Part 3
During the last century several corps, at successive periods, have been borne on the establishment of the army, and numbered the SEVENTY-FIRST; the following details are therefore prefixed to the historical record of the services of the regiment which now bears that number, in order to prevent its being connected with those corps which have been designated by the same numerical title, but whose services have been totally distinct.
1. In the spring of 1758 the second battalions of fifteen regiments of infantry, from the 3d to the 37th, were directed to be formed into distinct regiments, and to be numbered from the 61st to the 75th successively, as follows:--
_Second Battalions._
3d foot constituted the 61st regiment. 4th ” ” 62d ” 8th ” ” 63d ” 11th ” ” 64th ” 12th ” ” 65th ” 19th ” ” 66th ” 20th ” ” 67th ” 23d ” ” 68th ” 24th ” ” 69th ” 31st ” ” 70th ” 32d ” ” 71st ” 33d ” ” 72d ” 34th ” ” 73d ” 36th ” ” 74th ” 37th ” ” 75th ”
The 71st, 72d, 73d, 74th, and 75th regiments, thus formed, were disbanded in 1763, after the peace of Fontainebleau.
2. Several other corps were likewise disbanded in 1763, which occasioned a change in the numerical titles of the following regiments of Invalids, viz.:--
The 81st reg^t (Invalids) was numbered the 71st. 82d ” ” ” 72d. 116th ” ” ” 73d. 117th ” ” ” 74th. 118th ” ” ” 75th.
The 71st, 72d, 73d, 74th, and 75th regiments, thus numbered, were formed into independent companies of Invalids in the year 1769, which increased the number of _Invalid companies_ from eight to twenty; they were appropriated to the following Garrisons, namely, four companies at Guernsey, four at Jersey, three at Hull, two at Chester, two at Tilbury Fort, two at Sheerness, one at Landguard Fort, one at Pendennis, and one in the Scilly Islands.
3. These numerical titles became thus extinct until October 1775, when another SEVENTY-FIRST regiment was raised for service in America by Major-General the Honorable Simon Fraser, which consisted of two battalions, and which performed eminent service during the war with the colonists. In December 1777, further augmentations were made to the army, and the regiments, which were directed to be raised, were numbered from the seventy-second to the eighty-third regiment.
The army was subsequently increased to one hundred and five regular regiments of infantry, exclusive of eleven unnumbered regiments, and thirty-six independent companies of Invalids.
The conclusion of the general peace in 1783 occasioned the disbandment of several regiments, commencing with the SEVENTY-FIRST regiment; the second battalion of which was disbanded on the 5th April 1783, and the first battalion on the 4th June 1784.
4. In 1786 the numerical titles of certain regiments, retained on the reduced establishment of the army, were changed, viz.:--
The _seventy-third_, which had been authorised to be raised by John Lord Macleod in 1777, was directed to be numbered the SEVENTY-FIRST regiment.
The _seventy-eighth_, which had been authorised to be raised by the Earl of Seaforth in 1777, was directed to be numbered the SEVENTY-SECOND regiment.
The _second battalion_ of the _forty-second_, which had been authorised to be raised in 1779, was directed to be constituted the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment.
These corps were denominated Highland regiments, and have since continued to form part of the regular army.
The details of the services of the present SEVENTY-FIRST regiment are contained in the following pages; the histories of the _seventy-second_ and _seventy-third_ regiments are given in distinct numbers.
HISTORICAL RECORD
OF THE
SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT,
HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY;
ORIGINALLY NUMBERED
THE SEVENTY-THIRD REGIMENT.
[Sidenote: 1777.]
The war between Great Britain and her American Colonies had, towards the end of the year 1777, assumed an aspect which was beheld with great interest by the European powers. France, although abstaining at this period from entering into the contest, privately encouraged the colonists, and several French officers proceeded to join the American standard. The influence of the British ministry then became employed in encouraging voluntary efforts for the raising of troops. Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, at their own expense, each raised a regiment of a thousand men, and several independent companies were levied in Wales. The livery of London and corporation of Bristol did not follow this example, but the monied interest in the metropolis showed its attachment to the administration by opening a subscription for procuring soldiers.
Fifteen thousand men were by these patriotic efforts raised and presented to the state; of this number upwards of two thirds were obtained from Scotland, and principally from the _Highland_ clans.[6] The hardy mountaineers of North Britain had been long celebrated for their military prowess, and the annals of warfare of subsequent years have added to their former renown, by affording them opportunities for sustaining their character for intrepidity and valour.
The present SEVENTY-FIRST, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY, was one of the regiments which owes its origin to the foregoing circumstances, and was raised under the following royal warrant, dated 19th December 1777, addressed to John Mackenzie, Esquire, commonly called John Lord Macleod, who was appointed its colonel.
“GEORGE R.
“WHEREAS we have thought fit to order a Highland regiment of foot to be forthwith raised under your command, to consist of ten companies, of five serjeants, five corporals, two drummers, and one hundred private men in each, with two pipers to the grenadier company, besides commissioned officers, these are to authorise you, by beat of drum or otherwise, to raise so many men in any county or part of our kingdom of Great Britain as shall be wanting to complete the said regiment to the above-mentioned numbers; and all magistrates, justices of the peace, constables, and other our civil officers, whom it may concern, are hereby required to be assisting unto you, in providing quarters, impressing carriages, and otherwise, as there shall be occasion.
“Given at our Court at St. James’s, this 19th of December 1777, in the eighteenth year of our reign.
“_By His Majesty’s command_,
“BARRINGTON.”
“_To our trusty and well-beloved John Mackenzie, Esq., (commonly called John Lord Macleod), Colonel of a Highland Regiment of Foot to be forthwith raised, or to the Officer appointed by him to raise Men for our said Regiment._”
[Sidenote: 1778.]
In February 1778 the Court of France concluded a treaty of defensive alliance with the American colonies, and Great Britain became involved in a war with France.
Lord Macleod’s efforts in raising the regiment were so successful that in April 1778 it was embodied at Elgin, under the denomination of “_Macleod’s Highlanders_,” and was numbered the “SEVENTY-THIRD REGIMENT.”
In May the regiment, eleven hundred strong, embarked at Fort George, under the command of Colonel Lord Macleod, and proceeded to Guernsey and Jersey, in which islands it was stationed for six months. The regiment was subsequently removed to Portsmouth, and was cantoned during the remainder of the year in the neighbouring villages.
On the 24th of September, 1778, Colonel Lord Macleod received orders to raise a second battalion to the regiment. Each battalion was to consist of fifty serjeants, fifty corporals, twenty drummers and fifers, two pipers, and a thousand privates.
At this period the following officers had been appointed to the SEVENTY-THIRD HIGHLAND Regiment.
FIRST BATTALION.
_Colonel_, John Lord Macleod.
_Lieut.-Colonel_, Duncan M‘Pherson.
_Majors._
John Elphinston. James Mackenzie.
_Captains._
George Mackenzie. Alexander Gilchrist. John Shaw. Charles Dalrymple. Hugh Lamont. Hon. James Lindsay. David Baird.
_Captain Lieutenant and Captain_, David Campbell.
_Lieutenants._
A. Geddes Mackenzie. Hon. John Lindsay. Abraham Mackenzie, _Adj^t._ Alexander Mackenzie. James Robertson. John Hamilton. John Hamilton. Lewis Urquhart. George Ogilvie. Innes Munro. Simon Mackenzie. Philip Melvill. John Mackenzie. John Borthwick. William Gunn. William Charles Gorrie. Hugh Sibbald. David Rainnie. Charles Munro.
_Ensigns._
James Duncan. Simon Mackenzie. Alexander Mackenzie. John Sinclair. George Sutherland. James Thrail. Hugh Dalrymple.
_Chaplain_, Colin Mackenzie.
_Adjutant_, Abraham Mackenzie.
_Quartermaster_, John Lytrott.
_Surgeon_, Alexander MacDougall.
SECOND BATTALION.
_Colonel_, John Lord Macleod.
_Lieut.-Colonel_, the Hon. George Mackenzie.
_Majors._
Hamilton Maxwell. Norman Macleod.
_Captains._
Hon. Colin Lindsay. John MacIntosh. James Foulis. Robert Sinclair. Mackay Hugh Baillie. Stair Park Dalrymple. David Ross. Adam Colt.
_Lieutenants._
Norman Maclean. John Irving. Rod. Mackenzie _senior_. Charles Douglas. Angus MacIntosh. John Fraser. Robert Arbuthnot. David MacCullock. Rod. Mackenzie _junior_. Phineas MacIntosh. John Mackenzie _senior_. Alexander Mackenzie. Phipps Wharton. Laughlan MacLaughlan. Kenneth Mackenzie. Murdoch Mackenzie. George Fraser. John Mackenzie _junior_. Martin Eccles Lindsay. John Dallas. David Ross. William Erskine.
_Ensigns._
John Fraser. John MacDougal. Hugh Gray. John Mackenzie. John Forbes. Æneas Fraser. William Rose. Simon Fraser, _Adj^t._
_Chaplain_, Æneas Macleod.
_Adjutant_, Simon Fraser.
_Quartermaster_, Charles Clark.
_Surgeon_, Andrew Cairncross.
[Sidenote: 1779.]
[Sidenote: 1st bat.]
In January 1779 the first battalion of the regiment, commanded by Colonel Lord John Macleod, embarked for the East Indies.
[Sidenote: 2d bat.]
The second battalion, one thousand strong, embarked at Fort George in Scotland, in March 1779, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. George Mackenzie (brother of Lord Macleod), and proceeded to Portsmouth, from thence it went on in transports to Plymouth, where the battalion landed, and was encamped upon Maker Heights until the 27th of November following.
The Court of Versailles had now engaged that of Madrid to take a part in the contest, and on the 16th of June 1779 the Spanish ambassador had presented a manifesto at St. James’s, equivalent to a declaration of war, and immediately departed from London. During the summer the siege of Gibraltar was commenced by the Spaniards, the reduction of that important fortress being one of the principal objects of Spain in becoming a party to the war.
[Sidenote: 1st bat.]
The vessels conveying the first battalion formed part of a fleet escorted by Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, which on the passage touched at Goree, upon the coast of Africa. Goree being evacuated by the French for the purpose of fortifying Senegal, which had been captured by them early in the year, was occupied by a British force, left for that purpose by Sir Edward Hughes.
After quitting Goree, the fleet proceeded to the Cape of Good Hope, at that time in possession of the Dutch, and there landed the sick. The fleet was detained for three months in Table Bay, for the purpose of refreshment and recovery of the sick, after which it sailed for India.
[Sidenote: 1780.]
[Sidenote: 2d bat.]
After the breaking up of the camp on Maker Heights, the second battalion embarked for Gibraltar in transports, under convoy of Admiral Sir George Rodney. When in the Bay of Biscay, the British encountered, on the 8th of January 1780, a valuable Spanish convoy belonging to the Caracca company, consisting of fifteen merchantmen, with a ship of sixty-four guns, and two frigates, the whole of which were captured. Sir George Rodney being compelled to employ many of the crews of the ships of war in manning the prizes, called upon Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. George Mackenzie for the services of the second battalion of the regiment as _Marines_. In a few days after the men were distributed for this purpose, the fleet defeated, on the 16th of January, off Cape St. Vincent, a squadron of eleven sail of the line, commanded by Admiral Don Juan de Langara. One Spanish ship of seventy guns blew up in the beginning of the action. The Spanish admiral’s ship of eighty guns, and three of seventy, were taken; one of seventy guns ran on shore, and another was lost on the breakers.
Nothing further transpired during the remainder of the voyage, and on the 18th of January 1780 the second battalion disembarked at Gibraltar, then closely blockaded by the Spaniards, who had despatched Don Juan de Langara to intercept the British admiral.
[Sidenote: 1st bat.]
The first battalion had, in the meantime, continued on its voyage to India, and on the 20th of January 1780 anchored in Madras Roads, being twelve months from the time of leaving England. The battalion landed immediately at Fort St. George, and after remaining there about a month was removed to Poonamallee.
The intricate politics of India gave rise to a war in that country. Hyder Ali, the son of a petty chief in the Mysore, had risen to the chief command of the army of that state, and when the rajah died, leaving his eldest son a minor, Hyder assumed the guardianship of the youthful prince, whom he placed under restraint, and seized on the reins of government. Having a considerable territory under his control, he maintained a formidable military establishment, which he endeavoured to bring into a high state of discipline and efficiency. Hyder, now Sultan of Mysore, formed a league with the French, and entered into a confederacy with the Nizam of the Deccan, the Mahrattas, and other of the native powers, for the purpose of expelling the British from India.
In July 1780, Hyder Ali, having passed the Ghauts (as the passes in the mountains on both sides of the Indian peninsula are termed), burst like a torrent into the Carnatic, while his son, Tippoo Saib, advanced with a large body of cavalry against the northern Circars, and the villages in the vicinity of Madras were attacked by parties of the enemy’s horse.
These events occasioned the first battalion of the regiment to be ordered to proceed to join the army which was being assembled at St. Thomas’s Mount, under the command of Major-General Sir Hector Munro, K.B., consisting entirely of the troops of the Honorable East India Company, with the exception of the _Seventy-third_, then about 800 strong.
Sir Hector Munro’s army amounted to upwards of 4,000 men, and was thus composed:--
{ Infantry 1,000 European { Artillery 300 { Dragoons 30
Native { Infantry 3,250 { Dragoons 30 ------ Total 4,610 ======
With the army were also thirty field-pieces and howitzers, together with four battering twenty-four pounders.
The Anglo-Indian army marched to Conjeveram, sixty miles westward of Madras, where it was to be joined by a detachment from the northward, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Baillie.
At this period the Sultan of Mysore was engaged in besieging _Arcot_, the capital of the Carnatic, which was invested by the enemy on the 21st of August. The movement of Sir Hector Munro’s force caused Hyder Ali to raise the siege; he then detached his son, Tippoo Saib, with a large body of horse and foot, amounting to 24,000 men and twelve guns, to intercept Lieut.-Colonel Baillie, whose junction with the main army had been ordered.
In this manœuvre Tippoo Saib succeeded, and Major-General Sir Hector Munro was compelled to detach Lieut.-Colonel Fletcher with a thousand men to reinforce Lieut.-Colonel Baillie. The flank companies of the first battalion of the _Seventy-third_ formed part of this detachment; the grenadier company was commanded by Lieutenant the Honorable John Lindsay, and the light company by Captain, afterwards General the Right Hon. Sir David Baird, Bart. and G.C.B.[7]
On the 6th of September, Lieut.-Colonel Baillie was attacked at Perambaukum by the division under Tippoo Saib, and on the 9th of that month was joined by the detachment under Lieut.-Colonel Fletcher. On the following day they were attacked by Hyder’s whole army, and the officers and men of this ill-fated detachment were either killed, taken, or dispersed.
The following graphic description of this unequal contest with Hyder’s whole army, the division under Tippoo Saib acting in concert, is given by Captain Innes Munro, of the _Seventy-third_, who published a “Narrative of the Military Operations on the Coromandel Coast from 1780 to 1784:”--
“Lieut.-Colonel Baillie could but make a feeble resistance against so superior a force; but his little band yet gallantly supported a very unequal fire, until their whole ammunition had either been blown up or expended, which of course silenced the British artillery. Hyder’s guns upon this drew nearer and nearer at every discharge, while each shot was attended with certain and deadly effect. Lieut.-Colonel Baillie’s detachment, seeing their artillery silenced and remaining inactive while exposed to certain destruction, very naturally became dismayed; which the enemy no sooner perceived than they made a movement for a general charge and advanced on all quarters to a close attack. At this dangerous and trying juncture, sufficient to damp the spirits of the most intrepid, all the camp-followers rushed in confusion through the ranks of every battalion, and in an instant threw the whole into disorder. The black troops, finding themselves in this calamitous situation, relinquished every hope of success; and, notwithstanding the extraordinary exertions of their European officers, were no more to be rallied. But such of the Europeans as had fallen into disorder by this irregularity, quickly united again in compact order, headed by their gallant commander, who was at this time much wounded; and, being joined by all the Sepoy officers, planted themselves upon a rising bank of sand in their vicinity, where they valiantly resolved to defend themselves to the last extremity.
“History cannot produce an instance, for fortitude, cool intrepidity, and desperate resolution, to equal the exploits of this heroic band. In numbers, now reduced to five hundred, they were opposed by no less than one hundred thousand enraged barbarians, who seldom grant quarter. The mind, in the contemplation of such a scene, and such a situation as theirs was, is filled at once with admiration, with astonishment, with horror, and with awe. To behold formidable and impenetrable bodies of horse, of infantry, and of artillery, advancing from all quarters, flashing savage fury, levelling the numberless instruments of slaughter, and darting destruction around, was a scene to appal even something more than the strongest human resolution; but it was beheld by this little band with the most undaunted and immovable firmness. Distinct bodies of horse came on successively to the charge, with strong parties of infantry placed in the intervals, whose fire was discharged in showers; but the deliberate and well-leveled platoons of the British musketry had such a powerful effect as to repulse several different attacks. Like the swelling waves of the ocean, however, when agitated by a storm, fresh columns incessantly poured in upon them with redoubled fury, which at length brought so many to the ground, and weakened their fire so considerably, that they were unable longer to withstand the dreadful and tremendous shock; and the field soon presented a picture of the most inhuman cruelties and unexampled carnage.
“The last and awful struggle was marked by the clashing of arms and shields, the snorting and kicking of horses, the snapping of spears, the glistening of bloody swords, oaths and imprecations; concluding with the groans and cries of bruised and mutilated men, wounded horses tumbling to the ground upon expiring soldiers, and the hideous roaring of elephants, stalking to and fro, and wielding their dreadful chains alike amongst friends and foes.
* * * * *
“Lieut.-Colonel Fletcher and twenty-nine European officers, with one hundred and fifty-five European rank and file, were killed; Lieut.-Colonel Baillie, with thirty-four officers, and almost all the European privates, were miserably wounded; sixteen officers and privates, from a Divine protection, and the generous clemency of the French hussars, remained unhurt, who, with the rest, were all made prisoners. The whole of the sepoys were either killed, taken, or dispersed.”
The flank companies were almost annihilated. Captain Baird received seven wounds, and Lieutenant the Hon. John Lindsay nine; both were made prisoners.
Lieutenant Philip Melvill[8] was totally disabled by his wounds, and was conveyed to Hyder’s camp, where many other wounded prisoners were crowded together in one tent, so as to prevent a moment’s ease or rest. They were afterwards confined at Bangalore, where they endured the greatest suffering for three years and a half, when, peace being concluded, the captives were released.
Lieutenant William Gunn, of the grenadiers, and Lieutenant Geddes Mackenzie, of the light company, were killed.
These were the whole of the officers serving with the two companies. Of the non-commissioned officers and privates only two men joined the battalion, and those were found in the jungle desperately wounded.
The melancholy fate of these companies rendered it necessary for Colonel Lord Macleod to form two new flank companies from the battalion.
After the defeat of Lieut.-Colonel Baillie, Major General Sir Hector Munro retired with the army to Chingleput, much pressed on the march by the enemy. The wounded and sick being left at Chingleput, the army went into cantonments on Choultry Plain for the rainy season, which had set in. The troops in the retreat had suffered severely from fatigue and want of provisions.
Captain Alexander Gilchrist, of the grenadiers, whose ill-health prevented him from being with his company when Lieut.-Colonel Baillie was attacked, died at this period[9], and Lieutenant Alexander Mackenzie was wounded, together with several soldiers, in skirmishes with the enemy.
[Sidenote: 2d bat.]
After the British fleet had departed from Gibraltar the Spaniards renewed the blockade by sea, and attempted to destroy the vessels in the harbour by fire-ships, but failed. Towards the close of the year provisions again became short. A limited supply was occasionally obtained from the Moors. The effects of the scurvy were mitigated by cultivating vegetables on the rock; and the brave defenders of the fortress maintained their attitude of defiance to the power of Spain.
Mr. Laurens, late President of the American Congress, having been captured in his passage to Holland by the British, papers were found on him showing that a treaty of alliance was on the point of conclusion between the Americans and the States General. Great Britain in consequence declared war against Holland on the 20th of December, and thus became engaged with a fourth enemy, exclusive of the hostile powers in India.
[Sidenote: 1781.]
[Sidenote: 1st bat.]