TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

Footnote anchors are denoted by [number], and the footnotes have been placed at the end of each major section.

Some minor changes to the text are noted at the [end of the book.] These are indicated by a dotted gray underline.

HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE THIRTEENTH, FIRST SOMERSET,
OR,
THE PRINCE ALBERT’S REGIMENT
OF
LIGHT INFANTRY;

CONTAINING

AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT
IN 1685,

AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
TO 1848.

COMPILED BY

RICHARD CANNON, Esq.

ADJUTANT-GENERAL’S OFFICE, HORSE GUARDS.

ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES.

LONDON:

PARKER, FURNIVALL, & PARKER,

30 CHARING CROSS.

M DCCC XLVIII.

London: Printed by W. Clowes & Sons, Stamford Street,
For Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.

GENERAL ORDERS.

HORSE-GUARDS,

1st January, 1836.

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

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

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

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

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

And,

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

By Command of the Right Honorable

GENERAL LORD HILL,

Commanding-in-Chief.

John Macdonald,

Adjutant-General.

PREFACE.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

INTRODUCTION
TO
THE INFANTRY.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FOOTNOTES:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE THIRTEENTH, FIRST SOMERSET,

OR,

THE PRINCE ALBERT’S REGIMENT

OF

LIGHT INFANTRY;

CONTAINING

AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT
IN 1685,

AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
TO 1848.

COMPILED BY

RICHARD CANNON, Esq.

ADJUTANT-GENERAL’S OFFICE, HORSE GUARDS.

ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES.

LONDON:

PARKER, FURNIVALL, & PARKER,

30 CHARING CROSS.

M DCCC XLVIII.

THE THIRTEENTH,

THE FIRST SOMERSET REGIMENT OF FOOT,

OR

THE PRINCE ALBERT’S REGIMENT OF
LIGHT INFANTRY,

Bears on its Regimental Colour

THE SPHINX, WITH THE WORD “EGYPT,”

In Commemoration of its Services in Egypt in 1801;

THE WORD “MARTINIQUE,”

In Commemoration of its Services at the Capture of that Island
on the 24th February, 1809;

AND THE WORDS

“AVA,”—“AFFGHANISTAN,”—“GHUZNEE,”—“JELLALABAD,”

WITH THE MURAL CROWN,

AND

“CABOOL, 1842,”

In Commemoration of its Arduous and Meritorious Services in the
Asiatic Territories from 1839 to 1842.

THIRTEENTH, PRINCE ALBERT’S REGIMENT
OF LIGHT INFANTRY.

CONTENTS.

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS.

PLATES.

THIRTEENTH,

PRINCE ALBERT’S REGIMENT OF

LIGHT INFANTRY.

QUEEN’S COLOR.

REGIMENTAL COLOR.
FOR CANNON’S MILITARY RECORDS.

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE THIRTEENTH,

FIRST SOMERSETSHIRE REGIMENT;

OR

PRINCE ALBERT’S REGIMENT OF LIGHT INFANTRY.

1685

When James Duke of Monmouth denounced the character and pretensions of King James II., asserted his own claims to the throne, and organized a military force to establish his authority, the small regular army then in England was not deemed sufficiently numerous for the protection of the crown and kingdom against lawless usurpation, and a number of additional corps of cavalry and infantry were embodied. Among the noblemen who stood forward in support of the throne at this important juncture, was Theophilus, Earl of Huntingdon, who was appointed colonel of one of the regiments ordered to be raised,—now Thirteenth Light Infantry,—by commission dated the 20th of June, 1685.

This regiment was raised in the southern counties of England, and its general rendezvous was at Buckingham, where the Earl of Huntingdon established his head-quarters; it consisted of ten companies, which were raised by Colonel the Earl of Huntingdon, Lieut-Colonel Francis Villiers, Major Charles Morgan, Captains Watson Dixey, Thomas Condon, Thomas Skipworth,—Hildibran, John Tidcomb, Bryan Turner, and Charles Hatton; and a number of loyal men coming readily forward to enrol themselves under the colours of the regiment, it was speedily formed and quartered at Buckingham and Aylesbury. In the middle of July it was employed to guard prisoners taken after the overthrow of the rebel army at Sedgemoor.

The rebellion being suppressed, and the Duke of Monmouth beheaded, the King assembled many of the newly-raised corps on Hounslow Heath, where the Earl of Huntingdon’s regiment encamped in the beginning of August: it was reviewed on the Heath by His Majesty; the officers and soldiers received the expression of the King’s royal approbation of the ready manner in which they had come forward to support the throne at the hour of danger, and they afterwards marched into garrison at Hull.

On the 6th of January, 1686, the establishment was fixed at the following numbers and rates of pay, viz. (see p. 3).

1686

The uniform of the regiment was, round hats with broad brims, the brim turned up on one side, and ornamented with yellow ribands; scarlet coats lined with yellow; yellow breeches, and gray stockings; the pikemen were distinguished by white sashes tied round their waists.

In June the regiment was again encamped on Hounslow Heath, and in August it marched into Yorkshire and Cumberland; the head-quarters being at York, where it passed the winter.

From York the head-quarters were removed, in February, 1687, to Chester, where they remained during the following twelve months.

1687

List of Officers in 1687.

1688

The regiment left Chester in April, 1688, and in June it pitched its tents on Hounslow Heath. In the meantime, the proceedings of the King, to establish Papacy and arbitrary government, had filled the country with alarm, and many of the nobility and gentry had solicited the Prince of Orange to come to England with a Dutch army, to aid them in opposing the measures of the court. The Earl of Huntingdon continued, however, faithful to the interests of the King, and his regiment was ordered into garrison at Plymouth, together with the Earl of Bath’s (now Tenth) regiment. When the Prince of Orange landed, the garrison of Plymouth was divided in its political views: the governor, the Earl of Bath, and Lieut.-Colonel Hastings, of the Thirteenth (cousin of the Earl of Huntingdon), were in the Protestant interest; the Earl of Huntingdon, who was present, and performing the duties of commanding officer, with Lieut.-Colonel Sir Charles Carney, of the Tenth, were devoted to the Roman Catholic interest; but nearly all the officers and soldiers had espoused the Protestant cause. The Earl of Bath, Lieut.-Colonel Hastings, and several other officers, arrested the Earl of Huntingdon, Captain Owen Macarty, Lieutenant Talbot Lacells, and Ensign Ambrose Jones, of the Thirteenth, who were Roman Catholics, and afterwards declared for the Prince of Orange, in which the two regiments in garrison concurred. When the fortress of Plymouth was established in the Protestant interest, the arrested officers were released.

The army refusing to fight in the cause of Papacy and arbitrary government, King James fled to France and the Prince of Orange promoted Lieut.-Colonel Ferdinando Hastings to the colonelcy of the regiment, by commission, dated 1688.

1689

The accession of the Prince and Princess of Orange to the throne having met with some opposition in Scotland, the regiment was ordered thither; and on arriving at Edinburgh, in the spring of 1689, it was employed in the blockade of the castle, which the Duke of Gordon held for King James; at the same time Viscount Dundee was arousing the clans to arms.

While the regiment was at Edinburgh, Major-General Hugh Mackay, commanding-in-chief in Scotland, was watching the motions of Viscount Dundee, and he sent orders for Colonel Ramsay to join him with six hundred men of the Scots Brigade, in the Dutch service. The colonel commenced his march, but was intimidated by the menacing attitude of the Athol men, and returned to Perth; when a hundred men of Berkeley’s (now Fourth) dragoons, a hundred of the Thirteenth foot, and two hundred of Leven’s newly-raised regiment (now Twenty-fifth), were ordered to join him. Thus reinforced, the Colonel commenced his march through Athole and Badenoch for Inverness; and with the aid of this detachment, Major-General Mackay chased the clans, under Viscount Dundee, from the low country, and compelled them to take refuge in the wilds of Lochaber: the detachment of the Thirteenth foot was afterwards stationed at Inverness; and the regiment was relieved from the blockade of Edinburgh Castle by the surrender of that fortress on the 13th of June.

After forcing Viscount Dundee to take refuge in Lochaber, Major-General Mackay proceeded to Edinburgh, where he learned that the clans expected to be joined by a reinforcement from Ireland, and would probably soon descend from the hilly country; the major-general, therefore, assembled the Thirteenth foot, and several other corps, and marched from Edinburgh, to watch the motions of the insurgent Highlanders. Arriving at Dunkeld, he received an express from Lord Murray, son of the Marquis of Athol, stating that part of Viscount Dundee’s army had arrived at Blair; and in consequence of this information, he commenced his march at daybreak on the morning of Saturday, the 27th of July, towards the pass of Killicrankie,[6] to confront his opponents, and on this occasion the Thirteenth foot, commanded by their colonel, Ferdinando Hastings, formed the rear-guard, to cover the march of twelve hundred pack-horses, which carried the baggage of the army.

Entering the pass of Killicrankie, the troops moved along the east bank of the river Garry, by a narrow road, confined between a range of craggy precipices on one hand, and on the other the river, considerably below the road, rushing from rock to rock with a murmuring sound; and as the Thirteenth regiment emerged from this difficult defile with the baggage, the royal army was seen in order of battle, on some rising ground at the foot of a hill, on the summit of which appeared the insurgent host, under Viscount Dundee. The Thirteenth foot formed on the right of the line, the grenadier company on the flank, with a supply of hand-grenades, the musketeers formed two wings; and the pikemen stood in column in the centre. During two tedious hours of a bright summer evening the armies stood looking at each other; and about half an hour before sunset, the Highlanders moved slowly down the hill, barefooted, and stripped to their shirts, to commence the battle: as they descended, they quickened their pace, uttered a loud shout, and commenced an irregular fire of musketry, which produced little effect. The King’s troops reserved their fire until the clans came within a few paces, and then by a regular discharge, with a sure aim, produced great havoc on the thick masses opposed to them; but at that moment the Highlanders threw down their muskets, drew their swords, and closed upon their opponents, who had not time to fix their bayonets in the muzzles of their muskets,[7] and being thus attacked, under peculiar disadvantages, many of the king’s troops gave way.

The Thirteenth foot, commanded by Colonel Hastings, stood their ground with great gallantry, and the Highlanders were unable to make any impression on this brave regiment. After being repulsed in their attack on its front, the Highlanders attempted to turn its right flank, when Colonel Hastings wheeled his pikemen to the right, and by a determined charge routed the clans at that point. As the conquering pikemen of the Thirteenth were returning to their post in the centre of the regiment, they discovered that the other corps of the royal army were overpowered, and the soldiers flying in every direction; at the same time the Highlanders had discontinued the pursuit, to plunder the baggage. At that moment Major-General Mackay galloped to the regiment; he collected the fragments of other corps to it, and retreated. In his memoirs of this war, published in 1833, Major-General Mackay commends the conduct of this regiment;[8] and in his life, published in 1836, the author (John Mackay, Esq., of Rockfield) states, ‘Hastings, on the right, sustained the reputation of the English lion, but all to no purpose, so far had the panic extended.’ Yet it was to great purpose, for one corps was preserved entire, which enabled the commander-in-chief to make good his retreat to Stirling.

Viscount Dundee was killed in the action; and the loss of the clans, in killed and wounded, was much greater than that of the king’s troops. Major-General Mackay called to his aid additional corps, resumed the offensive, and by a series of active and skilful operations, restricted the movements of the Highlanders so much, that they separated to their homes.

In the meantime King James had arrived in Ireland with a body of French troops, and all the country, excepting Inniskilling and Londonderry, was subjected to his dominion. To rescue Ireland from his power, an army was sent to that country, under the veteran Marshal Duke Schomberg, and the Thirteenth foot were ordered to take part in this enterprise.

The regiment embarked from Scotland in the beginning of October, landed at Carlingford on the 9th of that month, and received orders to join the army encamped at Dundalk; but these orders were countermanded, and the regiment marched into quarters at Armagh and Clownish, where it was stationed during the winter.

1690

In April, 1690, the Thirteenth were stationed at Belfast, and they had the gratification of serving in the campaign of that year, under King William III., who commanded his army in Ireland in person. They had the honour to contribute towards the gaining of the battle of the Boyne, on the 1st of July, when the army of King William forced the passage of the river Boyne, overthrew the French and Irish forces under King James, and gained a decisive victory.

After this victory, the regiment advanced with the army towards Dublin, and it was stationed several weeks in garrison in that city, under Brigadier-General Trelawny.

In the meantime, considerable alarm had been produced in England by the defeat of the combined English and Dutch fleets, under Admirals Lord Torrington and Evertsen, by the French navy, under the Count de Tourville. After this disaster, England was menaced with invasion, and a body of French troops landed on the western coast, and destroyed a village; when the Thirteenth, and several other corps, were ordered to return to England.

After landing at Portsmouth, the regiment was encamped, for several weeks, near that fortress; and when the alarm of invasion had passed away, it was ordered to join the expedition against Cork and Kinsale, under Lieut.-General the Earl of Marlborough, (afterwards the celebrated Duke of Marlborough). It embarked on this service in the middle of September, arrived in Cork roads on the 21st of that month, and the co-operation of part of the army on shore having been secured, the troops landed on the 23rd, and besieged the city of Cork. A breach having been made, the Thirteenth regiment was selected to form part of the storming party, which advanced to assault the town on the 28th of September; but before the soldiers gained the breach, the enemy hung out a white flag, and agreed to surrender.

The troops marched out of Cork on the 1st of October, arrived before Kinsale on the following day, and commenced the siege of the two forts. The old fort was taken by storm immediately, and the new fort surrendered on the 15th of October.

After taking part in these services, the regiment was stationed in garrison at Cork. The health of the men suffered from having been employed in sieges during inclement weather, and in the official returns the regiment is stated to have had 462 rank and file fit for duty, and 216 sick.

1691

In the spring of 1691, when the army took the field under General de Ginkell (afterwards Earl of Athlone), the Thirteenth were left in garrison at Cork, from whence they frequently sent out detachments in quest of the bands of Roman Catholic peasantry who prowled about the country in arms, committing every description of depredation. On one of these occasions, when Colonel Hastings was out with two hundred men of the regiment, and five hundred militia, he was informed that a party of the royal dragoons was surrounded by a numerous body of the enemy at Drumaugh, and he instantly marched to their relief. On arriving at the vicinity of Ballycleugh, he found the hedges on both sides of the road lined with opponents; when the soldiers of the Thirteenth rushed into the inclosures, killed fifty adversaries, and chased the remainder some distance. On the following morning the soldiers of the Thirteenth drove the Irish from Drumaugh, and liberated the party of the royal dragoons at that place.

Soon after this exploit, Colonel Hastings marched out of Cork with a party of the regiment and some militia, and seized upon Drummaneer, an important post near the Blackwater.

On the 12th of September, Captain John Orefeur left Cork, with a detachment of the regiment, to scour the country; and arriving in the vicinity of Lismore, he encountered a numerous body of armed partisans of King James, whom he instantly attacked, killed twenty of their number upon the spot, and put the remainder to flight, which so alarmed the armed bands of Roman Catholic peasantry, that they did not again appear in that part of the country for some time.

While the regiment was engaged in these services, the Irish army was defeated at Aghrim, and the city of Limerick was besieged by King William’s forces. The surrender of this fortress, completed the deliverance of Ireland from the power of King James, and terminated the war in that country.

The Thirteenth regiment was relieved from garrison duty at Cork on the 22nd of December, and embarked for England, where it arrived towards the end of that month.

1692

At this period, the desire of conquest, with the disposition, by adding city to city and province to province, to form a vast empire, and to control the nations of Europe with despotic sway, marked the policy of the French court: this rendered it necessary for the British monarch to engage in war to preserve the civil and religious liberties of Europe; and while the army of the confederate states, commanded by King William, confronted the forces of Louis XIV. in the Netherlands, the Thirteenth were selected to form part of an expedition against the French coast, under Lieut.-General the Duke of Leinster (afterwards Duke Schomberg). The French fleet had been defeated a short time previously off La Hogue, and Louis XIV. had anticipated a descent, and had assembled so many forces on the coast, that the Duke of Leinster did not venture to land his troops. After menacing the coast of France at several points, the fleet sailed to Ostend, where the regiment landed on the 22nd of August. The Thirteenth and a number of other corps advanced a few stages up the country, when the French withdrew from Furnes and Dixmude, and the English took possession of, and fortified these towns.

When the army went into winter quarters, the Thirteenth were ordered to return to England, and they were employed on home service during the remainder of the war.

1693

After the loss of the battle of Landen, in July, 1693, by the confederate army under King William, the Thirteenth regiment sent a draft of one hundred and fifty men to Flanders, to replace the losses of the regiments which had suffered most on that occasion.

1695

In the early part of 1695, an accusation was preferred against Colonel Ferdinando Hastings, of charging the soldiers too high a price for certain articles which he, as Colonel, was in the habit of providing for them; an investigation afterwards took place, he was proved guilty of extortion, and deprived of his commission on the 4th of March. On the 13th of March, King William conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on the Lieut.-Colonel, Sir John Jacob, Baronet, who had served in it several years, and distinguished himself in Scotland and Ireland.

1697
1698
1699

In 1697 the war was terminated by the treaty of Ryswick, and King William saw his efforts to arrest the progress of French conquests attended with complete success. The regiment was placed upon a peace establishment in 1698; the army was further reduced in 1699, and the Thirteenth proceeded to Ireland to replace one of the corps ordered to be disbanded in that country.

1700

When a powerful monarch adopts measures of unprincipled aggression, and pursues schemes of aggrandizement without regard to the stipulations of treaties, to the rights of nations, or to the privileges of individuals, peace is not of long duration; but princes of a pacific disposition, and people devoted to the interests of industry and commerce, are forced to assume the profession of arms, and to fight in defence of their just rights and privileges. Such was repeatedly the case during the reign of Louis XIV., who terminated the repose granted to Europe by the treaty of Ryswick, by procuring the elevation of his grandson, the Duke of Anjou, to the throne of Spain;—by taking possession of the Spanish Netherlands,—making prisoners the Dutch garrisons in the barrier towns, and other acts of aggression. The interests of every state in Europe being affected by the change in the dynasty of Spain, the preparations for war were universal, and King William sent thirteen British battalions to Holland, to act as auxiliaries.

1701

The Thirteenth regiment was selected to proceed on foreign service: it was augmented to eight hundred and thirty officers and soldiers; and sailing from Cork in the middle of June, 1701, arrived at Helvoetsluys, in South Holland, on the 8th of July. The British troops were afterwards sent up the Maese to Breda, and other fortified towns; and on the 21st of September they were reviewed on Breda heath by King William III.

1702

After passing the winter in garrison in Holland, the regiment quitted its quarters on the 10th of March, 1702, and proceeded to Rosendael, where the British infantry encamped under Brigadier-General Ingoldsby, then Colonel of the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

Colonel Sir John Jacob, Baronet, being desirous of retiring from the active duties of commanding officer of the regiment, which were performed by all colonels not having higher rank, procured permission to dispose of the colonelcy of the regiment for fourteen hundred guineas, to his brother-in-law, James Earl of Barrymore, whose appointment was dated the 15th of March, 1702, being seven days after the death of King William III., and the accession of Queen Anne.

In the middle of April, the Imperialists besieged the strong fortress of Kayserswerth on the Lower Rhine, and the Thirteenth regiment was one of the corps which traversed the country to the duchy of Cleves, and joined the covering army, under the Earl of Athlone, encamped at Cranenburg.

A French army of superior numbers proceeded, by forced marches, through the forest of Cleves and plain of Goch, to cut off the communication of the troops at Cranenburg, with Grave and Nimeguen. In consequence of this movement, the British and Dutch struck their tents on the evening of the 10th of June, and retreating throughout the night, arrived, about eight o’clock on the following morning, within a few miles of Nimeguen, at which time the French columns appeared on both flanks and in the rear. Some sharp skirmishing occurred: the British corps forming the rear guard behaved with great gallantry, and the army effected its retreat under the works of Nimeguen. Kayserswerth surrendered three days afterwards.

Additional forces arrived in Holland, the Earl of Marlborough assumed the command, and the Eighth, Thirteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth regiments, were formed in brigade under Brigadier-General Frederick Hamilton. This brigade took part in the manœuvres by which the French army was forced to withdraw from the frontiers of Holland; and when the siege of the fortress of Venloo—a town in the province of Limburg, situate on the east side of the Maese, with fortifications beyond the river—was undertaken, Brigadier-General Hamilton’s brigade formed part of the force of thirty-two battalions of infantry and thirty-six squadrons of cavalry, detached from the main army for this enterprise, under Prince Nassau Saarbruck.

The Thirteenth regiment carried on its attacks against the detached fortress of St. Michael, on the west side of the river; and on the 18th of September, the grenadier company of the regiment was ordered to take part in storming the covered-way, which, from the extraordinary gallantry of the soldiers, ended in the capture of the fort. Between five and six o’clock in the evening the signal was given, when the grenadiers rushed forward;—the French fired a few rounds and fled;—the British leaped into the covered-way, and pursued their opponents so closely, that friends and foes entered the ravelin together. The French in the ravelin were soon sabred; those who escaped fled across a small wooden bridge, and were followed so closely that they had not time to remove the bridge, and after a sharp struggle, the English and French entered the fort together. The British got over the fausse-braye, climbed up the rampart with great difficulty,—pulled up the palisades from the parapet, ascended the rampart, and captured the fort sword in hand, making thirty officers and one hundred and seventy soldiers prisoners; the remainder of the garrison, which consisted of six hundred men, were either killed in the attack, or drowned in attempting to escape across the river, excepting twelve men, who passed the stream in small boats.

In a few days afterwards, information arrived of the capture of Landau by the Germans, when the army before Venloo assembled to fire three rounds for that event, and the batteries were ordered to fire three volleys. When the garrison and inhabitants saw the preparations in the besieging army, they imagined it was for attacking the place by storm: the magistrates begged the governor to surrender, and the town was delivered up.

After the surrender of Venloo, the Thirteenth regiment was engaged in the siege of Ruremonde, which fortress was invested towards the end of September, and surrendered on the 7th of October.

The army afterwards advanced towards Liege; the city was immediately delivered up, and the citadel was captured by storm on the 23rd of October: on which occasion the grenadiers of the army distinguished themselves. A detached fortress, called the Chartreuse, surrendered soon afterwards, and these conquests terminated the campaign.

Quitting the valley of Liege on the 3rd of November, the regiment marched back to Holland, and was stationed in garrison at Breda during the winter.

1703

From Breda the regiment marched, in April, 1703, towards Maestricht. The French attempted to surprise the British troops in their quarters, but the gallant resistance of two regiments, at Tongres (the second, or Queen’s Royals, and Elst’s), gave time for the army to assemble in order of battle at Maestricht. The regiment served this campaign in brigade with the same corps as in 1702: it was employed in several movements designed to bring the enemy to a general engagement; but the French withdrew behind their fortified lines, where the Duke of Marlborough was desirous of attacking them, to which the Dutch generals would not consent.

In August, the fortress of Huy, situate on the Maese above the city of Liege, was besieged, and it was captured in ten days. Another proposal to attack the French lines having been declined by the Dutch, Limburg, in the Spanish Netherlands, was besieged, and on the 27th of September, the garrison surrendered, which completed the deliverance of Spanish Guelderland from the power of France.

1704

After taking part in these captures, the regiment was selected to transfer its services from the Netherlands to Portugal, to take part in the attempt to place Archduke Charles of Austria on the throne of Spain by force of arms; several states of Europe having acknowledged him as king of Spain, the British, Dutch, and Portuguese had engaged to aid him in gaining possession of the throne. The regiment embarked from Holland in October, and sailed to Portsmouth; but it was detained so long by contrary winds, that it did not arrive at Lisbon, before March, 1704, when it landed, and marched to Abrantes; but was afterwards removed to the Alemtejo.

The British troops in Portugal were commanded by General Mainhard Duke Schomberg, and he suggested active measures; but tardiness and inability were manifested by the Portuguese authorities, to so great an extent, that the Duke of Berwick invaded Portugal with a French and Spanish army, before the allies were prepared to take the field. The court of Lisbon was alarmed; Duke Schomberg solicited to be recalled; and the Earl of Galway was sent with reinforcements to Portugal.

In the early part of the campaign, the Thirteenth foot were employed in the Alemtejo: they were reviewed at the camp at Estremos on the 21st of July, and were afterwards removed to Vimiera.

After the summer heat had abated, the regiment joined the army, and penetrated into Spain as far as the bank of the Agueda, near Ciudad Rodrigo; but the Duke of Berwick had made so skilful a disposition of the French and Spanish forces under his orders, on the opposite side of the river, that the allies were prevented passing the stream, and the British troops returned to Portugal for winter quarters.

In the meantime the important fortress of Gibraltar[9] had been captured by the combined English and Dutch fleets, and garrisoned by a body of marines under the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt. The capture of this fortress revived the hopes and expectations of the allies, and disconcerted the measures of King Philip, of Spain, and his grandfather Louis XIV.; a combined French and Spanish army was assembled to retake Gibraltar, and the French monarch, who possessed, at that period, a naval force of great magnitude, directed his fleet to co-operate in this service. The troops under the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt defended the fortress with great gallantry, and eventually applied to the commander of the forces in Portugal for aid, when a battalion of the first and second foot guards, the Thirteenth and thirty-fifth regiments, the Dutch regiment of Waes, and the Portuguese regiment of Algarve, were selected to reinforce the garrison.

The Thirteenth regiment, mustering thirty-nine serjeants, thirty-nine corporals, twenty-six drummers, and six hundred and fifty private soldiers, marched from the frontiers of Portugal to Lisbon, and embarked on board of transports on the 8th of December: two days afterwards the fleet sailed under the convoy of four frigates, and on the 17th it was becalmed, when the boats were hoisted out, and attempts made to gain some progress by the use of oars. A fleet of men of war appeared in sight, under English and Dutch colours, and it was supposed to be the squadron under Vice-Admiral Leake and Rear-Admiral Vander-Dussen; but observing the men-of-war forming a half-moon to surround the transports, a private signal was made, and the men-of-war being unable to answer it, instantly hoisted French colours. The danger was great, with a hostile fleet so near, but the transports put out every boat, and made some way by towing: the enemy was becalmed, and in the evening a breeze sprung up, which enabled the British vessels to escape, excepting one ship, which was captured. On the following day, the Thirteenth regiment landed at Gibraltar, at the moment when the garrison was beginning to despair of assistance.

The regiment was not long at Gibraltar before it had opportunities of distinguishing itself, and a detachment formed part of the body of troops which issued from the fortress during the night of the 22nd of December, forced the Spanish posts, routed a body of cavalry, levelled part of the works, burnt many fascines and gabions, and retired with little loss.

1705

Still anticipating success, the French and Spaniards prosecuted the siege; and, in the beginning of February, 1705, a chosen band of French grenadiers attacked the round tower: they climbed the rock by the aid of hooks, but were repulsed with loss.

About four days afterwards, six hundred select French and Walloon grenadiers, supported by a large body of Spaniards, ascended the hill with great silence in the night, and concealed themselves until daybreak on the morning of the 7th of February; and when the night-guard had been withdrawn from the breach near the round tower, they made a sudden rush, and drove the ordinary guard from its post with a shower of hand-grenades: at the same time, two hundred grenadiers attacked the round tower. The troops in garrison were soon alarmed, and Captain Fisher, of the Queen’s marines (now fourth foot), charged the enemy at the head of seventeen men; but his party was soon over-powered and himself taken prisoner. Major Moncall of the Thirteenth foot, a most gallant officer, collected between four and five hundred men, principally of his own regiment, and charged the enemy, sword in hand, so vigorously, that he soon drove them back, recaptured the round tower, after it had been in the possession of the enemy about an hour, and liberated Captain Fisher and several other prisoners. The soldiers of the Thirteenth regiment were aided, in this gallant effort, by Colonel Rivett of the foot guards, who climbed the rock on the right of the covered way with twenty grenadiers, and favoured Major Moncall’s success. Additional men were brought forward, and the French and Walloon grenadiers were driven from the works with severe loss. On the following day, the brave Major Moncall of the Thirteenth lost his leg by a cannon-shot.

The French and Spaniards continued their unavailing attempts on Gibraltar, and the siege became a subject of great interest throughout Europe; but towards the end of March, they withdrew the shattered remains of their formidable army from before the place, and left the English in quiet possession of the fortress they had so gallantly defended, and which they have preserved to the present period.

In a few weeks after the siege of Gibraltar was raised, an expedition sailed from England, under Charles Earl of Peterborough, either to aid the Duke of Savoy in driving the French out of Italy, to make an attempt on Sicily and Naples, or to further the progress of Archduke Charles in Spain, as should appear most advantageous for Her Majesty’s service; and the latter course was adopted. The expedition arrived at Gibraltar in the beginning of August; and the Thirteenth foot were relieved from duty in that garrison by a newly-raised regiment from England, and embarked on board the fleet, which put to sea in a few days afterwards.

The expedition appeared off the coast of Valencia: a thousand Catalonians and Valencians threw off their allegiance to King Philip, acknowledged Archduke Charles as sovereign of Spain, and seized on Denia, while others made demonstrations of giving effectual aid to the expedition. Thus encouraged, the Earl of Peterborough undertook the daring enterprise of besieging Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, which assumed a romantic character, in consequence of his being unable to bring more than seven thousand men into the lines, the garrison consisting of nearly six thousand men, and of this fortress having resisted a French army of thirty thousand men, eight weeks, in 1697, and cost the French monarch twelve thousand men to take it. The troops landed on the 23rd and 24th of August, and the Thirteenth regiment took part in the siege. On the 13th of September, the grenadier company of the regiment left the camp, and after a night march among the mountains, appeared before the detached fortress of Montjuich, at daylight on the following morning, and took part in storming the outworks of that place, in which it had several men killed and wounded. Three days afterwards, the strong castle and citadel of Montjuich surrendered, which greatly facilitated the progress of the siege of Barcelona.

The besieging army was so very weak in numbers that extraordinary efforts were necessary: the soldiers and seamen were incessant in their exertions; cannon and mortars were dragged up steep precipices by men, and a practicable breach having been made, a detachment of the Thirteenth foot was in readiness to take part in storming the works, when the governor surrendered.

The capture of so important a fortress, by so small a body of men, produced a great sensation throughout Europe, and this splendid achievement was followed by the submission of nearly all Catalonia, the largest and richest province of Spain.

Elated by this success, the Earl of Peterborough resolved to undertake another enterprise of a more romantic character than the former, namely the invasion of Valencia, with a body of troops not sufficiently numerous to form the advance guard of the opposing army. The Thirteenth regiment being conspicuous for its efficiency, and for the gallant bearing of the officers and soldiers, was selected to form part of his Lordship’s force.

From Barcelona the regiment marched under the command of Lieut.-Col. Edward Pearce, to Tortosa, on the river Ebro. In the meantime the Conde de las Torres having been sent by King Philip, with a numerous force, to retake the towns which had declared for Archduke Charles, he had besieged the fortress of St. Matheo, and the Thirteenth were ordered to march to the relief of this town. The troops employed in this service were very inferior in numbers to the besieging army; but by night marches among the woods and mountains, and circulating exaggerated reports of his numbers, the British general succeeded in surprising his opponents, and the Spanish commander, being deceived by spies, made a precipitate retreat.

After this service was performed, the officers and men were so exhausted by long marches, day and night over the mountains, that the regiment was ordered into quarters of refreshment at Vinaros, where it remained a short period, while the Earl of Peterborough was making preparations for the expedition to Valencia.

1706

Early in the year 1706, Lieut.-Col. Pearce received orders to march with the Thirteenth regiment from Vinaros to Oropeso, where an extraordinary alteration took place in the character of the corps, which is without parallel in the history of the British army. The Earl of Peterborough was much in want of cavalry for his expedition to Valencia, and he procured, with great zeal and industry, about eight hundred Spanish horses; about two hundred of these horses were given to the Royal Dragoons, and other corps, to remount the men whose horses had died, and with the other six hundred he resolved to form a corps of cavalry. He had been much pleased with the conduct of the Thirteenth foot on all occasions, and he determined to constitute them a Regiment of Dragoons. This was, however, not communicated to the officers and soldiers until every preparation was made, and as the regiment approached Oropeso, it was met by the Earl of Peterborough, and reviewed on a small plain near the town. After the review the horses were produced, and the regiment was constituted a corps of dragoons of eight troops, of which Lieut.-Col. Edward Pearce was appointed colonel. The following account of this circumstance is copied from Dr. Freind’s account of the Earl of Peterborough’s campaign in Valencia:—‘No surprise, I believe, was equal to that of the officers and soldiers of Colonel Pearce’s regiment, who had orders to march from Vinaros, to a place called Oropeso, four leagues from Castillon de la Plana: at this place, by ten in the morning, they were met by the Earl of Peterborough, on a plain just bordering on the town. His Lordship having made a review, was complimenting the regiment, and wishing he had horses and accoutrements, to try whether a corps of so good a character would maintain the like reputation upon such a change. They, no doubt, concurred very heartily with his Lordship in his wishes, little expecting the execution of them in a moment: but his Lordship having ordered his secretary to give the commissions already prepared, the officers at last believed the general in earnest; when, turning to the edge of a hill, they saw eight bodies of horses, drawn up separately, and found them all ready accoutred. Among these there were three good horses for each captain, two for each lieutenant, and one for each cornet. My Lord left to the field officers the choice of their troops; the other captains drew lots: and immediately they all mounted and marched to the quarters appointed for them.’

In the ‘Annals of Queen Anne,’ it is stated:—‘He (the Earl of Peterborough) collected above six hundred horses, with which he recruited his horse, and formed a regiment of dragoons of the Lord Barrymore’s regiment of foot, the command of which new regiment he gave to Lieut.-Col. Pearce, ordering the remaining officers of the old corps to return to England to recruit the same.’

Similar statements to the above are contained in Carleton’s Memoirs, Tindal’s History of England, and other historical works. In the official records, it is stated, that twenty-seven officers and six hundred and sixty non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Thirteenth foot, then called the Earl of Barrymore’s regiment, were formed into a corps of dragoons in Spain; that Lieut.-Col. Pearce of the Thirteenth was appointed colonel of the new regiment of dragoons, which obtained rank in the army from the 25th of February, 1706; and that 900l. levy money was paid for recruiting the Thirteenth to its establishment in England.

The regiment of dragoons thus formed proved a valuable corps, and distinguished itself on several occasions. It formed part of the force engaged in the Earl of Peterborough’s splendid campaign in Valencia, and evinced great gallantry in the capturing of the Spanish battering train near the city of Valencia. After the siege of Barcelona was raised, this regiment advanced upon Madrid, and joined the army of Portugal, under the Earl of Galway, at Guadalaxara, on the 8th of August, 1706. It subsequently took part in covering the march of the army to Valencia, and was so reduced in numbers by continual service, and the losses it sustained in numerous skirmishes, that in the spring of 1707, it only mustered two hundred and seventy three men. It was one of the corps which displayed great intrepidity and bravery at the battle of Almanza, on the 25th of April, 1707, when it had Lieut.-Col. Deloches, Cornets Cundy and Holmes, and Quarter-Master Sturges killed; Lieut. Fitzgerald and Cornet Barry wounded and taken prisoners: it also sustained a severe loss in killed and wounded. It was disbanded after the treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

The remaining officers and soldiers of the Thirteenth, who were not constituted dragoons, returned to England in 1706, and had so great success in recruiting the regiment, that in less than two years it was fit for service.

1707

While the regiment was recruiting in England, the allied army was defeated at Almanza, and a French and Spanish force invaded Portuguese Estremadura and the Alemtejo, when four regiments (the fifth, twentieth, thirty-ninth, and Stanwix’s, afterwards disbanded) embarked from Ireland for Portugal; and during the winter the Thirteenth regiment, being again fit for duty, proceeded to the same destination: it was placed on the strength of the army in Portugal on the 24th of December, 1707.

1708

After landing at Lisbon, the regiment marched under the orders of its colonel, the Earl of Barrymore, to the Alemtejo; in the spring of 1708 it was encamped at Fuentes de Sapatores, between Elvas and Campo Mayor, with the army commanded by the Marquis de Fronteira, and was formed in brigade with the regiments of Stanwix and Galway (newly-raised corps, afterwards disbanded) under Brigadier-General Thomas Pearce (of the fifth foot); but the services of the Thirteenth were limited to operations of a defensive character.

1709

In April, 1709, the regiment was encamped near Estremos, from whence it was removed to Elvas, and subsequently to the banks of the Caya. On the 7th of May, the French and Spaniards under the Marquis de Bay marched in the direction of Campo Mayor, when the Portuguese generals resolved to pass the Caya and attack the enemy, contrary to the advice of the Earl of Galway. The Portuguese cavalry of the right wing crossed the river, and opened a sharp cannonade; but when the opposing horsemen advanced to charge, the Portuguese squadron galloped out of the field, leaving their cannon behind. The infantry of the allied army stood its ground, repulsed the charges of the Spanish cavalry three times, and afterwards commenced its retreat, when the Earl of Galway led forward the Thirteenth, Stanwix’s, and his own regiment, to favour the retrograde movement. The Thirteenth were in front, and charged the Spaniards with distinguished gallantry; the other two regiments of the brigade also evinced great bravery, and the three corps overthrew the leading columns of the opposing army, and recaptured the Portuguese guns. Animated and encouraged by this success, the three regiments pressed forward until they became exposed to the attack of superior numbers, when the Portuguese cavalry of the left wing were ordered to support them, but instead of obeying these orders, the Portuguese squadrons galloped to the rear. Thus forsaken, the three regiments were cut off from the allied army, surrounded by opponents, and only a few officers and men were able to cut their passage through the host of adversaries which environed them; the remainder were forced to surrender prisoners of war. Among the prisoners were Major-General Sankey and Brigadier-General Thomas Pearce.

The Thirteenth foot sustained a severe loss on this occasion; besides the killed and wounded, it had Colonel the Earl of Barrymore, four captains, eight lieutenants, eight ensigns, three volunteers, and between two and three hundred non-commissioned officers and soldiers taken prisoners.

1710

The captured officers and soldiers were exchanged; and the regiment served the campaign of 1710 on the frontiers of Portugal, but had no opportunity of distinguishing itself.

1711
1713

In 1711 the Thirteenth foot were withdrawn from Portugal, and proceeded to Gibraltar, where they were stationed until the peace of Utrecht, 1713, when that fortress was ceded to Great Britain.

At the conclusion of the peace, 1713, the regiment received drafts of non-commissioned officers and soldiers from several corps which were ordered to be disbanded, and the protection of the important fortress of Gibraltar was confided to the fifth, Thirteenth, and twentieth regiments.

1715

On the 8th July, 1715, the Earl of Barrymore was succeeded in the command of the regiment by Colonel Stanhope Cotton, who had served in Brigadier-General Bowles’s regiment, which was disbanded in 1713.

Colonel Cotton was honoured with the appointment of Lieut.-Governor of Gibraltar, and the Thirteenth regiment, under his command, was as much distinguished for its excellent conduct in garrison in time of peace, as it had been for its gallantry in action during the war.

1725

After commanding the regiment upwards of twelve years, Colonel Cotton died on the 7th of December, 1725, when King George I. conferred the colonelcy of the Thirteenth foot on Brigadier-General Lord Mark Kerr, from the twenty-ninth regiment.

1726

The importance of Gibraltar had rendered the loss of that fortress a subject of deep regret to the crown of Spain, and on the prospect of England being involved in a continental war, in 1726, the Spanish monarch resolved to commence hostilities with Great Britain, by a determined effort to recover possession of this desirable entrepôt to the Mediterranean, which gave the Thirteenth regiment another opportunity of adding to its honours, that of a second successful defence of Gibraltar.

1727

The Spaniards made preparations for the siege upon an extensive scale: their troops encamped before the fortress in January, 1727, under General Count de las Torres, and the bringing up of cannon and mortars occupied several weeks. In February they commenced constructing batteries, before any declaration of war had been made, and persisted in the work, notwithstanding the remonstrances of the Lieut.-Governor, Colonel Jasper Clayton.

On the 21st of February, the garrison opened its fire upon the besiegers, and from that day the thunder of cannon and mortars reverberated among the mountains of Andalusia, proclaiming the strenuous efforts of the besieging army, and the gallant defence made by the garrison, which was encouraged by the arrival of additional corps from England. The siege was continued until thousands of Spaniards had perished in the attempt; but very little loss had been sustained by the garrison. In the early part of June the fire slackened, and on the 18th of that month hostilities ceased, in consequence of preliminary articles for a treaty of peace having been agreed upon.

1728

The regiment was relieved from duty at Gibraltar in the spring of 1728, and returning to England, after an absence of upwards of twenty years, landed at Portsmouth on the 1st of May.

1730

On the 18th of July, 1730, King George II. reviewed the regiment, in brigade with the twelfth foot, on Winkfield plain. His Majesty was accompanied by the Queen, and a number of distinguished persons, and the appearance and movements of the two regiments excited great admiration.

1732
1739

In May, 1732, Lord Mark Kerr was removed to the eleventh dragoons, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the Thirteenth foot, by Colonel John Middleton, from the twenty-fifth regiment. This officer commanded the regiment seven years, and died on the 4th of May, 1739: the colonelcy remained vacant two months, and was conferred, on the 5th of July, on Colonel Henry Pulteney from major of the second foot guards.

On the 23rd of October of this year war was proclaimed against Spain, and the establishment of the regiment was augmented to eight hundred, and fifteen officers and soldiers.

1740

In the summer of 1740 the Thirteenth foot pitched their tents in Windsor forest, where an encampment of two regiments of horse, three of dragoons, and three of foot, was formed, under Lieut.-General Honeywood. In the autumn of this year, Charles VI. Emperor of Germany died, when the succession of the Archduchess Maria Theresa, as Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, was disputed by the Elector of Bavaria, who was supported by the arms of France.

1741

On the prospect of Great Britain being involved in the war on the Continent, the regiment was held in readiness to embark for foreign service, and in July, 1741, it pitched its tents on Lexden-heath, in the county of Essex, where three regiments of horse, four of dragoons, and seven of foot, were encamped, and held in readiness to proceed abroad.

1742
1743

In the summer of 1742, sixteen thousand men proceeded to Flanders, under the Earl of Stair, to support the house of Austria: the Thirteenth regiment was one of the corps which proceeded to Flanders, where it remained in quarters until the early part of the following year. On the 31st March, 1743, war was declared against France, and the troops which the King of Great Britain had assembled in the Netherlands began their march for Germany. The Thirteenth was engaged in operations in the territory bordering on the Rhine, and after several movements it was encamped at Aschaffenburg, where King George II. and His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland joined the army.

On the 27th of June, the troops commenced their march for Hanau, when a body of French crossed the river Maine, and formed for battle in a strong position near the village of Dettingen. The allied army formed for action under a heavy cannonade, and about midday the contest commenced. The Thirteenth were sharply engaged, and had the honour to signalize themselves under the eye of their sovereign, who evinced great personal bravery, and stimulated the soldiers to deeds of heroism by his presence and animating language. The French army was defeated and driven across the river Maine with severe loss, and the allied army stood triumphant on the field of battle, having in its possession many colours, standards, prisoners, and other trophies indicating a complete victory.

Twenty-one rank and file of the Thirteenth foot were killed on this occasion; and Ensigns Ogilbie and Gray, one drummer, and twenty-nine rank and file, wounded.

From the field of battle, the army continued its march, on the following day, to Hanau, where the regiment was encamped several weeks: it afterwards crossed the Rhine, and was engaged in operations in West Germany; but repassed the Rhine in October, and returned to Flanders for winter quarters.

1744

In May, 1744, the regiment again took the field, and served the campaign of that year under Field-Marshal Wade: it was encamped between Asche and Alost, and afterwards on the banks of the Scheldt. Towards the end of the campaign it penetrated the territory subject to France as far as Lisle, but returned to Ghent for winter quarters.

1745

In April, 1745, the regiment pitched its tents near Brussels, and in the beginning of May marched to the village of Soignies, from whence it advanced, with the army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, to the relief of Tournay, which fortress was besieged by a numerous French force. This movement brought on a general engagement, near the village of Fontenoy, on the 11th of May, when the regiment had another opportunity of distinguishing itself in conflict with the enemy.

On this occasion the regiment entered the plain in front of the French position, formed line under a heavy fire of artillery from the enemy’s batteries, and advanced to attack the formidable array of infantry and artillery posted on the right of the village of Fontenoy. The British infantry, advancing to the attack, exhibited a splendid spectacle of war, and the heroic resolution with which they precipitated themselves, with the bayonet, upon the opposing ranks, proved the innate bravery of the men; but owing to the failure of the Dutch in their attack on the village, the British were forced to retire. The attack was repeated, British prowess was again triumphant, and the French lines were forced; but the Dutch failed a second time, and the British were compelled to withdraw: the army retreated from the field of battle to Aeth.

Captain Queenchant, two serjeants, and thirty-five private soldiers of the Thirteenth foot, were killed; Captain Lieutenant Daniel Nicholas, Lieutenants William Jones and Samuel Edhouse, two serjeants, and thirty-nine private men were wounded.

Leaving Aeth on the 16th of May, the regiment encamped on the plains of Lessines, and was afterwards employed in defensive operations; but the allied army was not sufficiently numerous to prevent the enemy obtaining possession of several fortified towns.

While the army was in Flanders, Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, arrived in Scotland, and being joined by several clans, he asserted his father’s pretensions to the throne. Unaccustomed to hear the sound of war at their own gates, the British people were at first alarmed, but soon recovering, they evinced loyalty and union in sustaining the fixed rights of their sovereign and in defending their own liberties. The volunteer associations were not, however, ready to take the field for some time, and several corps were ordered to return from Flanders. The Thirteenth regiment was one of the corps ordered home on this occasion, and it landed at Blackwall on the 23rd of September. It was immediately ordered to the north; and, joining the troops assembled by Field-Marshal Wade at Doncaster, marched from thence to Newcastle-on-Tyne. When the clans penetrated into England, the regiment was employed in covering Yorkshire, and when they made their precipitate retreat to Scotland, it returned to Newcastle, where it arrived on the 26th of December.

1746

From Newcastle the regiment marched to Edinburgh, and joined the forces assembled at that place, under Lieut.-General Hawley, for the relief of Stirling Castle, which was besieged by the young Pretender. This force advanced to Falkirk, where it arrived on the 16th of January, 1746, and encamped. On the following day the outposts gave information of the approach of the rebel army, and the King’s troops left their camp-ground and formed for battle on Falkirk moor. At the moment when the battle commenced, a heavy storm of wind and rain beat violently in the faces of the King’s troops; the soldiers could scarcely see their opponents, their muskets would not give fire, confusion ensued, and a great portion of the army retired from the field of battle: a few regiments, however, remained firm, and repulsed the left wing of the rebel army.

After retiring from Falkirk moor, the Thirteenth regiment marched back to Edinburgh, where additional forces arrived, and His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland took the command of the troops in Scotland.

On the 31st of January, the army again advanced, when the young Pretender raised the siege of Stirling Castle, and made a precipitate retreat towards Inverness. The Thirteenth were engaged in the pursuit of the rebel clans; but the army was forced to halt at Perth, in consequence of the severity of the weather, until the 20th of February, when the march was resumed; and in the beginning of March, the army arrived at Aberdeen, where it was detained by heavy rain and snow storms.

In the early part of April, the King’s troops were again in motion, and on the 14th of that month they arrived at Nairn. The rebels made a sudden advance From Inverness, with the view of surprising the royal forces in the night, but finding the outposts alert, they retreated.