Part 4

In 1807 the regiment received new colours and accoutrements from Lieut.-General George Harris, and was newly armed and equipped in that year.

[Sidenote: 1808]

On the passing of the Act, in the year 1808, for permitting a certain number of the militia of the United Kingdom to volunteer their services to regiments of the line, the SEVENTY-THIRD received a very considerable augmentation of force by volunteers, particularly from the Irish militia. The number received from the Scotch regiments of militia, allotted for the SEVENTY-THIRD, was not at all in the same proportion, and the only English corps allotted to it was the Stafford militia, from which thirty-three men volunteered, a circumstance totally unexpected, from the dislike English soldiers were known to entertain to the Highland uniform.

In December, 1808, the regiment, being then about four hundred rank and file, received orders to proceed to England, to embark for New South Wales, and commenced its march from Perth on the 26th of that month.

On the order for the embarkation of the regiment for New South Wales, a second battalion was added to the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment, which was directed to be placed on the establishment of the army from the 24th of December, 1808. It was ordered to consist, in the first instance, of four companies. When these companies were completed to a hundred rank and file each, the battalion was to be augmented to six companies, and so on, in succession, until the establishment was increased to one thousand.

[Sidenote: 1809]

On the 13th of January, 1809, the regiment embarked at Leith on board of four packets, and the whole arrived in the course of that, and the beginning of the following month, at Gravesend, where the men were transhipped into two transports, and ordered round to Spithead. In March the regiment was landed at Cowes, in the Isle of Wight, marched to Newport, whence, after a few days, it was ordered to Colwell barracks.

A second volunteering from the militia took place in April, 1809, by which the SEVENTY-THIRD received a considerable increase of numbers, particularly from the Stafford, West Middlesex, and Durham regiments.

In April, 1809, officers and non-commissioned officers were detached to recruit for the second battalion, the head-quarters of which were fixed at Nottingham.[9]

It appearing that the Highland dress was an obstacle to the recruiting of the regiments wearing that costume, orders were issued, directing the SEVENTY-THIRD, and five other regiments, to discontinue that dress, and to adopt the uniform of other English regiments.[10]

While at Colwell barracks, sixty men, who had volunteered from veteran battalions to serve at New South Wales, were transferred to the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment, and were ordered to embark with the first battalion for that colony, which, by the addition of these men, and of the volunteers from the militia, was now upwards of eight hundred strong, and its establishment was fixed at ten companies, consisting of fifty-four serjeants, twenty-two drummers, and a thousand rank and file.

The first battalion embarked on the 8th of May, 1809, at Yarmouth, in the Isle of Wight, on board of His Majesty’s ships “Hindoostan” and “Dromedary,” and sailed from St. Helen’s on the 25th of that month. The fleet touched at Madeira, Port Praya, Rio Janeiro, and at the Cape of Good Hope, and anchored at Port Jackson, New South Wales, on the 28th of December.

[Sidenote: 1810]

The battalion landed at Sydney on the 1st of January, 1810, and detachments were sent out in the course of that, and the two following months, to the Derwent and Port Dalrymple, in Van Diemen’s Land; to Norfolk Island, and to Newcastle, whence Sydney, the capital of the colony, was supplied with coals, lime, and cedar wood, for buildings and making furniture.

[Sidenote: 1812]

The first battalion of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment having been considerably reinforced by volunteers from the hundred-and-second regiment (late New South Wales corps), which it relieved at New South Wales, and which was ordered home, its establishment was raised, in the year 1812, to twelve hundred rank and file, which included a veteran company formed from the veterans of the hundred-and-second regiment, and attached to the SEVENTY-THIRD, while the battalion continued to serve at New South Wales, and was, on its leaving that colony, transferred to the forty-sixth regiment.

[Sidenote: 1813]

[Sidenote: 1814]

About the end of the year 1813, an order arrived from England to embark the first battalion of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment for the island of Ceylon, and the first division, consisting of three companies, sailed from Port Jackson on board the ship “Earl Spencer,” hired for the passage, on the 24th of January, 1814. On the 24th of March two more divisions embarked on board the “General Hewitt” and “Windham,” and sailed from Port Jackson on the 5th of April; but the “Windham” being ordered to the Derwent to take on board the two companies stationed at Van Diemen’s Land, the “General Hewitt,” having the head-quarters and flank companies on board, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Maurice Charles O’Connell, after a very circuitous voyage round New Guinea, New Britain, and through the Molucca islands, arrived at Colombo, in Ceylon, on the 17th of August.

Prior to the embarkation of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment from New South Wales, Major-General Lachlan Macquarie,[11] commanding in New South Wales, stated in General Orders, dated 17th March, 1814, that--

“On the occasion of parting with the first battalion of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment His Excellency Major-General Macquarie, the Governor and Commander of the Forces in this territory, cannot fail to express the warm feelings of interest he takes in the corps, which he has commanded for six years; and to assure them, that no additional prosperity or honor, to which they may be entitled, in the part of the world where they are now destined to serve, and where they have already obtained so large a portion of well-earned fame, can exceed his sanguine wishes and expectations.

“This station has not afforded the usual field for military glory; but in as far as the industrious exertions of those non-commissioned officers and privates, who could be spared from military duty, have been exerted, this colony is much indebted for many useful improvements, which but for the soldiers of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment, must have remained only in the contemplation of those anxious for its civilization for a length of time, and the Major-General cannot doubt but that the comforts enjoyed by the colonists, in consequence of the zealous and laborious exertions of the soldiers of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment, will long be remembered with grateful recollections.

“Major-General Macquarie feels particular satisfaction in rendering his best acknowledgments to Lieut.-Colonel O’Connell for his attention to the discipline of the corps, and the health and comfort of the soldiers under his immediate command, and also for his zealous and assiduous attention to the duties devolving on him as Lieut.-Governor, during the Governor’s necessary and occasional absence from head-quarters.

“To the field-officers, captains, and subalterns, of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment, the Major-General desires to offer his best wishes for their health and happiness, and particularly to those with whom he has had a long acquaintance, and whose worth and honorable sentiments he is thereby the more fully enabled to appreciate; and he has no doubt but that the martial appearance, and strength of the corps, so far surpassing what is generally to be met with, will call forth feelings of surprise and gratification, wherever their services are required.

“Under these impressions, Major-General Macquarie now takes leave of the regiment, with that regret which a long acquaintance naturally inspires, but at the same time with the consolatory assurance that the SEVENTY-THIRD will show themselves at all times worthy of the respect and esteem which cannot fail to be paid to military bravery and unshaken loyalty.”

The “Windham” having made nearly the same voyage as the “General Hewitt,” after leaving Van Diemen’s Land, did not arrive at Ceylon until the 6th of November.[12]

In the meantime the reigning sovereign of Candy had evinced so cruel and tyrannical a disposition, that he became odious to his subjects, who experienced a total insecurity of life and property under his rule, individuals being frequently deprived of both at the caprice of the king. The governor of one of his provinces was summoned to appear at the capital; but this chief, expecting that the sacrifice of his life, and the seizure of his property, were intended, did not obey the mandate. The king assembled an army, overpowered the forces of the disobedient chief, and forced him to fly for protection to the British settlements in the island.

In addition to this oppressive tyranny over his own subjects, the King of Candy, elated with his success against the refractory chief, prepared to invade the British territory, against the frontier of which he had long carried on occasional hostilities. He had also inflicted cruelties on some British subjects, who had gone into his dominions on trading speculations.

[Sidenote: 1815]

These circumstances occasioned Lieut.-General Robert Brownrigg, the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Island of Ceylon, to render assistance to the natives to throw off the yoke, and at the same time preserve the English provinces from aggression, by invading the kingdom of Candy. The British troops advanced into the kingdom of Candy in seven divisions, in the beginning of February 1815, and detachments were formed from the SEVENTY-THIRD, and attached to four or five divisions of the invading army.

The soldiers underwent great fatigue in crossing mountains, passing morasses and rivers, and traversing regions inhabited only by the wild beasts of the forest; they succeeded in overcoming all opposition, and arrived at the capital in the middle of February. The king had fled with a small number of his Malabar adherents; but on the 18th of February, he was surrounded, and made prisoner by his own subjects, who showed the utmost detestation of the tyrant.

A solemn conference was held between the British Governor and the Candian chiefs, and the assembly declared the Malabar dynasty deposed, and the provinces of Candy united to the dominions of the British Crown. Thus was an extensive tract of country, bountifully endowed with natural gifts, and producing the necessaries and luxuries of life, including spices, metals, and precious stones, added to the British dominions; a numerous race of human beings, of a peculiarly interesting character, was delivered from the power of despotism, and brought under the advantages of the just government and equitable laws of Great Britain. Every species of torture was immediately abolished; but the ancient religion of the inhabitants, and the former mode of administering justice, were preserved. The conduct of the British troops was highly meritorious, and reflected credit on the several corps employed in this enterprise; the soldiers abstained from plunder and violence, and behaved with such order and regularity as to conciliate the inhabitants, whose condition, improved by a policy founded on liberal ideas, and exhibiting enlarged views, prepared the way for their emancipation from the errors of superstition, and their introduction to the advantages of Christianity, and of European arts, sciences, and commerce.

While the first battalion of the SEVENTY-THIRD was thus employed, the _Second Battalion_ had acquired the word “WATERLOO” for the regimental colour and appointments, in commemoration of its distinguished services in that memorable battle, which terminated the lengthened war in which the powers of Europe had been engaged.

A portion of the British troops occupied posts in the newly-acquired territory, and the corps not required for this duty returned to their former quarters. The first battalion of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment was again stationed at Colombo.

[Sidenote: 1816]

During the year 1816 the battalion continued to be stationed at Colombo.

[Sidenote: 1817]

In the month of September 1817, intimation was received at Colombo, that several Candian chiefs, who were hostile to British interests, were making preparations in various parts of the interior provinces of Ceylon, in favour of a new claimant to the throne of Candy, who subsequently arrived in the island from the continent of India, and they actually commenced hostilities on the 25th of October, 1817, by the murder of a native Mahandiram in Ouva, and by that of Mr. Wilson, the collector of that place, who had gone out to remonstrate with the natives assembled in the vicinity of Badulah.

Detachments from all the regiments stationed in Ceylon were in consequence ordered into the interior, and the SEVENTY-THIRD furnished for this service nearly the whole of the officers and men fit to march.

[Sidenote: 1818]

The head-quarters of the battalion were transferred, in December 1817, from Colombo to Trincomalee, and a detachment from the second battalion, which had been disbanded on the 4th of May, of this year, having arrived from England at the latter port, it was immediately ordered into the interior, where the rebellion had become general in the beginning of 1818.

On this service the battalion lost ten officers, and three hundred and sixty-six men, of whom only one officer (Lieutenant John Maclaine) and about twenty men were killed, or died of wounds inflicted by the enemy, the remainder having fallen victims to the unhealthiness of the climate, which even after the rebellion was subdued, continued to prove fatal to the officers and men who remained on service in the interior. The frequent exposure to the sun, and the heavy dews at night (when detachments were constantly on the march, particularly in the mountainous districts, where the enemy could not be surprised by day) together with a scarcity of provisions, brought on the jungle fever to an alarming extent, and had not an auxiliary force been sent from Madras, the interior of the island must of necessity have been evacuated.

In this harassing campaign, the superiority of the British over the native troops acting with them, was very evident; small parties only could be employed with effect, and therefore, more individual courage and exertion were required than with large bodies, where the excitement is much greater. The want of surgical aid was severely felt, and the officers at last, with the assistance of manuscript instructions, administered medicine, dressed wounds, and, on some occasions, performed trifling operations. Besides fever and dysentery, leech-bites were the occasion of many casualties.

The peculiar kind of warfare carried on during this campaign, afforded many opportunities for the officers and men to distinguish themselves. The following, among many instances, is deserving of record. A very small party of the SEVENTY-THIRD, in charge of Lance-Corporal Richard McLoughlin, was furiously attacked on its march to Badulah, by a numerous force; two men were killed, and the rest, instead of leaving their deceased comrades to the Candians, who generally mutilated the remains of British soldiers, divided; part remained in charge of the bodies, and the other portion, at an equal risk, proceeded to Badulah, a few miles distant, and returned with a reinforcement, that enabled them to carry off their deceased comrades, in spite of the exertions of the enemy to the contrary.

For this gallant conduct, medals were struck by the Ceylon Government for the following men, who, however, died of fever before they could be issued, namely, Lance-Corporal Richard McLoughlin, Privates John Wilson, Christopher Sheppard, and William Connor.

Whether the WATERLOO medals worn by the men who formerly belonged to the _Second Battalion_, caused an extraordinary emulation amongst the other soldiers of the SEVENTY-THIRD is a question; it is, however, matter of fact, that their conduct during the whole of the campaign gave not only their own officers, but those of other corps, the highest satisfaction.

[Sidenote: 1819]

In 1819, the nineteenth regiment was ordered home from Ceylon, when one hundred and seventy-two men volunteered to the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment.

[Sidenote: 1821]

Upon the SEVENTY-THIRD being directed to proceed to England in 1821, all the men fit for service in a tropical climate were permitted to volunteer, in the first instance, to regiments in Ceylon, and ultimately to His Majesty’s regiments stationed in the territories of the East India Company.

A detachment of one subaltern, three serjeants, one drummer, and forty-six rank and file, embarked as _Marines_ on board of His Majesty’s ship “Alligator,” on the 22nd of May, 1821; the remainder of the regiment embarked at Trincomalee on the 25th of June following, and landed at Gravesend on the 10th of November. It was then ordered to proceed to the barracks at Weedon, to which place the depôt of the regiment had been a short time before removed from Chichester, and where most of the men brought home were soon afterwards invalided.

The establishment of the regiment was, on its arrival, reduced to eight companies, forming a total of four field officers, eight captains, sixteen subalterns, five staff, twenty-nine serjeants, twelve drummers, twenty-four corporals, and five hundred and fifty-two privates.

[Sidenote: 1823]

In March, 1823, the regiment was ordered to proceed to Hull, and to furnish detachments at Chester, Carlisle, and Tynemouth: in May it marched to Edinburgh Castle, furnishing detachments at Glasgow, Stirling and Dumbarton Castles, and at Fort William.

In December, 1823, the regiment embarked at Port Patrick for Ireland, and was stationed at Castlebar, furnishing twelve small detachments within the limits of the counties of Mayo and Galway.

[Sidenote: 1824]

[Sidenote: 1825]

The regiment was assembled at Athlone in June, 1824, where it was quartered until July, 1825, when the head-quarters were removed to Naas, and detachments were furnished to Drogheda, Wicklow, Trim, and some villages in the counties of Kildare and Wicklow.

In 1825, the regiment was augmented to ten companies, consisting, while at home, of forty-two serjeants (including six staff serjeants), fourteen drummers, and seven hundred and forty rank and file; when ordered on foreign service to be divided into six service companies, of four serjeants, and eighty-six rank and file each; and four depôt companies for home service, consisting each of three serjeants, one drummer, and fifty-six rank and file.

[Sidenote: 1826]

In November, 1825, the regiment was reunited in the Royal Barracks at Dublin, where it continued until May, 1826, when, in consequence of riots in the manufacturing towns in Lancashire and Yorkshire, it was ordered to proceed to England. The head-quarters were fixed at Halifax, and detachments were sent to Huddersfield, Bradford, and to various other towns.

Tranquillity being restored in the above counties, the regiment was ordered to return to Dublin in July, 1826, and from thence it proceeded in August to occupy its former quarters at Naas, and the outposts.

In December following, the regiment received orders to march to Waterford, furnishing detachments at Kilkenny, Wexford, Carrick-on-Suir, and Duncannon Fort.

[Sidenote: 1827]

In August, 1827, the regiment was ordered to Fermoy, preparatory to embarkation, where in the course of the month, the service and depôt companies were formed.

The service companies embarked at Cove for Gibraltar towards the end of August and beginning of the following month, and arrived at their destination on the 10th, 17th, and 24th of September.

The depôt companies remained in Ireland during this and the two following years.

[Sidenote: 1828]

During the prevalence of the contagious and dreadful fever which visited Gibraltar in the year 1828, the SEVENTY-THIRD were encamped with the twenty-third Royal Welsh Fusiliers on Europa Flats, from the 10th of October to the 17th of January, 1829.

[Sidenote: 1829]

The casualties in the SEVENTY-THIRD were, compared with the other regiments in that garrison, fortunately limited to a small number. Out of nine officers and one hundred and ninety-six privates, who were attacked with the disease, only two officers and thirty-five men proved fatal cases. Lieutenant Hedworth Huddleston Williamson, and Assistant Surgeon John Gordon Fraser were the officers; the latter, though a very young assistant, fell a victim to his zeal for the service.

Whether the comparatively few casualties were attributable to the successful practice of the Surgeon George Martin, or some other accidental cause, can be only matter of conjecture. One thing, however, is certain, that His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, as well as numerous other officers unconnected with the regiment, acknowledged, in the most public manner, the talents and attention of Surgeon Martin, of the SEVENTY-THIRD, on this trying occasion.

Major-General Sir Frederick Adam, K.C.B., was appointed colonel of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment on the 22nd of May, 1829, in succession to General George Lord Harris, G.C.B., deceased.

In December, 1829, the service companies embarked for Malta, where the last division arrived on the 31st of that month.

On the departure of the SEVENTY-THIRD from Gibraltar, His Excellency the Lieut.-Governor, General Sir George Don, G.C.B., issued the following order:--

“_Head Quarters, Gibraltar, 2nd December, 1829._

“His Excellency the Lieut.-Governor is desirous to express to the SEVENTY-THIRD, on their departure from this garrison, the satisfaction afforded him by their regular and orderly conduct during the period of upwards of two years that they have been under his command, and he feels peculiar pleasure in noticing, that in no instance has any individual of this corps been reported to him for any irregularity on duty during the above period.

“To the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of this regiment, His Excellency offers his thanks, and more particularly to Colonel O’Connell, whose zeal and constant attention must have so essentially contributed to maintain the discipline and good order of the corps under his command.”

The first two divisions of the regiment embarked on board the “Lord Suffield” and “Stentor” transports on the 2nd of December, and sailed the same day; the last division (head-quarters) embarked on board the “Henry Porcher” on the 8th. The first two ships reached Malta on the 20th of December, and performed the usual quarantine in the Lazaretto; but the “Henry Porcher” experienced such severe weather on the 10th and 11th off Capo de Gato, that she had to put back again to Gibraltar in distress. She, however, sailed again on the 15th, and the men landed in the Lazaretto on the 1st of January, 1830.

[Sidenote: 1830]

In February, 1830, the depôt companies were removed from Ireland to Great Britain.

The service companies remained in St. Elmo barracks during the year 1830, and at the periodical inspection which took place in April, the Commanding Officer (Colonel O’Connell), by desire of Major-General the Honorable Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby, Lieut.-Governor of Malta, issued the following order:--

“_Valetta, 5th April, 1830._

“The Commanding Officer has great pleasure in complying with the desire of the Major-General commanding, that he should express in regimental orders the General’s perfect satisfaction with everything he has this day seen of the regiment.”

On the 22nd of July, 1830, Colonel Maurice Charles O’Connell was promoted to the rank of Major-General; and on the 25th of the ensuing month the following farewell address was read to the regiment:--