle, published at the time, they received their meed of praise: in one account it was stated,—"the Earl of Ossory and his troops performed wonders;" in another,—"the English and Scots regiments did things to the admiration of those that beheld them;" and in a third,—"they behaved themselves with that courage and bravery which are so natural to them." The regiment which forms the subject of this memoir lost many non-commissioned officers and private soldiers, and had the following officers killed and wounded:—Captains Richardson and Vanderstraet, Lieutenants Price, Paul, and Lepingault, and Ensign Drury, killed: Colonel Sir Henry Bellasis, Lieutenant-Colonel Monk, Captain Penford, Lieutenant Lunnemon, and Ensign Nelson, wounded. Major Babington was wounded and taken prisoner: he was, in the first instance, included in the list of the slain[9].

Preliminary articles for a treaty of peace had, in the mean time, been agreed upon at Nimeguen; and the aspect of affairs was suddenly changed, the spot of ground where fury and bloodshed raged a few hours before was transformed, by the news of peace, to a scene of hilarity and jocund mirth, which was only alloyed by the remembrance of the loss of so many companions in arms, whose blood had stained the grassy fields.

1679

When the States-General reduced the strength of their army to a peace establishment, the estimation in which the British troops were held occasioned their being retained in the service of the United Provinces; and in a treaty on this subject, the States agreed to send the six regiments to England, when the King should require their services.

1680

During the five years succeeding the treaty of Nimeguen, Sir Henry Bellasis's regiment was employed in garrison duty. In 1680, its Lieutenant-Colonel, Thomas Monk, was promoted to the colonelcy of the regiment, which is now the fifth foot, in succession to Colonel Wisely, who was drowned on his passage to England; and Major William Babington was appointed to the lieutenant-colonelcy.

1684

In 1684, when the French aggressions in the duchy of Luxemburg occasioned some alarm in the Netherlands, the regiment marched to the vicinity of Brussels, where a body of troops was encamped a short time, and subsequently near Malines: no war taking place, the camp was broken up in November, and the regiment was again employed in garrison duty.

1685

In the summer of 1685, events transpired which occasioned the removal of the regiment from the Netherlands to England: the Earl of Argyle, and a number of other political exiles, who were zealous advocates for civil liberty and the reformed religion, proceeded in May from the Netherlands to Scotland, where they attempted to organize a rebellion against the government of King James II., who was a professed papist. His Majesty, in a letter to the Prince of Orange, dated Whitehall, the 22nd of May, stated;—"I make no doubt, by God's help, that the rebels will soon be mastered, yet there is no harm in providing for the worst; and, therefore, I have charged Mr. Skelton to propose to you the lending me the three Scots regiments that are in your service, to be sent over to Scotland; and if this is a thing you can do, the sooner it is done the more reason I shall have to take it very kindly of you[10]." The States acceded to this request: but before the Scots regiments embarked, the Duke of Monmouth had landed at Lyme, in Dorsetshire, and having erected his standard in the market-place, summoned the people to join him in an appeal to arms against the government: the destination of the three regiments was then changed to England. At the same time the King made the following application to the Prince of Orange, in a letter dated Whitehall, the 17th of June, 1685.

"When I wrote to you yesterday, I thought the militia would have kept the Duke of Monmouth shut up in Lyme; but by the fault of those of Devonshire, or Somersetshire, he has opened his way towards Taunton, which is a very factious town, and where he may increase his numbers; and though, with those troops I have raised, and am raising, I make no doubt of mastering him in some small time, yet, to make all sure, I desire you to lend me the three English regiments that are in your service, and they may be sent over with all speed[11]." Some of the towns of Holland were, however, so jealous of King James's predilection to papacy, and viewing the Duke of Monmouth in the light of a champion for the reformed religion, their secret wishes for his grace's success were so strong, that the Prince of Orange found some difficulty in obtaining the consent of the States for the regiments to proceed to England[12]; and when their consent had been procured, a new obstacle arose. The officers and soldiers of Sir Henry Bellasis's regiment (now Sixth Foot) were so devoted to the protestant interest, and so averse to becoming instruments by which the ascendency of popish principles should be established, that they objected to proceed to England[13]. Their scruples were, however, overcome, and the King expressed the gratification which he experienced on hearing they were ready for embarkation, in a letter to the Prince of Orange, in the following terms. "I received on Wednesday yours of the 6th, by which I see the English regiments were to be embarked by the beginning of this week, and must again thank you for them, and if they be but as good as the Scots regiments, which I saw this morning, I shall be doubly pleased; for, as to these I have seen, there cannot be, I am sure, better men than they are, and they do truly look like old regiments; and one cannot be better pleased with them than I am, and must again thank you for them[14]." His Majesty, however, declined the Prince of Orange's proposal to accompany the brigade to England, fearing that His Highness might acquire too much influence in this country.

The three English regiments arrived in the early part of July; and the rebel army having been overthrown at Sedgemoor on the 6th of that month, they were not required to draw their swords in the contest; but the presence of this celebrated body of men, at this critical juncture, could not fail to strengthen the interest of the court and overawe the disaffected. The brigade was encamped at Blackheath, and subsequently on Hounslow-heath, where the King reviewed it, and expressed his approbation of its warlike appearance, discipline, and good conduct; but the known staunch protestant principles of many of the officers and men gave his Majesty some concern. The three regiments (two of them now the Fifth and Sixth foot) obtained rank in the English army from the date of their arrival in England, and took precedence of the regiments raised by King James during the rebellion, in consequence of the latter not being completely organized when the brigade arrived. The rank of Sir Henry Bellasis's regiment (now Sixth Foot) was afterwards disputed in consequence of the refusal, in the first instance, to proceed to England[15]; but a board of general officers decided this question in its favour in 1694.

The rebellion having been suppressed, the English brigade returned to the Netherlands in August[16]; and the Scots a short time afterwards. The King was desirous of procuring the appointment of the Earl of Pembroke to the command of the six regiments, which was acceded to; but soon afterwards his Majesty pressed the Prince of Orange and States of the United Provinces to confer this important trust on the Earl of Carlingford, who was objected to (as the Earl of Dunbarton had been in the time of Charles II.), in consequence of his being a papist: his Majesty was particularly urgent on the subject; but the States did not acquiesce.

1686
1687

Soon afterwards events transpired which occasioned Sir Henry Bellasis to be removed from his regiment, which was commanded, ad interim, by the Lieut.-Colonel, William Babington. Although this officer was not appointed to the colonelcy, it was usually styled Babington's regiment. The prevalence of French councils at the British court, and the advances made by the king towards the establishment of papacy and arbitrary government, occasioned the nation to look to the Prince of Orange as the only source from whence deliverance could be expected, and on the 27th of May, 1687, Sir Henry Bellasis wrote to the Prince as follows: "I have presumed by this worthy bearer to give your Highness the assurance of my devotion to your service in particular. The testimony I have given to the world of my loyalty and sufferings for the crown, obliges me in duty to pay the same to those who are so nearly related to it as the Princess Royal and your Highness. Though my hand be weak to express it, or enlarge myself upon the subject, my heart shall supply that defect, in the profession I make[17]."

1688

The King felt some distrust at so efficient a body of British troops being in the service of a protestant republic at the time when he was meditating the subversion of the protestant religion and established laws of the kingdom: he was desirous of recalling them from Holland, and of transferring so many of them as would return, particularly the officers and men who were of the Roman Catholic religion, to the service of France. Louis XIV. had experienced the inconvenience of having the regiments in his service suddenly recalled, as the English and Scots corps were in 1678, and he declined the offer; but as the re-uniting of England in the communion of the church of Rome would further his projects of personal aggrandisement, he proposed to maintain a body of two thousand men in England, to be principally of the Roman Catholic church. This subject being arranged, King James wrote to the Prince of Orange on the 17th of January, 1688, as follows:

"I have charged my envoy, Mons. d'Abbeville, who will give you this letter, to give you an account that I think it for my service to call home the six regiments of my subjects that are under your command in the States' service; and have written to the States to the same purpose, and hope you will do your part to further their being embarked as soon as may be. What else I have to say on this subject I refer to my envoy; which is all I shall say now, but that you shall find me as kind to you as you can desire[18]."

The States well knowing the value of these favourite corps, and anticipating the speedy arrival of a period when they would have urgent occasion for the services of every regiment, refused to comply with the King's demand, alleging they were not bound by the treaty with the Earl of Ossory to send the six regiments to England, unless the King was engaged in a foreign war, or an insurrection at home, which was not the case. His Majesty was, however, determined, if possible, to deprive the States of the services of this select body of men; and, after some further correspondence on the subject, the following proclamation appeared in the London Gazette:—

"James R.

"Whereas we think it for our service to call home all our natural-born subjects who are now in the service of the States General of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, being either mariners and seafaring men, or officers and soldiers serving at land, We do, therefore, by this Our royal proclamation, by and with the advice of Our privy council, streightly charge, require, and command all and singular masters of ships, pilots, mariners, seamen, shipwrights, and other seafaring men whatsoever, and wheresoever, and also all commanders, officers, and soldiers serving at land, being our natural-born subjects, who have betaken themselves unto, and now are in the pay or service of, the States General of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, or in the pay or service of any of their subjects,—That upon their known and bounden duty and allegiance, they, and every of them, do quit the said respective services by sea or land, and return home to their native countries, within the times hereby prescribed,—that is to say, that all officers and commanders at land, whatsoever, who are now in the service of the said States General, in any place or part of the Netherlands or Low Countries, do quit the said service and return home within the space of two calendar months from the date hereof, and all other persons hereinbefore mentioned, wherever they are or shall be hereafter, in as short a time, and with as much speed, as they shall be able, wherein We do and will expect all due obedience and conformity. And we do hereby further publish and declare, that all and every the offenders to the contrary shall not only incur our high displeasure, but be rigorously proceeded against for such their offence, by all ways and means, according to the utmost severities of the law.—And we do hereby also authorize and command all and every Our captains, masters, and other officers serving and employed in any of our ships or vessels at sea, or elsewhere, and all and every other Our subjects whom it may concern, to seize, take, and bring away all such officers, mariners, and soldiers, and other persons aforesaid, as shall be found to be employed, or continue in the service aforesaid, in contempt of, and contrary to, the true intent and meaning of this Our proclamation.

"Given at Our Court at Whitehall, 14th March,
"1687-8, in the fourth year of Our reign."

Notwithstanding this proclamation, the States continued stedfast in their determination not to send the six regiments home; but as some of the officers were members of the Roman Catholic church, and it being probable a rupture on the subject of religion would shortly take place, they gave permission for as many of the officers to return to England as chose. About forty availed themselves of this opportunity and quitted the Dutch service. The King sent a frigate to bring them home. A few soldiers also withdrew from Holland, and three regiments[19] were formed, of nearly all papists, and taken into the pay of the King of France, but they remained in England. The six British regiments in the Dutch service were thus purged of Roman Catholics, the vacancies were filled with men of staunch protestant principles, and this distinguished body of men was considered stedfastly devoted to the protestant interest.

The Prince of Orange having been induced to proceed to England with a powerful armament for the purpose of rescuing the kingdom from the power of papacy, the six regiments were selected to form part of the expedition, and they were considered the most formidable and efficient portion of his army. They mustered about four thousand officers and men, were commanded by Major-General Hugh Mackay, and sailed under a red flag. A declaration was published, setting forth the reasons which induced the Prince of Orange to engage in this undertaking; and Captain Langham of Babington's regiment[20] (now Sixth Foot), arriving privately in England, was seized and imprisoned, and a number of the declarations were found in his portmanteau, which were shown to the King. When the expressions importing that the Prince of Orange was "most earnestly invited to come to England by divers of the lords, both temporal and spiritual, and by many gentlemen and others," were read, the King expressed great indignation, and sent for such noblemen and bishops as were in London, but none of them would acknowledge that they had given such an invitation.

1689

The Dutch armament passed Dover and proceeded westward, while the English fleet, under the Earl of Dartmouth, lay wind-bound at the mouth of the Thames; but a tender, on board of which were four companies of the regiment which forms the subject of this memoir, commanded by Major Ventris Columbine, was separated from the remainder of the Dutch fleet by a gale of wind, and captured by Captain Aylmer in His Majesty's ship the Swallow. The four companies were landed in Devonshire; they were treated as prisoners, and measures were adopted to constrain them to enter King James's service. Meanwhile the other eight companies of the regiment continued their course, and landed on the 5th of November with the remainder of the Prince's army on the Devonshire coast, from whence they advanced to Exeter. The result may be told in a few words. The English army refused to fight against the best interests of the country. King James and his family fled to France, and the Prince and Princess of Orange were elevated to the throne. Thus the Sixth Regiment had the honour of taking a conspicuous part in the enterprise by which the established religion and laws of Great Britain were preserved.

After his accession to the throne King William detained this regiment in the south of England, and kept it upon the Dutch establishment: consequently, in the lists of the army given by Story and other historians of this period, it is designated a Dutch regiment. Major Columbine, and the other officers and men who were captured by the Swallow, were restored with honour.

In May, 1689, the regiment was quartered in London; in August it was encamped on Hounslow heath; it afterwards returned to London and was quartered in the Tower Hamlets.

Sir Henry Bellasis having been appointed to succeed the Duke of Norfolk in the colonelcy of a newly-raised regiment (now twenty-second foot), the colonelcy of the Sixth was conferred on the lieutenant-colonel, William Babington, by commission dated the 28th of September, 1689; and Major Columbine was appointed lieutenant-colonel.

1690

Although England was delivered from the power of papacy and despotism, a great part of Ireland was subject to King James and his adherents, whose cruel proceedings towards the protestants awakened the sympathies of the English nation, and King William resolved to proceed to the rescue of the unoffending sufferers. Colonel Babington's regiment was one of the corps selected to proceed to Ireland: it embarked at Highlake on the 12th of April, 1690, and immediately on landing marched to the siege of Charlemont—a strong castle situate on the angle formed by the confluence of the river Canlin with the Blackwater, on the eastern side of the county of Armagh, and erected in 1602 by Lord Mountjoy, as a curb on the Earl of Tyrone, whose chief mansion-house, with a strong fort, was at Dungannon, about five miles north-west of it. Under the shelter of this fort a town was built, which in 1689 was a corporation, sending members to parliament. It contained a good garrison under Teague O'Regan, an old soldier and a great humorist, who made a resolute defence. The garrison being in want of provision, King James sent a small supply, accompanied by a detachment of five hundred men under Colonel M'Mahon, who was permitted to enter the castle, but not to return. On the third night they attempted to force their way through the besieging force, but were repulsed with the loss of an officer and eight men; a second attempt made on the following day was also unsuccessful; and during the succeeding night they made another attempt, and were driven back with the loss of sixteen men. O'Regan was so incensed at their ill success, that he fastened the gates upon them, and refused to admit them into the castle; and they were forced to make huts in the dry ditch within the palisadoes and on the counterscarp. The place being closely invested, the garrison was forced to surrender in the middle of May for want of provision; and four companies of the Sixth, commanded by the major, took possession of the castle, where they found seventeen pieces of cannon and a large mortar, also a good supply of ammunition: but the fortress was found in so filthy a condition, that the officers and men were forced to encamp until it was thoroughly cleansed.

In the early part of June the regiment pitched its tents on the undulating grounds near Armagh; and the regiments of Lloyd, Cutts, Hastings, and Fowkes, eleven regiments of Danish horse and foot, and a brigade of Dutch cavalry, afterwards joined the camp.

King William arrived in Ireland, and, advancing to the banks of the Boyne, forced the passage of that river on the 1st of July, and overthrew the army of King James in a general engagement, in which the Sixth foot had the honour to take part. The regiment was in Sir Henry Bellasis's brigade, and shared in the glory of this memorable victory. The number of killed and wounded has not been ascertained; but, as the regiment only mustered four hundred and eighteen men at the general review at Finglass on the 7th and 8th of July, its loss may be supposed to have been great.

After delivering Dublin from the power of the papists, the regiment was detached against Athlone with the division commanded by Lieut.-General Douglas, who was a brave but rough soldier of fortune, and had served under King William in the Netherlands. On arriving before Athlone, a drummer was sent to summon the garrison to surrender. The governor, Colonel Richard Grace, of Moyelly castle, fired a pistol at the messenger, and said, "These are my terms; these only will I give or receive; and, after my provisions shall be consumed, I will defend Athlone until I eat my boots." The siege was afterwards commenced; and a battery opened its fire against the works: but the train of artillery proved too weak to make a practicable breach; and, ammunition becoming scarce, Lieut.-General Douglas raised the siege and retired. He did not preserve strict discipline in the division committed to his charge, which was accused of many outrages on the peasantry. On arriving at Ballymore, in the county of Westmeath, Babington's (now Sixth) regiment was removed from Lieut.-General Douglas's command, and ordered to proceed to Dublin to replace the regiments of Trelawny (now fourth) and Hastings (now thirteenth), which were ordered to embark for England.

The regiment remained a short time in garrison at Dublin, from whence it was detached to occupy a line of posts along the frontiers; and in November Lieut.-Colonel Columbine, advancing from Roscrea, made an incursion into the enemy's quarters near the Shannon, and in the neighbourhood of Nenagh, where he destroyed a quantity of corn and captured two castles.

1691

In April, 1691, Colonel Babington was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment by George Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt—an officer of distinguished merit, who was appointed to serve on the staff of the army in Ireland, with the rank of brigadier-general.

The regiment took the field with the army in May. The first service of importance was the siege of Ballymore, which fortress surrendered in the middle of June. The troops subsequently advanced against Athlone, a large and well-fortified town, divided into two unequal portions, or towns, by the river Shannon. Here the regiment was formed in brigade with Lloyd's (now fifth), Cutts', Nassau's, and three Danish battalions, commanded by Major-General the Count of Nassau and Brigadier-General the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt. It furnished a detachment to attack by storm that part of Athlone which stood on the side of the river next to the army, called the English Town, which was captured in gallant style on the 20th of June. Its grenadier company, and a detachment of pikemen and musketeers, also formed part of the storming party selected to attack the opposite side of the town on the 30th of June. The tolling of the church-bell at six minutes after six o'clock in the evening gave the signal for the attack, when the forlorn hope, consisting of three officers and sixty grenadiers in armour, sprang out of the trenches and plunged into the river, which was waist deep, and rendered difficult by large stones. Three thousand men, under Major-General Mackay, seconded their efforts with signal intrepidity; and the soldiers, scrambling up the breach in the face of a heavy fire, one helping another up, soon overpowered all opposition, and in less than half an hour were masters of the town. This gallant exploit was performed with the loss of twelve men killed, and five officers and thirty men wounded: among the latter was the colonel of this regiment—the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, and Lieut.-Colonel Columbine. The regiment remained at Athlone while the works were being put in repair; and, during a severe thunder-storm on the 9th of July, it had two men killed and three dangerously injured by lightning[21].

The Irish army, commanded by General St. Ruth, retired and took up a position near Aghrim, where it was attacked on the 12th of July, and the regiment had another opportunity of signalizing itself in action. The Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt headed his own corps, and his characteristic intrepidity was so conspicuous on this occasion, that he has been accused of rashness. He was again wounded; but had the gratification of witnessing the heroism of his men, who emulated his example, and the overthrow of the Irish army, before he quitted the field. Night having put an end to the pursuit, the regiment halted on the scene of conflict: its loss was ten men killed, and six officers and forty-five men wounded.

General St. Ruth having been killed in action, the main body of the Irish army fled in terror and dismay towards Limerick, and King William's forces followed. On arriving at Galway the garrison was summoned, and refused to surrender; but the river having been passed in boats, and a fort captured by storm, the governor capitulated on the 21st of July. The next service in which the regiment was engaged was the second siege of Limerick: it was one of the corps which appeared before the town on the 15th of August, and on the 25th it was detached with the regiments of Tiffin (twenty-seventh foot) and St. John, seven hundred horse and dragoons, and five pieces of cannon, under its colonel, the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, against Castleconnell, a strong fortress on the river Shannon, four miles north of Limerick, which surrendered after a siege of two days. The siege of Limerick was afterwards prosecuted with vigour, and it was delivered up in the beginning of October. This event terminated the war in Ireland. The regiment marched from Limerick to Dublin, where it embarked for England on the 20th of December, and after its arrival commenced recruiting its numbers.

1692

After reposing a short time in comfortable quarters in England, the regiment received orders to embark for the Netherlands, to take part in the war with France; and it served the campaign of 1692 with the army commanded by King William in person, by whom it was reviewed at the camp at Genappe on the 29th of June, in presence of the Elector of Bavaria and other distinguished persons. It was engaged in the manœuvres of the main army, and formed part of the division which attacked the French forces under Marshal Luxemburg, in their position near Steenkirk, on the 24th of July. It was one of the corps which supported the leading column under the Duke of Wirtemberg, and, having traversed some difficult grounds, formed with the cavalry of the left wing on the verge of a large wood. A narrow valley appeared in front, beyond which were several thick hedges, and the glittering arms and waving colours of the French infantry were seen through the thick foliage. After a sharp cannonade, the second battalion of the first foot guards, the first battalion of the Royals, the regiments of Fitzpatrick and O'Ffarrel, and two battalions of Danes, commenced the attack: they were supported by the regiments of Hesse d'Armstadt (Sixth), Cutts, Mackay, Leven's (twenty-fifth foot), Angus (twenty-sixth foot), Graham, and Lawder. These corps behaved with an intrepidity and valour which redounded to their honour: they drove the enemy from hedge to hedge, and gained considerable advantage. They were, however, not promptly sustained by the main body of the army under Count Solms, who neglected the King's orders, and occasioned the loss of the battle. Harris, in his History of the Life of King William, states, "The King, enraged at the disappointment of the vanguard, expressed his concern by often repeating, 'Oh! my poor English, how they are abandoned!' nor would he admit Count Solms to his presence for many months after."

The Sixth nobly sustained their reputation, and fought manfully, resisting the superior numbers of the enemy with signal firmness: their commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel Foxon, fell mortally wounded: the French legions—dragoons, musketeers, pikemen, and grenadiers—crowded round this devoted corps in great numbers, and it sustained considerable loss. The King ordered a retreat, and the regiment withdrew from the field a mere skeleton. Its loss in killed and wounded was so great, that on the 8th of August it was ordered into quarters at Malines, and in September it embarked for England. After landing at Gravesend, a number of officers and serjeants were sent to various parts of England to procure recruits.

1693
1694

During the winter of 1693 the regiment again embarked for the Netherlands. It was employed in garrison duty in Flanders; and its colonel, the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, being a Roman catholic, transferred his services to the crown of Spain. He was succeeded, in February, 1694, by Henry Marquis de Rada, son of the Marquis de Montpouillan. During the winter of this year the regiment was in garrison at Bruges.

1695

On taking the field in May, 1695, the regiment left its colonel, the Marquis de Rada, dangerously ill of a fever in Bruges. It was encamped a short time on the canal between Ghent and Bruges, under the orders of Lieut.-General Sir Henry Bellasis; and subsequently with the main army, commanded by King William in person, near Arseele, where it was formed in brigade with a battalion of the Royals, and the regiments of Seymour, Granville, Saunderson, and Colyear, commanded by Brigadier-General Sir David Colyear. The King was at the head of one hundred and twenty thousand men, and the French generals headed upwards of a hundred thousand men. These two powerful armies confronted each other; and his Majesty, having by skilful movements drawn the enemy to the Flanders side of their line of entrenchments, invested Namur. This fortress was accounted one of the strongest and most important in the Netherlands, both by its situation and fortifications: it commanded two great rivers, the Sambre and the Maese; and its castle, which stood on a hill in an angle formed by the confluence of these rivers, was deemed almost impregnable. Such stupendous fortifications, defended by a numerous garrison, supplied with every thing requisite for a protracted defence, and commanded by a governor who was esteemed by his king, and beloved by the soldiers, seemed to defy the most powerful and best-appointed army that could be brought against it; and, when the veteran Marshal Boufflers had thrown himself with a large reinforcement into the town, this mass of fortifications was looked upon as a rock on which the grand confederacy of the allies would split. These difficulties stimulated the British monarch to greater exertions; and the Sixth, after remaining a short time with the covering army commanded by Charles Henry of Lorraine, Prince of Vaudemont, was ordered to join the forces employed in the siege, and to take part in the attack of this vast fortress. While on the march the Marquis de Rada died at Bruges, and King William conferred the colonelcy on an officer who had formerly served with distinction in the regiment, Ventris Columbine, from captain and lieutenant-colonel in the foot guards. This officer was highly esteemed in the corps, and, assuming the command of it before Namur, he had additional opportunities of signalizing himself.

The regiment was on duty in the trenches on the 6th, 10th, and 13th of July; and on the 17th it lost a number of men while engaged in storming the counterscarp: it had also Captain Young killed, and Lieut. Dorrington and Ensign Drobas wounded. On the 19th it was again on duty in the trenches, and lost several men; and during the night of the 23rd it was engaged in extending the lodgment to the right. A practicable breach having been made, the enemy surrendered the town on the following day, and retired to the castle, resolving to make a desperate defence. This was one of the regiments engaged in the siege of the castle, and was encamped at a place called Maison Blanche; but, having sustained considerable loss, it was relieved on the 11th of August, and joined the covering army under the Prince of Vaudemont, who had recently quitted his position at Waterloo, and was encamped within seven miles of Namur. A detachment from the grenadier company was engaged in storming the breaches of the Terra Nova and Cohorne on the 20th of August, under Lord Cutts. This proved a most severe service; a lodgment was made along the covered way and entrenchments, but with the loss of above a thousand English, besides Bavarians, Prussians, and Dutch. The grenadier company of this regiment lost several men, and had Captain Cummins killed, and Lieutenant Twinhoe wounded.

The fire against the castle was continued, and preparations made for another assault, when the garrison beat a parley, and agreed to surrender. Thus the capture of this important fortress, which was accounted the bulwark of Brabant, was achieved, and the reputation of the British monarch and his troops exalted. After the works were repaired, Colonel Columbine marched with his regiment into quarters at Bruges, where he expected to pass the winter; but circumstances occurred which occasioned his return to England.

1696

The French monarch, finding his ambitious projects frustrated, attempted to excite a rebellion in England in favour of King James, who was residing at the French court, and prepared an armament to second the malcontents. At the same time a plot was formed to assassinate King William when on his return from hunting. On the discovery of these designs, this, with a number of other regiments, was ordered home. The Sixth embarked at Ostend in the early part of March, 1696, landed at Gravesend in the middle of that month, and went into quarters. The plot was discovered, the designs of the enemy were frustrated, and the King proceeded to the Netherlands to take the command of the army.

In June, 1696, the regiment was on duty at Windsor; and in July it was encamped in Windsor forest.

1697
1698
1699
1700
1701

After passing twelve months in England, the regiment received orders to return to the Netherlands: it landed at Williamstadt in the beginning of July, 1697, and joined the confederate army before Brussels, where it was reviewed by his Majesty: it remained before Brussels until hostilities were terminated by the treaty of Ryswick, when it was ordered to return to England. It landed at Gravesend in November, 1697, and marched to Huntingdon. It subsequently proceeded to Ireland, where it arrived in August, 1698, and remained until, another war breaking out in Europe, its services were again required abroad in the defence of the crown and kingdom against the projects of the court of France.

1702

The hope of continued tranquillity, with the prospect that this country would be enabled to develop its resources and make rapid advances in arts, manufactures, and commerce, under the auspices and benign influence of peace at home and abroad, soon passed away: a Bourbon prince ascended the Spanish throne, when preparations for war were made, and Colonel Columbine received orders to recruit his regiment to seven hundred rank and file. The decease of King William, and the accession of Queen Anne, on the 8th March, 1702, produced no alteration in the foreign policy of the British court; and in a few weeks after Her Majesty's accession the regiment proceeded to the Isle of Wight, where it pitched its tents preparatory to some expedition, the destination of which was kept secret. In the early part of June it was reviewed, with nine other battalions of infantry, and two hundred dragoons, by Prince George of Denmark, generalissimo of her Majesty's land and sea forces, and was complimented on its appearance and discipline. The Duke of Ormond assumed the command of the expedition, and the regiment embarked on board the St. George, Jacob, and Gosport transports[22], and put to sea. Arriving off the coast of Andalusia, in Spain, the troops ascertained they were destined to make an attempt on the strong fortress of Cadiz: a landing was effected in the middle of August, during a high wind, and about thirty boats, crowded with soldiers, were overturned by the surge. The town of Rota, on the north side of Cadiz bay, the town of Port St. Mary's, at the mouth of the river Guadalete, and Fort St. Catherine, were captured. The wealthy and flourishing town of Port St. Mary's was found deserted by the inhabitants; positive orders had been given against plundering; but the officers neglecting to enforce strict obedience occasioned the most unfortunate results. The hungry and thirsty soldiers forced open the houses in search of refreshment; finding abundance of excellent wine, they drank freely, and, under its influence, commenced plundering the town. An immense quantity of valuable merchandize and other property was removed on board the fleet, and some of the officers were guilty of securing for themselves many costly articles: thus, such of the inhabitants as were previously disposed to favour the allies became hostile, and the public cause suffered by the want of strict discipline. Cadiz was found better prepared for resistance than had been expected, and the expedition proved of insufficient strength for the capture of this fortress. The troops were re-embarked, and they subsequently proceeded to Vigo, where a valuable Spanish fleet had arrived from the West Indies, in charge of a French convoy. The grenadiers and eight battalions of infantry landed on the south side of the river, seven miles from the town: this regiment formed part of the first brigade, which landed under the Duke of Ormond and Brigadier-General Hamilton; a strong fort and a battery were carried by storm, the fleet forced an entrance, and the French and Spanish shipping were all taken and destroyed. Many Spanish seamen escaped on shore and took with them much valuable property: a soldier of Captain Brown's company of this regiment captured a Spanish mariner who was carrying off an immense silver dish of curious workmanship, which was delivered up to the proper authorities[23].

The expedition returned to England, where the regiment arrived in the early part of November, and was stationed at Canterbury; it received £561. 10s. prize-money. Queen Anne went in triumphal cavalcade to St. Paul's cathedral to return thanks for this success; and the troops received the thanks of parliament for their conduct.

1703

In a few weeks after its return from Vigo the regiment was ordered to hold itself in readiness to proceed to the West Indies; and in January, 1703, it marched to Portsmouth, where it embarked on board the fleet under Vice-Admiral Graydon. The object of the expedition was the capture of Placentia and Newfoundland; but the enemy's force was found too strong, and, after remaining a short time in the West Indies, the regiment returned to England. It landed in October following at Portsmouth, from whence it was removed into quarters at Southampton and other towns in that neighbourhood.

On the decease of Colonel Ventris Columbine, Her Majesty conferred the colonelcy on the lieutenant-colonel, James Rivers, by commission dated the 2nd of November, 1703: at the same time Major William Southwell was appointed lieutenant-colonel.

1704

The quarters were extended to Worcester in April, 1704, and a detachment was sent to the Isle of Wight: in August following the regiment proceeded to Plymouth, where it passed the succeeding winter.

1705

Meanwhile the war was raging in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and other parts of the continent, and an attempt was being made to place Archduke Charles of Austria on the throne of Spain by force of arms. Gibraltar had been captured by the combined English and Dutch fleets, and in connexion with these events the regiment was embarked at Plymouth in May, 1705, under the Earl of Peterborough, to take part in the war. The design of this expedition was either to aid the Duke of Savoy in driving the French out of Italy, to make an attempt on Naples and Sicily, or to further the progress of the Archduke in Spain. The fleet arrived at the capital of Portugal in June, and additional forces were embarked: at the same time Archduke Charles went on board the fleet to share in the toils and dangers of the enterprise. From Lisbon the expedition proceeded to Gibraltar, where it was joined by the former colonel of the Sixth—the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, and a reinforcement from the garrison.

From Gibraltar the fleet proceeded to the bay of Altea, in Valencia; and while at this small port the officers and soldiers had opportunities of observing the attachment of the inhabitants of that part of Spain to the house of Austria. A thousand Catalonians and Valentians, who had thrown off their allegiance to the house of Bourbon, and had acknowledged Archduke Charles as the sovereign of Spain, seized on the town of Denia, while others made demonstrations of giving effectual aid to the expedition; and such a spirit of enterprise was evinced by King Charles, the Earl of Peterborough, the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, and others, that every officer and man caught the ardent zeal of the superior officers, and resolved to do something great and noble. Under these feelings the famous city of Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, and one of the most ancient towns in Spain, was selected to be the scene of the first attempt. Its situation, on a plain near the sea,—with a mole capable of containing only galleys and small ships,—defended by ten bastions, several old towers and other works,—with a strong castle and citadel, called Montjuich, on a hill on the west side and commanding the town; the garrison consisting of between five and six thousand men, under the viceroy of Catalonia, Don Francis de Velasco;—and the besieging army being unable to bring more than seven thousand men into the lines; these circumstances, with the fact, that, in 1697, this fortress resisted a French army of thirty thousand men eight weeks with open trenches, and cost the French monarch twelve thousand men, gave an interesting and romantic character to this enterprise, in which the Sixth gained much honour, and which produced a great sensation throughout Europe.

The troops landed near the river Bassoz, about three miles east of Barcelona, on the 23rd and 24th of August. On the 28th King Charles came on shore, when the inhabitants of the neighbouring towns and villages flocked to the camp with demonstrations of joy, and many took arms to act as guerilla bands and miquelets; but the progress of the siege was delayed by opposite opinions and views among the superior officers. "Such were the unhappy circumstances of the Earl of Peterborough in the camp before Barcelona: impossibilities proposed; no expedients to be accepted; a court reproaching; councils of war rejecting; and the Dutch general refusing the assistance of the troops under his command."[24] Yet all these difficulties were overcome; and an attack by storm on the detached fortress of Montjuich was resolved upon, in which the grenadiers of the Sixth, headed by their Lieutenant-Colonel, William Southwell, had the honour to take the lead. The storming party of four hundred grenadiers, with a support of six hundred musketeers, commanded by the Earl of Peterborough and the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, commenced their march about ten o'clock on the night of Sunday the 13th of September, round the mountains, and were followed by another detachment and a party of dragoons. After traversing many miles of rugged mountain scenery by difficult tracts, the storming party appeared before the fortress, and received a discharge of small arms and artillery from the garrison. The Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt and Lord Charlemont directed Lieut.-Colonel Southwell of the Sixth to commence the attack; and instantly springing forward at the head of the grenadiers, this gallant officer led the storming party to the assault with signal intrepidity and resolution. The native energy and contempt of danger of the British soldier was eminently displayed: Southwell and his grenadiers climbed the steep rock in the face of a storm of fire from the garrison,—entered the covered way and the ditch, sword in hand,—ascended to the top of a curtain which was not quite finished, one soldier helping another up, and, notwithstanding the vigorous resistance of the enemy, gained the bulwark of a new fortification. Here some sharp fighting took place: thrice Lieut.-Colonel Southwell was surrounded, but he overthrew his adversaries with matchless valour, and the enemy was driven from that post into the castle. The men, at the other points of attack, had also proved successful,—a considerable portion of the outworks were carried,—a temporary breastwork and entrenchment were speedily constructed,—and three pieces of cannon, which had been captured, were made use of to defend it. The Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt afterwards advanced with a body of men along the curtain which led to the ditch of the inward fort, and fell mortally wounded; two hundred and fifty of the men were made prisoners by the enemy; at the same time a large reinforcement was seen advancing from the town to aid the garrison in the castle, and the soldiers received orders to retire from some of the inferior officers. The Earl of Peterborough rushed to the spot, countermanded the order, seized the half-pike out of Lord Charlemont's hands, and rallied and led back the soldiers to the posts they had so nobly won: the Spaniards who were advancing from the town turned back, and the out-works of the fortress of Montjuich were thus gained. Batteries were constructed, and the inner works were assailed with cannon-balls, bombs, and grenades. On the 17th of September, Lieut.-Colonel Southwell of the Sixth, being on duty in the trenches with his regiment, observed that the bombs, thrown by a Dutch bombardier from a small mortar, fell to the left of the fort, and concluding there was a magazine in the place, he traversed the mortar a little to the right, himself, and fired it; and the bomb falling into a little chapel where the garrison had stored a great quantity of powder, it blew up, and the governor, a Neapolitan named Don Charlete Caracholi, with a number of other officers and men, were buried in the ruins. The intrepid Southwell called a few soldiers forward, and, advancing sword in hand to take advantage of the confusion, was met by the surviving officers and men of the garrison, who laid down their arms and surrendered the fortress; Lieut.-Colonel Southwell took possession of the works; and King Charles hastened to the spot and embraced the lieut.-colonel in a transport of joy. Thus the strong castle and citadel of Montjuich was captured; and Lieut.-Colonel Southwell of the Sixth was rewarded with the appointment of governor.[25]

The capture of Montjuich facilitated the siege of the city of Barcelona, which was persecuted with vigour: the miquelets and armed Catalonians blocked up the avenues of the town, and the soldiers were incessant in their exertions. "The admirals forgot their element, and acted as general officers at land; they came every day from their ships with a body of men formed into companies, and commanded by captains and lieutenants of their own."[26] Cannon and mortars were dragged up steep precipices by men; and a practicable breach having been made, a body of soldiers prepared to attack the city by storm; but the effusion of blood, which would have attended this enterprize, was spared by the surrender of the garrison. A number of miquelets entered the city through the breach with the design of plundering the partisans of the Bourbon dynasty. The governor being very unpopular, and suspected of a design to remove many of the prisoners, was surrounded by an enraged mob: but the Earl of Peterborough entered the town on the 14th of October with a troop of dragoons and the grenadiers of the army, put a stop to the plundering of the miquelets, and prevented the slaughter of the governor and his garrison; at the same time such excellent order and discipline were preserved among the English soldiers, that their conduct has been lauded by historians. The capture of Barcelona gave additional reputation to the arms of the allies, and this splendid achievement was the theme of conversation and a subject of astonishment throughout Europe. It was accompanied by the submission of nearly all Catalonia, the largest and richest province of Spain; and, as Boyer, the historian of these wars, observes, "all the generals, admirals, officers, private soldiers, and seamen, engaged in this memorable expedition, deserved each their share of the honour."

King Charles commenced forming a Spanish army for his service: he soon had five hundred dragoons for a guard, and six regiments of foot. He was joined by Colonel Nebot, who forsook the service of King Philip with a regiment of horse; and in a short time the province of Valencia submitted to the Austrian prince.

1706

The regiment continued under the immediate directions of the Earl of Peterborough, with whose achievements its services are connected; and his raising the siege of St. Mattheo, the capture of Morviedro, his exploits in Valencia, and the relief of the capital of that province—successes gained with a small body of soldiers over a numerous army—carry with them the appearance of fiction and romance more than of sober truth; but being supported by abundance of collateral and direct evidence, the truth of these achievements cannot be doubted. Unfortunately, no documents have been met with to prove what particular corps his lordship left in garrison, and what corps he took with him in his daring enterprise in Valencia; the part taken by the first royal and eighth dragoons, the thirteenth, thirtieth, and thirty-fourth foot, and a few other corps, can be clearly made out from history; but whether the Sixth remained in garrison in Catalonia, or was employed in the enterprise in Valencia, has not been ascertained.

While employed in this part of Spain, the colonel of the regiment, James Rivers, died, and Lieut.-Colonel William Southwell, having been sent to England with despatches, was promoted by Queen Anne to the colonelcy: he kissed her Majesty's hand on the appointment on the 14th of March, 1706, and hastened back to Spain to join his regiment.

King Charles and his counsellors, instead of exerting themselves to provide for the security of the towns which had come into their possession, and collecting the means for future conquests, spent their time and money in balls and public diversions. The breaches in Barcelona and the detached fortress of Montjuich were left unrepaired, and the garrison unprovided for a siege. Meanwhile King Philip was obtaining reinforcements from the frontiers of Portugal, from Italy, Provence, Flanders, and the Rhine, and he soon appeared at the head of above twenty thousand men to re-capture the provinces he had lost. A powerful French and Spanish force approached Barcelona by land; a French fleet appeared before the town; and, the garrison being weak in numbers, regiments were hurried from other places, one English regiment travelling one hundred and twenty miles on mules, in two days, to take part in the defence of Barcelona. The siege was commenced in the beginning of April, 1706, when the soldiers repaired the breaches, and a desperate and resolute defence was made.

The Earl of Peterborough hastened from Valencia with a body of select troops, but found the town so closely beset that he was unable to force his way into it, when he took to the mountains, and harassed the enemy with skirmishes and night-alarms. The Sixth was one of the corps which had the honour of sharing in the defence of this important city, and British valour was conspicuously displayed. When the garrison was nearly exhausted, its numbers decreased from deaths, wounds, sickness, and other causes, to about a thousand effective men, and a practical breach was ready for the enemy to attack the place by storm, the English and Dutch fleet arrived with five regiments of foot, the French fleet hurried from before the town, and the reinforcements were landed. Barcelona being thus relieved, the enemy, having lost five thousand men before the town, made a precipitate retreat on the 12th of May, leaving two hundred brass cannon, thirty mortars, and vast quantities of ammunition and provision behind them, together with the sick and wounded of their army, whom Marshal de Tessé recommended to the humanity of the British commander. During the siege, the roads by which the enemy could return into the heart of Spain had been broken up, and other obstructions raised among the mountains and defiles, and the line of retreat so crowded with armed peasantry, that the French army was forced to return to France, and re-enter Spain by the passes of the Pyrenean mountains. Thus Barcelona was preserved by British skill, valour and perseverance; that part of Spain was delivered from the presence of the enemy; and the forces were at liberty to engage in new enterprises.

An immediate advance upon Madrid was resolved upon, and the Marquis das Minas and Earl of Galway, who commanded a British, Portuguese, and Dutch force on the frontiers of Portugal, were requested to penetrate boldly to the capital of Spain. To engage in this enterprise the Sixth embarked from Barcelona, and proceeded by sea to Valencia, where King Charles was expected to arrive with the cavalry by land. While in Valencia the regiment furnished a detachment of non-commissioned officers and soldiers, which, with similar detachments from other regiments of foot, were formed into a regiment of dragoons, called the Earl of Peterborough's regiment.

From Valencia the regiment was detached, under the orders of Major-General Wyndham, to besiege Requena and Cuenza, which places lay on the line of march from Valencia to Madrid, and were both captured after a short resistance. Meanwhile the army from Portugal had penetrated to Madrid, and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of King Charles, who, following the pernicious advice of his Italian counsellors, delayed his journey, and eventually proceeded by way of Arragon. This gave time for the French and Spanish troops under King Philip to re-enter Spain; and, uniting with the forces under the Duke of Berwick, the enemy had a great superiority of numbers. The allies were forced to retire from their forward position; and on the 13th of September, the Sixth and other corps under Major-General Wyndham joined the army at Veles. The troops continued their route towards the frontiers of Valencia and Murcia, where they remained during the winter.

1707

The Sixth now formed part of the allied army, which was composed of English, Spaniards, Portuguese, and Dutch, commanded by the Marquis das Minas and the Earl of Galway, and took the field for offensive operations in the early part of April, 1707. After destroying several of the enemy's magazines, the siege of the castle of Villena was undertaken; and while this was in progress, a French and Spanish force, of very superior numbers, commanded by the Duke of Berwick, advanced to the plains of Almanza. As the enemy expected the arrival of reinforcements under the Duke of Orleans, the allied generals, though much inferior in numbers to their opponent, resolved to attack him without delay[27].

Advancing in four columns, on the 25th of April, over many miles of rugged ground, and exposed to a burning sun, the army entered a large plain, and about half-past two in the afternoon the advanced-guard arrived in front of the enemy's camp: at three, the soldiers, though faint, and their bodily strength exhausted with the march, advanced boldly to the attack.

The Sixth were formed in brigade with the seventeenth, thirty-third, and Lord Montjoy's regiments, under Major-General Wade, and were posted between two brigades of cavalry, in the left wing of the front line. The Earl of Galway commenced the action by leading the left brigade through a hollow way to attack the enemy's right: the British dragoons, after gaining some advantage, and ascending a height on which a battery was placed, were overpowered by superior numbers and forced to retire. The Sixth and thirty-third advanced to support the dragoons, and opening a sharp fire on the flank of the French horse and Spanish life-guards, put them in disorder; at the same time the English dragoons rallied and returned to the charge, and the enemy was driven back with great slaughter. The French and Spanish horsemen returned to the charge; but were again driven back by the fire of the Sixth and thirty-third regiments. Meanwhile the battle was extending along the line; the ground was contested with varied success; but the British and Dutch battalions, in the centre, obliged the enemy to give way. A few French squadrons advanced to charge the cavalry on the right; the Portuguese squadrons faced about and fled from the field without waiting to be attacked; and several battalions of Portuguese infantry followed the example.

Nine battalions of French and Spanish infantry advanced to that part of the field where the Sixth and thirty-third were engaged; the two regiments confronted the overwhelming numbers of the enemy nobly, and being joined by the ninth, seventeenth, and Lord Montjoy's regiments, disputed the ground with sanguinary obstinacy; but while the contest was still raging, a body of fresh French and Spanish cavalry overpowered and drove back the allied squadrons on the left. The five regiments (Sixth, ninth, seventeenth, thirty-third, and Lord Montjoy's) were thus left unsupported: they were attacked by nine battalions of the enemy, and, while bravely contending with the seven battalions which assailed them in front, they were charged in flank by the other two, broken, and driven from the field with great loss: a few only of the officers and men of the Sixth escaped being killed or taken prisoners. The two French battalions which attacked them in flank, pursuing with eagerness, were cut to pieces by Harvey's horse, now second dragoon guards, who were in turn overpowered by the superior numbers of the enemy.

The fight still raged in the centre; but the flanks being defeated, the enemy surrounded the centre and made a great slaughter. Major-General Shrimpton, Brigadier-General Macartney, Colonels Britton and Hill, and several other officers, collected the broken remains of the English regiments, which fought in the centre, into a body, and united them with some of the Dutch and Portuguese, who had been rallied by Count de Dhona and Don Juan Emanuel, and formed a body of nearly four thousand men, who retreated two leagues; but were pursued by the enemy, whom they repeatedly repulsed. Arriving at the woody hills of Caudete, the men were so exhausted with fatigue that they were unable to proceed; they passed the night in the wood, where they were surrounded by the enemy; and on the following morning, being without ammunition, ignorant of the country, destitute of provisions, and without the hope of a supply, they surrendered prisoners of war. Such was the result of this unfortunate battle, where the faint and wearied soldiers were hurried forward to fight superior numbers of fresh troops, commanded by a renowned general: but, notwithstanding these disadvantages, the author of the Annals of Queen Anne observes:—"Had the Portuguese bravely seconded the English and Dutch, who, with unparalleled resolution and undauntedness broke the enemy's centre, it is the opinion of many that victory would have inclined to the confederate side; or, at least, that the latter might have made an honourable retreat, and, considering the vast disproportion of the forces, have gained the glory of the day."

The loss of the Sixth was very great: Lieutenant-Colonel M'Neal, Captains Columbine, Drake, Campbell, and Justiene, Lieutenants Harvey and Emmery, and Ensigns Sarracen and Watts were killed; Captains Bennett and Hussey were taken prisoners; and Lieutenants Beauford, Columbine, Babington, Magee, M'Neal, and Campbell, Ensigns Beckwith, Morgan, and Reynolds, Quarter-Master Begham, Surgeon Dilpach, and Surgeon's-Mate Macdonald, were wounded and taken prisoners.

The few officers and men of the regiment who escaped from the field of battle proceeded to Alcira, a strong town on the river Xucar, where they joined the cavalry with which the Earl of Galway had made good his retreat; and the approach to the town being by almost inaccessible mountains, they halted a few days to re-organise the army. On the advance of the French and Spanish forces commanded by the Duke of Orleans, the Earl of Galway placed a garrison in Alcira, and removed to Tortosa, and the Sixth were among the troops which encamped on the banks of the river Ebro, about two miles above the city. Meanwhile many of the men who had been taken prisoners, escaped and returned to their regiments; detachments were called in, and the troops took up a position beyond the Ebro. On the 22nd of May the French light cavalry appeared on the hills; on the following day their army encamped against the town, and the Sixth were engaged in the defence of a small village and tête de pont to the bridge of boats, which last post was held for several days. The enemy having passed the Ebro, the regiment was removed to Tarragona, and subsequently to Las Borgues.

The Duke of Orleans having besieged Lerida, some arrangements were made to attempt to relieve the garrison, and the army encamped within a few miles of the town; but a sufficient number of troops could not be assembled to enable the Earl of Galway to attack the besieging army with any hope of success. After the surrender of the castle, the regiment marched back to Tarragona for winter quarters, and its ranks were completed by drafts from the second foot and other regiments which were ordered to return to England to recruit.

1708

During the winter the Earl of Galway proceeded to Portugal, where he remained in a diplomatic capacity. The British troops in Spain were commanded by Major-General Carpenter, and in the spring of 1708 by Major-General Stanhope—afterwards Earl Stanhope: the united English, Germans, Spaniards, Portuguese, and Dutch, comprising the army of King Charles in Spain, were commanded by Marshal Count Guido de Staremberg, an officer who had commanded the imperial troops in Hungary.

After quitting their quarters the Sixth were encamped on the river Francoli, between Monblanco and Tarragona, to defend a defile leading to the plain near the town: they brought about eight hundred officers and men into the field, and their weather-beaten, hardy, and warlike appearance excited admiration. In a letter from the army, dated 23rd of April, 1708, and published at the time, it was stated:—"We cannot yet give any certain account of the number of our forces, but those we have are the finest in the world: such are the regiments of Southwell (Sixth) commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Hunt; that of Blood (seventeenth), commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Bourguet; and that of Mordaunt (twenty-eighth), commanded by Colonel Dalziel[28]."

The regiment was subsequently stationed with the army at Constantino, from whence it proceeded to Cervera; and while in the field, its colonel, William Southwell, was succeeded by Colonel Thomas Harrison, who was performing the duty of adjutant-general to the British troops in Catalonia.

Tortosa and Denia were besieged and taken by the enemy; the allies captured the fertile island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean; and the Sixth were withdrawn from the army in Catalonia to engage in an expedition, under Major-General Stanhope, against Minorca, the second of the Balearic islands, situate in the Mediterranean, near the coast of Spain. This island had fallen successively under the Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Moors, Arragonese, and Castilians; and the object of the expedition was to rescue it from King Philip, and place it under the dominion of King Charles.

The regiment marched from the camp to Barcelona, where it embarked on board the fleet. The land forces consisted of the Sixth, and a few dismounted English dragoons, making 750 private men; 760 English marines, 750 Portuguese, 700 Neapolitans, 300 Spaniards, and a train of English artillery, commanded by Major-General Stanhope and Brigadier-General Wade.

A landing was effected on the island in the middle of September: Cuidadella, the capital, and fort Fornellia, were captured with little opposition, and the inhabitants declared in favour of King Charles; but a thousand French and Spaniards garrisoned Port Mahon, situated on a rocky promontory, very difficult of access on the land side, and defended by Fort St. Philip, erected at the entrance of the harbour, which has been stated to be one of the finest in the world. After dragging the artillery along rocky and difficult roads, the siege of Fort St. Philip was commenced; the artillery destroyed two small towers, and made a practicable breach in the outer wall, which was built a quarter of a mile from Fort St. Philip, and, extending from sea to sea, covered the approach to the citadel. Major-General Stanhope intended that the breach should be stormed on the following day; but the grenadiers of the Sixth, and another corps, being on duty near the spot, rushed forward with such ardour and intrepidity, that the garrison was terrified and dismayed. Ascending the breach sword in hand, they overpowered all opposition, captured a redoubt, and, being supported by a detachment under Brigadier-General Wade, effected a lodgment at the foot of the glacis. A battery was constructed immediately, and the garrison was so confused and alarmed at the fury and resolution of their assailants, that they capitulated on the following day (29th of September); but when, on marching out, they saw the small body of men to whom they had surrendered, they were ashamed of having given up so strong a fortress. Thus this valuable island was captured with the loss of about forty men; and the Sixth foot and other troops were honoured with the thanks and approbation of King Charles, and of her Majesty Queen Anne.

Minorca was garrisoned by English troops, and the Sixth was one of the corps selected to take charge of this important conquest.

1709

In the following year Lieut.-General Stanhope having formed a design against Cadiz, embarked two regiments of foot from Minorca, and sailed for Gibraltar, where he expected to be joined by eight battalions of foot and a regiment of dragoons from England; but these troops were so long delayed by contrary winds, that the enterprise was abandoned. The Sixth proceeded to Barcelona, where they landed, and reposed in quarters in Catalonia until the following spring.

1710

When the army took the field in the summer of 1710, the Sixth proceeded to the camp at Balaguer, where they were reviewed by King Charles on the 10th of June. The two claimants to the throne of Spain headed their respective armies, and King Philip had the advantage in point of numbers; but after reconnoitring his adversaries' fortified camp at Balaguer he retired. King Charles moved forward, and on the 27th of July a cavalry action was fought on the grounds near Almanara, when upwards of forty squadrons of the enemy's best cavalry, and a brigade of infantry, were overthrown with great slaughter. Harvey's horse (now second dragoon guards), the royal dragoons, and several other corps, gained great honour. The Sixth foot hastened to the scene of conflict; but the enemy was routed before the infantry had an opportunity to deploy their ranks. Several corps, however, joined in the pursuit, and made great slaughter.

This victory gave the allies an ascendancy over their opponents. King Philip called in his detachments and retired, and was followed by the forces under King Charles. In this advance the troops underwent great fatigue and privation with patient resolution and perseverance which redounded to their honour. At the town of Candasmas the soldiers suffered from the scarcity of water and wine. "We were glad to march out of this place" (observes an officer who was present) "on the next morning; but found ourselves in as great distress from the want of water as the day before, till we came to Bacarolos, where we encamped, the enemy still retiring before us. At break of day our army marched on in four columns, in expectation of overtaking the enemy, but we were disappointed, and had to encounter, on our march to Usera on the Ebro, violent thirst and heat, without a drop of water; and to incommode us more, the enemy had set fire to a very long heath we had to pass over. It cannot be conceived what we suffered upon such a march, smothered all the day with clouds of ashes, especially the foot[29]." At night the men reached the banks of the Ebro, and quenched their thirst at the stream. Continuing the march, on the 19th of August they discovered the united French and Spanish forces in order of battle in front of the city of Saragossa, and preparations were made to attack the enemy on the following day. Several men, who were so pressed with hunger and thirst as to venture to gather grapes in a vineyard situated between the two armies, were shot by the enemy's out-posts.

The enemy's lines extended from the banks of the Ebro to the brow of a steep hill on their right; and the Sixth, being formed in Major-General Wade's brigade, were destined to attack the enemy's right.

The sun had scarcely risen on the morning of the memorable 20th of August, 1710, when the guns of both armies opened a tremendous fire, and the deep tones of the artillery reverberated in the mountains and valleys. The allied army stood prepared for action, and King Charles rode along the ranks to stimulate the officers and men to deeds of heroism. The Sixth and other war-worn veterans in Wade's brigade excited his Majesty's attention: fatigue and privation had not quenched the native valour which glowed in their breasts and beamed in their sun-burnt countenances, and the King complimented the brigade as he passed. About mid-day, Lieut.-General Stanhope, whose conduct on this occasion excited applause[30], led forward a brigade of cavalry, and commenced the action by a gallant charge on the squadrons on the enemy's right; but the opposing horsemen having a great superiority of numbers, gained some advantage. Six squadrons of Portuguese dragoons in English pay, and clothed in scarlet uniforms, fled from the field; the French and Spanish troopers pursued with eagerness, and imagining they had routed the British cavalry, they concluded that victory was certain; but the British, Dutch, and Palatine foot, opposed to the enemy's right wing, were brought forward, and they soon gave a decisive turn to the fortune of the day. Advancing steadily up the rising ground, the Sixth, and three other battalions under Major-General Wade, gained the crest of the enemy's position, and while the dragoons fought with deadly fury in the vale below, the four regiments raised a British shout, and rushing upon a brigade of the enemy's foot, broke its ranks with a fearful crash. A few battalions made a resolute resistance, but were overpowered and nearly annihilated. While the Sixth were fighting on the high grounds on the left, the battle became general along the line; and eventually, King Charles gained a most decisive victory. The wreck of the opposing army fled from the field, leaving twenty-two pieces of cannon, a number of standards and colours, all their baggage, and King Philip's equipage and plate in possession of the victorious allied army. The behaviour of the British troops was applauded: they exhibited thirty standards and colours which they had captured from the enemy, as trophies of their valour; and were thanked by King Charles for the eminent service they had rendered to his cause. Colonel Thomas Harrison of the Sixth was sent to England with the news of this victory to Queen Anne[31].

King Philip fled in consternation and dismay, and the allied army advanced in triumph to the capital. A crisis had arrived, and the destiny of Spain appeared to depend on the speedy advance to Madrid of a body of British and Portuguese troops which were manœuvring on the frontiers of Portugal; but the Portuguese generals disappointed the hopes of the allies, and sent their troops into quarters. Meanwhile King Charles occupied Madrid with a small army; the enemy called to his aid additional troops; new armies and new generals appeared in Spain, and the forces of King Philip were soon so superior in numbers to the allies, that the latter were forced to retire from the capital towards Catalonia. King Charles consulted his own safety and proceeded to Barcelona, accompanied by a detachment of the royal dragoons. The army was pressed by the enemy in its retiring movements; the country people withheld supplies of provisions and forage, and availed themselves of every opportunity to attack small parties and to plunder the baggage. Thus harassed on every side—worn out with the fatigues of a long campaign—in a country hostile to their cause—exposed to inclement weather, and without tents—the condition of the soldiers may be more easily conceived than expressed. On the 6th of December, the Sixth and several other corps, forming the rear column on the left, under Lieut.-General Stanhope, arrived at the village of Brihuega, consisting of about a thousand houses, and situate on the side of a hill near the river. Here the troops halted on the following day, and at the moment when the officers and men were expecting orders to march, the village was surrounded by the French and Spanish forces under the Duke of Vendosme. The English, finding their retreat thus cut off, prepared for a vigorous defence; but unfortunately they had no artillery, and very little ammunition, and the ruinous old wall which surrounded the village was but a feeble bulwark to oppose to a powerful train of artillery. The enemy forced one of the gates with their cannon, made a practicable breach in the wall, and attacked the place by storm. But British courage did not quail before the host of foes by which the village was surrounded; and the enemy was driven back with great slaughter. A second attack was made: eight hundred French infantry gained access to the village, and a sharp conflict was maintained in the houses and streets; and when the English had expended all their ammunition, they hurled bricks, stones, and other missiles from the tops of the houses upon their opponents. But being pent up in a small village by a numerous army, and without ammunition, they were forced to surrender prisoners of war. Such was the fate of two thousand brave men, whose achievements are immortalized in history; and the veterans of the Sixth, who had so often signalized themselves, were consigned to surveillance and to prison: but their honour was preserved untarnished.

1711
1712
1713
1714

Lieut.-Colonel John Ramsay and about three hundred officers and men of the regiment were thus made prisoners at the little walled town of Brihuega, in the mountains of Castile; but the officers and men on command and on detachment in the towns through which the army advanced escaped this disaster. The enemy used every means to induce the English, German, and Palatine soldiers, taken prisoners, to enlist into their service, and withheld provision from such as refused: this, however, proved advantageous to the allies; the soldiers availed themselves of every opportunity to desert the enemy's service, and returned in parties of thirty and forty to their own army.[32] Recruits also arrived from England; the officers and men who remained in captivity were exchanged, and several of the corps were re-organized; but the Sixth do not appear to have been engaged in any important service in the years 1711 and 1712. On the decease of the Emperor of Germany, King Charles was elevated to the imperial throne; one of the competitors for the crown of Spain was thus removed; a cessation of hostilities took place between the English and French in the campaign of 1712, which was followed by a treaty of peace, called the peace of Utrecht; and the Sixth proceeded to Ireland.

1715
1716

After the decease of Queen Anne, and the accession of King George I., several alterations were made in the army, and Colonel Harrison was succeeded in the command of the Sixth by Colonel Robert Dormer, from the lieut.-colonelcy of the first troop (now first regiment) of life-guards, by commission dated the 7th of March, 1716.

1717
1718
1719

During the rebellion of the Earl of Mar, and the alarm occasioned by the proceedings of the courts of Spain and Sweden in favour of the Pretender, the Sixth remained in Ireland; but when the rash and unjust proceedings of the Spanish minister, Cardinal Alberoni, involved Great Britain and France in a war with Spain, the regiment was selected to form part of an expedition against the coast of Spain. The capture of Sardinia and the invasion of Sicily by the Spaniards was followed by a naval war in the Mediterranean; and the British government projected the capture of Corunna in Biscay, and of Peru in South America. The attack on Corunna was first determined on; and the Sixth formed part of a land-force of four thousand men, placed under the orders of General Viscount Cobham for this service. The troops embarked in the beginning of September, 1719; but, on arriving off the coast of Gallicia, circumstances occurred which occasioned the attack on Corunna to be laid aside, and an attempt on Vigo determined on. The fleet entered the harbour of Vigo on the 29th of September, and seized on seven ships, three of which were fitting up as privateers; on the following day the grenadiers landed on the south side of the river, three miles above the town; a sharp fire of musketry was opened upon them from the mountains, but at too great a distance to produce effect, and the battalion companies having gained the shore, the troops passed the night under arms. On the 1st of October the army approached the town, and encamped with its left to the sea near the village of Boas, and its right extending towards the mountains; abundance of wine being found in the houses, which were left without inhabitants, the soldiers drank freely, and it was found necessary to enforce strict discipline to prevent irregularities. The town of Vigo, and fort St. Sebastian, were abandoned by the enemy and taken possession of by Brigadier-General Honeywood, with eight hundred men. A thousand Spaniards retired to the citadel, and held out; but after a heavy battery had opened its fire, and the garrison had lost nearly three hundred men, the lieut.-governor surrendered. Two thousand barrels of powder, eight thousand muskets, and fifteen fine brass guns, which had been prepared for the invasion of Britain in favour of the Pretender, were found in the castle: the troops in garrison were also part of the force which had been selected to serve in the expedition under the Duke of Ormond. While the siege of the castle of Vigo was in progress, five hundred men were detached against Rondondella, and they captured and burnt the town. A thousand men embarked under Major-General Wade, on the 12th of October, and, proceeding to the upper end of Vigo bay, landed and marched thirty miles to Pont-a-Vedra; thirteen companies of Spaniards in garrison fled in a panic; the country was thrown into confusion, and the principal inhabitants hurried from their homes. The town of Pont-a-Vedra, the arsenal, barracks for two thousand men, thirteen pieces of brass, and eighty-six of iron ordnance, five thousand small arms, three hundred barrels of powder, and abundance of other stores, were captured. The arsenal, barracks, and Fort Marine, four miles from Pont-a-Vedra, with the iron ordnance, were destroyed; the more valuable stores were removed on board the transports, and the detachment returned to Vigo.

The king of Spain, being oppressed on every side, his sources exhausted, and his projects defeated, dismissed his turbulent minister and made pacific overtures. A treaty of peace was concluded before the projected expedition against Peru was undertaken, and the Sixth were again stationed in Ireland.

1720
1738

On the 9th of April, 1720, Colonel Robert Dormer was succeeded in the command of the regiment by his brother, Colonel James Dormer, from the fourteenth dragoons, who was promoted in February, 1738, to the first troop of horse grenadier guards: the colonelcy appears to have remained vacant until November following, when it was conferred on Lieut.-Colonel John Guise.

1739
1740

The regiment was withdrawn from Ireland in the autumn of 1739, and, after its arrival in England, another war between Great Britain and Spain having become inevitable, its establishment was augmented, and it was ordered to hold itself in readiness to proceed on foreign service.

A formidable armament was prepared for the attack of the Spanish colonies in the West Indies, and the land forces were placed under the orders of General Lord Cathcart, a nobleman of approved courage and experience in war. The troops having embarked in October, 1740, sailed under the convoy of a naval force commanded by Sir Chaloner Ogle; and the colonel of the Sixth, John Guise, was appointed to serve as brigadier-general in the expedition. This regiment did not form part of the first embarkation, but it was subsequently ordered to proceed to the West Indies to reinforce the troops employed in this enterprise.

A tempest dispersed the fleet, consisting of about one hundred and seventy sail, in the bay of Biscay; but the greater part of the vessels were re-collected and proceeded on the voyage. Arriving at the neutral island of Dominica, to provide wood and water, the troops sustained the loss of their gallant leader, Lord Cathcart, who died of dysentery; and the command devolved on Brigadier-General Thomas Wentworth.

1741

On arriving at Jamaica in January, 1741, the expedition was joined by Vice-Admiral Vernon; but the season of the year for active service in the West Indies was fast passing away, and several circumstances concurred to create further delay. At length an attempt on Carthagena, the capital of an extensive and wealthy province in the country of Terra Firma in South America, was resolved upon; and, although this place was found strongly fortified, and the garrison reinforced by the crews of a squadron of large ships, commanded by Don Blas de Leso; yet, the fleet having silenced several small forts, eight regiments landed on the 10th of March, on the island of Tierra Bomba, near the mouth of the harbour, and commenced the siege of the principal fort, or castle, called Bocca-chica. On the evening of the 25th of March the grenadiers mounted the breach to storm the fortress, when the Spanish garrison fled, and the place was captured without loss.

Two channels having been made through the sunk vessels with which the Spaniards had blocked up the entrance of the harbour, the troops and artillery were re-embarked, and commenced landing, on the 5th of April, near the city. The country round Carthagena was found covered with trees and herbage of the most luxuriant growth, and the interwoven branches formed a shelter impenetrable both to heat and light; as the troops, led by Brigadier-General Blakeney, advanced along a narrow defile, several men were wounded by shots from the tracts and openings into the wood; and, on diverging from the defile, six hundred Spaniards were seen advantageously posted to dispute the passage: but they were speedily driven from their ground, and the British bivouacked within a mile of the castle of St. Lazar, which commanded the town. The men passed three nights in the open air, for want of tents and tools, which could not be landed sooner, and the health of the soldiers was in consequence seriously injured.

As the men were fast diminishing in numbers from hard duty and the effects of climate, Brigadier-General Wentworth resolved to attack St. Lazar by escalade; to which dangerous experiment he was urged by Vice-Admiral Vernon, who accused him of want of resolution. Twelve hundred men, commanded by Brigadier-General Guise, stormed the enemy's intrenchments under the walls of the fort, and though assailed by a heavy fire of musketry, the grenadiers, led by Colonel Grant, rushed forward with astonishing bravery, and leaping into the lines among the thickest of their adversaries, carried the works in gallant style. The Spaniards fled over a drawbridge into the fort; the British pursued under a heavy fire, and called for the ladders to storm the works; but so hot was the fire, that the Americans who carried the ladders threw them down and fled back to the camp. Meanwhile the soldiers were exposed to a most destructive fire, and were unable to cover themselves: 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 was 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 retreat, having lost six hundred men in killed and wounded.

This repulse was followed by the violent periodical rains, the country was deluged with water, and the change of atmosphere (which is always attended with epidemical distempers and the climate becomes extremely unhealthy) produced the most fatal effects. The soldiers were so drenched with rain, and their health so seriously impaired, that they re-embarked, and all hope of further success immediately vanished. The admiral was blamed for not stationing four or five of his large ships within pistol-shot of the town, when the troops advanced to attack fort St. Lazar; and if this had been done (Smollett observes), "in all probability the town would have surrendered."

After re-embarking, the distempers peculiar to the climate produced great havoc among the soldiers. Smollett states,—"Nothing was heard but complaints and execrations: the groans of the dying, and the service for the dead: nothing was seen but objects of woe and images of dejection." Such are the sufferings often endured by the British soldier in the various countries to which he is called upon to proceed, and are generally borne with exemplary fortitude.

The forts and castles of the harbour of Carthagena having been demolished, the fleet sailed to Jamaica; and subsequently to the south-east part of the island of Cuba, where the soldiers landed, and a camp was formed twenty miles up one of the large rivers of this island. At this camp the Sixth were stationed some time, and it was in contemplation to form a British settlement on this part of Cuba; the country was reconnoitred, detachments were sent out, and the Spanish villages were found deserted. For a short time a plentiful supply of fresh provisions was procured; but the men were afterwards rationed with salt and damaged meat and biscuit, and their numbers were so reduced by sickness, that in November they were put on board again, and re-conveyed to Jamaica.

1742
1745

The Sixth, having suffered severely from the effects of climate, returned to England in December, 1742, and commenced recruiting their numbers. They subsequently proceeded to Scotland, where they were stationed in the summer of 1745, when Charles-Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, raised his standard in the Highlands, and asserted his father's pretensions to the throne.

The head-quarters of the Sixth were at Aberdeen; two companies were at Inverness, which has been termed the capital of the Highlands, being the only town of importance north of Aberdeen; three companies were at Fort Augustus, situated on a plain at the head of Loch Ness, between the rivers Tarff and Oich, and built at the spot where they discharge themselves into the lake; a strong party, commanded by Captain Millar, occupied Fort William, which was built in the reign of King William III., in a plain on a navigable arm of the sea, called Loch Eil, near the influx of the Lochy and Nevis, in the county of Inverness; a serjeant's party occupied a redoubt at Ruthven; and a working party was employed on the newly-constructed roads in the Highlands. While in these quarters information was received of the arrival of the Pretender's eldest son with a few Scottish and Irish adventurers on the coast of Lochabar, and of their being joined by a number of Highlanders, under their respective chiefs. The news of this bold and hazardous undertaking was at first disbelieved, but Captain Sweetman of the regiment, walking out from Fort Augustus to gain information, entered an inn in the Highlands, where he was surrounded by eight rebels and conveyed a prisoner to the young Pretender's camp. There he was civilly treated, and suffered to go away on his parole; one of the Pretender's manifestos was given him, with a passport directed to all sheriffs, sheriff-deputies, and constables in Scotland, and signed Charles Pr. Custos Reg. After his release Captain Sweetman proceeded by post to London, where he was examined by the Privy Council, and the tidings of the rebellion were no longer doubted. The working parties of the Sixth and other corps were then ordered to rejoin their regiments.

The young adventurer having assembled about fifteen hundred men, encamped in the neighbourhood of Fort William: two newly-raised companies, of the regiments of St. Clair and Murray, proceeding to Fort William, were attacked by a body of mountaineers, and after a resolute resistance, the soldiers, having expended all their ammunition, were forced to surrender. Lieutenant-General Sir John Cope, the commander-in-chief in Scotland, assembled the disposable force under his orders at Stirling, and advanced towards the road leading through the Highlands to Inverlochy, taking with him a thousand arms, in the expectation of being joined at Crieff by a body of well-affected Highlanders. A detachment of the Sixth accompanied Sir John Cope in this advance through a wild country, where the soldiers were obliged to take their provision with them, and being disappointed of the Highlanders, the spare arms were sent back for want of carriage. On arriving at Dalwhinnie,—the place where the Fort Augustus and Inverness roads meet, information was received that the rebels were in force in a position in the winding of the road up the mountain, of such difficult approach and natural strength, that it was thought impossible to force it, and the soldiers, having only two days' provision with them, retired by Ruthven to Inverness.

A veteran serjeant of the regiment, named Molloy, and twelve men were left in charge of the little fort at Ruthven, which they defended against the rebel host with such distinguished bravery, that the following letter from this brave man to Sir John Cope deserves a place in this memoir.

"Ruthven Redoubt, 30th August, 1745.

"Hon. General,

"This goes to acquaint you, that yesterday there appeared in the little town of Ruthven about three hundred of the enemy, and sent proposals to me to surrender this redoubt upon condition that I should have liberty to carry off bag and baggage. My answer was, 'I was too old a soldier to surrender a garrison of such strength without bloody noses.' They threatened hanging me and my men for refusal. I told them I would take my chance. This morning they attacked me about twelve o'clock (by my information) with about a hundred and fifty men: they attacked fore-gate and sally-port; and attempted to set sally-port on fire with some old barrels and other combustibles, which took place immediately, but the attempter lost his life by it. They drew off about half an hour after three. About two hours after they sent word to me that two of their chiefs wanted to talk to me; I admitted and spoke to them from the parapet: they offered conditions; I refused; they desired liberty to carry off their dead men; I granted. There are two men since dead of their wounds in the town, and three more they took with them, as I am informed. They went off westward about eight o'clock this morning; they did the like march yesterday in the afternoon, but came back at night-fall. They took all the provisions the poor inhabitants had in the town, and Mrs. M'Pherson, the barrack-wife, and a merchant of the town, who spoke to me this moment, and who advised me to write to your honour, and told me there were above three thousand men, all lodged in the corn-fields west of the town, last night, and their grand camp is at Dalwhinnie. They have Cluny M'Pherson with them prisoner, as I have it by the same information. I lost one man, shot through the head by foolishly holding his head too high over the parapet. I expect another visit this night, I am informed, with their pateraroes; but I shall give them the warmest reception my weak party can afford. I shall hold out as long as possible. I conclude, honourable general, with great respect,

"Your most humble servant,
"J. Molloy, Serjt. 6th.[33]"

From Inverness Lieut.-General Sir John Cope marched to Aberdeen, where he embarked the troops in transports, in order to proceed by sea to Leith, to oppose the progress of the rebels southwards; and two companies of the Sixth, commanded by Captains Pointz and Holwell, were employed in this service. Arriving at Dunbar, on the 16th of September, they landed on the south side of the Firth, and, to their great mortification and disappointment, learnt that the rebel highlanders and their adventurous chief had gained possession of Edinburgh, towards which city Sir John Cope commenced his march on the 19th of September.

Information having been received of the approach of a rebel force of very superior numbers, the King's troops took up a position a short distance to the east of the village of Preston-pans, near the sea, and seven miles from Edinburgh. Several changes of ground were made as the rebels menaced various parts of the line; but the attack was delayed, and the soldiers passed the night under arms: the two companies of the Sixth, and eight companies of Lascelles' (forty-seventh) regiment, formed one battalion, and were posted in the right centre of the front line[34].

About three o'clock on the morning of the 21st of September, large bodies of rebel Highlanders were seen in motion, and before day-break a chosen band of these hardy mountaineers was discovered through the thick atmosphere, moving like a dusky phantom swiftly along the undulating grounds to attack the right. As they drew near they raised a dismal 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, struck with dismay 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, they 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 out of the field. Their conduct damped the courage of the infantry, and the panic spread from rank to rank; but several companies made resistance, and feats of valour were nobly displayed by individuals and small parties; all semblance of order was, however, soon lost, and a confused rout ensued. The two companies[35] of the Sixth were among the troops who resisted the Highlanders; Captain Hollwell was killed; Captain Pointz was surrounded, dangerously wounded, and taken prisoner; Lieutenants Cumming and Paton, and Ensigns Wakeman and Irwine, were also made prisoners; and the two companies had nearly every man either killed, wounded, or taken prisoner: such were the disastrous results of this battle, that of the King's forces, not more than one-half escaped from the field. The prisoners were removed to Edinburgh, and afterwards to the Highlands.

1746

With the advance of the rebels into Derbyshire, their precipitate retreat back to Scotland, and the battle of Falkirk, the services of the Sixth are not immediately connected; but in the early part of 1746, after the Duke of Cumberland had forced the young Pretender to raise the siege of Stirling castle, and to retreat to the Highlands, the three companies of the regiment stationed in Fort Augustus were besieged by the rebel army. As the young Pretender had obtained a train of artillery, and the services of a few French officers and engineers, the reduction of the fort was not a difficult operation, and the three companies were made prisoners: the works were afterwards blown up and abandoned by the enemy.

1747

A lieutenant and about fifty men of the regiment had, in the mean time, assembled at Edinburgh: some of these men had escaped from captivity, others were the remains of the two companies which had fought at Preston-pans, and they were directed to proceed, by forced marches, to Inverlochy, and throw themselves into Fort William: a drummer and three men of the regiment, who were made prisoners at Fort Augustus, also escaped from custody and took refuge in Fort William. In March, 1746, the enemy besieged the fort, and the garrison made a most resolute defence. By a well-directed fire from the works, by sallies and other devices, with the co-operation of a small naval force, the enemy was forced to raise the siege and retire. This success was followed by the overthrow of the rebel army at Culloden, which extinguished the hopes of the Pretender, and the insurrection was thus finally suppressed. The officers and men of the Sixth were liberated from captivity, the companies in garrison were relieved, and the regiment proceeded to England to recruit its numbers, where it remained for six years.

1751

In the warrant of King George II., bearing date the 1st of July, 1751, for regulating the uniform, colours, and distinctions of regiments, the facing of the Sixth was directed to be of DEEP YELLOW. "The first colour to be the great Union; and the second to be of deep yellow, with the union in the upper canton; in the centre of the colours the Antelope, being the ancient badge of the regiment, and in the three corners of the second colour the rose and crown. The front of the grenadier caps to be of deep yellow, with the antelope, as in the colours; the little flap to be red, with the white horse, and motto, Nec aspera terrent, over it; the back part of the cap to be red, and the turn-up deep yellow. The same badge of the antelope to be painted on the drums and bells of arms, with the rank of the regiment underneath."

1753
1755
1756

The Sixth were employed on home duty until the winter of 1753, when they embarked for Gibraltar to relieve the thirty-second regiment; and they were employed on garrison duty at that important fortress during the whole of the Seven years' war. Hostilities commenced in America in 1755, and in 1756 a French armament, commanded by Marshal Duke of Richelieu, invaded the island of Minorca, in the capture of which the Sixth took so distinguished a part in 1708; and a detachment of the regiment was held in readiness to proceed to Port Mahon to reinforce the garrison. This service was, however, delayed; and Lieut.-General Fowke, who commanded the forces at Gibraltar, was dismissed the service for neglecting to strengthen the troops in Minorca by a battalion from his garrison.

1763

After the peace of Fontainebleau the Sixth were relieved from duty at Gibraltar, and returned to England, where they arrived in the summer of 1763. Two years afterwards they proceeded to Scotland.

1765