Part 5

“Major-General O’Connell, being removed from the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment by promotion, avails himself of the kindness of Major Lloyd, now commanding officer of the regiment, to address to it a few farewell words.

“The Major-General cannot contemplate his separation from a corps, endeared to him by all those sacred ties which bind the members of a family together, and which have, in their fullest sense, existed between him and the regiment for a period of nearly twenty-five years, that he has almost uninterruptedly commanded it in so many parts of His Majesty’s dominions, at home and abroad, without experiencing sensations which he would find it impossible to describe here, but which he feels most acutely. He will content himself with requesting the officers of the regiment, generally, to accept his most sincere thanks for the kindness that he experienced from them, and for the uniform, undeviating attention they have paid to his orders, and to his suggestions for the good of the regiment; where every officer merited his approbation, the Major-General cannot particularise individuals, but he feels himself called on by a sense of justice, as well as of duty, and he certainly has great pleasure in obeying that call, to offer to his friend Lieutenant and Adjutant Russell his most particular thanks for the zealous and effectual aid he has ever received from him in the discharge of every duty, and to declare, that to the exertions and abilities of this meritorious officer he is mainly indebted for the high state of discipline which has characterised the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment, in every garrison where it has been stationed.

“To the non-commissioned officers and men, he begs to express his thanks for, and his approbation of, their uniform good conduct, which he exhorts them to persevere in, as the surest means of insuring to themselves the approbation of their superiors, exemptions from punishment, and of preparing them for acquiring honor and glory, when called to meet the enemies of their country in the field.

“The Major-General will conclude by assuring both officers and men, that their happiness and glory will be for ever dear to him, and that to the latest day of his life he will consider the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment as part of his family, whose interests are inseparably interwoven with his own. Should any fortunate event ever enable him to promote the general welfare of the regiment, or the individual interest of any of its members, whether officers, non-commissioned officers, or privates, he hopes it is needless for him to declare with what pleasure he shall avail himself of the opportunity.

“He now, with sincerest good wishes for the health, happiness, and glory of the whole, bids them adieu.”[13]

[Sidenote: 1831]

In October, 1831, the depôt companies proceeded to Jersey.

[Sidenote: 1834]

On the 12th of April, 1834, the service companies embarked at Malta for the Ionian islands.

[Sidenote: 1835]

In September, 1835, the depôt companies embarked at Portsmouth for Cork.

Major-General William George Lord Harris, K.C.H., was removed from the colonelcy of the eighty-sixth to that of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment on the 4th of December, 1835, in succession to Lieut.-General the Right Honorable Sir Frederick Adam, K.C.B., who was appointed colonel of the fifty-seventh regiment.

[Sidenote: 1838]

The service companies embarked at Zante for Gibraltar on the 21st of January, 1838, and arrived at that fortress in the following month. In April and May of that year they proceeded to Nova Scotia, and in July, 1838, were removed to Canada.

[Sidenote: 1839]

In June, 1839, the depôt companies were removed from Ireland to Great Britain.

[Sidenote: 1841]

The service companies embarked at Quebec for England on the 5th June, 1841, and arrived at Gosport in July, at which place they were stationed during the remainder of the year.

[Sidenote: 1842]

In April, 1842, the regiment proceeded to Woolwich, and in August to Bradford, from whence it was removed in September to Newport, in Monmouthshire.

[Sidenote: 1843]

During the year 1843 the regiment remained at Newport.

[Sidenote: 1844]

The regiment embarked by divisions at Newport, on the 8th and 16th of August, 1844, and disembarked at Kingstown, Dublin, on the 11th and 19th of that month. In December, the regiment moved from Richmond to the Royal Barracks at Dublin.

[Sidenote: 1845]

Major-General Sir Robert Henry Dick, K.C.B., was appointed colonel of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment on the 10th of June, 1845, in succession to Lieut.-General William George Lord Harris, K.C.H., deceased.

The service companies, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Charles Jowett Vander Meulen, embarked at Cork in H.M. troop-ship “Apollo” on the 29th of September, 1845, for the Cape of Good Hope. In consequence, however, of political events in South America, they were required (together with the reserve battalion of the forty-fifth regiment) by the British minister at Rio Janeiro to proceed to the river Plate, and they were disembarked at Monte Video in January, 1846.

[Sidenote: 1846]

On the 3rd of April, 1846, Major-General Sir John Grey, K.C.B., was appointed colonel of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment, in succession to Major-General Sir Robert Henry Dick, K.C.B. and K.C.H., who was killed on the 10th of February, 1846, at the battle of Sobraon.

While the service companies were stationed at Monte Video, from January to July, 1846, they were employed in the protection of the town, and of the British merchants and inhabitants, against an Argentine force under General Oribe, who was investing the place.

[Sidenote: 1847]

In July, the service companies were re-embarked for the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived at Cape Town in August. After landing their sick, they were ordered to proceed to Waterloo Bay, near to the Great Fish River, there to disembark, and join the troops employed in the field against the Kaffirs, on which arduous duty the regiment was subsequently employed.

From the 1st of January to the 3rd of February, 1847, and from the 10th of September to the end of the year, the service companies were engaged in active field operations against the Kaffirs. On this service the SEVENTY-THIRD had the following officers killed, namely, Captain William Baker, Lieutenants Clarevaulx Faunt, and the Honorable William John Granville Chetwynd, Ensign William Burnop, and Surgeon Neil Stewart Campbell.

[Sidenote: 1848]

In January, 1848, the service companies proceeded to Fort Grey, where the head-quarters were stationed until July following, and in October they were removed from Fort D’Urban to Cape Town.

[Sidenote: 1849]

Major-General Richard Goddard Hare Clarges, C.B., was appointed colonel of the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment on the 18th of May, 1849, in succession to Major-General Sir John Grey, K.C.B., who was removed to the fifth Fusiliers.

During the year 1849 the service companies were stationed at Cape Town. The depôt companies also remained in Ireland.

[Sidenote: 1850]

In December, 1850, the head-quarters and four companies, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel William Eyre, were removed from Cape Town to the Buffalo mouth for the frontier, in consequence of an outbreak of the Kaffirs.

[Sidenote: 1851]

At the date of the conclusion of the present record, namely, 1st of May 1851, the service companies were in camp at King William’s Town, under Lieut.-Colonel Eyre. The depôt companies, under Major George Hankey Smith, continued to be stationed in Ireland.

1851.

FOOTNOTES:

[6] Upon the representation of Major-General Gerard Lake, who was appointed Colonel of the _Seventy-third_ Regiment, in November 1796, the Royal Authority was granted for the word “MANGALORE” being borne on the Regimental Colour and Appointments, in consideration of the gallant conduct displayed in the defence of that place.

[7] “A View of the Origin and Conduct of the War with Tippoo Sultan, by Lieut.-Colonel Alexander Beatson, late Aide-de-camp to the Marquis Wellesley, Governor-General of India.”

[8] Seringapatam derived its name from the god _Serung_, to whom one of the pagodas was dedicated.

[9] The history of the second battalion is resumed at page 43.

[10] MEMORANDUM.

_Horse Guards, 7th April, 1809._

As the population of the Highlands of Scotland is found to be insufficient to supply recruits for the whole of the Highland corps on the establishment of His Majesty’s army, and as some of these corps laying aside their distinguishing dress, which is objectionable to the natives of South Britain, would, in a great measure, tend to facilitate the completing of their establishment, as it would be an inducement to the men of the English militia to extend their services in greater numbers to these regiments:--it is in consequence most humbly submitted, for the approbation of His Majesty that His Majesty’s 72nd, 73rd, 74th, 75th, 91st, and 94th regiments should discontinue, in future, to wear the dress by which His Majesty’s regiments of Highlanders are distinguished, and that the above corps should no longer be considered as on that establishment.

(Signed) HARRY CALVERT, _Adjutant-General_.

[11] Major-General Macquarie formerly commanded the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment.--_Vide_ Memoir in Appendix, page 69.

[12] A fourth division of the SEVENTY-THIRD sailed from Port Jackson on the 26th of January 1815, and arrived at Ceylon in the ship “General Brown,” on the 2nd of March. There still remained some men of the battalion for whom room could not be provided in the four ships already named, and those were embarked in the colonial brig “Kangaroo,” which arrived at Colombo on the 19th of August 1815.

[13] A memoir of the services of Lieut.-General Sir Maurice O’Connell, K.C.H., is contained in the Appendix, page 70.

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE SECOND BATTALION

OF

THE SEVENTY-THIRD REGIMENT.

[Sidenote: 1802]

Europe enjoyed but a short interval of tranquillity by the treaty of Amiens, which was signed on the 27th of March, 1802. In May of the following year, the war was renewed, and Napoleon Bonaparte, the First Consul of the French Republic, threatened the invasion of Great Britain. On the 18th of May, 1804, Napoleon was invested with the dignity of Emperor of the French, and on the 26th of May of the succeeding year, he was crowned at Milan as King of Italy.

[Sidenote: 1804]

In December, 1804, Spain issued a declaration of war against England, and agreed to furnish a powerful aid to the French Emperor.

[Sidenote: 1805]

While the French pursued a victorious career in Germany, they experienced dreadful reverses from the British navy, particularly on the 21st of October, 1805, when the combined fleets of France and Spain were completely defeated off _Cape Trafalgar_. The victory was, however, clouded by the death of Admiral Viscount Nelson, to whose memory a grateful and admiring nation paid the highest honors.

[Sidenote: 1806]

[Sidenote: 1808]

In the year 1806, the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment arrived in England from the East Indies, and two years afterwards was ordered to embark for New South Wales. On the promulgation of the orders for this embarkation, it was directed that a _second battalion_ should be added to the regiment, which was to be placed on the establishment of the army from the 24th of December, 1808.

The second battalion was, in the first instance, to consist of four companies, at a hundred rank and file each; upon the effectives exceeding four hundred, it was to be augmented to six hundred, which number being completed, it was to be augmented to a thousand rank and file.

[Sidenote: 1809]

The battalion was embodied at Nottingham, and was considerably strengthened, within the year 1809, by volunteers from the English, Irish, and Scotch Militia.

[Sidenote: 1810]

In March, 1810, the battalion proceeded to Ashborne, and subsequently to Derby and Ashford.

[Sidenote: 1811]

On the 25th of October, 1811, the establishment of the battalion was augmented to six companies, consisting of thirty-four serjeants, twelve drummers, and six hundred rank and file.

[Sidenote: 1812]

In July, 1812, the battalion was removed from Ashford to Deal, and afterwards proceeded to the Tower of London.

[Sidenote: 1813]

While quartered in the Tower of London, in 1813, the battalion was augmented to ten companies, consisting of forty-five serjeants, twenty-two drummers, and eight hundred rank and file. The battalion proceeded to Colchester in April.

The dreadful disasters experienced by the French in their retreat from Russia, combined with the successes obtained over the forces of Napoleon in the Peninsula by the allies under the Marquis of Wellington, caused the separation of Prussia and other states from the interest of France, and a treaty of alliance and subsidy was concluded between Great Britain and Sweden, in which it was stipulated that a Swedish army, commanded by the Crown Prince,[14] should join the Allies.

On the 25th of May, 1813, the battalion, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel William George (afterwards Lord) Harris, embarked on a particular service at Harwich, but subsequently joined the expedition to Stralsund, in Swedish Pomerania, under the command of Major-General Samuel Gibbs, and landed at that town on the 7th of August.

From Stralsund the SEVENTY-THIRD proceeded to join the allied forces under the command of Lieut.-General Count Wallmoden, who engaged, and completely defeated, the enemy on the plains of _Gorde_, on the 16th of September, 1813. The SEVENTY-THIRD was the only _British_ battalion in the action.[15]

The battalion was afterwards ordered to join the British forces, then in the north of Germany, under the command of Major-General Samuel Gibbs, at Rostock, and subsequently embarked for England at Warnemunde on the 2nd of November, but on arriving at Yarmouth the battalion was ordered, without landing, to join the army in Holland under General Sir Thomas Graham, afterwards Lord Lynedoch: the battalion arrived at Williamstadt on the 18th of December.

[Sidenote: 1814]

The Prussian General, Bulow, having requested that the British would make a forward movement upon _Antwerp_, to favour his operations, the battalion accordingly marched to the attack of that place, which was bombarded by the British forces on the 13th of January, 1814; and again from the 2nd until the 6th of February, for the purpose of destroying the French fleet lying there.

In the attack on the village of _Merxem_ on the 2nd of February, 1814, where the enemy was strongly posted, Lieutenant John McConnell, and Lieutenant and Adjutant Thomas Frederick James were wounded, the former severely. A volunteer, named J. Simpson, was also dangerously wounded. This youth was about sixteen years of age, and was attached to the light company. Soon after the action commenced, and in the course of a few minutes, he was shot through both his legs, before which a bullet had lodged in the butt of his firelock. His military career was short, as he died of his wounds in a few days.

On this occasion, the light company, under Captain Richard Drewe, supported the ninety-fifth (rifle brigade) in driving the enemy from the _abatis_ formed at the entrance to the village. The troops suffered very severely during the foregoing operations from the intense cold, the winter being unusually severe, and though sleeping on the line of march was generally fatal, it was no easy matter to prevent it.

General Sir Thomas Graham stated in his despatch, “All the troops engaged behaved with the usual spirit and intrepidity of British soldiers,” and the conduct of Major Dawson Kelly, of the SEVENTY-THIRD, was particularly noticed.

After this success the British troops were employed in constructing a breastwork and battery; on the 3rd of February several pieces of heavy ordnance opened upon the city of Antwerp, and on the French shipping in the Scheldt; the cannonade was continued until the 6th, when General Bulow, having received orders to march southward, to act with the grand army of the Allies, it became necessary to relinquish the attack on Antwerp, when the British retired towards Breda.

On the 16th of March, 1814, a detachment of the SEVENTY-THIRD, consisting of two hundred men, under the command of Major Dawson Kelly, was bombarded by a French seventy-four gun-ship and eight gun brigs, in Fort Frederick on the river Scheldt.

Peace was shortly afterwards concluded. On the 4th of April, Napoleon Bonaparte signed his abdication in favour of his son; but this proposal being rejected, he signed in a few days a second abdication, renouncing the thrones of France and Italy entirely for himself and heirs. He afterwards selected Elba for his residence, which island was ceded to him in full sovereignty for life, and a pension payable from the revenues of France, and by the treaty which was signed at Paris on the 11th of April between the Allies and Napoleon, it was agreed that he should enjoy the imperial title for life. Ample pensions were also assigned to his relatives.

On the 3rd of May, 1814, Louis XVIII. entered Paris, and ascended the throne of his ancestors, and on the 30th of that month the general peace between France and the allied powers of Austria, Russia, Great Britain, and Prussia, was signed at Paris.

In the beginning of May, the battalion was ordered into quarters at Antwerp, and in September following it marched to Tournay, where it arrived in October.

[Sidenote: 1815]

The commencement of the year 1815 saw Louis XVIII. apparently firmly seated on the throne of France; but various causes of discontent existed in that country. The army, long accustomed to war, still retained a chivalrous veneration for Napoleon Bonaparte, who was kept acquainted with the state of the public mind, and this feeling of his former troops. In the evening of the 26th of February he embarked at Porto Ferrajo, in the island of Elba, with about a thousand troops, of whom a few were French, and the remainder Poles, Corsicans, Neapolitans, and Elbese. With this motley band he landed at Cannes, in Provence, on the 1st of March, 1815, and the result proved that his calculations were correct. After being joined by the garrison of Grenoble, he proceeded to Lyons, and entered that city amidst the acclamations of “_Vive l’Empereur!_” from the soldiers and the people. The possession of the second city in France being thus obtained, Napoleon assumed his former dignity of Emperor, and continued his advance to Paris, which he reached on the 20th of March, his progress having been a continued triumph.

In the meantime, Louis XVIII. had withdrawn from Paris to Ghent, and Napoleon took possession of the throne of France as Emperor, but the allied powers refused to acknowledge his sovereignty, and determined to effect his dethronement.

The battalion had remained stationed between Tournay and Courtray until March, 1815, when, in consequence of the foregoing events, it was ordered to join the division of the army under the command of Lieut.-General Baron Alten, and formed part of the brigade of Major-General Sir Colin Halkett, K.C.B.

On the 11th of April, 1815, it was announced to the army in Flanders that His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, in the name and behalf of His Majesty, had appointed Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington, K.G., to be commander of His Majesty’s forces on the continent of Europe, and it was directed that the _Fifth_ British brigade of infantry should be composed of the second battalion of the thirtieth, the thirty-third, and the second battalions of the sixty-ninth and seventy-third regiments.[16]

Napoleon left Paris on the 12th of June, and endeavoured, by one of those rapid and decisive movements for which he had been celebrated, to interpose his forces between the British and Prussian armies, and then attack them in detail. Information of this movement arrived at Brussels during the evening of the 15th of June, and the troops were immediately ordered to prepare to march.

On the 16th of June, the division of which the second battalion of the SEVENTY-THIRD formed part, pursued its course, with the other portions of the army, through the forest of Soignies, Genappe, and along the road towards Charleroi. After a march of twenty-two miles the troops arrived at the post of _Les Quatre Bras_, where the second French corps, under Marshal Ney, was developing a serious attack against that position, with very superior numbers.

As the British regiments arrived at the scene of conflict, they were instantly formed for action. The repeated charges of the French were repulsed, but a considerable loss was incurred, including his Serene Highness the Duke of Brunswick, who fell at the head of his troops.

The SEVENTY-THIRD had the following officers wounded:--Lieutenants John Acres and John Lloyd, and Ensigns Robert Greville Heselrige and Thomas Deacon. Lieutenant Acres died of his wounds. One drummer, and three rank and file were killed, and one serjeant and forty-three rank and file wounded.

Marshal Blucher had been attacked on the 16th of June by Napoleon at Ligny, and the Prussians, after a desperate conflict, were compelled to retreat to Wavre. This caused the Duke of Wellington to make a corresponding movement, to keep up his communication with them.

In the course of the morning of the 17th of June, the troops were withdrawn from _Quatre Bras_, and proceeded towards _Waterloo_. On this day, the SEVENTY-THIRD had Lieutenant Joseph William Henry Streaphan and three rank and file killed.

The position which the Duke of Wellington occupied in front of _Waterloo_, crossed the high roads leading from Charleroi and Nivelle to Brussels, and which roads united at the village of Mont St. Jean, in the rear of the British. The right wing extended to a ravine near Merke Braine, which was occupied. The left extended to a height above the hamlet of Ter la Haye, which was likewise occupied. In front of the right centre, and near the Nivelle road, the house and garden of Hougomont were taken possession of, and in front of the left centre, the farm of La Haye Sainte was occupied. By the left the British communicated with Marshal Prince Blucher at Wavre, through Ohaim.

Napoleon collected his army on a range of heights in front of the British, with the exception of his third corps, which he had sent to observe the Prussians. About ten o’clock the French commenced a furious attack upon the post at Hougomont. Then ensued a conflict which will ever be memorable in the history of Europe. The attacks of the French troops were frequently calculated to spread confusion through any army. They were supported by the thunder of a numerous artillery, and followed up by such a succession of column after column, rolling onwards like the waves of the sea, that it required a degree of unexampled fortitude and courage to oppose effectual resistance to so fierce and continued a storm of war.

That degree of courage was not wanting in the British ranks, and paralysed by the fierce determination of his opponents, the attacks of Napoleon’s legions relaxed; the Prussians arrived on the left to co-operate; the Anglo-Belgian army formed line, and with one impetuous charge decided the fortune of the day. The French were driven from the field with the loss of their cannon and equipage, and the hopes of Bonaparte were annihilated.