Historical record of the Ninety-second Regiment, originally termed "The Gordon Highlanders" and numbered the Hundredth Regiment

Part 13

Chapter 131,938 wordsPublic domain

Succession of MAJORS of NINETY-SECOND Regiment (HIGHLANDERS).

FOOTNOTES:

[20] Inserted in Appendix, pages 142 and 143.

APPENDIX.

“_Horse Guards_, “_16th May, 1801._

“GENERAL ORDERS.

“The recent events which have occurred in Egypt have induced His Majesty to lay his most gracious commands on His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief, to convey to the troops employed in that country His Majesty’s highest approbation of their conduct; and at the same time His Majesty has deemed it expedient that these his gracious sentiments should be communicated to every part of his army, not doubting that all ranks will thereby be inspired with an honorable spirit of emulation, and an eager desire of distinguishing themselves in their country’s service.

“Under the blessing of Divine Providence, His Majesty ascribes the successes that 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 most 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 its 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.

“The illustrious example of their Commander cannot fail to have made an indelible impression on the gallant troops, at whose head, crowned with victory and glory, he terminated his honorable career; and His Majesty trusts that a due contemplation of the talents and virtues which he uniformly displayed in the course of his valuable life, will for ever endear the memory of SIR RALPH ABERCROMBY to the British army.

“His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief having thus obeyed His Majesty’s commands, cannot forbear to avail himself of this opportunity of recapitulating the leading features of a series of operations so honorable to the British arms.

“The boldness of the approach to the coast of Aboukir, in defiance of a powerful and well-directed artillery; the orderly formation upon the beach, under the heaviest fire of grape and musketry; the reception and repulse of the enemy’s cavalry and infantry; the subsequent charge of our troops, which decided the victory, and established a footing on the shores of Egypt, are circumstances of glory never surpassed in the military annals of the world.

“The advance of the army, on the 13th of March, towards ALEXANDRIA, presents the spectacle of a movement of infantry through an open country, who, being attacked upon their march, _formed_, and _repulsed_ the enemy; then advanced in line for three miles, engaged along their whole front, until they drove the enemy to seek his safety under the protection of his entrenched position. Such had been the order and regularity of the advance.

“Upon the 21st of March, the united force of the French in Egypt attacked the position of the British army.

“An attack, begun an hour before daylight, could derive no advantage over the vigilance of an army ever ready to receive it. The enemy’s most vigorous and repeated efforts were directed against the right and centre. Our infantry fought in the plain, greatly inferior in the number of their artillery, and unaided by cavalry.

“They relied upon their discipline and their courage. The desperate attacks of a veteran cavalry, joined to those of a numerous infantry, which had vainly styled itself ‘_Invincible_,’ were everywhere repulsed; and a conflict the most severe terminated in one of the most signal victories which ever adorned the annals of the British nation.

“In bringing forward these details, the Commander-in-Chief does not call upon the army merely _to admire_ but _to emulate_ such conduct. Every soldier who feels for the honor of his country, while he exults in events so splendid and important in themselves, will henceforth have fresh motives for cherishing and enforcing the practice of discipline, and by uniting, in the greatest perfection, order and precision with activity and courage, will seek to uphold, and transmit undiminished to posterity, the _Glory_ and _Honor_ of the _British Arms_.

“Nor is a less useful example to be derived from the conduct of the distinguished Commander who fell in the field. His steady observance of discipline, his ever-watchful attention to the health and wants of his troops, the persevering and unconquerable spirit which marked his military career, the splendour of his actions in the field, and the heroism of his death, are worthy the imitation of all who desire, like him, a life of honor and a death of glory.

“By Order of His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief,

“HARRY CALVERT, “_Colonel and Adjutant-General_.”

The following Regiments were employed in EGYPT, in 1801, and were permitted by His Majesty King George the Third, to bear on their colours the _Sphinx_, with the word “EGYPT,” as a distinguished mark of His Majesty’s Royal approbation, and as a lasting memorial of the glory acquired to His Majesty’s arms by the zeal, discipline, and intrepidity of his troops in that arduous and important campaign, _viz._:—

_Corps._ _Commanding Officers._

‡8th Light Dragoons, 1 Troop Captain Hawkins. 11th Light Dragoons, 1 Troop Captain A. Money. 12th ” Colonel Mervyn Archdall. †22nd ” Lieut.-Col. Hon. Wm. Lumley. 26th (afterwards 23rd) Light } Lieut.-Colonel Robert Gordon. Dragoons } Hompesch’s Hussars (detachment) Major Sir Robert T. Wilson. Coldstream Guards, 1st Battalion Lieut.-Colonel Arthur Brice. 3rd Foot Guards, 1st Battalion Lieut.-Colonel T. Hilgrove Turner. Royals, 2nd Battalion Lieut.-Colonel Duncan Campbell. 2nd Queen’s Royal Colonel the Earl of Dalhousie. 8th Foot, King’s Colonel Gordon Drummond. *10th ” Lieut.-Colonel Richard Quarrell. 13th ” ” Hon. Chas. Colville. 18th, Royal Irish ” Henry T. Montresor. †20th Foot, 1st and 2nd Battalions ” George Smith. 23rd, Royal Welsh Fusiliers ” John Hall. †24th Foot Lieut.-Colonel John R. Forster. †25th ” Colonel William Dyott. †26th ” ” Lord Elphinstone. 27th, Inniskilling, 1st & 2nd Bns. Lieut.-Colonel Samuel Graham. 28th Foot Colonel Hon. Edward Paget. 30th ” Lieut.-Colonel Wm. Wilkinson. 40th ” (Flank Companies) Colonel Brent Spencer. 42nd, Royal Highland Regt. Lieut.-Colonel William Dickson. 44th Foot ” David Ogilvie. 50th Foot Colonel Patrick Wauchope. 54th ” 1st and 2nd Battalions Lieut.-Colonel John Thos. Layard. 58th ” ” William Houston. ‡61st ” ” Francis Carruthers. 79th ” Colonel Alan Cameron. *80th ” Lieut.-Colonel John Montresor. *86th ” ” James P. Lloyd. *88th ” Colonel Wm. Carr Beresford. 89th ” ” William Stewart. 90th ” ” Rowland Hill. 92nd ” Lieut.-Colonel Charles Erskine. †De Watteville’s Regiment Lieut.-Col. Louis de Watteville. The Queen’s German Regiment Lt.-Col. Peter John James Dutens. De Roll’s Regiment ” The Baron De Dürler. Dillon’s Regiment ” The Baron Perponcher. Royal Corsican Rangers Major Hudson Lowe. †Ancient Irish Fencibles †Chasseurs Britanniques Colonel John Ramsay. Staff Corps (detachment)

* The 10th, 80th, 86th, and 88th Regiments proceeded from the East Indies, under the orders of Major-General David Baird, to join the army in Egypt.

† The 22nd Light Dragoons, 20th (two battalions), 24th, 25th, and 26th Regiments, the Ancient Irish Fencibles, and the foreign corps of De Watteville and Chasseurs Britanniques, joined the Army in Egypt in July, 1801.

‡ One troop of the 8th Light Dragoons and the 61st Regiment, embarked from the Cape of Good Hope, joined the army under Major-General Baird at Cosseir in July, 1801, and proceeded through the Desert to Ghench, or Kenneh, on the Nile, where the troops embarked for Cairo.

List of Regiments which composed the army under Lieut.-General Lord Cathcart, employed in the Expedition to COPENHAGEN in the year 1807.

Corps. Officers. Men. Royal Artillery 65 1,545 Royal Engineers 15 53 Coldstream Guards, 1st Battalion 44 1,300 Scots Fusilier Guards ” 40 1,292 4th Regiment of Foot ” 46 1,061 7th Royal Fusiliers ” 37 786 8th Foot ” 36 859 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers ” 46 1,054 28th Regiment ” 48 1,158 32nd ” ” 36 727 43rd ” ” 51 1,065 50th ” ” 36 957 52nd ” 2nd Battalion 31 712 79th ” 1st Battalion 44 1,044 82nd ” ” 38 826 92nd ” ” 38 1,039 95th (Rifle Brigade) part of 1st and 2nd Battalions 49 967 --- ------ Total British 700 16,445 === ======