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.

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

HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE THIRTY-FOURTH,
OR,
THE CUMBERLAND REGIMENT
OF
FOOT:

CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF

THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT
IN 1702,

AND OF

ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
TO 1844.

ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES.

LONDON:

PARKER, FURNIVALL, AND PARKER,

MILITARY LIBRARY, WHITEHALL.

M.DCCC.XLIV.

London:
Harrison and Co., Printers,
St. Martin’s Lane.

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 Troop 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 or 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 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 port 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 hue 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 circumstance can appal,—and that will ensure victory, when it is to be obtained by the exertion of any human means.”

THIRTY-FOURTH (THE CUMBERLAND) REGIMENT OF FOOT.

(Regimental Colour.)

(To face page 101.)

THE THIRTY-FOURTH,

OR

THE CUMBERLAND

REGIMENT OF FOOT,

BEARS ON ITS REGIMENTAL COLOUR THE WORDS

“ALBUHERA”—“VITTORIA”—“PYRENEES”—
“NIVELLE”—“NIVE”—“ORTHES”—
“PENINSULA,”

TO COMMEMORATE ITS DISTINGUISHED SERVICES IN THE PENINSULA AND SOUTH OF FRANCE,

FROM 1809 TO 1814.

CONTENTS.

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS.

PLATES.

THIRTY-FOURTH (THE CUMBERLAND) REGIMENT OF FOOT.

(Queen’s and Regimental Colours.)

(To face page 1.)

THIRTY-FOURTH (THE CUMBERLAND) REGIMENT OF FOOT.

(Uniform of Officers in 1844.)

(To face page 1.)

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF THE

THIRTY-FOURTH,

OR

THE CUMBERLAND REGIMENT

OF

FOOT.

1702

At the commencement of the eighteenth century, the British monarch witnessed his efforts to curb the ambition of Louis XIV., and to preserve the balance of power in Europe, counteracted by the virtual union of two powerful states, under a dynasty distinguished for its thirst for conquest, the King of France having procured the accession of his grandson, Philip, Duke of Anjou, to the throne of Spain. Existing treaties were thus openly violated; at the same time the liberties of Europe were invaded by the seizure of the Spanish Netherlands, by the troops of France, and the detention of the Dutch garrisons in the barrier towns; and war was resolved upon. A considerable augmentation was made to the British army, and the Thirty-fourth Regiment of Foot is one of the corps embodied on this occasion. Its first colonel was Robert Lord Lucas, from the lieutenant-colonelcy of Sir John Jacob’s Regiment, now Thirteenth Light Infantry, his commission bearing date the 12th of February, 1702.

This regiment was composed of men from Norfolk, Essex, and the adjoining counties, and was raised under the authority of warrants from King William III., by Colonel Lord Lucas, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Dare, Major Garth, Captains Kitson, Edward Shadwell, E. Parsons, P. Lechire, —— Pardon, Richard Steele, and Robert Cecill, who each raised a company; and when the numbers were nearly complete, the establishment was augmented to twelve companies, of three officers and sixty-six non-commissioned officers and soldiers each: one wing of the regiment had its rendezvous at Colchester, and the other at Norwich.

While the regiment was completing its ranks, the death of King William III., and the accession of Queen Anne, occurred on the 8th of March, 1702, and the soldiers took the oath of allegiance to Her Majesty.

An expedition being fitted out against Cadiz, under the Duke of Ormond, Lord Lucas’s Regiment was ordered to send five companies to Landguard Fort, Sheerness, and Tilbury, early in May, to relieve the Buffs, who were ordered to embark on board of frigates for the Isle of Wight, to join the expedition to Spain; at the same time seven companies of Lord Lucas’s Regiment were ordered to relieve a detachment of the Foot Guards on duty at the Tower of London, of which fortress his Lordship was lieutenant-governor; two companies were afterwards detached to Dover Castle.

On the return of the expedition from Spain, the regiment was relieved from duty at the out-stations, and was quartered in the Tower, from whence it detached three hundred men to the West Indies, to complete Colonel Columbine’s Regiment, now Sixth Foot, which was ordered to proceed to that station. After the departure of this detachment, the regiment proceeded, in December, into Essex to recruit, the head-quarters being established at Chelmsford.

1703
1704

The ranks of the regiment were speedily completed, and in the spring of 1703 it marched to Hull, Berwick, and Carlisle; where it was stationed in the following year.

1705

On the 31st of January, 1705, Colonel Lord Lucas died; and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment by Lieutenant-Colonel Hans Hamilton, from the Earl of Derby’s Regiment, now the Sixteenth Foot.

Meanwhile, the war which commenced on the frontiers of the Netherlands, in 1702, had taken a wider range, and Italy, Germany, Portugal, and Spain, had become the theatre of conflict; and in May, the regiment embarked on board the fleet under Sir Cloudesly Shovel, with other forces commanded by General the Earl of Peterborough, either to aid the Duke of Savoy in driving the French out of Italy, to make an attempt on Naples and Sicily, or to effect a landing on the coast of Spain, as should appear most for the interest of Her Majesty’s service. The fleet arrived at Lisbon in June, and additional forces were put on board; Archduke Charles, who was acknowledged as King of Spain, also embarked, and an attempt on the coast of Catalonia was resolved upon. From Lisbon the armament sailed, on the 28th of July, for Gibraltar, where a reinforcement joined from the garrison, and Colonel Hans Hamilton, of the Thirty-fourth Regiment, was nominated quartermaster-general of the expedition.

Leaving Gibraltar, the fleet proceeded to the Bay of Altea, in Valencia, and a number of Catalonians and Valencians throwing off their allegiance to the House of Bourbon, and acknowledging Archduke Charles as king of Spain, the British general was induced to undertake the siege of Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, which was defended by upwards of five thousand men, under the viceroy of Catalonia, Don Francis Velasco. In 1697, this fortress resisted thirty thousand French troops eight weeks, and cost Louis XIV. twelve thousand men; but the Earl of Peterborough was unable to bring more than seven thousand men into the lines, which gave an interesting character to the enterprise.

Landing near the river Bassoz, on the 23rd and 24th of August, the troops advanced towards the town, and after some difficulties were overcome, the siege was commenced. The native energy of British soldiers was conspicuously displayed on this occasion, and the grenadiers of the Thirty-fourth had the honor to take part in storming the detached fortress of Montjuich, situate on a hill on the west side of the town. The troops engaged on this service made a detour through the mountains during the night of the 13th of September, and stormed the outworks early on the following morning, making a lodgment, gaining the bulwark of a new fortification, and establishing themselves in the works. In a few days afterwards the garrison surrendered.

This success facilitated the siege of the city of Barcelona, in which the Thirty-fourth Regiment took an active part. The armed Catalonian and Valencian peasantry blocked up the avenues of the town; seamen were landed from the fleet to take part in the siege; the soldiers were incessant in their exertions; cannon and mortars were dragged up steep precipices by men; and a practicable breach being effected, a detachment of the regiment was in readiness to take part in storming the town; but the garrison surrendered, and saved the effusion of blood which would have attended this enterprise. A number of armed countrymen entered the city through the breach, to plunder the partisans of the house of Bourbon; but the Earl of Peterborough entered the town at the head of a troop of dragoons, and the grenadiers of the Thirty-fourth, and other regiments, put a stop to the plundering, and rescued the governor and his garrison from the vengeance of the people.

The capture of Barcelona produced great astonishment throughout Europe, and the splendour of the achievement augmented the reputation of the British arms.

This success was followed by the submission of all the province of Catalonia, and part of that of Valencia; and after a short stay at Barcelona, the Thirty-fourth Regiment was selected to form part of the garrison of the ancient town of Tortosa, situated in a pleasant fertile country, on the left bank of the Ebro, near its influx into the sea. At this town, which was called Dordosa by the Romans, and received municipal privileges from Scipio, the regiment was stationed some time: its services are consequently not immediately connected with the exploits of the Earl of Peterborough in Valencia.

1706

As the operations of the British troops became extended, the regiment quitted its pleasant quarters at Tortosa, and was employed in several movements in the early part of 1706.

King Charles and his counsellors did not make efforts to provide for the defence of the towns which had been gained, nor to obtain the means for future conquests; but spent their time and money in diversions: the breaches of Barcelona and Montjuich were not repaired, and the garrison was unprovided for a siege. King Philip pursued a different line of conduct; he collected forces from various quarters, and assembled a numerous army, with a powerful artillery, for the re-capture of the provinces he had lost, and a formidable French and Spanish force approached the capital of Catalonia by land; at the same time a French fleet appeared before the city. The garrison being weak in numbers, corps were hurried from various places to increase its strength; and the Thirty-fourth Regiment travelled one hundred and twenty miles on mules, on the 30th and 31st of March, and on the 1st of April mounted guard on the works. The regiment had not been two hours on duty when the French approached the place, and made an attack on the outworks of fort Montjuich; but were repulsed by a hundred men of the Thirty-fourth, in gallant style[6]. To the timely arrival of the regiment may be attributed, in a great measure, the preservation of the town: the soldiers repaired the breaches, and made a desperate and resolute defence.

King Charles remained in Barcelona; his presence stimulated the garrison to extraordinary efforts, and British valour was conspicuously displayed in his cause; but the troops were not sufficiently numerous for the defence of so extensive a place. When the garrison, bravely struggling against multiplied difficulties, had become exhausted; its numbers decreased by deaths, wounds, and sickness to about a thousand men, and a practical breach was ready for the enemy to attack the place by storm, the combined English and Dutch fleets approached with reinforcements; the French naval force hurried from before the town, and the garrison was relieved. Losing all hope of final success, and having had five thousand men killed and wounded before the town, the enemy made a precipitate retreat on the 12th of May, leaving two hundred brass cannon, thirty mortars, and immense stores of ammunition and provision, together with the sick and wounded of their army, behind them, and hurrying to France, they thus left the allies at liberty to engage in new enterprises. Barcelona was thus preserved by British skill and valour; and the Thirty-fourth Regiment received, with the other corps in garrison, the thanks of King Charles for its heroic conduct. Its numbers were considerably reduced by casualties during the siege.

An immediate advance on Madrid was resolved upon; and the allied army on the frontiers of Portugal was requested to penetrate boldly to the capital of Spain. The Thirty-fourth Regiment embarked for Valencia to join in this enterprise; and, after landing, it furnished a number of select men towards completing the Earl of Peterborough’s Regiment of Dragoons, which was embodied on this occasion. The advance to Madrid was delayed; pernicious councils, which paid more attention to court formalities than to military operations, retarded the journey of King Charles. This gave time for the French forces to re-enter Spain, and for the arrival of additional troops to reinforce the enemy; and the allied army, after advancing to Madrid, was obliged to retreat to Valencia and Murcia.

1707

After passing the winter in Spain, the Thirty-fourth Regiment, being much reduced in numbers, was directed to transfer its private soldiers fit for duty to other corps, in the spring of 1707, and to return to England to recruit. This took place before the army took the field; and while the officers and non-commissioned officers were waiting for transports, the battle of Almanza was fought, on the 25th of April, when the enemy gained a decisive victory. The embarkation was afterwards delayed a short period; but in the autumn the regiment arrived in England, and commenced recruiting its ranks, in which it had great success.

1708

The regiment was stationed in the south of England in the spring of 1708, when the King of France fitted out a fleet, and embarked troops, for the invasion of Scotland, in favour of the Pretender. On this occasion the regiment had so far recruited its numbers, and become efficient, that it was selected to proceed to the north, to confront the invaders; but it was ordered to halt at Leeds, in consequence of the French shipping having been chased from the British shores by the English fleet.

Having defeated the enemy’s designs of invading the United Kingdom, the British Government fitted out an armament against the French coast, and the Thirty-fourth Foot were ordered to return from Yorkshire to take part in the enterprise. They proceeded to the Isle of Wight, where they were reviewed by Major-General Erle, on the 19th of July, and afterwards embarked on board the fleet, under Admiral Sir George Byng. The expedition approached the coast of France in the early part of August, and after menacing several places, a landing was effected to create alarm, and make a diversion in favour of the allied army in Flanders. The troops subsequently returned on board the fleet, and, after menacing the coast at several points, withdrew towards England. Orders were afterwards received to proceed to Ostend, where the several regiments arrived on the 21st of September; when a body of French troops, under Count de la Motte, who was advancing to surprise the town, made a precipitate retreat towards Bruges, cutting the dikes to lay the country between Ostend and Nieuport under water. Major-General Erle landed with the Thirty-fourth and other regiments, and taking post at the village of Leffinghen, formed an intrenched position.

At this period the allied army in the Netherlands was engaged in the siege of the important fortress of Lisle, and ammunition becoming scarce, the Duke of Marlborough sent seven hundred waggons, under a strong guard, to Ostend, for a supply. Major-General Erle had drained the inundations, built a bridge over the canal at Leffinghen, and opened a communication with the army, towards which the waggons laden with stores began their march on the 26th of September; and the guard having repulsed the forces under Count de la Motte, at Wynendale, the convoy arrived safe at its destination, and the army was enabled to continue the siege.

The French commanders resolved to cut off the communication of the allied army with Ostend, and the Duke of Vendosme proceeded to Oudenburg with thirty thousand men, established posts along the canal between Plassendale and Nieuport, cut the dikes in several places, and laid a great extent of country under water. The Thirty-fourth and other regiments, under Major-General Erle, pitched their tents on the high grounds of Raversein, and the Duke of Marlborough put the covering army in motion; when the Duke of Vendosme made a precipitate retreat, and the Thirty-fourth Foot took part in forwarding a supply of ammunition across the inundations in boats. The Duke of Vendosme detached a body of troops to besiege Leffinghen, which was taken after a sharp resistance. He also menaced the camp at Raversein, when Major-General Erle retreated to the outworks of Ostend.

A numerous body of the enemy marching to Brabant, under the Elector of Bavaria, the Thirty-fourth, and four other regiments, embarked from Ostend, under Brigadier-General Wynne, for Antwerp, where they were stationed when the citadel of Lisle surrendered, and the campaign was terminated by the re-capture of Ghent and Bruges.

1709

The Thirty-fourth Regiment, being composed of young soldiers, was employed on garrison duty during the year 1709.

1710

In April, 1710, the regiment quitted its quarters, and traversed the country towards the frontiers of France, to serve the campaign of that year with the army under the celebrated Duke of Marlborough. The regiment was engaged in the operations by which the French lines were passed at Pont-a-Vendin, and it afterwards took part in the siege of the strong fortress of Douay, where it had repeated opportunities of distinguishing itself. This fortress was defended by a numerous garrison, under General Albergotti, an officer of reputation, who made a determined resistance; and the soldiers of the Thirty-fourth Regiment were fully employed on duty in the trenches, carrying on the approaches, repulsing the sallies of the garrison, and storming the outworks, which occasioned considerable loss. The French army advanced to raise the siege, but did not hazard a general engagement; and Douay surrendered on the 27th of June. The Thirty-fourth Regiment had one subaltern, six serjeants, and seventy-five rank and file killed; two captains, three subalterns, five serjeants, and one hundred and twenty rank and file wounded, during the siege[7].

After the capture of this fortress, the regiment joined the main army, which was encamped at Villers-Brulin during the siege of Bethune, which fortress was reduced before the end of August. The regiment was subsequently employed in covering the sieges of Aire and St. Venant, both of which fortresses were captured before the end of the campaign.

1711

Quitting its winter quarters among the Walloon peasantry, in April, 1711, the regiment joined the army, and was reviewed, at the camp at Warde, on the 8th of June, by the Duke of Marlborough. It was formed in brigade with the Tenth, Twenty-first, and Wynne’s (afterwards disbanded) Regiment, under Brigadier-General Hamilton, and took part in the movements by which the enemy’s formidable lines were passed at Arleux, on which occasion the superiority of the English general’s tactics was particularly conspicuous.

This splendid success was followed by the siege of the town of Bouchain, situated on both sides of the river Scheldt, and the Thirty-fourth Regiment had the honor to take an active share in the operations against this fortress, which was taken by capitulation in the middle of September. When the damaged works at Bouchain were repaired, the regiment went into winter quarters.

1712

Early in April, 1712, the Thirty-fourth Regiment took the field, and joined the army under the command of the Duke of Ormond, who penetrated the French territory to the frontiers of Picardy, encamping at Cateau-Cambresis, while the Germans undertook the siege of Quesnoy. In the mean time the French monarch had solicited peace, and had agreed to deliver the city of Dunkirk into the hands of the British sovereign, as a pledge of his sincerity. A suspension of arms was proclaimed between the British and French, and the army under the Duke of Ormond withdrew to Ghent. On the 4th of August the regiment was detached from the camp near Ghent, with several other corps, under Lieutenant-General the Earl of Orkney, to Dunkirk, where it was stationed some time.

On the 30th of November, 1712, Queen Anne conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Chudleigh, from Brigadier-General Durell’s regiment, in succession to Brigadier-General Hamilton, who, on the death of Brigadier-General Durell, in December following, was nominated colonel of his corps,—the Sixteenth Foot.

1713

At the conclusion of the peace of Utrecht, the regiment was withdrawn from Dunkirk, and proceeded to Great Britain. At this period a considerable reduction took place in the numbers of the regular army, and all the corps raised after the peace of Ryswick, in 1697, were directed to be taken off the establishment, except two, viz., the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth Regiments of Foot. This reduction included the Thirty-fourth Regiment, which was accordingly reduced, and the officers placed upon half-pay.

1714
1715

The decease of Queen Anne, and the accession of King George I., on the 1st of August, 1714, was followed by a short period of tranquillity; but in 1715 the partisans of the Pretender made efforts to procure his accession to the throne, and commotions occurred in England; at the same time the nation was threatened with invasion from abroad. The King augmented the army, and warrants were issued for the restoration of the Thirty-fourth and several other regiments of foot, in the summer of this year.

Names of the officers appointed to the Thirty-fourth Regiment, at its restoration in the summer of 1715:—

1716

Soon afterwards the standard of the Pretender was raised in Scotland, by the Earl of Mar; but the Thirty-fourth Regiment was retained in England; and the rebellion was suppressed in the early part of 1716, by the troops under the Duke of Argyle.

1717

In 1717, the regiment received orders to proceed to Ireland, to relieve one of the corps ordered to be disbanded in that country.

1718
1719

The regiment remained in Ireland until the early part of 1719, when the preparations made by the King of Spain to forward the interests of the Pretender, occasioned it to be withdrawn from that country; and it was subsequently encamped in the Isle of Wight, and held in readiness for active service. The British Government projected the capture of Corunna, in Biscay, and of Peru, in South America; and the Thirty-fourth sailed in the early part of September with the expedition, under General Viscount Cobham, for the attack of the former place; but on arriving off the coast of Gallicia, circumstances occurred which occasioned an attack on Vigo to be resolved upon. The fleet entered the harbour of Vigo on the 29th of September, seized on seven Spanish ships, and on the following day the troops landed under the fire of musketry from the mountains. Advancing towards the town, the British forced the Spaniards to abandon Vigo and Fort St. Sebastian, which were taken possession of by eight hundred men, under Brigadier-General Honeywood. A battery being opened against the citadel, the garrison was soon induced to surrender, giving up two thousand barrels of powder, eight thousand muskets, and fifteen pieces of brass artillery, which had been prepared for the invasion of Britain in favour of the Pretender. While the siege of the castle of Vigo was in progress, Rondondella was captured by a detachment from the army; and on the 12th of October a thousand men proceeded, under Major-General Wade, against Pont-a-Vedra, from whence thirteen companies of Spaniards fled in a panic; the town, 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 a great quantity of other stores, were captured. The arsenal, barracks, and Fort Marine, were destroyed; the iron ordnance and the more valuable stores were removed on board the fleet.

Finding himself oppressed on every side, and his resources exhausted, the King of Spain made pacific overtures; and a treaty of peace was concluded before the expedition to Peru was undertaken. The armament returned to England, and the Thirty-fourth were again stationed in Ireland.

1723

On the 18th of February, 1723, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Hayes, from the command of a company in the First Foot Guards, was appointed colonel of the regiment, by purchase, in succession to Colonel Chudleigh, who retired.

1726

Few years elapsed before the Spanish monarch again violated the peace of Europe. The possessions, of which he was deprived by the peace of Utrecht, in 1713, had been relinquished with reluctance, and towards the end of 1726, he assembled an army in Andalusia, under the command of the Count de la Torres, to make a determined effort for the re-capture of Gibraltar.

1727

In February, 1727, the garrison of Gibraltar opened its fire on the besieging army; and the Thirty-fourth Regiment was, at this period, on its way from Ireland, to share in the honor of a successful defence of this important fortress. The regiment encountered a storm at sea, and lost several companies by shipwreck; six companies proceeded to Plymouth, and afterwards continuing their voyage, arrived at Gibraltar on the 26th of March, in company with the Twenty-fifth Regiment; they were followed by several other corps. The garrison made a very gallant defence of the fortress committed to their charge, against the storm of war, which raged against them with increasing fury until the thunder of one hundred cannon became almost incessant in the day time, and was partially continued throughout the night. The tremendous fire of the Spaniards produced little effect beyond the bursting of many of their own cannon, and rendering others useless; and many thousands of the besieging army perished in the attempt. In the early part of June, the fire slackened; on the 18th of that month hostilities ceased; and the fortress of Gibraltar continued to form one of the trophies of British prowess.

1728

Peace having been concluded with Spain, the regiment was withdrawn from Gibraltar, and proceeded to Ireland, where it was conspicuous for its good conduct in quarters.

1731
1732

Colonel Robert Hayes died at Jamaica, on the 7th of April, 1731, and the colonelcy of the regiment remained vacant until the 8th of January 1732, when King George II. conferred the appointment on Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen Cornwallis, from the command of a company in the Foot Guards.

1738

Colonel Cornwallis commanded the regiment until 1738, when he was removed to the Eleventh Foot, and was succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel Lord James Cavendish.

1739

On the commencement of the war with Spain, in 1739, the establishment of the regiment was augmented, and in the autumn it was removed to England.

1740

In 1740, a detachment of the regiment served on board the fleet, as marines.

1741
1742

Colonel Lord James Cavendish died in November, 1741, and in 1742 the colonelcy of the regiment was conferred on Colonel the Honorable James Cholmondeley, from the Fifty-ninth, now Forty-eighth Regiment.

1743
1744

During the summer of this year a British army proceeded to Flanders, to support the house of Austria, against the united efforts of the King of France and the Elector of Bavaria, who were endeavouring to deprive the Archduchess, Maria Theresa, of her hereditary dominions. In 1743, a victory was gained at Dettingen; and in the summer of 1744, the allied army confronted the forces of France in the Austrian Netherlands.

In June, 1744, the Thirty-fourth Regiment embarked for Flanders, and joining the allied army at the camp on the bank of the Scheldt, took part in several operations. It penetrated the territory subject to France to the vicinity of Lisle; and subsequently returned to Flanders, where it passed the winter.

1745

The French monarch assembled a numerous army in the spring of 1745, and commenced operations by besieging the strong fortress of Tournay; and the Duke of Cumberland, having arrived in Flanders, assembled the allied army with the view of raising the siege. The Thirty-fourth were called from their quarters in April, to take part in this service; and when the allied army approached, the French took up a position at the village of Fontenoy.

THIRTY-FOURTH (THE CUMBERLAND) REGIMENT OF FOOT. M DCC XLII.

(Uniform of Private Soldiers in 1742)

(To face page 24.)

At an early hour on the morning of the 11th of May, the allied army advanced to engage the enemy, and the Thirty-fourth Regiment entered the plain in front of the French batteries, to take part in the action. Soon after nine o’clock, the British infantry moved forward to attack the French position on the right of the village of Fontenoy, and their gallant bearing, in the face of a storm of grape and musketry, excited admiration; by a resolute charge they broke the French lines; but the Dutch failed in their attack, and the British regiments were forced to retire. A second attack was made, and the heroic valour of the English infantry was conspicuous; their steady fire destroyed entire ranks of their enemy, and the determined charge with the bayonet proved irresistible; but the Dutch again failed, and a retreat was ordered. The Thirty-fourth Regiment evinced great gallantry on this occasion, and it had the honor of performing a conspicuous part in covering the retreat, and in bringing up the rear of the right wing out of the plain, to the village of Vezont. The determined bearing of the regiment, with that of the Thirty-second Foot, and the brigade of Life Guards under Major-General the Earl of Crawford, intimidated the enemy, and the retreat was effected, without serious loss, to the town of Aeth.

The regiment had one serjeant and seventeen rank and file killed; Lieutenants Cramer, Forrest, Mure, Courtenay, and Hargraves, Ensigns Donallen and Stacey, two serjeants, and fifty-three rank and file wounded; one serjeant and twenty-seven rank and file missing.

The regiment was afterwards encamped on the plains of Lessines; and was subsequently employed in operations of a defensive character; but the enemy had so great a superiority of numbers, that it was found impossible to prevent the loss of several fortified towns.

In the mean time, Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, had arrived in Scotland, and being joined by the Highland clans, he resolved to make a desperate effort to overthrow the existing government. The Thirty-fourth regiment was ordered to return to England on this occasion; it left the camp at Vilvorde on the 13th of September, embarked at Williamstadt, on the 19th, and arriving in the river Thames on the 23rd, landed at Blackwall, from whence it was ordered to proceed to Newcastle, where a body of troops was assembling under Field-Marshal Wade. Having joined this force, the regiment was formed in brigade with the Buffs, the Thirteenth, and Forty-eighth Regiments, and when the clans penetrated England, it marched by Durham, Darlington, and Richmond, in order to cover Yorkshire, and eventually proceeded to Ferrybridge, where it arrived on the 8th of December. When the Highlanders quitted Derby, and made a precipitate retreat to Scotland, the regiment was engaged in the attempt to intercept their return; but the clans escaped with the loss of a few men killed in a skirmish on Clifton moor.

1746

Early in January, 1746, the regiment marched to Edinburgh, from whence it advanced, with the troops under Lieutenant-General Hawley, to Falkirk, for the purpose of forcing the insurgents to raise the siege of Stirling castle.

The clans quitted Stirling, and on the 17th of January, they advanced to Falkirk moor; when the King’s troops marched to attack the insurgents. As the royal army diverged upon the moor, a storm was seen approaching, and as the soldiers moved forward to commence the battle, a violent hurricane, with a heavy shower of rain, beat violently in their faces, and nearly blinded them; at the same time, it beat on the backs of the Highlanders and caused them little annoyance. The engagement commenced under great disadvantages to the King’s troops, who could not see to take aim; more than half the muskets would not give fire, and the powder became wet and useless while the men were in the act of loading.

Being thus blinded and confounded by the storm, several regiments faced about and retreated. Others stood firm and repulsed the clans; but during the night the whole retired. The regiment lost its commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Powell, who was mortally wounded on this occasion. Its colonel, Brigadier-General the Honorable James Cholmondeley, highly distinguished himself.

The troops in Scotland were reinforced: his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland assumed the command, and on the 31st of January they again advanced; when the Pretender raised the siege of Stirling castle, and made a precipitate retreat. The Thirty-fourth were engaged in the pursuit of the clans to Perth, where the army halted in consequence of the severe weather, until the 20th of February, when the march was resumed, and in the beginning of the following month the army arrived at Aberdeen, where its progress was retarded by heavy rains and snow storms. In the early part of April, the King’s troops were again in motion towards Inverness, and on the 16th of that month, they discovered the clans in order of battle on Culloden moor, when they formed line opposite the hostile ranks; the Thirty-fourth, or Cholmondeley’s[9], five hundred men, being in the right wing of the front line, and on the left of the second battalion of the Royal regiment.

The action commenced between twelve and one o’clock, and in less than one hour the rebel army was overpowered and chased from the moor with great slaughter. This victory was decisive, and it instantly transformed the young Pretender from an imaginary monarch to a humble fugitive; an interval of hardship and suffering followed, and after wandering for some time in disguise, among the isles and mountains, he escaped to France.

The loss of the Thirty-fourth Regiment at the battle of Culloden[10] was limited to three private soldiers. After returning from the pursuit of the clans, the regiment was encamped a short time near Inverness, and it was subsequently employed in escorting prisoners towards South Britain. The rebellion being finally suppressed, the services of the Thirty-fourth were no longer required in Scotland, and they were stationed in England.

1748
1749

The war of the Austrian succession was terminated in 1748, by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, and in 1749 the regiment was placed on a peace establishment.

Major-General the Honorable James Cholmondeley was removed to the Twelfth Dragoons, in July, 1749; and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the Thirty-fourth Foot by Colonel the Honorable Henry Seymour Conway, from the Forty-eighth Regiment.

1751

On the 1st of July, 1751, regulations were issued, under the sign manual, for establishing uniformity in the clothing, standards, and colours of the several regiments; in which the facings of the Thirty-fourth were directed to be of bright yellow. The first, or the King’s colour, was to be the Great Union; the second, or regimental colour, to be of bright yellow silk, with the Union in the upper canton; in the centre of the colour, the rank of the regiment in gold Roman characters, within a wreath of roses and thistles on the same stalk. The costume of the regiment at this period was three-cornered cocked hats, bound with white lace, and ornamented with a white loop and a black cockade; scarlet coats faced and lined with bright yellow, and ornamented with white lace; scarlet waistcoats and breeches; and white gaiters.

In December of this year, Colonel the Honorable Henry Seymour Conway was removed to the Thirteenth Dragoons, and King George II. conferred the colonelcy of the Thirty-fourth Foot, on Colonel the Honorable Charles Russell, from major in the Second Foot Guards.

1752
1753

Early in the year 1752, the regiment embarked for Minorca, the second of the Balearic islands, situated in the Mediterranean, near the coast of Spain: this island had fallen successively under the dominion of the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Vandals, the Moors, the Arragonese, and the Castilians; in 1708 it was captured by the British, and it was ceded to Queen Anne at the peace of Utrecht in 1713. In this small island, which is diversified with hills and valleys, and in some parts rich in vegetation, and abounding with the necessaries and many of the luxuries of life, the Thirty-fourth were stationed several years.

1754

Colonel the Honorable Charles Russell died on the 20th of November, 1754, and was succeeded in the command of the regiment by Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Earl of Effingham, from the second troop, now second regiment, of Life Guards.

1755
1756

While the regiment was stationed at Minorca, the undetermined limits of the British and French territory in North America, occasioned a war between the two kingdoms; and early in 1756, the French monarch prepared a powerful armament for the capture of the island of Minorca.

The French expedition, commanded by Marshal Duke of Richelieu, arrived at Minorca in April, and effected a landing at Ciudadella; and no part of the island being fortified to resist so powerful a force, excepting Fort St. Philip, situate on a rocky promontory at the entrance of the harbour of Port Mahon, the several detachments were withdrawn from the interior, and assembled in the fort, where they resolved on making a desperate defence, in the hope of being reinforced.

The Thirty-fourth mustered twenty-six officers, twenty-nine serjeants, nineteen drummers, and six hundred and sixty-five rank and file fit for duty, exclusive of thirteen sick, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel John Reed, for the defence of Fort St. Philip, and the officers and soldiers evinced an extent of personal bravery and resolution, which reflected honor on their country. The garrison was commanded by Lieutenant-General Blakeney.

The siege of the fort was commenced by the enemy, and the determined resistance encountered by the French commander occasioned him to send for additional forces. The conduct of the garrison became a subject of admiration, and the bravery and vigilance of the officers inspired the soldiers with increased confidence.

The British fleet was discovered on the 19th of May, and the soldiers, having become exhausted by hard duty, were stimulated to perseverance by the prospect of being speedily relieved; but were disappointed: Admiral Byng skirmished with the French squadron, and afterwards retired, for which conduct he was subsequently brought to trial, and shot. Lieutenant-General Thomas Fowke, then commanding at Gibraltar, was also brought to trial, for not sending a reinforcement to Minorca, and sentenced to be suspended for one year; the king confirmed the sentence, and directed Lieutenant-General Fowke to be dismissed the service.

Although thus abandoned to their fate, the four regiments in garrison at Fort St. Philip, (viz., the Fourth, Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, and Thirty-fourth) defended their post with great gallantry; incessant duty and watching so exhausted the soldiers, that they frequently were overpowered by sleep under a heavy cannonade, yet they persevered with admirable resolution. During the night of the 27th of June, a general assault was made by the enemy at several points, when the garrison met the assailants with great courage, and repulsed them several times with much slaughter,—many of the sick and wounded coming out of the hospital to take part in the defence. The enemy’s superior numbers enabled him to renew the attack, and after much severe fighting he gained possession of three of the outworks. On the following day, conditions of capitulation were tendered and accepted; when the French marshal caused it to be inserted in the articles,—“The noble and vigorous defence which the English have made, having deserved all the marks of esteem and veneration which every military man ought to show to such actions, and Marshal Richelieu being desirous also to show to General Blakeney the regard due to the defence he has made, grants to the garrison all the honors of war they can enjoy under the circumstances of going out for an embarkation; to wit,—firelocks on their shoulders, drums beating, colours flying, twenty cartridges each man, and also lighted match. He consents, also, that General Blakeney and his garrison carry away all the effects that belong to them.”

On this subject, Beatson observes in his Naval and Military Memoirs,—“Thus did four regiments, and one company of artillery, maintain the fort against such numbers of the enemy, by sea and land, for such a length of time, as can, perhaps, scarcely be paralleled in history. The terms on which the fort was at last surrendered by a handful of men, so distressed, so shattered, and so neglected, remains a lasting monument to their honor.”

The regiment had Captain Hobby, Lieutenant Armstrong, and twelve rank and file killed during the siege; also Captain Sir Hugh Williams, Bart., and seventy-seven non-commissioned officers and soldiers wounded; seven men died of their wounds, and two of diseases produced by excessive exertion: at the general assault the regiment only lost four men.

Immediately after the surrender of Fort St. Philip, the regiment embarked for Gibraltar, and after a short stay at that fortress, proceeded to England, where its arrival was hailed with acclamations by the inhabitants of the towns through which it passed, who were proud of the honor acquired by the regiments which defended the principal fortress of Minorca.

1757

Soon after its arrival in England the regiment was augmented to two battalions, and in the summer of 1757, both battalions were encamped on Barham downs, under the Duke of Marlborough: the second battalion afterwards served on board the fleet as marines.

1758

In June, 1758, the second battalion was constituted the Seventy-third Regiment, under the command of Colonel Browne. This regiment was disbanded at the peace in 1763.

The Thirty-fourth Regiment proceeded to the Isle of Wight, where it was formed in brigade with the Twenty-fourth and Seventy-second Regiments, under the orders of Major-General Granville Elliott, and sailed with the armament, under the Duke of Marlborough, for the purpose of reducing the maritime power of France, and making a diversion in favour of the allied army in Germany. A landing was effected on the coast of Brittany on the 5th of June, and the French infantry and cavalry assembled to oppose the debarkation were quickly dispersed. On the 7th of June the army advanced in two columns towards St. Maloes, and encamping about a mile from the town, sent a strong detachment to the harbour, to set fire to the shipping, magazines, and maritime stores, when a grand and dreadful scene of conflagration illuminated the coast, and was seen for many miles. Having destroyed a valuable fleet, and extensive magazines of maritime stores, the troops re-embarked, and preparations were afterwards made for a descent at Granville, on the coast of Normandy, and afterwards at Cherbourg; but the weather being severe, the fleet returned to England.

This success was followed by the preparation of another expedition of a similar character, in which the Thirty-fourth Regiment was also employed; and on the 6th of August a landing was effected in the Bay des Marées, in the face of a body of French troops. On the following day Cherbourg was taken possession of, with the harbour, forts, magazines, and about two hundred pieces of ordnance; the iron guns were destroyed, and twenty-two fine brass cannon and two brass mortars, were sent to England as trophies. These guns were seen by King George II., in Hyde Park, and afterwards conducted by a cavalcade to the Tower.

After remaining in France ten days, the troops returned on board the fleet, and a second descent was made on the coast of Brittany on the 4th of September, when the batteries in the Bay of St. Lunaire were destroyed, and the troops afterwards penetrated the country a considerable distance; but no advantage resulted from this enterprise, and when the troops re-embarked at St. Cas, the enemy attacked the rear guard with superior numbers, and occasioned severe loss. The Thirty-fourth Foot returned to England, and landed at Portsmouth towards the end of September.

1759
1760

In the summer of 1759, the Thirty-fourth were encamped at Sandheath, with the Fifth, Eighth, and Thirty-third Regiments, under the Earl of Ancram; and in the summer of 1760, they pitched their tents at Winchester, where five battalions of militia were encamped with them, the whole under the colonel of the Thirty-fourth,—Thomas Earl of Effingham.

On the 30th of October, King George III. nominated the Earl of Effingham to the command of the first troop of Horse Grenadier Guards, (which was incorporated in the First Regiment of Life Guards in 1788,) and his Majesty conferred the colonelcy of the Thirty-fourth on Lord Frederick Cavendish, from the Sixty-seventh Regiment[11].

1761

During the summer of 1761, the regiment was encamped, with the Seventy-second Foot, at Sandheath, under Lieutenant-General Cornwallis.

1762

Meanwhile the conduct of the Spanish Government had led to an interruption of the amicable relations existing between the two countries, and in the early part of 1762 an attack on the Havannah, in the island of Cuba, which was looked upon as a key to the Spanish settlements in the West Indies, was resolved upon by the British Government; and the Thirty-fourth Regiment, mustering one thousand officers and soldiers, under Lieutenant-Colonel John Reed, embarked for this service; the expedition being under General the Earl of Albemarle. On arriving at the West Indies, the regiment was formed in brigade with the Thirty-fifth, Forty-third, and Seventy-fifth Regiments, under Brigadier-General Reed; and proceeding with the armament through the Straits of Bahama, arrived in the vicinity of the Havannah on the 6th of June. On the following day a landing was effected, and the siege of the Moro Fort was commenced by a body of troops under Major-General the Honorable William Keppel. In the attack of this fortress, the troops evinced that courage and patient perseverance under severe toil and privation, for which British soldiers have been distinguished, and united with the cordial co-operation of the royal navy, overcame all difficulties. Batteries were erected, the sallies of the Spaniards repulsed, and the Moro Fort captured by storm on the 30th of July. This success facilitated the attack on the Havannah, and a series of batteries opened so well-directed a fire on the works of the town, and on the shipping in the harbour, on the 11th of August, that in a few hours the guns of the garrison were silenced, and the Spaniards solicited terms of capitulation, which were speedily agreed upon. The wealthy city of the Havannah, with a valuable fleet of Spanish men-of-war, and numerous stores, were thus captured by British skill and valour, and prize money to a large amount was afterwards distributed to the army and navy. “This conquest was, without doubt, in itself the most considerable, and in its consequences the most decisive, of any we had made since the beginning of the war; and in no operation were the courage, steadiness, and perseverance of the British troops, and the conduct of their leaders, more conspicuous. It was a military achievement of the highest class[12].”

The regiment was commanded, on this occasion, by Major Robert Farmar, (Lieutenant-Colonel Reed being at the head of the brigade,) and after taking part in this splendid conquest, it was stationed a short time at the Havannah.

1763

In the following year a treaty of peace was concluded, and the Spaniards ceded to Great Britain the country of Florida, in North America, on condition of having the Havannah restored to them, which was agreed to; and the Thirty-fourth Regiment was one of the corps which proceeded to North America, to take possession of the ceded territory.

1764
1768
1769

In the pleasant and fertile country of West Florida, the regiment was stationed some time; in 1768 it was relieved from duty in North America, and returned to Europe, and in 1769 it was stationed in Ireland.

1770
1774

The regiment was quartered in Ireland seven years; and was equally conspicuous for good conduct on home service, as it had been for gallantry when confronting the enemies of its country abroad.

1775

In 1775, the misunderstanding between Great Britain and her North American provinces, on the subject of taxation, attained a character which produced hostilities, and the Thirty-fourth Regiment was augmented to the war establishment. The American Congress sent a body of troops, under Colonel Montgomery, to invade Canada, where Major-General Carleton, afterwards Lord Dorchester, commanded, and the English general, having very few troops to oppose to the enemy, evacuated Montreal, and retired to Quebec. The Americans detached a division of troops, under Colonel Arnold, to surprise Quebec; but this enterprise failed, through the activity and vigilance of Major-General Carleton, who defended that fortress against the united provincial forces, and repulsed an assault made on the works, during a snow storm, in the depth of winter.

1776

The Thirty-fourth Regiment embarked from Ireland early in the spring of 1776, for the relief of Quebec; and on the arrival, in the river St. Lawrence, of the expected succours from the United Kingdom, in May, the Americans quitted the vicinity of that fortress, and made a precipitate retreat. The Thirty-fourth Regiment advanced up the country in pursuit of the provincial troops, and took part in the movements by which the Americans were driven out of Canada. The regiment was stationed in Canada during the winter.

1777

In the spring of 1777, the flank companies of the regiment were detached from Canada, with the army under Lieutenant-General Burgoyne, which was destined to proceed, by Lakes Champlain and George, to Hudson’s river, with the view of forcing its way to Albany, and co-operating with the army at New York, in the reduction of the revolted states. The troops employed on this service embarked on board a flotilla, and, after a pleasant voyage along Lake Champlain, landed at Crown Point, from whence they advanced towards Ticonderago, and forced the Americans to abandon the fort. This conquest achieved, the troops proceeded to Skenesborough, and drove the enemy from a stockaded fort on the 6th of July, and pursued them towards Castletown. On the 8th of July the Americans were repulsed in an attack on the Ninth Regiment, and driven from Fort Anne. After this success, preparations were made for a forward movement; but extraordinary difficulties had to be encountered; felled trees had to be removed from the roads,—creeks and marshes had to be passed,—forty new bridges had to be constructed, and others to be repaired; one made of log-work crossed a morass two miles in extent. These difficulties were overcome by the soldiers with cheerful alacrity, and on the 30th of July the troops arrived on the banks of the Hudson’s river, when they took post at Fort Edward, awaiting the arrival of provisions. The river was crossed in September, and a forward movement was made; but the expedition proved of insufficient force for the enterprise, and the means for supplying the troops inadequate. Having penetrated into the heart of the revolted provinces, Lieutenant-General Burgoyne found himself encompassed by difficulties and dangers which he was unable to overcome. After a series of hard toil, incessant effort, and severe privation, the Indian warriors, who formed part of the expedition, deserted, and many of the Canadians followed their example; and after several stubborn engagements, in which the British regiments fought gallantly against an immense superiority of numbers, and the flank companies of the Thirty-fourth Foot had repeated opportunities of distinguishing themselves, Lieutenant-General Burgoyne found himself on the banks of the Hudson’s river, with an army diminished in numbers to three thousand five hundred men,—reduced in physical power by incessant toil and want of provisions,—invested by an army of sixteen thousand Americans,—disappointed of co-operation from other armies,—and without provision. Under these dismal circumstances, a convention was concluded with the American General Gates, at Saratoga, in which it was agreed that the troops should lay down their arms, on condition of being sent to England, and of not serving in America during the remainder of the war. These articles were violated by the American government, and the brave soldiers who had fought so gallantly, and who did not submit until surrounded by five times their own numbers, were detained prisoners in America.

The battalion companies of the regiment, which had remained in Canada, were not involved in this occurrence.

In the several actions between the Americans and the troops under Lieutenant-General Burgoyne, the flank companies of the Thirty-fourth had a number of men killed and wounded; also Captains Harris and Ross, and Lieutenant Richardson, wounded.

The battalion companies furnished a detachment of one hundred men, for the expedition to the Mohawk, under Brigadier-General Barry St. Leger. This detachment was engaged in the unsuccessful siege of Fort Stanwix.

1778

The Thirty-fourth Regiment formed part of the force to which the protection of Canada was confided during the remainder of the American war, which was terminated in 1782, by a treaty of peace, in which the independence of the United States was acknowledged.

1782

A letter, dated the 31st of August, 1782, conveyed to the regiment His Majesty’s pleasure that it should assume the title of the Thirty-fourth, or Cumberland Regiment of Foot, and that a connection and mutual attachment between the corps and that county should be cultivated, in order to promote the success of the recruiting service.

1786
1787

The regiment remained in Canada until 1786, when it was relieved, and returned to Europe. In 1787 it was stationed in England.

1792
1793
1795

On the breaking out of the French revolutionary war, the establishment of the regiment was augmented. In 1793 a British army proceeded to Flanders; but the Thirty-fourth remained in Great Britain until the middle of February, 1795, when they embarked for the West Indies.

Previous to this date the revolutionary principles, which had involved France in anarchy and crime, had extended to the French West India islands; but the planters of these colonies had been delivered from the power of the republicans by a British armament, under General Sir Charles (afterwards Earl) Grey; the Thirty-fourth Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Dickens, proceeded to St. Lucia, which island had been captured from the French in April, 1794.

The National Convention which governed France, although employed in extending revolutionary power in Europe, paid so much attention to the colonial interests of that nation, as to send an expedition to the West Indies, for the recovery of the conquered islands; and the doctrines of liberty and equality, which were disseminated in the islands, occasioned multitudes of mulattoes, blacks, and Charibbees to array themselves under the standard of republicanism, which led to a frightful catalogue of outrages and depredations. St. Lucia, where the Thirty-fourth were stationed, was among the colonies attacked by the enemy, and the regiment was engaged a short period in its defence, in which it lost several men, and Captain Dodsworth was taken prisoner, on the 18th of June. The British troops not being sufficiently numerous for the defence of the island, it was evacuated, the Thirty-fourth Regiment proceeding to St. Vincent, where republican emissaries from France had organised a rebellion, and many whites, mulattoes, blacks, and native Charibbees, were in arms against the British Government, which occasioned the regiment much severe service[13].

1796

Early in 1796, additional forces arrived at the West Indies, where Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby assumed the command of an armament to complete the deliverance of the West India islands from the power of the republicans, and to reduce to obedience the insurgents of St. Vincent and Grenada.

On the 8th of June, a body of troops landed at the island of St. Vincent, and were joined by the Thirty-fourth Foot, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Dickens, who had the honour of taking a distinguished part in the reduction of the colony, which was accomplished in a few days. Part of the regiment evinced signal gallantry at the assault and capture of the insurgent camp, on, the 10th of June, when Sir Ralph Abercromby stated in orders,—“Lieutenant-Colonel Dickens, and the troops who served under him, are entitled to a great share of praise.” The regiment had two serjeants, one drummer, and six rank and file killed; Volunteer Gordon died of his wounds; Lieutenants O’Donoughue and Georges, nine serjeants, three drummers, and sixteen rank and file wounded.

The hostile spirit long shown by the Charibbees towards the European inhabitants, occasioned the British Government to determine to remove them from the island; and the execution of the orders received for this purpose was attended with much harassing duty to the troops, in which the Thirty-fourth took part, and sustained some loss. The regiment afterwards received the thanks of Major-General Hunter, and of the principal inhabitants of the colony, for its conduct in the brigand and Charibbee war.

On the 15th of July, the regiment embarked for England, where it arrived on the 8th of October, and was stationed at Poole, in Dorsetshire, from whence recruiting parties were detached to various towns in South Britain.

1797

In the spring of 1797[14], the regiment proceeded to York, where the non-commissioned officers and soldiers evinced their loyalty and zeal for the preservation of the constitution of their country, by a contribution in aid of the war, for which they received the thanks of Lieutenant-General Scott, commanding the district. In the autumn the regiment marched to Lincoln.

Field-Marshal Lord Frederick Cavendish was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment in July by George Frederick Lord Southampton, from captain and lieutenant-colonel Second Foot Guards.

1798
1799

The regiment remained in England during the years 1798 and 1799, and, having been brought into a high state of discipline and efficiency, it was selected to proceed on colonial service.

1800

In January, 1800, the regiment marched from Hilsea barracks, and embarking on board an Indiaman, sailed to the Cape of Good Hope, where it landed on the 21st of May, and occupied barracks at Cape Town until September, when it pitched its tents at Wynberg, where a numerous force was encamped under Major-General Dundas.

1801
1802
1803

After remaining two years and a half at the Cape of Good Hope, that colony was restored to the Dutch, at the peace of Amiens, in 1802, and the regiment embarked for the East Indies, where it arrived in January, 1803, and landed at Madras on the 2nd of February.

The regiment was stationed at Madras several months, during which period the conduct of the officers and soldiers on the occasion of an alarming fire, elicited the following communication to Colonel Dickens, from the merchants of that place:—“Impressed with a grateful sense of the extraordinary exertions manifested by the officers and men of His Majesty’s Thirty-fourth Regiment, under your command, on the occasion of the late calamitous fires, we feel it incumbent upon us to offer you and them our public acknowledgements for the service rendered to the commercial interests in particular, and at the same time to request you will be assured of our sincere respect for the public spirit which uniformly animates the British military on every emergency.”

The peace of Europe was violated by the ambitious projects of Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France, and the war was resumed in 1803, in July of which year two companies of the regiment embarked, under Captain Everard, for the island of Ceylon, which had been captured from the Dutch, and they were followed by two additional companies, under Captain Roberts, in October.

1804