Part 1
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HISTORICAL RECORDS
OF
THE BRITISH ARMY.
GENERAL ORDERS.
_HORSE-GUARDS_, _1st January, 1836_.
His Majesty has been pleased to command, that, with a 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 Honourable 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 honourable 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, been 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 every thing 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.
HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE SIXTY-FIRST,
OR, THE
SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE REGIMENT
OF
FOOT:
CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF
THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT IN 1758,
AND OF
ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES TO 1844.
_ILLUSTRATED WITH A PLATE OF THE COLOURS AND UNIFORM._
LONDON: PARKER, FURNIVALL, AND PARKER, _MILITARY LIBRARY, WHITEHALL_.
M.DCCC.XLIV.
LONDON: HARRISON AND CO., PRINTERS, ST. MARTIN’S LANE.
THE SIXTY-FIRST,
OR, THE
SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE REGIMENT
OF
FOOT,
BEARS ON ITS REGIMENTAL COLOUR THE WORD
“EGYPT,”
WITH THE SPHINX:
ALSO THE WORDS
“TALAVERA,” “SALAMANCA,” “PYRENEES,” “NIVELLE,” “NIVE,” “ORTHES,” “TOULOUSE,” “PENINSULA,”
TO COMMEMORATE ITS HEROIC CONDUCT IN THESE ACTIONS.
THE FLANK COMPANIES
ALSO BEAR ON THEIR APPOINTMENTS THE WORD
“MAIDA,”
IN TESTIMONY OF THEIR DISTINGUISHED GALLANTRY AT THE BATTLE OF MAIDA ON THE 4TH OF JULY, 1806.
CONTENTS.
Year Page
1758 Formation of the Regiment 10
---- Names of Officers --
---- Embarks for the West Indies 11
1759 Capture of Guadeloupe --
1760 Returns to England 12
1763 Proceeds to Ireland --
1771 Stationed at Minorca --
1782 Returns to England 15
---- Styled the South Gloucestershire Regiment --
1783 Proceeds to Ireland --
1792 Embarks for Gibraltar --
1794 Proceeds to the West Indies --
1795 Attack on St. Lucia --
1796 Returns to England 16
1797 Proceeds to Guernsey --
1798 Embarks for the Cape of Good Hope --
1801 Expedition to Egypt 17
1803 Embarks for Malta 18
---- A Second Battalion added to the establishment --
1804 Second Battalion proceeds to Guernsey 19
1805 First Battalion proceeds to Italy --
1806 Second Battalion proceeds to Ireland 20
---- Battle of Maida 21
1807 Second Battalion returns to England 22
---- First Battalion proceeds to Gibraltar 23
1809 ---- ---- ---- ---- Portugal --
---- Battle of Talavera --
1810 Second Battalion proceeds to Ireland 25
---- Battle of Busaco --
1811 Blockade of the Fortress of Almeida 27
1812 Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo 28
---- ---- ---- the Forts of San Vincente, St. Cajetano, and La Merced --
---- Battle of Salamanca 29
---- Siege of Burgos Castle 33
1813 Battle of the Pyrenees 35
---- Passage of the Nivelle 37
---- ---- ---- ---- Nive 39
1814 Blockade of Bayonne 40
---- Battle of Orthes --
---- ---- ---- Toulouse 41
---- Embarks for Ireland 45
---- Second Battalion disbanded 46
1816 Proceeds to England --
---- Embarks for Jamaica --
1822 Returns to England --
1824 Proceeds to Ireland --
1828 Embarks for Ceylon 47
1840 Returns to England 49
1843 Proceeds to Ireland 52
---- Conclusion 53
SUCCESSION OF COLONELS.
1758 Granville Elliott 55
1759 George Gray --
1768 John Gore 56
1773 John Barlow --
1778 Staates Long Morriss 57
1800 Sir George Hewett, Bart., G.C.B. --
1840 Sir John Gardiner, K.C.B. 58
1844 Sir Jeremiah Dickson, K.C.B. --
APPENDIX.
1801 Lieut.-Colonel Barlow’s Journal of the March of a Detachment from Cosseir to Kenè 59
1809 } to } Casualties during the Peninsular War 67 1814 }
PLATE.
Colours, and Present Costume, to face page 9
HISTORICAL RECORD
OF THE
SIXTY-FIRST,
OR
THE SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE REGIMENT
OF
FOOT.
[Sidenote: 1755]
[Sidenote: 1756]
In the early part of the eighteenth century, the British Colonies in North America were extended along the coast;--at the same time, the Indian trade drew many persons into the interior of the country, where they found a delightful climate, and a fruitful soil; and a company of merchants obtained a charter for a tract of land beyond the Allegany Mountains, where they commenced establishing a settlement. The French laid claim to this part of the country, drove away the settlers, and erected a fort to command the entrance into the lands on the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers. These aggressions giving indication of an approaching war, the British army was augmented in the winter of 1755-6, and that distinguished veteran corps, the THIRD REGIMENT OF FOOT, OR THE BUFFS, was increased in numbers to twenty-two companies, and was divided into two battalions in 1756.
[Sidenote: 1757]
In the summer of 1757, the THIRD Regiment formed part of an expedition against the coast of France, the land forces being under General Sir John Mordaunt, and the fleet commanded by Admiral Sir Edward Hawke. The _Isle of Aix_ was captured in September, and an attack on Rochefort was contemplated; but the wind proved unfavourable, and the fleet returned to England.
[Sidenote: 1758]
In the spring of 1758, the SECOND BATTALION of the BUFFS was constituted the “SIXTY-FIRST REGIMENT,” under the command of Major-General Granville Elliott, from the Austrian service, by commission dated the 21st of April; the lieut.-colonelcy was conferred on Major John Barlow, of the Buff’s, and the majority on Captain Christopher Teesdale, senior captain of the Buffs. The Regiment, being thus formed from the THIRD Foot, was permitted to assume the Buff facing.
After its formation, the regiment was encamped at Chatham, with the Thirty-seventh and Sixty-fifth, under Major-General the Earl of Panmure.
The following officers were holding commissions in the regiment:--
_Colonel_, MAJOR-GENERAL GRANVILLE ELLIOTT. _Lieut.-Colonel_, JOHN BARLOW. _Major_, CHRISTOPHER TEESDALE.
_Captains._
James Patterson A. Singleton Thomas Hardcastle M. Brabazon Roger Crowle William Buckley John Barford
_Captain-Lieutenant._
William Gunning
_Lieutenants._
John Acklom W. Peyton John Rowland John Waugh John Read N. Doolan Peter Maturin S. Pearce John Poole William Wilson F. Blomberg A. Leishman D. Gilchrist Thomas Brown G. V. Chetwode R. Beatson R. Kelly J. Badger
_Ensigns._
John Skinner John Ireland Jarvis Palmer John Keir Edward Crowe Samuel Horner James Savage John Arbuthnot
_Chaplain_, George Shaw; _Adjutant_, William Gunning; _Surgeon_, Peter Johnston; _Quarter-Master_, Samuel Grey.
Towards the end of the year the regiment embarked for the West Indies, with the armament sent against the French West India Islands, under Major-General Hopson and Commodore Moore.
[Sidenote: 1759]
On the 16th of January, 1759, the troops landed on the island of _Martinico_; but so many difficulties were encountered, that they were re-embarked, and the attack on this island was abandoned.
From Martinico the fleet proceeded to _Guadeloupe_, and the forts and batteries on the shore having been silenced by the ships-of-war, the troops landed on the 24th of January, and took possession of the town and citadel of Basse-Terre; the French soldiers and inhabitants, with their armed negroes, retired to the mountains, and prepared for a desperate defence of the interior of the island.
For three months hostilities were continued on the island, and during this period the officers and soldiers of the SIXTY-FIRST evinced valour and perseverance in carrying operations against, and making attacks on, the posts occupied by the enemy. Captain William Gunning, of the regiment, was killed at the attack of a hill near _Fort Louis_; “he was an excellent officer, and universally lamented by the army[1].” Lieut.-Colonel Barlow distinguished himself at the head of a detachment at the capture of _St. Maries_, when a party of the SIXTY-FIRST penetrated a thick wood, and gained the rear of a strong post, from which the French were soon driven. The regiment also made a very determined effort to penetrate the woody mountains, and turn the enemy’s main position, and the operations of the day were successful. After much desultory fighting, the French were forced to surrender the island. The SIXTY-FIRST had a number of men killed and wounded; and others died from the effects of the climate: the loss of the regiment in officers was Capt.-Lieutenant William Gunning killed; Lieutenant John Rowland wounded; Ensign Samuel Horner died. The conduct of the officers and soldiers of the SIXTY-FIRST was commended in orders.
On the decease of Major-General Elliott, he was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment by Lieut.-Colonel George Gray, from the first troop, now first regiment, of Life Guards.
[Sidenote: 1760]
[Sidenote: 1763]
The regiment, having become considerably reduced in numbers, returned to England to recruit, and in the summer of 1760 it was encamped at Chatham; in 1761 it proceeded to the islands of Jersey and Guernsey, where it was stationed until the termination of the seven years’ war; and in 1763 it proceeded to Ireland, where it remained seven years.
On the 9th of May, 1768, Major-General Gray was removed to the Thirty-seventh Regiment; and King George III. conferred the colonelcy of the SIXTY-FIRST on Major-General John Gore, from lieutenant-colonel in the Third Foot Guards.
[Sidenote: 1771]
Three years afterwards the regiment was removed from Ireland, and stationed at the island of Minorca, which had been captured by the British in 1708, and was ceded to Queen Anne by the treaty of Utrecht in 1713.
[Sidenote: 1778]
Lieut.-General Gore was removed to the Sixth Foot in 1773, when the colonelcy of the SIXTY-FIRST was conferred on the lieut.-colonel of the regiment, Colonel John Barlow; who was succeeded, in 1778, by Major-General Staates Long Morriss, whose regiment, the Eighty-ninth, had been disbanded at the termination of the seven years’ war.
[Sidenote: 1772]
[Sidenote: 1779]
[Sidenote: 1781]
In the mean time the American war had commenced; France had united with the revolted British provinces in their resistance; and Spain also commenced hostilities against Great Britain, and undertook the siege of Gibraltar in 1779. The capture of _Minorca_ was also contemplated by the court of Spain; and in the middle of August, 1781, a powerful Spanish and French armament appeared before the island. The British troops employed on the detached stations were withdrawn, and the whole assembled in the citadel of St. Philip, the garrison of which place consisted of the Fifty-first and SIXTY-FIRST Regiments, two corps of Hanoverians (viz., Prince Ernest’s and Goldacker’s regiments), and a proportion of artillery, the whole amounting to two thousand five hundred men, commanded by Lieut.-General the Hon. James Murray, and Lieut.-General Sir William Draper, K.B. The combined French and Spanish forces mustered sixteen thousand men, commanded by Lieutenant-General the Duke of Crillon, who proved an officer of ability. The British garrison, however, made a resolute defence of the fortress intrusted to their charge; and the King of Spain, losing patience with the slow progress of the siege, caused a large sum of money to be offered to the British general, to induce him to betray his trust, which was rejected with indignation[2].
[Sidenote: 1782]
For several months the British soldiers defended St. Philip with great gallantry; but at length the scurvy, a putrid fever, and the dysentery, broke out among them with so much violence, that in the beginning of February, 1782, there was not a sufficient number of men able to bear arms for one relief of the ordinary guards, and not one hundred men free from disease. Under these circumstances the governor capitulated.
Lieut.-General the Honorable James Murray stated, in his despatch,--“I flatter myself that all Europe will agree that the brave garrison showed uncommon heroism, and that thirst for glory which has ever distinguished the troops of my royal master.... Such was the uncommon spirit of the King’s soldiers, that they concealed their diseases and inability rather than go into the hospital; several men died on guard, after having stood sentry: their fate was not discovered until called upon for the relief, when it came to their turn to mount sentry again.... Perhaps a more noble, nor a more tragical scene was ever exhibited than that of the march of the garrison of St. Philip through the Spanish and French lines. It consisted of no more than six hundred decrepid soldiers; two hundred seamen, one hundred and twenty royal artillery, twenty Corsicans, and twenty-five Greeks, &c. Such was the distressing appearance of our men, that many of the Spanish and French soldiers are said to have shed tears.”
In the articles of capitulation the Duke of Crillon stated,--“No troops ever gave greater proofs of heroism than this poor worn-out garrison of St. Philip’s Castle, who have defended themselves almost to the last man.” Beatson, the historian of these wars, states,--“The zeal, bravery, and constancy, displayed by all the corps composing the garrison of St. Philip, under an accumulation of misfortunes, may have been equalled, but never exceeded.”
[Sidenote: 1783]
Returning to England after the surrender of Fort St. Philip, the regiment was engaged in recruiting its numbers until the termination of the war; in August, 1782, it received the county title of the SIXTY-FIRST, or the SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE Regiment: and in 1783, it proceeded to Ireland.
[Sidenote: 1792]
The regiment was stationed in Ireland until the spring of 1792, when it proceeded to Gibraltar.
[Sidenote: 1793]
[Sidenote: 1794]