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HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE TWELFTH, OR THE EAST SUFFOLK,


REGIMENT OF FOOT,

CONTAINING

AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE
REGIMENT IN 1685,

AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
TO 1847.

COMPILED BY

RICHARD CANNON, Esq.

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, HORSE GUARDS.

ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES.

LONDON:

PARKER, FURNIVALL & PARKER,

30 CHARING CROSS.

M DCCC XLVIII.

London: Printed by W. Clowes & Sons, Stamford Street,
for Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

[Pg i]

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.:—

By Command of the Right Honourable

GENERAL LORD HILL,

Commanding-in-Chief.

John Macdonald,

Adjutant-General.

[iii]

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[iv] 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[v] 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[vi] 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 everything 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,[vii] 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.

[viii]
[ix]

INTRODUCTION

TO

THE INFANTRY.

The natives of Britain have, at all periods, been celebrated for innate courage and unshaken firmness, and the national superiority of the British troops over those of other countries has been evinced in the midst of the most imminent perils. History contains so many proofs of extraordinary acts of bravery, that no doubts can be raised upon the facts which are recorded. It must therefore be admitted, that the distinguishing feature of the British soldier is Intrepidity. This quality was evinced by the inhabitants of England when their country was invaded by Julius Cæsar with a Roman army, on which occasion the undaunted Britons rushed into the sea to attack the Roman soldiers as they descended from their ships; and, although their discipline and arms were inferior to those of their adversaries, yet their fierce and dauntless bearing intimidated the flower of the Roman troops, including Cæsar's favourite tenth legion. Their arms consisted of spears, short swords, and other weapons of rude construction. They had chariots, to the[x] axles of which were fastened sharp pieces of iron resembling scythe-blades, and infantry in long chariots resembling waggons, who alighted and fought on foot, and for change of ground, pursuit, or retreat, sprang into the chariot and drove off with the speed of cavalry. These inventions were, however, unavailing against Cæsar's legions: in the course of time a military system, with discipline and subordination, was introduced, and British courage, being thus regulated, was exerted to the greatest advantage; a full development of the national character followed, and it shone forth in all its native brilliancy.

The military force of the Anglo-Saxons consisted principally of infantry: Thanes, and other men of property, however, fought on horseback. The infantry were of two classes, heavy and light. The former carried large shields armed with spikes, long broad swords and spears; and the latter were armed with swords or spears only. They had also men armed with clubs, others with battle-axes and javelins.

The feudal troops established by William the Conqueror consisted (as already stated in the Introduction to the Cavalry) almost entirely of horse; but when the warlike barons and knights, with their trains of tenants and vassals, took the field, a proportion of men appeared on foot, and, although these were of inferior degree, they proved stout-hearted Britons of stanch fidelity. When stipendiary troops were employed, infantry always constituted a considerable portion of the military force;[xi] and this arme has since acquired, in every quarter of the globe, a celebrity never exceeded by the armies of any nation at any period.

The weapons carried by the infantry, during the several reigns succeeding the Conquest, were bows and arrows, half-pikes, lances, halberds, various kinds of battle-axes, swords, and daggers. Armour was worn on the head and body, and in course of time the practice became general for military men to be so completely cased in steel, that it was almost impossible to slay them.

The introduction of the use of gunpowder in the destructive purposes of war, in the early part of the fourteenth century, produced a change in the arms and equipment of the infantry-soldier. Bows and arrows gave place to various kinds of fire-arms, but British archers continued formidable adversaries; and owing to the inconvenient construction and imperfect bore of the fire-arms when first introduced, a body of men, well trained in the use of the bow from their youth, was considered a valuable acquisition to every army, even as late as the sixteenth century.

During a great part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth each company of infantry usually consisted of men armed five different ways; in every hundred men forty were "men-at-arms," and sixty "shot;" the "men-at-arms" were ten halberdiers, or battle-axe men, and thirty pikemen; and the "shot" were twenty archers, twenty musketeers, and twenty harquebusiers, and each man carried, besides his principal weapon, a sword and dagger.

[xii]

Companies of infantry varied at this period in numbers from 150 to 300 men; each company had a colour or ensign, and the mode of formation recommended by an English military writer (Sir John Smithe) in 1590 was:—the colour in the centre of the company guarded by the halberdiers; the pikemen in equal proportions, on each flank of the halberdiers; half the musketeers on each flank of the pikes; half the archers on each flank of the musketeers; and the harquebusiers (whose arms were much lighter than the muskets then in use) in equal proportions on each flank of the company for skirmishing.[1] It was customary to unite a number of companies into one body, called a Regiment, which frequently amounted to three thousand men; but each company continued to carry a colour. Numerous improvements were eventually introduced in the construction of fire-arms, and, it having been found impossible to make armour proof against the muskets then in use (which carried a very heavy ball) without its being too weighty for the soldier, armour was gradually laid aside by the infantry in the seventeenth century: bows and arrows also fell into disuse, and the infantry were reduced to two classes, viz.: musketeers, armed with matchlock muskets, [xiii]swords, and daggers; and pikemen, armed with pikes from fourteen to eighteen feet long, and swords.

In the early part of the seventeenth century Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, reduced the strength of regiments to 1000 men; he caused the gunpowder, which had heretofore been carried in flasks, or in small wooden bandoliers, each containing a charge, to be made up into cartridges, and carried in pouches; and he formed each regiment into two wings of musketeers, and a centre division of pikemen. He also adopted the practice of forming four regiments into a brigade; and the number of colours was afterwards reduced to three in each regiment. He formed his columns so compactly that his infantry could resist the charge of the celebrated Polish horsemen and Austrian cuirassiers; and his armies became the admiration of other nations. His mode of formation was copied by the English, French, and other European states; but so great was the prejudice in favour of ancient customs, that all his improvements were not adopted until near a century afterwards.

In 1664 King Charles II. raised a corps for sea-service, styled the Admiral's regiment. In 1678 each company of 100 men usually consisted of 30 pikemen, 60 musketeers, and 10 men armed with light firelocks. In this year the king added a company of men armed with hand-grenades to each of the old British regiments, which was designated the "grenadier company." Daggers were so contrived as to fit in the muzzles of the muskets, and bayonets[xiv] similar to those at present in use were adopted about twenty years afterwards.

An Ordnance regiment was raised in 1685, by order of King James II., to guard the artillery, and was designated the Royal Fusiliers (now 7th Foot). This corps, and the companies of grenadiers, did not carry pikes.

King William III. incorporated the Admiral's regiment in the Second Foot Guards, and raised two Marine regiments for sea-service. During the war in this reign, each company of infantry (excepting the fusiliers and grenadiers) consisted of 14 pikemen and 46 musketeers; the captains carried pikes; lieutenants, partisans; ensigns, half-pikes; and serjeants, halberds. After the peace in 1697 the Marine regiments were disbanded, but were again formed on the breaking out of the war in 1702.[2]

During the reign of Queen Anne the pikes were laid aside, and every infantry soldier was armed with a musket, bayonet, and sword; the grenadiers ceased, about the same period, to carry hand-grenades; and the regiments were directed to lay aside their third colour: the corps of Royal Artillery was first added to the army in this reign.

About the year 1745, the men of the battalion companies of infantry ceased to carry swords; [xv]during the reign of George II. light companies were added to infantry regiments; and in 1764 a Board of General Officers recommended that the grenadiers should lay aside their swords, as that weapon had never been used during the seven years' war. Since that period the arms of the infantry soldier have been limited to the musket and bayonet.

The arms and equipment of the British troops have seldom differed materially, since the Conquest, from those of other European states; and in some respects the arming has, at certain periods, been allowed to be inferior to that of the nations with whom they have had to contend; yet, under this disadvantage, the bravery and superiority of the British infantry have been evinced on very many and most trying occasions, and splendid victories have been gained over very superior numbers.

Great Britain has produced a race of lion-like champions who have dared to confront a host of foes, and have proved themselves valiant with any arms. At Creçy, King Edward III., at the head of about 30,000 men, defeated, on the 26th of August, 1346, Philip King of France, whose army is said to have amounted to 100,000 men; here British valour encountered veterans of renown:—the King of Bohemia, the King of Majorca, and many princes and nobles were slain, and the French army was routed and cut to pieces. Ten years afterwards, Edward Prince of Wales, who was designated the Black Prince, defeated, at Poictiers, with 14,000 men, a French army of 60,000 horse, besides infantry, and took John I., King of France, and his son[xvi] Philip, prisoners. On the 25th of October, 1415, King Henry V., with an army of about 13,000 men, although greatly exhausted by marches, privations, and sickness, defeated, at Agincourt, the Constable of France, at the head of the flower of the French nobility and an army said to amount to 60,000 men, and gained a complete victory.

During the seventy years' war between the United Provinces of the Netherlands and the Spanish monarchy, which commenced in 1578 and terminated in 1648, the British infantry in the service of the States-General were celebrated for their unconquerable spirit and firmness;[3] and in the thirty years' war between the Protestant Princes and the Emperor of Germany, the British troops in the service of Sweden and other states were celebrated for deeds of heroism.[4] In the wars of Queen Anne, the fame of the British army under the great Marlborough was spread throughout the world; and if we glance at the achievements performed within the memory of persons now living, there is abundant proof that the Britons of the present age are not inferior to their ancestors in the qualities [xvii]which constitute good soldiers. Witness the deeds of the brave men, of whom there are many now surviving, who fought in Egypt in 1801, under the brave Abercromby, and compelled the French army, which had been vainly styled Invincible, to evacuate that country; also the services of the gallant Troops during the arduous campaigns in the Peninsula, under the immortal Wellington; and the determined stand made by the British Army at Waterloo, where Napoleon Bonaparte, who had long been the inveterate enemy of Great Britain, and had sought and planned her destruction by every means he could devise, was compelled to leave his vanquished legions to their fate, and to place himself at the disposal of the British Government. These achievements, with others of recent dates in the distant climes of India, prove that the same valour and constancy which glowed in the breasts of the heroes of Creçy, Poictiers, Agincourt, Blenheim, and Ramilies, continue to animate the Britons of the nineteenth century.

The British Soldier is distinguished for a robust and muscular frame,—intrepidity which no danger can appal,—unconquerable spirit and resolution,—patience in fatigue and privation, and cheerful obedience to his superiors. These qualities, united with an excellent system of order and discipline to regulate and give a skilful direction to the energies and adventurous spirit of the hero, and a wise selection of officers of superior talent to command, whose presence inspires confidence,—have been the leading causes of the splendid victories gained by the British[xviii] arms.[5] The fame of the deeds of the past and present generations in the various battle-fields where the robust sons of Albion have fought and conquered, surrounds the British arms with a halo of glory; these achievements will live in the page of history to the end of time.

The records of the several regiments will be found to contain a detail of facts of an interesting character, connected with the hardships, sufferings, and gallant exploits of British soldiers in the various parts of the world where the calls of their Country and the commands of their Sovereign have required them to proceed in the execution of their duty, whether in active continental operations, or in maintaining colonial territories in distant and unfavourable climes.

[xix]

The superiority of the British infantry has been pre-eminently set forth in the wars of six centuries, and admitted by the greatest commanders which Europe has produced. The formations and movements of this arme, as at present practised, while they are adapted to every species of warfare, and to all probable situations and circumstances of service, are calculated to show forth the brilliancy of military tactics calculated upon mathematical and scientific principles. Although the movements and evolutions have been copied from the continental armies, yet various improvements have from time to time been introduced, to insure that simplicity and celerity by which the superiority of the national military character is maintained. The rank and influence which Great Britain has attained among the nations of the world, have in a great measure been purchased by the valour of the Army, and to persons who have the welfare of their country at heart, the records of the several regiments cannot fail to prove interesting.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] A company of 200 men would appear thus:—

20	20	20	30	20	30	20	20	20
Harquebuses.		Muskets.		Halberds.		Muskets.		Harquebuses.
	Archers.		Pikes.		Pikes.		Archers.

The musket carried a ball which weighed ¹/₁₀ of a pound; and the harquebus a ball which weighed ¹/₂₅ of a pound.

[2] The 30th, 31st, and 32nd Regiments were formed as Marine corps in 1702, and were employed as such during the wars in the reign of Queen Anne. The Marine corps were embarked in the Fleet under Admiral Sir George Rooke, and were at the taking of Gibraltar, and in its subsequent defence in 1704; they were afterwards employed at the siege of Barcelona in 1705.

[3] The brave Sir Roger Williams, in his Discourse on War, printed in 1590, observes:—"I persuade myself ten thousand of our nation would beat thirty thousand of theirs (the Spaniards) out of the field, let them be chosen where they list." Yet at this time the Spanish infantry was allowed to be the best disciplined in Europe. For instances of valour displayed by the British Infantry during the Seventy Years' War, see the Historical Record of the Third Foot, or Buffs.

[4] Vide the Historical Record of the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot.

[5] "Under the blessing of Divine Providence, His Majesty ascribes the successes which 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 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 the 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."—General Orders in 1801.

In the General Orders issued by Lieut.-General Sir John Hope (afterwards Lord Hopetoun), congratulating the army upon the successful result of the Battle of Corunna, on the 16th of January, 1809, it is stated:—"On no occasion has the undaunted valour of British troops ever been more manifest. At the termination of a severe and harassing march, rendered necessary by the superiority which the enemy had acquired, and which had materially impaired the efficiency of the troops, many disadvantages were to be encountered. These have all been surmounted by the conduct of the troops themselves; and the enemy has been taught, that whatever advantages of position or of numbers he may possess, there is inherent in the British officers and soldiers a bravery that knows not how to yield,—that no circumstances can appal,—and that will ensure victory, when it is to be obtained by the exertion of any human means."

[xx]
[xxi]

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE TWELFTH, OR THE EAST SUFFOLK,

REGIMENT OF FOOT,

CONTAINING

AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE
REGIMENT IN 1685,

AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
TO 1847.

COMPILED BY

RICHARD CANNON, Esq.

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, HORSE GUARDS.

ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES.

LONDON:

PARKER, FURNIVALL, & PARKER,

30 CHARING CROSS.

M DCCC XLVIII.

[xxii]

London: Printed by W. Clowes & Sons, Stamford Street,
for Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

[xxiii]

THE TWELFTH, OR THE EAST SUFFOLK,

REGIMENT OF FOOT

BEARS ON ITS REGIMENTAL COLOUR

THE WORD MINDEN; THE WORD GIBRALTAR,

With the Castle and Key and the Motto, Montis Insignia Calpé;

AND THE WORDS

"SERINGAPATAM" and "INDIA;"

IN COMMEMORATION OF ITS DISTINGUISHED SERVICES

AT THE BATTLE OF MINDEN
ON THE 1st AUGUST, 1759;

IN THE GLORIOUS DEFENCE OF GIBRALTAR
FROM THE YEAR 1779 TO 1782;

AT THE STORMING AND CAPTURE OF SERINGAPATAM
ON THE 4th MAY, 1799;

and of its Gallant Conduct on many arduous Duties in INDIA
from the Year 1798 to 1807.

[xxiv]
[xxv]

CONTENTS.

[xxxi]

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS.

PLATES.

Madelay Lith. 3 Wellington S^t Strand.

TWELFTH FOOT.
1848.
For Cannons Military Records.

[1]

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE TWELFTH, OR THE EAST SUFFOLK

REGIMENT OF FOOT.

After the Restoration in 1660, when King Charles II. had disbanded the army of the commonwealth, a number of non-regimented companies of foot were embodied for garrisoning the fortified towns, and one company was constantly stationed at Windsor, to furnish a guard at the castle. This company sent a detachment to Virginia in 1676. It was commanded by Henry Duke of Norfolk, Governor and Constable of Windsor Castle, and was united to several companies raised in the summer of 1685, and constituted a regiment, of which the Duke of Norfolk was appointed Colonel, by commission dated the 20th of June, 1685. This regiment having been retained in the service to the present time, now bears the title of the Twelfth, or the East Suffolk, regiment of foot.

The formation of this regiment was occasioned by the rebellion of James Duke of Monmouth, who assembled an army in the west of England to support his pretensions to the throne; and King James II. found it necessary to make a considerable augmentation[2] to the regular army. The companies, of which the regiment was composed, were raised in Norfolk, Suffolk, and the adjoining counties, by Henry Duke of Norfolk, Captains Henry Wharton, Charles Macartney, Dominick Trant, Jasper Patson, Charles Howard, Francis Blathwayt, Sir Alphonso de Mottetts, and George Trapp: the general rendezvous of the regiment was at Norwich, and as the several companies were formed, they were quartered at Norwich, Yarmouth, and Lynn.

The formation of the regiment was not completed when the rebel army was defeated at Sedgemoor, and the Duke of Monmouth was captured soon afterwards, and beheaded; but King James resolved to retain the newly raised corps in his service, and the Duke of Norfolk's regiment was ordered to march to London. It was quartered a few days, in the beginning of August, in the Tower Hamlets, and afterwards encamped on Hounslow-heath, where it was reviewed by the King. In the beginning of September the regiment marched into garrison at Portsmouth.

On the 1st January, 1686, the establishment was fixed at the numbers and rates of pay as shown in the next page.

Leaving Portsmouth in May, 1686, the regiment proceeded to Hounslow, and pitched its tents on the heath, where a numerous army was assembled; and while at this camp the colonelcy was conferred on Edward Earl of Lichfield, by commission dated the 14th of June, 1686.

At the camp on Hounslow-heath, the Earl of Lichfield's regiment was stationed in the centre of the line of infantry; it was distinguished by its white colours bearing the red cross of St. George; the soldiers wore broad-brimmed hats, with the brim turned up on one[3] side, and ornamented with white ribands; scarlet coats lined with white; blue breeches, blue stockings, and high shoes with square toes; and the pikemen, of whom there were twelve in each company, wore white sashes round their waists.

After passing in review before the King several times, and receiving the expressions of His Majesty's approbation, the regiment struck its tents on the 10th of August, when two companies proceeded to Windsor, three to Tilbury-fort, and the remainder to Jersey and Guernsey.

[4]

A grenadier company was added to the regiment when it pitched its tents on Hounslow-heath in the summer of 1687, at which period the following officers were holding commissions, viz.:—

The frequent assembling of a numerous army, admired for its perfect equipment, discipline, and formidable appearance, on Hounslow-heath, was calculated to impress the English nation with a sense of the King's power, and to facilitate the overthrow of the religion and laws of the kingdom, which His Majesty had determined to accomplish. His Majesty resolved to make a trial of the disposition of his soldiers, to gain them over to the support of his measures; thinking, if one regiment could be induced to give a promise of implicit obedience, its example would be followed by the other corps. Accordingly in the summer of 1688, soon after the Earl of Lichfield's regiment had pitched its tents on the heath, it was formed on parade in presence of His Majesty; a short speech was made to the officers and soldiers to induce them to give an unreserved[5] pledge, and the major was directed to call upon all who would not support the repeal of the test and penal laws, to lay down their muskets; when the King was surprised and disappointed at seeing the whole ground their arms, excepting two officers and a very few soldiers, who were Roman Catholics. After some pause His Majesty commanded them to take up their arms, telling them that for the future he would not do them the honour of asking their opinions.

The conduct of the King occasioned the nobility and gentry to solicit the Prince of Orange to come to England with a Dutch army, and when the crisis arrived, His Majesty discovered that his soldiers had as much aversion to papacy and an arbitrary government, as his other subjects.

Soon after the Prince of Orange had landed, the Earl of Lichfield was removed to the first foot guards, and was succeeded in the colonelcy by Robert Lord Hunsdon, whose commission was dated the 30th of November, 1688.

After the flight of King James to France, Lord Hunsdon refused to take the required oath to the Prince of Orange, and His Highness conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on Henry Wharton, a gallant officer and a zealous protestant, who raised one of the companies of the regiment at its formation, and possessed the confidence and affection of the officers and soldiers: at the same time Captain Richard Brewer, from the fourteenth regiment of foot, was promoted to the lieut-colonelcy.

In the beginning of 1689 the regiment was stationed in Oxfordshire: it afterwards proceeded to Hull, where it was inspected, on the 28th of May, by the commissioners for remodelling the army.

[6]

The elevation of the Prince and Princess of Orange to the throne, under the title of King William and Queen Mary, was resisted in Ireland; and King James arrived in that country, with a body of troops, from France. King William sent an army thither, under Marshal Duke Schomberg, to rescue that part of his dominions from the power of the Roman Catholics, and the Twelfth regiment, commanded by Colonel Henry Wharton, was selected to take part in this service.

Embarking from England in the early part of August, the regiment arrived in Ireland in the middle of that month; it landed near Bangor, in the county of Down, without opposition, and encamped on the beach. The fortress of Carrickfergus was garrisoned by King James's troops, who were summoned, but refused to surrender; and the first service performed by the regiment, in the field, was the siege of that place.

A practicable breach having been made in the works, the regiment was under arms at six o'clock on the morning of the 27th of August, to take part in storming the town. The soldiers had arrived at the trenches, and Colonel Wharton stood with a pike in his hand ready to give the signal for the attack, when the Irish displayed a white flag on the walls, and agreed to surrender. Story states, in his History of the Wars in Ireland, 'Colonel Wharton lay before the breach with his regiment, and was ready to enter, when the Duke sent to command his men to forbear, which, with some difficulty, they were induced to do, for they had a great mind to enter by force.'

After the surrender of Carrickfergus, the regiment advanced with the army to Dundalk, and the Duke Schomberg, believing King James's forces were more than double his own in numbers, formed an entrenched[7] camp. The situation of this camp was particularly unfavourable; the ground was low, and the weather proving wet, the infantry regiments lost many men from disease. The Twelfth sustained a very serious loss in non-commissioned officers and soldiers; and on the morning of the 28th of October their commanding officer, the gallant Colonel Henry Wharton, died. This officer is represented by historians as possessing a noble disposition, refined understanding, and lofty sentiments of honour, which, added to a tall graceful person, and a gallant bearing, occasioned him to be admired and beloved by the officers and soldiers of his regiment. Story states,—'Colonel Wharton was a brisk, bold man, and had a regiment that would have followed him anywhere, for the officers and soldiers loved him, and this made him ready to push on upon all occasions.... He was of a comely handsome person, gifted with a rare understanding.' Colonel Sir Thomas Gower died on the preceding day, and the remains of these two officers were interred, on the 30th of October, in a vault in Dundalk church, their regiments attending and firing three volleys.

King William promoted the lieutenant-colonel of the regiment, Richard Brewer, to the colonelcy, by commission dated the 1st of November, 1689.

On the 7th of November the regiment struck its tents and marched towards Armagh; and it was employed on various services during the winter.

In February, 1690, the regiment was stationed at Belturbet, with the Inniskilling horse and dragoons (now sixth), and the Queen Dowager's foot (now second); and information having been received that the enemy was assembling a body of troops at Cavan, Colonel Wolseley left Belturbet on the night of the 10th[8] of February, with three hundred horse and dragoons, and seven hundred foot of the second and Twelfth regiments, to surprise the enemy in his quarters. Encountering difficulties on the march, the day had dawned before the Colonel came in sight of Cavan, when he was surprised at discovering four thousand Irish soldiers, commanded by the Duke of Berwick, formed on a rising ground to oppose him. The Colonel had only one thousand tired soldiers[6] to attack four thousand fresh opponents with, but trusting to the valour of his men, he sent the cavalry forward to commence the action. The enemy's cavalry drove back the Inniskilling dragoons; but a volley from the English musketeers, brought down ten Irish horsemen, and the survivors fell back. Wolseley's infantry formed line and advanced: arriving within pistol-shot of their opponents, they opened a sharp fire with good effect, and after a few volleys, drew their swords to charge, but on the smoke clearing, they discovered that their opponents had fled. Pursuing the fugitives, they entered the town, and finding stores of necessaries and provisions, they halted to possess themselves of the booty; when the Irish rallied and resumed the fight, but were repulsed by the reserve. After the action the troops returned to Belturbet.

A numerous body of recruits from England replaced the losses of the regiment, and in June it brought five hundred musketeers, one hundred and sixty pikemen, and sixty grenadiers into the field, to serve under King William III., who commanded the army in Ireland in person.

The Twelfth regiment, commanded by Colonel [9]Brewer, had the honour of taking part at the forcing of the passage of the Boyne on the 1st of July: it formed part of the main body under King William III., and after fording the river, engaged King James's army, and contributed to the gaining of a decisive victory. After the loss of this battle, King James fled to France; but the Irish Roman Catholics, aided by the French troops, adhered to his interest.

From the field of battle the regiment accompanied King William to Dublin; it afterwards proceeded to Limerick, but on arriving at Carrick-on-Suir, it was detached, under Major General Kirke, to besiege Waterford: the garrison of this place surrendered without waiting for an attack.

King William afterwards besieged Limerick; but King James's soldiers made a more resolute defence than appears to have been expected, and His Majesty was induced to raise the siege, and send the troops into quarters.

The Twelfth regiment was employed in various services during the winter, and detached parties of the corps had several rencounters with the bands of armed peasantry called Rapparees. Towards the end of December, the regiment was in motion against the enemy, and on the 31st of that month it approached the town of Lanesborough, when it encountered some opposition from a body of Irish troops formed up to oppose its advance. Colonel Brewer led the regiment forward with great gallantry; some sharp fighting ensued, and the enemy was driven from the trenches cut across the road, through the town, and across the river. The Twelfth were unable to follow their opponents for want of boats or other means to cross the stream.

[10]

From Lanesborough the regiment marched to Mullingar, of which place its commanding officer, Colonel Brewer, was appointed governor. The quarters of the regiment were infested with parties of armed Roman Catholic peasantry, called rapparees, and on the 28th of April, Colonel Brewer advanced with six hundred men of the Twelfth and eighteenth regiments, and twenty dragoons, towards the castle of Donore, beyond which place two thousand rapparees had taken post and occupied a number of huts. At daybreak the following morning the soldiers arrived at the quarters of the rapparees, who formed for battle on the hills; but when the musketeers of the Twelfth and eighteenth advanced to commence the action, the enemy fled; the soldiers pursued some distance, and killed fifty of the fugitives.

Parties of rapparees continued to hover round Mullingar, and on the 2nd of May, they intercepted a serjeant and four soldiers of the Twelfth regiment between that place and Kinnegad; they put the serjeant and three of the soldiers to death, and put out the eyes of the fourth soldier. Three of the perpetrators of this cruelty were captured; two of them were hanged on the spot, and the third, to save his life, guided Captain Poynes and a hundred soldiers of the regiment, to one of the lurking-places of the rapparees, where the men of the Twelfth fell suddenly upon a large company of these marauders, killed forty, dispersed the remainder, and recovered a quantity of property, which had been taken from the Protestants.

Towards the end of May, one division of the army encamped at Mullingar, where General De Ginkell arrived and assumed the command.

From Mullingar the army advanced to the fort of[11] Ballymore, which was besieged, and surrendered on the 8th of June.

After repairing the breaches of Ballymore, and putting the place in a state of defence, the army advanced to Athlone, and on the 20th of June, the regiment was ordered to support the storming party at the attack of the Westmeath side of the town. Major-General Mackay commanded the troops employed on this service, and after making the necessary arrangements for the attack, took his post on the battery to see the issue, when he observed that the advanced party had missed its way and halted. He instantly hastened to the Twelfth regiment, and taking the first captain he came to by the hand, pointed the way to the breach. The regiment immediately rushed forward, stormed the breach in gallant style, and overcoming the resistance of the Irish, drove them across the bridge to the Connaught side of the town.

Several batteries were raised against the works on the Connaught side of the river, and the grenadier company of the Twelfth was engaged in forcing the passage of the Shannon, and in capturing the town by storm, on the 30th of June, which was a most desperate service, and was performed with distinguished valour and intrepidity.

The Irish army, commanded by a French officer of talent and reputation, General St. Ruth, took up a position near Aghrim, where it was attacked on the 12th of July. During the action, Major-General Mackay ordered the Twelfth, and three other regiments, to pass a difficult bog, ford a rivulet, and drive the Irish from behind the hedges of the nearest enclosures. The soldiers waded through the bog and rivulet, which was waist deep, and drove the Irish out[12] of the first enclosures in gallant style. They afterwards pressed forward with too much ardour, before the troops designed to support them had arrived, and becoming insulated, they were attacked in front and on both flanks by very superior numbers, and driven back to the edge of the bog. The Irish followed, shouting and plying them with musketry; but a support arriving under Major-General Talmash, the four regiments faced about, repulsed their pursuers, and by a spirited effort recovered their lost ground; the cavalry passed the bog near the castle of Aghrim, and by a determined charge completed the overthrow of the Irish army: the French general, St. Ruth, was killed towards the close of the action by a cannon-ball.

The Twelfth regiment had one major, one captain, one ensign, and a number of private soldiers killed, one lieutenant, and seven rank and file wounded.

The regiment afterwards marched with the army to Galway, and formed part of the force employed in the siege of that place, which surrendered on the 21st, and was delivered up on the 26th of July. Major-General Bellasis was appointed governor of Galway, and the Twelfth, twenty-second, and twenty-third regiments were selected to form the garrison of that fortress.

During the remainder of the campaign, the Twelfth regiment was stationed at Galway; and in the autumn, the war in Ireland was terminated by the surrender of Limerick, which delivered that country from the power of King James the Second.

The conquest of Ireland enabled King William to withdraw several regiments from thence to strengthen the allied army in the Netherlands, assembled to oppose the progress of the French conquests in that country. The Twelfth regiment marched from Gal[13]way on the 23rd of November, embarked at Kinsale towards the end of that month, and sailed to Plymouth, where it landed in the beginning of December.

During the summer of 1692, the regiment was selected to form part of an expedition against the coast of France, under the command of the Duke of Leinster: it embarked at Southampton, and the expedition menaced the French coast at several places, occasioning much alarm; but the French had assembled so great a number of regiments to oppose the descent, that a council of war decided against landing. The troops afterwards sailed to Ostend, where they landed, and being joined by a detachment from the confederate army under King William III., they took possession of the towns of Furnes and Dixmude, which they fortified, to be occupied as frontier posts during the winter. After these places were put in a state of defence, the regiment returned to England.

During the year 1693, the regiment remained in Great Britain; but the loss of the battle of Landen, by King William, rendered it necessary for the confederate army in Flanders to be augmented, and Colonel Brewer's was one of the regiments selected to proceed on service.

The regiment embarked for Flanders in the spring of 1694; it was stationed at Malines a short time, and afterwards formed part of the escort which accompanied the train of artillery to the army at Tirlemont, where it arrived on the 6th of June; on the 10th the regiment was reviewed by the King, who expressed his approbation of its appearance and discipline. It was formed in brigade with a battalion of the Royal, the third, fourth, seventh, and nineteenth regiments, under Brigadier-General Erle, and was engaged in[14] the toilsome operations of the campaign, which was passed in manœuvring, without a general engagement. The regiment formed part of the covering army during the siege of Huy, and after the capture of this fortress it was stationed at Bruges.

The progress of the French conquests had been arrested, and in 1694 the current of success flowed in favour of the Confederates. In 1695, King William resolved to undertake the siege of Namur. As a preparative measure, the Twelfth, and several other regiments, marched to Dixmude, in May; in June an attack was made on the fort of Kenoque,—a strong post situate at the junction of the Loo and Dixmude canals, to draw the French forces to that part of their line of fortifications. The Twelfth were engaged in this attack; and they were formed in brigade with the fourteenth, fifteenth, and seventeenth regiments, under Colonel Leslie; they had several men killed and wounded. The French troops having taken post behind their lines, leaving Namur exposed, the King seized the favourable moment and invested the town. The attack on fort Kenoque was then discontinued, and the Twelfth marched into garrison at Dixmude, where three British and five Dutch regiments of foot, and the Queen's (now third) dragoons, were stationed under a Dutch officer,—Major-General Ellemberg.

A powerful French army, commanded by Marshal Villeroy, approached the town of Dixmude, and on the 15th of July the place was invested by a strong division under General de Montal. The trenches were opened on the same night, and on the following day a battery of eight guns and three mortars commenced a heavy fire. The works beginning to crumble under fire, Major-General Ellemberg called a council[15] of war of the commanding officers of regiments, and suggested the necessity of surrendering, using, at the same time, various arguments to induce the other officers to agree to his proposal. Colonel Brewer, of the Twelfth foot, remonstrated against this measure, and recommended a resolute defence of the town to the last extremity; but a majority in the council of war voted for surrendering. The garrison expected to march out with the honors of war; but the French King sent orders to make the whole prisoners of war. The soldiers in garrison were anxious to be permitted to defend the town; many of them broke their arms sooner than deliver them up to the French, and several stands of regimental colours were destroyed by the men, that they might not become trophies in the hands of the enemy. The regiments in garrison were all made prisoners of war, and were marched into the territory subject to France, Louis XIV. refusing to deliver them up on the conditions of the cartel previously agreed upon.

In the mean time King William was carrying on the siege of Namur, and when the citadel was surrendered, he permitted the garrison to march out with the honors of war, but ordered Marshal Boufflers to be arrested, and detained, until the regiments made prisoners by the French at Dixmude, and detained contrary to the cartel, were delivered up.

This produced the desired effect—the Twelfth, and other corps in prison, were liberated, and rejoined the army, and the necessary arms, equipments, and clothing, were procured as speedily as possible, to enable the regiment to resume its duties; it was afterwards placed in garrison at Malines.

A general court-martial assembled for the trial of[16] the officers who delivered up Dixmude and its garrison to the enemy; Major-General Ellemberg was sentenced to be beheaded, and executed at Ghent on the 20th of November; Colonels Graham, Leslie, and the Dutch Colonel Aüer were cashiered; Colonel Brewer of the Twelfth foot, and the other commanding officers, who remonstrated against the surrender of the town, were acquitted.

The French monarch made preparations for the invasion of England in favour of King James, and in the spring of 1696, several regiments were withdrawn from Flanders, when the Twelfth marched from Malines to Ostend and Bruges; but the enemy did not venture to put to sea, and the regiment was not required to embark for England.

On the 28th of May, the regiment joined the troops encamped between Ghent and Bruges; it was formed in brigade with the first battalion of the royals, the fifteenth, and Collingwood's (afterwards disbanded) regiments, under Brigadier-General the Earl of Orkney, and served the campaign of this year with the army of Flanders, under the Prince of Vaudemont. The troops of that army were encamped behind the Bruges canal, nearly all the summer, to cover Ghent, Bruges, and the maritime towns of Flanders: in the autumn the regiment was ordered to occupy quarters in the town of Bruges.

In the spring of 1697, the English regiments were ordered to proceed to Brabant, to join the army commanded by King William in person; the Twelfth foot were, however, detained in Flanders until the Brandenburg troops arrived, when they marched to Brabant, and served under the King during the remainder of the campaign. They were formed in[17] brigade with a battalion of the first royals, and the fifth, Collier's and Lauder's (afterwards disbanded) regiments, commanded by the Earl of Orkney.

The regiment was encamped before Brussels, when the war was terminated by the treaty of Ryswick, and King William saw his efforts, to prevent the aggrandizement of France by conquest, attended with complete success. During the winter the regiment returned to England.

Considerable reductions were made in the establishment of the army in 1698 and 1699, and the Twelfth were ordered to proceed to Ireland.

While the regiment was stationed in Ireland, the death of Charles II., King of Spain, occurred, and he was succeeded by Philip, Duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV., in violation of existing treaties, which rekindled the war in Europe.

Various circumstances occurred to induce Great Britain to take part in the contest, and Queen Anne declared war against France and Spain, in May, 1702.

The establishment of the Twelfth regiment was augmented, and it was held in readiness to proceed on foreign service; but it was detained in Ireland several months, during which period Colonel Brewer was succeeded in the colonelcy by Lieut.-Colonel Livesay, by commission, dated the 28th of September 1702.

As soon as hostilities were commenced, Vice-Admiral Benbow, commanding the British naval force in the West Indies, began an active warfare against the commerce of the enemy, with some success. Soon afterwards the Twelfth regiment was ordered to form part of a powerful armament, designed to be sent to the West Indies, under Charles Earl of Peterborough who was promoted to the local rank of General, and a[18] Dutch naval and land force arrived at Spithead, to accompany the British fleet; but this joint expedition was laid aside.

The Twelfth regiment embarked for the West Indies during the winter. In the early part of March, 1703, an unsuccessful attack was made on the island of Guadaloupe, by the troops under Colonel Codrington; two regiments landed and gained some advantages, but the expedition was not of sufficient strength to capture the island.

Additional regiments were afterwards sent to the West Indies:[7] but nothing of importance took place, and the Twelfth were sent to the island of Jamaica, where they were stationed during the year 1704.

The regiment sustained very serious losses from the effects of the climate, and, in 1705, it transferred the non-commissioned officers and soldiers fit for service, to the twenty-second foot, and the officers and a few of the serjeants returned to England to recruit.

During the years 1706 and 1707, the regiment was employed in recruiting, training, and disciplining its ranks, and having attained a state of efficiency, it was reported fit for service, and in the spring of 1708, it was held in readiness to serve on board the fleet as marines.

During the summer, the regiment was encamped in the Isle of Wight, where it was reviewed, on the 19th of July, by Major-General Erle, and afterwards embarked on an expedition against the coast of France, [19]the fleet being under the orders of Admiral Sir George Byng, and the land forces under Major-General Erle.[8] The fleet sailed from Spithead on the 27th of July, and menaced the coast of Picardy with a descent, creating considerable alarm and consternation; a landing was afterwards effected a few miles from Boulogne, but nothing of importance was accomplished.

In the mean time, the allied army, commanded by the great Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy, was carrying on the siege of the celebrated city of Lisle, the capital of French Flanders, which was defended by fifteen thousand men, under Marshal Boufflers. The French and Spaniards, thinking to prevent the allied army receiving supplies from the coast, detached a body of troops, under General Count de la Motte, towards Ostend; and the troops employed in alarming the French coast, were suddenly ordered to proceed to that port, where they arrived on the 21st of September. The Twelfth, and other regiments of the expedition, having landed at Ostend, the French general retired; first cutting the dykes, to lay the country between Ostend and Nieuport under water, and to prevent the troops, under Major-General Erle, communicating with the grand army under the Duke of Marlborough. A strong detachment from the Twelfth, and two other regiments, seized on Leffinghen, constructed [20]some works, and established a post at that village.

At this period, the army before Lisle was deficient in ammunition for carrying on the siege, and the Duke of Marlborough, having heard of the arrival of the troops at Ostend, and of their having established a post at Leffinghen, sent seven hundred waggons thither, under a strong guard, for supplies. The soldiers of the Twelfth, and other corps at Ostend, were employed in draining the inundations; they built a bridge over the canal of Leffinghen, opened a communication with the grand army, and assisted in loading the seven hundred waggons with ammunition and other necessaries.

The waggons left Ostend on the 27th of September; the troops employed to guard the convoy, under Major-General Webb, were attacked on the following day in the wood of Wynendale, by twenty-two thousand French and Spaniards, under Count de la Motte, who was repulsed, and the convoy arrived in safety at the head-quarters of the army. Major-General Webb received the thanks of Parliament for his conduct on this occasion.

The Duke of Vendôme was so chagrined at this success, that he advanced with a numerous army to Oudenburg, posted his men along the canal between Plassendael and Nieuport, and caused the dykes to be cut in several places, in order to let in the sea, and lay a great extent of country under water. The Twelfth, and other corps under Major-General Erle, were encamped on the high grounds of Raversein, and watched the enemy's movements; at length, the Duke of Marlborough put the covering army in motion, to attack the enemy, when the Duke of Vendôme made a precipi[21]tate retreat. The Twelfth were afterwards employed in conveying another supply of ammunition and other necessaries, for the besieging army, across the inundations in boats, which enabled the generals of the allied army to continue the siege of Lisle, and insured the reduction of that fortress. The Duke of Vendôme sent a body of troops to besiege Leffinghen, which was captured after a short resistance; the enemy also menaced the camp at Raversein, when the Twelfth, and other regiments under Major-General Erle, retired into the outworks of Ostend. The supplies furnished to the army, however, proved sufficient, and the citadel of Lisle surrendered on the 9th of December.

The service, for which the regiment was sent to Flanders having been accomplished, it returned to England in the early part of 1709, and was stationed in garrison at Portsmouth.

On the 4th of July, 1710, the regiments of Livesay (Twelfth), and of Montandre, Lord Mark Kerr, and Windsor (afterwards disbanded), were reviewed at Portsmouth by Lieut.-General Erle.

The regiment was detained on home service in 1711.

Colonel Livesay was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment by Lieut.-Col. Richard Phillips, whose commission was dated the 16th of March, 1712.

Being in an efficient state, the regiment was embarked for Spain, to reinforce the allied army in that country. In the summer of 1712, preliminary articles for a treaty of peace were agreed upon, which was followed by a cessation of hostilities, and the Twelfth regiment proceeded to the island of Minorca, which had been captured by a body of troops under Major-General Stanhope in 1708.

Minorca was ceded to Great Britain by the treaty of[22] Utrecht in 1713, and the Twelfth regiment was one of the corps selected to form part of the garrison of that island.

Colonel Phillips was appointed to the command of the fortieth foot, on the formation of that regiment from non-regimented companies in America, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the Twelfth by Colonel Thomas Stanwix, from the thirtieth foot, whose commission was dated the 25th of August, 1717.

Having been relieved from duty at Minorca, in 1719, the regiment returned to England, where it arrived in October of that year.

In the summer of 1722, the regiment was encamped on Salisbury Plain, and it was reviewed on the 30th of August by King George I., and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, afterwards King George II.

On the 14th of March, 1725, Brigadier-General Thomas Stanwix died, and King George I. conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on Major-General Thomas Whetham, from the twenty-seventh foot.

The regiment was employed on home service for several years; and on the breaking out of the war with Spain, in 1739, its establishment was augmented to nine hundred officers and soldiers.

In the summer of 1740, the regiment pitched its tents near Newbury, where an encampment was formed of two regiments of horse, three of dragoons, and four of infantry, under Lieut.-General Wade. It afterwards served on board the fleet as marines.

In the autumn of this year, Charles VI., Emperor of Germany, died, and the succession of his daughter Maria Theresa, as Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, was disputed by the Elector of Bavaria, who was aided by a French army.

[23]

King George II. resolved to support the house of Austria, and the Twelfth was one of the regiments selected to proceed on foreign service. It was encamped, in the summer of 1741, on Lexden Heath, and was held in readiness to embark; in the autumn it went into cantonments.

General Whetham died on the 28th of April; and the colonelcy remained vacant until August, when His Majesty conferred that appointment on the lieut.-colonel of the regiment, Scipio Duroure, who had performed the duties of commanding officer with reputation during the preceding seven years.

During the summer of 1742, King George II. sent an army to Flanders under Field-Marshal the Earl of Stair, to support the house of Austria, and the Twelfth foot embarked on this service under Colonel Duroure.

The regiment passed several months in Flanders, and in February 1743 it commenced its march for Germany. It was encamped a short period near the forest d'Armstadt, and afterwards at Aschaffenburg, where the King and His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland joined the army.

On the 27th of June, as the forces commanded by His Majesty were marching along the bank of the river Maine, the French under Marshal Noailles crossed the stream and took post near Dettingen, to intercept the march. The allied army formed for battle and a severe engagement took place, in which the Twelfth had an opportunity of distinguishing themselves under the eye of their Sovereign. On one occasion they repulsed a charge of the French cavalry, and afterwards engaged the enemy's infantry with signal intrepidity and determination. The opposing army was forced to give way before the steady valour of the infantry of the[24] allied army, and the charges of the British cavalry completed the overthrow of the French host, which was driven across the river Maine with severe loss.

The Twelfth regiment had Captain Phillips, Lieutenant Monro, and twenty-seven rank and file killed; Captain Campbell, Lieutenant Williams, Ensign Townshend, three serjeants, two drummers, and sixty rank and file wounded, on this occasion.

After passing the night on the field of battle, the regiment marched to Hanau; it was encamped several weeks on the banks of the Kinzig, and in August marched towards the Rhine. It crossed that river above Mentz, and was employed in various services until October, when the army marched in divisions back to Flanders. The Twelfth formed part of the fifth division, under Major-General the Earl of Rothes, and arrived on the 22nd of November, at Brussels, from whence they proceeded to Ostend for winter quarters.

The Twelfth regiment served the campaign of 1744 under Field-Marshal Wade: it was encamped some time on the banks of the Scheldt, and took part in several operations, but no general engagement occurred: in the autumn it was again stationed in Flanders.

In the spring of 1745, a very powerful French army appeared in the Austrian provinces of the Netherlands, and commenced the siege of Tournay. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland assumed the command of the allied army, and advanced to the relief of the besieged fortress; and the Twelfth regiment of foot was withdrawn from garrison to take part in the enterprise. The French army took up a position at the village of Fontenoy; and the allies, though much inferior to the enemy in numbers, resolved to hazard a general engagement.

[25]

At two o'clock on the morning of the 11th of May, the allied army advanced to attack the formidable position occupied by the enemy, and the Twelfth regiment, commanded by Colonel Duroure, was detached with several other corps, under Brigadier-General Ingoldsby, to attack a large fort, mounted with cannon, in the wood of Barri. Against this post the regiment advanced, but the fort was found too formidable to be attacked without artillery, and some delay occurred. Brigadier-General Ingoldsby did not clearly understand his orders, and the regiment was detained a long time in a state of inactivity exposed to a heavy cannonade; during which time the British infantry had forced the enemy's centre, but were obliged to retire in consequence of the Dutch having failed on Fontenoy, and Brigadier-General Ingoldsby having lost the opportunity of attacking the batteries in the wood of Barri. A second attack was, however, determined on, in the hope that the Dutch would make a more determined effort, and the Twelfth were brought into action; Brigadier-General Ingoldsby was wounded at the head of the regiment, and removed to the rear. Impatient of the state of inactivity in which they had been detained, the soldiers of the Twelfth rushed into action with distinguished ardour, and were conspicuous for their gallant bearing throughout the remainder of the contest. They were exposed to a heavy fire, and had to contend against very superior numbers. Their commanding officer, Colonel Duroure, fell mortally wounded; Lieut.-Colonel Whitmore was killed; Major Cosseley was wounded, and the command devolved on Captain Rainsford, who was also wounded: but the regiment preserved its firm array, and when more than half the non-commissioned officers and soldiers had fallen, the[26] survivors continued the fight, advancing over the killed and wounded of both armies. The Dutch, however, failed a second time; the British who had penetrated the enemy's line became insulated, and constantly exposed to the attack of fresh troops, and a retreat was ordered; the army withdrawing from the field of battle to Aeth.

The conduct of the Twelfth regiment was commended in the Duke of Cumberland's public despatch; its loss was greater than any other corps in the army, and amounted to three hundred and twenty-one officers and soldiers: viz., Lieut.-Colonel Whitmore, Captain Campbell, Lieutenants Bockland and Lane, Ensigns Cannon and Clifton, five serjeants, and one hundred and forty-eight rank and file killed; Colonel Duroure, Major Cosseley, Captains Rainsford and Robinson, Lieutenants Murray, Townshend, Millington, and Delgaire, Ensigns Dagers and Pearce, seven serjeants, and one hundred and forty-two private soldiers wounded; Captain de Cosne, Captain-Lieut. Goulston, and Lieut. Salt, missing.

Colonel Duroure died of his wounds, and was succeeded by Brigadier-General Henry Skelton, from the thirty-second regiment of foot. Major Cosseley recovered of his wounds, and was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy, and Captain Rainsford was appointed Major.

The regiment was encamped with the army on the plain of Lessines, and afterwards near Brussels; and the French, by their superior numbers, were enabled to capture several fortified towns.

In the meantime a rebellion had broken out in Scotland, headed by Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender. This adventurer, being guided by desperate and designing men,—urged on by the wily politics[27] of France,—personally sanguine in his disposition, and disposed to listen to every representation that flattered his views, embarked on his expedition in a style little adequate to the extent of his designs, which were to dethrone the reigning monarch, and to overturn the constitution of a brave and free people. Arriving in Scotland, he was joined by several of the Highland clans, and the King's troops being in Flanders, success attended his efforts for a short period.

The Twelfth regiment was one of the corps ordered to return to England on this occasion: it arrived at Gravesend on the 4th of November, afterwards formed part of the army assembled under the Duke of Cumberland, when the clans penetrated England as far as Derby.

Being little accustomed to hear the sound of war at their own gates, the British were at first alarmed at the novelty; but soon recovering, they evinced loyalty and union in sustaining the fixed rights of their sovereign, and in defending their own liberties. Addresses, backed by associations, were daily made to the King; the army arrived from Flanders, and the Pretender made a precipitate retreat back to Scotland.

The Twelfth regiment pursued the Highlanders as far as Carlisle, and was before that town when the rebel garrison surrendered.

In the early part of 1746 the regiment was withdrawn from the north of England; but after the loss of the battle of Falkirk by the troops under Lieut.-General Hawley, it was ordered to proceed to Scotland. Various circumstances occurred to prevent its proceeding thither immediately; but it embarked from Plymouth towards the end of March, and sailed for Scotland in the early part of April.

[28]

Before the regiment joined the army under the Duke of Cumberland, the battle of Culloden had decided the fate of the young Pretender, who was transformed, by the events of that day, from an imaginary monarch to an humble fugitive, and after concealing himself some time in the Highlands and Hebrides, he escaped to the continent. The regiment was stationed several months at Perth.

During the summer of 1747 the Twelfth were encamped in a rugged valley, surrounded by gloomy precipices, near Fort Augustus, in the Highlands of Scotland; in the autumn the regiment was withdrawn from North Britain and stationed in England.

In the meantime, the war on the Continent had been continued, and in the beginning of the year 1748, the regiment embarked at Shields for Holland, to join the allied army in that country.

In the spring, the regiment took the field, and was engaged in several services: hostilities were afterwards terminated by a treaty of peace concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle, and during the winter the Twelfth foot returned to England.

Immediately after its arrival from Holland, the regiment embarked for the island of Minorca, where it was stationed three years.

On the 1st of July, 1751, a royal warrant was issued regulating the standards, colours, and clothing of the several regiments. At this period the costume of the Twelfth foot was—cocked hats, bound with white lace, scarlet coats faced and lined with yellow, and ornamented with white lace; scarlet waistcoats and breeches, and white gaiters. The first, or Kings colour, was the great union; the second, or regimental colour, was of yellow silk, in the centre XII. in gold characters, [29]within a wreath of roses and thistles on the same stalk, and the union in the upper canton.

MONTIS INSIGNIA CALPE.
TWELFTH
REGIMENT OF FOOT.

Towards the end of the year 1751 the Twelfth were relieved from duty at Minorca by the fifty-first regiment, and returned to England, where they arrived in the beginning of 1752.

The progress of colonization in North America involved Great Britain in disputes with the French government respecting the country near the river Ohio, which occasioned the commencement of the Seven Years' War, in 1756. The establishment of the Twelfth regiment was augmented on this occasion; and in 1757 it consisted of two battalions.

General Skelton died on the 9th of April, 1757, and King George II. conferred the colonelcy of the Twelfth foot on Major-General Robert Napier, from the fifty-first regiment.

In 1758 the second battalion of the Twelfth foot was constituted the sixty-fifth regiment, under the command of Colonel Armiger, from captain and lieut.-colonel of the first foot guards.[9]

Meanwhile the war, which commenced in America, had extended to Hanover, and the electorate was overrun by the armies of France. A body of Hanoverian, [30]Hessian, and Brunswick troops, commanded by Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, opposed the forces of the enemy, and in the summer of 1758, the Twelfth regiment, after encamping a short time in the Isle of Wight, was ordered to proceed to Germany to join the allied army. The regiment arrived at Embden on the 1st of August, landed a few miles above the town on the 3rd, and on the 5th commenced its march to join the army, which it accomplished in twelve days, and was reviewed on the 20th of that month by Prince Ferdinand.

During the remainder of the campaign, the regiment was actively employed, and performed many fatiguing services. Towards the end of November it marched into quarters in Munster, a city situate in a fruitful and agreeable country on the river Aa.

Operations were commenced early in the spring of 1759, and the allies gained some advantage; but when the French forces were assembled, they possessed so great a superiority in numbers, that Prince Ferdinand was obliged to fall back as the enemy advanced. A series of retrograde movements brought the allied army to the vicinity of Minden, situate on the bank of the river Weser, in Westphalia.

The French army, commanded by Marshal de Contades, took possession of Minden, and occupied a strong position near that city.

Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick manœuvred: he detached one body of troops under his nephew, the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick, and appeared to leave another exposed to the attack of the whole of the opposing army. The destruction of this corps was resolved upon by the French commander, and he put his army in motion for that purpose, during the night between the 31st of July and the 1st of August. While[31] the French were on the march, Prince Ferdinand advanced with the allied army, and early on the morning of the 1st of August, as the leading column of the enemy attained the summit of an eminence, it was surprised at discovering, instead of a few weak corps, the allied army formed in order of battle. Thus the French marshal suddenly found himself committed, and under the necessity of fighting upon unfavourable ground. After some delay he formed line, and the battle commenced.

The Twelfth, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel William Robinson, with the twenty-third and thirty-seventh British regiments, followed by the twentieth, twenty-fifth, and fifty-first, under Major-General Waldegrave and Major-General Kingsley, flanked by two battalions of Hanoverian foot guards, and the Hanoverian regiment of Hardenberg, and supported by three regiments of Hanoverians and a battalion of Hessian foot guards, advanced to attack the left wing of the French army, where Marshal de Contades had posted the élite of his cavalry, the carabineers and gendarmes. The Twelfth, twenty-third, and thirty-seventh, led the attack with signal intrepidity: as they moved forward in firm array, the enemy's artillery opened a tremendous fire, which rent chasms in the ranks, and the French carabineers advanced to charge them; but a rolling volley from the three British regiments smote the hostile squadrons, when many men fell, and the survivors reined up their horses, wheeled about, and galloped to the rear; their artillery recommencing its fire as the repulsed squadrons withdrew. The Hanoverian brigade came up on the left of the Twelfth, twenty-third, and thirty-seventh, and the other three British regiments on the right.[32] Soon, another line of French cavaliers, gay in splendid uniforms, and formidable in numbers, came forward, the soldiers shouting and waving their swords; but they were struck in mid-onset by a tempest of bullets from the British regiments, broken, and driven back with severe loss. Still pressing forward with a conquering violence, the three brigades became exposed to the fire of the enemy's infantry on their flanks; but nothing could stop them: encouraged by success, and confident in their own prowess, they followed up their advantage, routed the whole of the French cavalry, and drove it from the field.[10] Two brigades of French infantry endeavoured to stem the torrent of battle; but they were quickly broken and dispersed.[11] A body of Saxon troops made a show of coming down upon the conquering British regiments, but they were soon put to flight, and the triumphant English continued their splendid career, overpowering all opposition.

The action commenced between six and seven o'clock [33]in the morning; about nine the enemy began to give way; a general confusion followed; and at ten o'clock the whole French army fled in disorder, with the loss of forty-three pieces of cannon, ten stand of colours, and seven standards.

The Twelfth regiment had Lieutenants William Falkingham, Henry Probyn, and George Townsend, four serjeants, one drummer, and seventy-seven rank and file killed; Lieut.-Colonel William Robinson, Captains Mathias Murray, William Cloudesley, and Peter Campbell, Captain-Lieutenant Peter Dunbar; Lieutenants Thomas Fletcher, William Barlow, Thomas Lawless, Edward Freeman, John Campbell, and George Rose; Ensigns John Forbes, David Parkill, and John Kay, eleven serjeants, four drummers, and one hundred and seventy-five rank and file wounded; Captains Peter Chalbert, and Robert Ackland, and eleven rank and file missing.

The Twelfth regiment was thanked in orders, in common with the other British regiments, on the following day; and its distinguished conduct on this occasion was afterwards honoured with the King's authority to bear the word "Minden" on its colours and appointments in commemoration of its gallantry.[12]

Minden was taken possession of on the following day, and the French army was forced to make a precipitate retreat to a distance of about two hundred miles. The allies followed the retiring enemy with great energy, ascending precipices, passing morasses, overcoming numerous difficulties, and pressing upon and attacking the retreating army, with so much resolution, [34]that several French corps were nearly annihilated, and many prisoners, with a great quantity of baggage, were captured. The Twelfth foot shared in the hazards, toils and conflicts of this brilliant success, and when the weather became too severe for the troops to remain in the field, the regiment went into cantonments in the bishopric of Osnaburg in Westphalia.

The regiment left its quarters on the 5th of May, 1760, to take the field, and on the 12th of that month it arrived in the vicinity of Paderborn; it was joined by a numerous body of recruits from England, to replace the losses of the preceding campaign.

A hundred thousand French troops took the field under the Duke of Broglio, with a separate corps under the Count de St. Germain, and so far outnumbered the allied army, that the latter was obliged to act on the defensive. The Twelfth took part in numerous operations. Towards the end of May they were encamped on the heights near Fritzlar; in July they proceeded to the vicinity of Saxenhausen, from whence they retreated towards Cassel, and encamped near Kalle.

Upwards of thirty thousand French troops crossed the river Dymel, and took post near Warbourg, to cut off the communication of the allies with Westphalia, when Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick quitted the camp at Kalle, and crossed the river to attack this portion of the French army. The battle commenced on the morning of the 31st of July, at which time the Twelfth, and other British infantry corps, were several miles from the scene of conflict. The soldiers hurried forward to share in the action with extraordinary zeal: it was a hot summer's day; they had a rugged country to traverse, morasses to pass, and numerous difficulties to overcome, and they[35] exerted themselves with so much energy, that several men dropped on the road;[13] but before they arrived at Warbourg, the French troops had retreated across the river.

During the remainder of the campaign, the regiment was employed upon the Dymel; and the allied army, by secret and expeditious movements, by daring and rapid advances, and by sudden and unexpected attacks, kept the enemy in constant alarm. In the winter, the regiment went into quarters in the bishopric of Paderborn.

The enemy having amassed immense magazines in the country of Hesse, and on the Lower Rhine, the allied army made a sudden advance into the enemy's cantonments, in February, 1761, captured several strong towns, and seized on numerous stores of provision. The Twelfth shared in this enterprise, advancing through a deep snow, and taking part in several important captures: when this service was performed, they retired to their former quarters.

In June, 1761, the regiment again took the field, and was employed in several operations; it was formed in brigade with the fifth, twenty-fourth, and thirty-seventh regiments, under the command of Brigadier-General Sandford, and was posted in the Marquis of Granby's division. After several harassing marches, the regiment was stationed in front of the village of Kirch Denkern, and near to Vellinghausen, in the bishopric of Paderborn. The French, commanded by Marshals Soubise and the Duke of Broglio, attacked this post on the 15th of July; but the ground was [36]maintained with firmness and resolution by the British infantry, and the enemy was repulsed with loss. The fire of the skirmishers was continued during the night, and on the following day the attack was repeated with fresh troops, when the Twelfth evinced great gallantry in the defence of the position. After five hours' sharp fighting, some disorder appeared in the enemy's ranks, when the brigade charged and routed the opposing battalions with great slaughter. The loss of the regiment, on this occasion, was limited to three private soldiers killed, and nine wounded.

The Twelfth were stationed near Kirch Denkern until the 27th of July: they were subsequently employed in manœuvring and skirmishing in various parts of the bishopric of Paderborn and on the river Weser, and in September they were employed in the country of Hesse. They were engaged in several skirmishes in the electorate of Hanover in the early part of November; and were subsequently quartered for several months in the bishopric of Osnaburg.

The regiment left its cantonments in Osnaburg in the spring of 1762, and was formed in brigade with the same regiments as in the preceding year. It was engaged, on the 24th of June, in the surprise of the French army encamped at Groebenstein: on the morning of that day it was in motion at an early hour, crossed the river Dymel at Liebenau at four o'clock, and advancing several miles through a woody country, arrived in front of the enemy's camp. The French were surprised and confounded; they abandoned their camp, leaving their tents standing, and retreated towards Cassel; one division, under General Stainville, throwing itself into the woods of Wilhelmsthal, to cover the movement. This division was attacked,[37] and nearly annihilated; and after the loss of many men killed and wounded, the remainder surrendered to the fifth foot, which was the leading regiment of the brigade to which the Twelfth belonged.

After the action, the regiment encamped on the heights of Wilhelmsthal; it was subsequently employed in various operations; and on the 23rd of July its grenadier company took part in driving the Saxons, under Prince Xavier, from their post at Lutterberg, and in the capture of thirteen pieces of cannon.

On the 24th of July a hundred men of the Twelfth foot were engaged in dislodging a detachment of the enemy from the heights of Homburg. The regiment was afterwards employed in operations on the rivers Ohm and Lahn, and in covering the siege of Cassel, which fortress surrendered in the beginning of November.

A suspension of hostilities took place soon after the surrender of Cassel, which was followed by a treaty of peace, concluded at Fontainbleau: the regiment was quartered in the bishopric of Munster about ten weeks.

In the beginning of 1763, the thanks of Parliament were communicated to the army for its conduct during the war. In February, the regiment marched through Holland to Williamstadt, where it embarked for England: its effective strength, according to the embarkation return, was twenty-seven officers, six hundred and eighty-nine non-commissioned officers and soldiers.

On arriving in England, from Germany, the Twelfth were ordered to proceed to Scotland, where they were stationed during the following three years.

Lieut.-General Napier died in November, 1766, when King George III. conferred the command of the regiment on Colonel Henry Clinton, from captain and lieut.-colonel in the first foot guards.

[38]

In 1767, the Twelfth were stationed in England; and in 1769, they proceeded to Gibraltar, to relieve the twentieth regiment on garrison duty at that fortress.

The American war commenced in 1775, and the colonel of the regiment, Lieut.-General Sir Henry Clinton, distinguished himself in that country: in December, 1778, he was appointed colonel of the eighty-fourth regiment, or Royal Highland emigrants, then first embodied for service in North America, and afterwards disbanded. The Colonelcy of the Twelfth foot remained vacant until the 21st of April, 1779, when it was conferred on Colonel William Picton, from the seventy-fifth regiment; a newly-raised corps, which was disbanded at the peace in 1782-3.

The Twelfth regiment remained at Gibraltar. The possession of this fortress by the English, with a British garrison on the top of the rocky promontory overlooking the provinces of Spain, had been regarded by the Spaniards with great jealousy: every attempt to retake it had failed. Great Britain attached much importance to the possession of it; but the contest between the revolted provinces in North America and England appeared to present to the Spanish monarch a favourable opportunity for regaining possession of this valuable fortress. When the French monarch acknowledged the independence of the United States, and commenced hostilities against Britain, the time appeared particularly favourable for another effort to recapture Gibraltar, and in the summer of 1779, that fortress was beset, by sea and land, by the Spanish fleets and armies.

The garrison consisted of the Twelfth, thirty-ninth, fifty-sixth, fifty-eighth, and (late) seventy-second[39] British, with the Hanoverian regiments of Hardenberg, Reden, and De la Motte, and a proportion of artillery and engineers. The Twelfth mustered twenty-nine officers, twenty-nine serjeants, twenty-two drummers, and five hundred and nineteen rank and file, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Trigge: the garrison mustered five thousand three hundred and eighty-two men, under the orders of General Eliott, afterwards Lord Heathfield.[14]

Being blockaded by sea and besieged by land, the troops at Gibraltar became cut off from communication with all countries, and the garrison was like a little world within itself. The arrangements for the defence were devised with judgment, and executed with skill. The soldiers conformed to the strict rules which their circumstances rendered necessary, and severe exercise and short diet became habitual to them; at the same time the extensive preparations of the enemy, the great importance of the fortress, and the determined character of General Eliott and his garrison, [40]occasioned this siege to become a subject of universal interest, and the eyes of all Europe were directed towards Gibraltar, watching the result of the contest.

As the enemy's works progressed, the pavement of the streets was taken up, the towers of conspicuous buildings were pulled down, the guard-houses unroofed, the stone sentry-boxes removed, traverses raised, a covered way begun, and every measure adopted to prevent the bombardment of the place being attended with serious results.

Early in 1780 provisions became short, and the soldiers cheerfully submitted to privation; but soon afterwards the garrison was relieved by a fleet from England: the wants of the troops were, however, not supplied in many important articles.

The Spaniards renewed the blockade by sea, and sent nine fire-ships into the harbour, but failed in the attempt to destroy the shipping. Provisions soon became deficient again; vegetables were cultivated on the rock with some success; a precarious supply of several articles was obtained from the Moors, and in April, 1781, the garrison was again relieved.

The siege was continued, and a severe bombardment reduced a great part of the town to a heap of ruins.

General Eliott deliberately watched the progress of the enemy, and kept his garrison close within the fortress, until a favourable opportunity presented itself for a sally, when the following 'Evening garrison order' was issued, dated November 26, 1781: 'Countersign, Steady.—All the grenadiers and light infantry in the garrison, and all the men of the Twelfth and Hardenberg's regiments, with the officers and non-commissioned officers on duty, to be immediately relieved and join their regiments, to form a detach[41]ment, consisting of the Twelfth and Hardenberg's regiments complete; the grenadiers and light infantry of all the other regiments; one captain, three lieutenants, ten non-commissioned officers and a hundred artillery; three engineers, seven officers, ten non-commissioned officers, overseers, with a hundred and sixty workmen from the line, and forty workmen from the artificer corps; each man to have thirty-six rounds of ammunition, with a good flint in his piece, and another in his pocket; the whole to be commanded by Brigadier-General Ross, and to assemble on the red sands, at twelve o'clock this night, to make a sortie upon the enemy's batteries. The thirty-ninth and fifty-eighth regiments to parade at the same hour, on the grand parade, under the command of Brigadier-General Picton, to sustain the sortie if necessary.'

The Twelfth appeared on parade at the appointed hour, and mustered twenty-six officers, twenty-eight serjeants, two drummers, and four hundred and thirty rank and file, ready to engage in this enterprise. It was the hour of midnight; the moon shone brightly, and all was still in the enemy's camp. The soldiers waited two hours, when the moon set, darkness overspread the sky, and they issued silently from the fortress. The Spanish regiments were asleep in the camp; their guards at the batteries were also reposing, when suddenly the sound of a trampling multitude was heard approaching them; their sentries called, and receiving no answer, fired their muskets and hurried to the guards. They were followed by the British at a running pace; the guards were surprised, the batteries captured, and two Spanish officers, with sixteen soldiers, were made prisoners; the Spanish guards were astounded by the suddenness of the onset in the dark; they hurried to[42] their lines, communicating a panic to the troops in their rear. The British instantly commenced the work of destruction. 'The batteries (constructed of wood upon the sands) were soon in a state for the fire-faggots to operate, and the flame spread with astonishing rapidity into every part. The column of fire and smoke which rolled from the works, beautifully illuminated the troops and neighbouring objects, forming altogether a coup-d'œil not possible to be described.'[15]

In one hour the object of the sortie was fully effected; the Spaniards, being dismayed, did not venture to interrupt the work; and trains being laid to the enemy's magazines, the Twelfth, and other troops which had made the sally, retired; as they entered the fortress, tremendous explosions shook the ground like the shocks of an earthquake, accompanied by rising volumes of smoke, flame, and burning timber, which proclaimed the destruction of the enemy's immense stores of gunpowder.

Thus was completed, with success beyond the expectations of every one, an enterprise of the greatest magnitude; and General Eliott declared in orders, 'the bravery and conduct of the whole detachment, officers, soldiers, and sailors, on this glorious occasion, surpassed his utmost expectation.' The loss of the Twelfth regiment was limited to Lieutenant Tweedie and four private soldiers wounded: the total loss of the garrison was four soldiers killed, one officer and twenty-four soldiers wounded, one man missing.[16]

[43]

For several days the Spaniards appeared confounded at their disgrace; the smoke of the burning batteries continued to rise, and no attempt was made to extinguish the flames; but several executions took place in their camp, probably of persons who fled so precipitately from the batteries. In the beginning of December they began to arouse themselves, and a thousand workmen commenced labouring to restore the batteries, in which they were retarded by the fire of the garrison.

The Spaniards, by their heavy fire on the fortress, had already spoiled three sets of guns; but the court of Madrid appeared bent on capturing Gibraltar. An immense quantity of ordnance of larger calibre was provided, numerous batteries were prepared, and the Duke of Crillon assumed the command of the besieging army. He was assisted by a celebrated French engineer, Monsieur d'Arcon, and by Admiral Moreno, and a French army arrived to take part in the siege. At the same time stupendous preparations were made on a new principle, and floating batteries were constructed with great art and labour, and were accounted the most perfect contrivance of the kind ever seen.

A crisis was evidently approaching, and in the spring and summer of 1782, the garrison of Gibraltar made preparations with cool determination for the hour of trial: the officers and soldiers appeared to be impressed with their peculiar situation; an important fortress was confided to their protection; they had defended it against the efforts of the Spanish army and navy upwards of two years; and the eyes of all Europe were directed towards them. The damaged works were carefully repaired, new ones were constructed, extensive subterraneous works were prepared, and forges for[44] heating red-hot shot were got ready; every serjeant, drummer, musician, and officer's servant, as well as the corporals and private soldiers, used a shovel, pickaxe, or musket, according as their services were required. The effect of the red-hot shot was proved on some of the enemy's wooden batteries on the sands, which were speedily destroyed.

The Duke of Crillon anticipated the most signal success from the extensive preparations he was making; his camp was visited by princes of the royal blood of France, by Spanish nobility, and other dignified characters of Europe, who came to be spectators of the fall of the fortress under the heavy fire of artillery which was about to be opened upon it. The new batteries on shore were unmasked, and fired a volley of sixty shells, which was followed by the thunder of one hundred and seventy guns of large calibre. Thus was Gibraltar assailed by a storm of iron, which threatened to reduce the fortress to a heap of ruins, and this was only a prelude to the tremendous fire which was afterwards opened upon the garrison.

On the 13th of September, the ten battering ships took their station before the fortress, in the presence of the combined fleets of France and Spain: the enemy's camp and neighbouring hills were crowded with spectators from various parts of Europe, to witness the effect of these stupendous vessels, and such a storm of war was opened upon the garrison, as was probably never heard before since the invention of cannon. The batteries of the fortress answered this tremendous fire with vigour, and the deafening thunder of four hundred pieces of heavy artillery was heard for many miles. For some hours the attack and defence were so equally well supported, as scarcely to admit any appearance[45] of superiority in the cannonade on either side. The wonderful construction of the battering ships seemed to bid defiance to the heaviest ordnance; shells rebounded from their tops, and a thirty-two pound shot scarcely seemed to make any impression on them. The effect of the red-hot shot was doubted; sometimes smoke came from the ships, but the fire-engines within soon occasioned it to cease, and the result was uncertain; the fire was, however, persevered in, and incessant showers of red-hot bullets, shells, and carcases flew through the air. In the afternoon the effects of the red-hot shot became apparent, and volumes of smoke issued from the flag-ship; the Admiral's second ship was perceived to be in the same condition, and confusion prevailed. The Spaniards expected that the firing of red-hot bullets could not be persevered in beyond a few rounds; but the fire was continued with the same precision and vivacity as cold shot. The effects of the hot balls occasioned the enemy's cannonade to abate, and about eight o'clock it almost totally ceased. The battering ships made signals to inform the combined fleets of their extreme danger and distress, and several boats were sent to their aid. At this period the fire of the garrison produced great carnage, and the most pitiable cries and groans were heard, as the incessant showers of shot and shells were poured into the floating batteries. Soon after midnight one ship was in flames, and by two o'clock she appeared one sheet of fire from head to stern; a second was soon in the same state; the flames enabled the British artillery to point their guns with precision, and soon after three o'clock six more ships exhibited the effects of the red-hot shot. The burning ships exhibited one of the grandest spectacles of destruction ever beheld; and[46] amidst this dreadful scene of conflagration, the British seamen in boats were seen endeavouring to rescue the Spaniards from the blazing ships. They preserved between three and four hundred; and while they were thus engaged, one of the ships blew up with a dreadful explosion; four others met the same fate before seven o'clock, and another shortly afterwards, and the remainder burnt to the water's edge, their magazines having been inundated; not one could be preserved as a trophy.

Thus did the mighty efforts of France and Spain end in defeat and destruction, and the gallant efforts of the brave soldiers who defended Gibraltar elicited the admiration of the nations in Europe. In England the most enthusiastic applause was universal; illuminations and other modes of testifying the joy of the people followed the receipt of the news of the destruction of the boasted invincible battering ships, and every family which could boast a defender of Gibraltar belonging to it, was proud of the honour. The loss of the garrison, on the 13th and 14th of September, was limited to one officer, two serjeants, and thirteen private soldiers killed; five officers and sixty-three rank and file wounded; that of the enemy exceeded two thousand officers and soldiers.

Although the enemy gave up all hopes of reducing Gibraltar by force of arms, yet some expectation was entertained, that, if the blockade were continued, the garrison might be forced to surrender from the want of provisions; the combined fleet therefore remained in the bay, the besieging army continued in the lines, and about a thousand shots were fired every day from the Spanish batteries. The garrison was encouraged to continue resolute in the defence of the fortress by[47] assurances of their Sovereign's favour and high approbation. The principal Secretary of State, writing to General Eliott, stated,—'I am honored with His Majesty's commands to assure you, in the strongest terms, that no encouragement shall be wanting to the brave officers and soldiers under your command; his royal approbation of the past will, no doubt, be a powerful incentive to future exertions, and I have the King's authority to assure you, that every distinguished act of emulation and gallantry, which shall be performed in the course of the siege, by any, even of the lowest rank, will meet with ample reward from his gracious protection and favour.'

In October, the combined fleet was much damaged by a storm; and soon afterwards a British naval force arrived, and the garrison was again relieved; when two regiments, the twenty-fifth and fifty-ninth, landed to take part in the defence of the fortress.

After the garrison was thus relieved and reinforced a third time, the Court of Madrid gave up all hopes of gaining possession of Gibraltar either by force or stratagem: negociations ensued, and in February, 1783, the Spanish army decamped; the preliminary articles for a treaty of peace having been signed in the preceding month. Thus ended the siege of "Gibraltar," which is celebrated in the military annals of the eighteenth century, and the successful defence of that fortress, ranks among the noblest efforts of the British arms: it exceeded in duration the famous siege of Ostend, in the beginning of the seventeenth century.[17]

The Twelfth regiment of foot was rewarded, with the other corps which took part in this long and arduous [48]service, with the thanks of its Sovereign, and of the Houses of Parliament, and with the honour of bearing on its colours the word 'Gibraltar,' with the 'Castle and Key,' and the motto 'Montis Insignia Calpé,' in commemoration of its services during the siege.[18]

The loss of the regiment during the siege of Gibraltar was—

During the period the Twelfth were engaged in the glorious defence of Gibraltar, county-titles were given to the several regiments of infantry, and the communication with England having become free, the Twelfth received directions to assume the title of the 'East Suffolk Regiment,' and to cultivate a connection with that part of the country, in order to facilitate the recruiting of the regiment.

J. M. Jopling del^t.

Madeley Lith. 3 Wellington S^t Strand.

TWELFTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.
VIEW OF THE NORTH PART OF GIBRALTAR, AND OF THE ATTACK BY LAND AND SEA SEPT^R 13^TH & 14^TH 1782
For Cannons Military Records

In November, the Twelfth were relieved from duty at the fortress of Gibraltar, which they had so [49]gallantly defended, and returned to England; they landed at Portsmouth, from whence they proceeded to Hilsea barracks, and in December, they marched to Windsor.

King George III. was highly gratified at having a corps, which had distinguished itself during the memorable siege of Gibraltar, employed near his person, and on the 1st and 8th of June, 1784, His Majesty reviewed the Twelfth regiment in Windsor Park, in the presence of the Royal Family, and many distinguished personages, and expressed, in very gracious terms, his high approbation of its appearance and discipline, and of its conduct during the siege of Gibraltar.

The regiment remained at Windsor on the King's duty until November, when it proceeded to Chatham.

During the years 1785, 1786, and 1787, the regiment was stationed successively at Newcastle, Tynemouth, Sunderland, Musselburgh, Ayr, Edinburgh, and Plymouth; on the 10th of January, 1788, it was reviewed by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, afterwards King George IV., who was then in the seventeenth year of his age, and his person and accomplishments excited the admiration of all who beheld him. In a few days after the review, the regiment proceeded to the islands of Jersey and Guernsey.

The Twelfth were relieved from duty at Jersey and Guernsey in March, 1790, and sailed to Portsmouth. Two months afterwards, orders were received for the regiment to serve on board the fleet as marines, and in the middle of June it embarked on board of His Majesty's ships 'Barfleur,' 'Carnatic,' 'Bellona,' 'Impregnable,' 'Magnificent,' and 'Edgar'; at the same time the staff officers, musicians, and[50] a few soldiers who were not employed on this service, proceeded to Hilsea barracks.

After six months' service as marines the companies landed and joined the head-quarters at Hilsea barracks; towards the end of December the whole embarked for Ireland.

The regiment landed near Cork on the 5th of January, 1791, and marched to Kinsale; in the summer of 1792, it proceeded to Dublin, from whence it was removed in March, 1793, to Drogheda.

In the meantime a revolution had taken place in France; men of violent republican principles had seized on the reins of government, beheaded their Sovereign, and involved Europe in another war. The pernicious doctrines of liberty and equality had been disseminated in the French West India Islands, and the European planters had solicited the protection of the British arms against the fury of the mulattoes and negroes. War was commenced to arrest the tyrannical proceedings of aggression pursued by the French republic;—a British army was sent to Flanders under His Royal Highness the Duke of York; additional forces were sent to the West Indies, and in November the flank companies of the Twelfth foot, commanded by Captains Tweedie and Perryn, Lieutenants Mathews, Leister, Leister junior, and O'Brien, embarked for the West Indies.

The deliverance of the French West India Islands from republican domination, was undertaken in January, 1794; the flank companies of the Twelfth joined the expedition under General Sir Charles Grey, K. B. (afterwards Earl Grey), at Barbadoes, and were engaged in the attack of Martinico. A landing was effected at three different points in the early part[51] of February, and after some sharp fighting, in which the companies of the Twelfth signalized themselves, particularly the grenadier company, forming part of the brigade commanded by Prince Edward (afterwards Duke of Kent), which captured Fort Royal by escalade on the 17th of March, and carried Morne Tartisson by storm, the island was captured. In his despatch, Sir Charles Grey stated,—'All the officers and soldiers of this little army merit the greatest praise.' The loss of the Twelfth foot was limited to a few private soldiers killed and wounded.

From Martinico the flank companies of the Twelfth sailed with the expedition against St. Lucia, where the troops arrived on the 1st of April, and the companies of the Twelfth took part in the reduction of that island, which was accomplished in three days without loss.

The flank companies were afterwards engaged in the capture of Guadaloupe and its dependencies, in which service they lost several men. The rapid success with which the British empire was thus extended, by the addition of three valuable islands and their dependencies, excited great admiration; and Sir Charles Grey stated in his despatch, that he 'could not find words to convey an adequate idea, or to express the high sense he entertained, of the extraordinary merit evinced by the officers and soldiers in this service.'

While the flank companies were engaged in the capture of the French West India Islands, the regiment was withdrawn from Ireland to reinforce the troops under the Duke of York in Flanders; it embarked from Drogheda on the 7th of March, landed at Parkgate on the 14th, re-embarked at Greenwich on the 1st of May, and landed at Ostend on the 6th of that month.

[52]

On arriving at the seat of war, the regiment was ordered to join the corps under the Austrian General Count Clerfait, who commanded the troops in West Flanders, and it was attached to the division under Major-General Hammerstein, together with the thirty-eighth and fifty-fifth regiments, and the eighth light dragoons.

The Twelfth regiment, commanded by Major Frederick Bowes, consisting of eight hundred and fifteen rank and file, took part in numerous operations, and was engaged in the general attack on the French positions on the 17th and 18th of May. On the latter day, the Twelfth were engaged in driving the enemy from Werwick, and in forcing the passage of the river Lys, on which occasion they highly distinguished themselves; but the operations on the above two days were not successful, from the want of a more perfect combination in the movements of the several divisions, and from the superior numbers of the enemy.

In division orders, dated Camp near Tournay, 20th May, 1794, Major-General Whyte stated 'he had great pleasure in informing the British troops, that General Count Clerfait has highly approved of their spirited conduct in the field, and great exertions in going through such excessive fatigues, as they necessarily have had since their first movement from Ostend. Major-General Whyte laments the loss sustained by the eighth light dragoons, whose spirited and distinguished gallantry, led on by Lieut.-Colonel Hart, has gained them the highest honour; and he desires his thanks may be accepted by the commanding officers, and all the officers and men of the thirty-eighth and fifty-fifth regiments; and also by Major Bowes and the officers and men of the Twelfth regi[53]ment, whose conduct has been highly approved of by Major-General Hammerstein, under whose immediate command they served. To Lieut.-Colonel Hart, who led on the squadron of the eighth light dragoons to the attack at Rousbeck, his best and distinguished thanks are due; and also to Lieut.-Colonel M'Donald, who led on the fifty-fifth regiment to support the attack on the front. He is perfectly convinced the same praise would have been due to Lieut.-Colonel Pitcairn of the thirty-eighth, had they been called into action.'

The Twelfth foot continued to serve under General Count Clerfait, and when the French besieged Ypres, with thirty thousand men, with a covering army of twenty-five thousand, the regiment was engaged in the attempt to relieve that fortress. The Austrian advance-guard was repulsed at Olglede on the 7th of June; but the French were defeated in their attempt on Rouselaer. Still entertaining hopes of being able to raise the siege, Count Clerfait attacked the French again on the 13th of June, at Hoogledge, and Major-General Hammerstein engaged a body of the enemy, of very superior numbers, at Kootmarke, and was repulsed. He afterwards retreated to Bruges, detaching the eighth light dragoons, and thirty-eighth and fifty-fifth foot to Ostend.

The very superior numbers of the enemy gave them so great an advantage, that the allied army was forced to commence retrograde movements. The Twelfth foot remained with Major-General Hammerstein's division until the 9th of July, when the following paragraph appeared in the division orders issued at the camp at Contiche,—'As the Twelfth British regiment is going to leave Major-General Hammerstein's[54] brigade, he takes this opportunity to assure the regiment of his best acknowledgments for the good and gallant behaviour it has shown during the time the general has had the honour to command it; he likewise thanks it for the readiness and good will with which it has borne so many and great fatigues.'

On its removal from Major-General Hammerstein's command, the regiment was formed in brigade with the thirty-third, forty-second, and forty-fourth foot, under Major-General Balfour. In August it was in position near Breda, and in the beginning of September retired to the vicinity of Bois-le-duc.

In the middle of September the enemy advanced in great force, and attacked all the British posts on the right; the outpost at Boxtel, being most advanced, was forced, and the troops of Hesse D'Armstadt, who occupied it, sustained a severe loss. The post, occupied by a detachment of the Twelfth regiment, was environed and assailed by very superior numbers; it was defended with great gallantry for a short time, but the soldiers were unable to withstand so overwhelming a force as that by which they were assailed. The regiment had a few soldiers killed and wounded, and Lieutenant Eustace, three serjeants, one drummer, and forty-four rank and file taken prisoners. The British troops afterwards retired beyond the river Maese.

In the meantime, the flank companies had been engaged in the defence of the island of Guadaloupe, where about two thousand French troops had arrived from Europe, and being joined by a multitude of mulattoes and blacks, among whom the doctrines of liberty and equality were disseminated, they gained possession of part of the island, and frightful outrages were perpetrated. The companies of the Twelfth were engaged[55] in an attempt to regain possession of Grand-Terre; but the troops employed in this service were not sufficiently numerous. The Twelfth had Lieutenant John Leister and several soldiers killed, and others wounded.

The companies of the Twelfth were employed in the defence of Guadaloupe under great disadvantages, and they were nearly annihilated. The island was given up in October, and the few remaining officers and soldiers proceeded to St. Domingo.

Meanwhile the Twelfth regiment, serving under the Duke of York, in Holland, was exposed to much suffering and privation. The Dutch, having imbibed the revolutionary doctrines of equality, beheld the advance of the French without alarm, and surrendered their fortresses without much resistance. The British troops had no chance of ultimate success, yet they held their positions with firmness, and they did not fail to impress the enemy with a just idea of British valour. The Twelfth were in position near Nimeguen in September, and afterwards attempted to defend the passage of the Waal.

During the winter the river Waal became frozen, so as to admit the immense masses of the enemy to pass on the ice, and the British were obliged to retreat through Holland to Germany. The sufferings of the soldiers during this retrograde movement were very great; long marches, exposed to snow-storms and tempests, along roads choked with ice and snow, and a deficiency of provisions, put to a severe test the strength of the officers and soldiers. In March, 1795, they arrived at Bremen, where the hardships they had endured were ended. The Twelfth regiment lost so many men during the campaign and retreat through[56] Holland, that its numbers were reduced from eight hundred and fifteen to four hundred and twenty-five rank and file.

The regiment embarked from Bremenlee on the 11th of April, landed at Gosport on the 12th of May, and marched from thence to Portchester, where it was joined by Lieutenant O'Brien, one serjeant, and one private soldier from the West Indies; being the only surviving individuals of the two fine flank companies which proceeded to the West Indies in 1793.

Every effort was made to recruit the regiment as speedily as possible, and on the 2nd of July, it was reviewed by His Royal Highness the Duke of York, who expressed his approbation of its appearance.

On the 19th of October, the regiment embarked from Southampton, and sailed to Spithead, where it remained a few days, and afterwards put to sea. On the 5th of October, it landed on the Isle de Dieu, in conjunction with a small force under Major-General Needham, and a body of French emigrants, accompanied by the Count D'Artois, brother of the King of France. No circumstances occurred to favour any further attempts connected with this enterprise, and in December the regiment left the island; it was exposed to several violent storms at sea, but arrived safely at Southampton in ten days, and marched from thence to Iron-hill barracks.

The regiment was stationed in the neighbourhood of Southampton, and in the Isle of Wight, until the 8th of June, 1796, when it embarked in the 'Rockingham,' 'Hawksbury,' 'Airly castle,' and 'Melville castle' Indiamen, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Henry Harvey Aston, in order to transfer its[57] services to the East Indies. The regiment sailed from St. Helens on the 27th of June, and on the 19th of September anchored in Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope; that colony having been captured from the Dutch a short time previously. The regiment remained on board, but small parties landed daily for the benefit of their health. While the Indiamen were in Table Bay, a dreadful hurricane threatened the destruction of every ship, and they all sustained some injury, several losing their anchors. Serious apprehensions were entertained for the safety of the regiment; but providentially it did not sustain any loss, and it sailed from the Cape of Good Hope on the 10th of November.

On the 10th of January, 1797, the Indiamen anchored in Madras roads; the regiment landed on the following day at Fort St George, and mustered eight hundred and seventy rank and file, whose appearance excited admiration.

The regiment was employed on garrison duty at Fort St. George until the middle of August, when it embarked for Manilla, the capital of the Spanish settlements in the Philippine Islands, situate on the banks of a bay, at the mouth of the river Pasig, in the island of Luconan. On the 23rd of August six companies proceeded on the voyage; the other four companies were embarked on board of men-of-war, and were about to follow, when orders were received for their disembarking, in consequence of intelligence from the Mysore country, indicating a projected irruption into the British territory by the celebrated Tippoo Saib.

The six companies continued the voyage, and arrived in September at the Prince of Wales's Island, called also Penang, or Betel Nut Island, situated off the west[58] coast of the Malay peninsula, from which it is separated by a narrow strait. At this place a large fleet was assembled, with a numerous body of troops, from the Presidencies of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, for the expedition against Luconan and the other Philippine islands; the Prince of Wales's Island having been selected for the rendezvous of the forces to be employed in this enterprise. The prospect of the services of the troops being speedily required in more important military operations on the continent of India, occasioned orders to be issued for their immediate return. Towards the end of September, the 'Express' sloop arrived with despatches from Madras, and in a few days afterwards the six companies of the Twelfth sailed from the Prince of Wales's Island. They encountered contrary winds, and it being found impossible for the transports to contend against the north-west monsoon, the Twelfth returned to the island in October. They again sailed for Madras on the 15th of November, and landed at Fort George on the 12th of December; during their absence the other four companies of the regiment had exchanged a few shots with a French squadron, which had appeared in Madras-roads, and succeeded in driving an Indiaman on shore under the works of the fort.

Among the various schemes of aggrandizement entertained by the republican government of France, was the wild and extravagant idea of being able to gain possession of the British territory in the East Indies. To strike an effectual blow at the naval, commercial, and colonial greatness of the British nation, was an object of primary consideration with the French directory, and to excite the jealousy of the native princes of India, and induce them to take up arms against the[59] English, was one of the means used to accomplish this object. In the ruler of the fruitful province of Mysore, the celebrated Tippoo Sultan, the French found a chieftain eager to seize on the first opportunity for being revenged on the British, who had punished his former aggressions by depriving him of a considerable portion of territory, and inflicting a fine equal to three and a half millions sterling. This chief entered zealously into the design to drive the English out of India, and endeavoured to induce other princes to join in the enterprise. After the discovery of the designs of the enemy, hostilities were delayed some time, and the Twelfth regiment marched for Tanjore, the capital of a well-cultivated province in the Carnatic, where it arrived on the 1st of March, 1798.

The regiment was reviewed at Tanjore, by Major-General Floyd, who expressed in orders to Colonel Aston, the officers, and soldiers, 'the satisfaction he received on inspecting the eight companies of the Twelfth regiment of infantry at the station;' and added—'In the masterly hands of their commanding officer, there is every reason to expect that His Majesty's Twelfth regiment of infantry will, whenever called upon, be ready and disposed to renew in the east the glories of Minden and Gibraltar.'

Preparatory to the grand enterprise of driving the English out of India, General Bonaparte was sent with a French army to Egypt; many French officers and men were introduced into the army of Tippoo Sultan, and other measures were adopted calculated to forward the design. Under these circumstances the Governor-General of India, Lord Mornington, deemed it necessary to assemble a body of troops on the coast of Coromandel, and to engage the Nizam of the Deccan to furnish an[60] auxiliary force. The Twelfth regiment marched from the fortress of Tanjore, on the 22nd of July, to join the army assembling under the orders of Lieut.-General Harris.

On the 1st of January, 1799, the regiment joined the camp of the army advancing towards Mysore, and negociations having failed, the troops penetrated the territory of Tippoo Sultan in the beginning of March. The Twelfth, seventy-fourth, and Scots brigade, formed the first brigade of infantry under Major-General Baird.

During the night of the 7th of March, the regiment was employed, under Major-General Baird, in an attempt to surprise the camp of a body of the enemy's cavalry, but the Mysoreans obtained information of the design and made a precipitate retreat.

On the following day, the light company of the Twelfth, commanded by Captain Woodhall, took possession of Neldroog without opposition.

The British advanced direct upon the capital of the Mysore country, Seringapatam,[19] and Tippoo endeavoured to harass the march by skirmishes, and impede the progress of the troops by burning villages and laying waste the country. The regiment having entered upon active warfare, the Commanding Officer issued the following order:—'As the Twelfth regiment, from having the honour to be the eldest King's regiment with the army, is more liable to be called on for immediate service than other corps, the Commanding Officer expects the Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, and Private Men, will be ready, night or day, to turn out at the shortest notice, and to parade under arms without noise or confusion. On all sudden alarms [61]the light infantry is instantly to accoutre without waiting for orders, and to be in readiness to march whenever their services may be required.'

On the 27th of March, as the Lascars were pitching the tents of the army on a fine plain beyond the fort of Malleville, they were suddenly assailed by a heavy cannonade from an eminence in front; at the same time the advance-piquet, under Captain McPherson of the Twelfth regiment, was attacked by a force of very superior numbers, but repulsed its assailants with distinguished bravery. The army arriving on the plain, advanced in close column of regiments towards the eminence, upon which large bodies of Mysorean cavalry and infantry were formed, who withdrew their heavy guns, but annoyed the advancing columns with rockets.

As the British columns approached the height, they formed line, and ascended to the summit, which was abandoned by the enemy, but a short distance beyond the eminence appeared the army of Mysore in order of battle. As the Twelfth moved forward, a large body of Mysorean cavalry formed in the shape of a wedge, having an elephant with a howdah on his back in front, appeared advancing to charge the regiment, and the British line halted to receive the attack. Immediately afterwards two other very large bodies of the enemy were discovered in two topes, or woods, preparing to support the first charge. Lieut.-General Harris, seeing the danger which menaced the regiment, placed himself in its rear, frequently repeating the words, 'Steady, Twelfth!' 'Steady, old Twelfth!' and when the wedge approached within a hundred yards of the line, the Mysoreans discharged their carbines and[62] pistols, but without doing execution. The Twelfth remained steady, with their muskets at the recover, until the enemy arrived within about thirty yards, when a well-directed volley, followed by a rapid file firing, carried destruction into the enemy's ranks; a rampart of killed and wounded men and horses lying along the front of the regiment. The rear of the wedge was embarrassed by the killed and wounded in front, and could not continue their charge. The elephant was severely wounded, his conductor killed, the chiefs on his back had fallen, and he turned round and directed all his fury upon the Mysoreans, overturning everything in his retrograde movement, and producing great havoc with a prodigious chain, which he swayed. A few Mysorean horsemen broke through the regiment, but they were instantly shot in its rear, and the British artillery arriving, and opening its fire, the enemy's cavalry fell back; at the same time the British line advanced, and decided the fate of the day at that part of the field; a distant cannonade, however, indicated that the battle was raging elsewhere.

The left of the right wing was opposed to Tippoo's infantry, and gained a complete victory; between seven and eight thousand Mysoreans being put hors de combat: the loss of the British did not amount to so many hundreds.

In general orders issued on the same evening, it was stated, 'The Commander-in-Chief congratulates the army on the happy result of this day's action, during which he had various opportunities of witnessing its gallantry, coolness, and attention to orders:' and in brigade orders, 'Major-General Baird, with the most heartfelt satisfaction, congratulates the brigade[63] on the victory obtained this day over the enemy; it is sufficient for him to say, that the valour of the corps fully answered his expectation.'

On the following morning, the army continued its advance upon the capital of Mysore, and the enemy used various stratagems to retard the movement until the approach of the rainy season should render the siege of Seringapatam impracticable. The water was found impregnated with poison; many men were taken seriously ill, and several horses fell down dead while in the act of drinking; the smoking ruins of villages, and other scenes of devastation presented themselves; at the same time large bodies of hostile cavalry hovered round the army, and the camp was often annoyed by rockets; but the British forces moved steadily forward, and on the 3rd of April they arrived within four miles of Seringapatam,—a city and fortress, which had attained considerable strength and splendour under Hyder Ali and his son Tippoo Sultan: it is situate at the upper end of an island, four miles long, and a mile and a half broad, in the river Cavery.

About six o'clock on the evening of the 3rd of April, the Twelfth regiment, with the flank companies of the seventy-fourth and Scots brigade, assembled under Major-General Baird, to beat up the enemy's cavalry encampments: they were out all night without effecting the surprise of any of the enemy's detachments; but about three o'clock on the following morning they came suddenly upon a numerous body of Mysorean cavalry, when they rushed forward and bayoneted nearly every man before the Mysoreans could mount their horses, which were led into the British camp at six o'clock, at the moment the army was about to commence its march.

On the 4th of April, the army arrived in sight of[64] Seringapatam; the soldiers had skirmished with the enemy's cavalry and rocket men, during the march, and in the evening a general order was issued, in which it was stated,—'The Commander-in-Chief takes this opportunity of noticing the high sense he has of the general exertion of the troops throughout the long and tedious march, with the largest encampment ever known to move with any army in India; and in congratulating them on a sight of Seringapatam, he has every confidence that a continuance of the same exertions will very shortly put an end to their labours, and place the British colours on its walls!'

The army took up a new position on the 5th of April, and in the evening the Twelfth regiment was ordered to advance, supported by two battalions of Sepoys, and take possession of a nullah, or bed of a river or aqueduct, about a mile and a half in front of the camp. The night was very dark, but the regiment had scarcely cleared the outposts, when the air was illuminated by hundreds of fire-balls thrown up by the enemy, who thus detected the advance of the British troops, and immediately commenced a heavy fire of musketry and rockets, under which the Twelfth continued to advance in open column of companies. Suddenly, regular platoon firing was heard in front, and showers of bullets assailed the regiment on both flanks and in front, when it formed line. The trampling sound of approaching troops occasioned the regiment to prepare to charge with the bayonet, which was about to be executed, when it was discovered that the approaching troops were one of the battalions of Sepoys which had been ordered to support the Twelfth. This battalion had lost its road, moved to the front, and become exposed to the attack of very superior[65] numbers of the enemy, whom it had engaged upwards of an hour, which accounted for the platoon firing heard in front; it was retreating, bringing off its killed and wounded, under Major Colin Campbell, and being pursued, formed in the rear of the Twelfth regiment. When the pursuing Mysoreans discovered, by their fire-balls, the line of Europeans before them, they fell back to a greater distance, but without any relaxation in their fire, and so many spent balls struck the officers and soldiers of the Twelfth, that they were ordered to sit down to await the approach of day for the completion of the enterprise; the nullah was at some distance, and it could only be approached by a road of difficult access. The regiment did not fire a shot, but large quantities of ammunition were sent from the camp; the incessant firing having given rise to the expectation that the soldiers must have expended their cartridges.

About two o'clock on the following morning the enemy's firing ceased, and at four the Twelfth advanced. When the morning light appeared, the regiment found itself in the rear of a long mud wall and fragments of a ruined village, three hundred yards from the nullah, which was occupied by thousands of Mysoreans and French, with large masses of infantry on both flanks. Under these circumstances, the regiment halted, and the pioneers threw up an embankment on both flanks, to preserve it from enfilade. This work was scarcely completed, when day-light enabled the Mysoreans to discover the position and insignificant numbers of the regiment, compared with their host, and they endeavoured to destroy it by a storm of bullets, but the soldiers were sheltered by the mud[66] walls, and very few cannon-balls from the fort took effect, on account of the distance. Lieut.-General Harris, observing the unequal contest, ordered the artillery to fire on the enemy's ranks, the balls passing over the heads of the Twelfth, and the British line advanced. The commanding officer of the detachment, Lieut.-Colonel Shaw, saw the line moving steadily forward to his support, and having entire confidence in the valour of the Twelfth, he resolved to attack the opposing legions with the bayonet; he cautioned the soldiers to prepare, and giving the word 'Charge, Twelfth,' they sprang from behind the mud wall, raised a loud shout, and rushed forward towards the nullah. The Mysoreans were confounded by the suddenness of the attack; they saw the sparkling steel bayonets of the Twelfth approach, and abandoned their post in a panic. As the Twelfth rushed forward, several lines of Mysoreans fired volleys at them, but the balls struck the sand many yards from the regiment, and in five minutes the nullah was captured. The enemy rallied behind a high bank, and made a show of a design to retake the post, but the Twelfth and Sepoys ascended the bank, and kept up a well-directed file firing, which occasioned the Mysoreans to retreat: a party of French were also driven from a post on the left of the regiment. The nullah being thus carried, the artillery of Seringapatam opened a heavy fire, which obliged the soldiers to take shelter in the bed of the river. The post thus captured, was designated 'Shaw's Post,' in honour of the commanding officer of the detachment, Lieut.-Colonel Shaw of the seventy-fourth foot.

When the Twelfth rushed forward to storm the[67] post, the army suspended its advance, awaiting the result, and a brigade afterwards drove a body of the enemy from a wood on the right of Shaw's Post. A breast-work was subsequently made to cover the troops from the guns of Seringapatam, and the Twelfth had the honour to break ground before that important fortress. About seven o'clock in the evening, the regiment was relieved by the seventy-fourth foot: its loss was Lieutenants George Nixon and T. Falla, and ten rank and file killed; Captain Whitler, Lieutenants R. Nixon, Percival, King, and Neville, and a considerable number of non-commissioned officers and soldiers, wounded.

The siege of Seringapatam was prosecuted with vigour; and in the early part of May, a practicable breach was ready, when the Twelfth were selected to take part in storming this important fortress. For this service, the flank companies of the European corps left in the camp, the Twelfth, thirty-third, seventy-third, and seventy-fourth regiments, three corps of grenadier Sepoys, two hundred of the Nizam's troops, a hundred of the artillery, and the corps of pioneers, the whole under the orders of Major-General Baird, took post in the trenches, to make the attack during the heat of the day on the 4th of May, when the Mysoreans were likely to be surprised. At one o'clock the signal was given, when the forlorn hope sprang forward; six flank companies, and the Twelfth regiment, also issued from the trenches at a running pace, and were followed by the remainder of the storming party; they passed the rocky bed of the Cavery river under a heavy fire, crossed the glacis and ditch, ascended the breaches in the fausse braye and rampart in[68] gallant style, and overcame all resistance, with a resolution and valour which proved the innate bravery of the officers and soldiers. The Mysoreans were unable to withstand the prowess of the British troops, and they were overpowered at all points.

During the heat of the conflict, Captain Woodhall was detached with the light company of the Twelfth, and a few men of the battalion companies, to reinforce the troops fighting upon the inner rampart; this party proceeded by a narrow path, passed a deep ditch to the inward wall, and flanked and took in reverse the enemy's traverses, which were defended by the Sultan in person, who was forced to retire. As Tippoo and his suite were passing the small gate on the northern face, into the body of the town, the light infantry of the Twelfth arrived at the inner side of the gate, and fired upon him and his followers with such effect, that the gateway was choked with killed and wounded, and the body of the Sultan was afterwards found among the slain. After the firing had ceased at all other points, resistance continued to be made at the palace; but upon assurance of safety to the sons of Tippoo, the enemy surrendered, and the capture of this important city and fortress was achieved.

The regiment had seventeen men killed, and forty-nine wounded during the siege, and Lieutenant Shawe was shot through the leg in the assault; the following officers died during the siege from extraordinary fatigue and the effects of the climate; Major Allen, Captain Buckeridge, Lieutenants Percival and Gahan, and Assistant Surgeon Bacot.

On the following day it was stated in orders:—'The Commander-in-Chief congratulates the gallant army[69] he has the honor to command on the conquest of yesterday; the effects arising from the attainment of such an acquisition as far exceed the present limits of detail, as the unremitting zeal, labour, and unparalleled valour of the troops surpass the power of praise for services so incalculable in their consequences: he must consider the troops well entitled to the gratitude of their country.'

The Governor-General stated in a letter to Lieut.-General Harris, 'With the warmest sensation of admiration, affection, and attachment, I offer my cordial thanks, and zealous congratulations to you and all the officers and privates composing the gallant army, which has achieved this glorious and decisive victory, with a degree of energy, rapidity, and of skill, unparalleled in this quarter of the globe, and seldom equalled in any part of the world.'

In general orders by Government, it was stated—'The Right Honorable the Governor-General in Council, having this day received from the Commander-in-Chief of the allied army in the field, the official detail of the glorious and decisive victory obtained at Seringapatam, on the 4th May, offers his cordial thanks and sincere congratulations to the Commander-in-Chief and all the officers and men composing the gallant army which achieved the capture of the capital of Mysore on that memorable day.

'His Lordship views with admiration, the consummate judgment with which the assault was planned, the unequalled rapidity, animation, and skill, with which it was executed, and the humanity which distinguished its success.

'Under the favour of Providence and the justice of[70] our cause, the established character of the army had inspired an early confidence that the war, in which we were engaged, would be brought to a speedy, prosperous, and honorable issue; but the events of the 4th of May, while they even surpassed the sanguine expectation of the Governor-General in Council, have raised the reputation of the British arms in India to a degree of splendour and glory, unrivalled in the military history of this quarter of the globe, and seldom approached in any part of the world.

'The lustre of the victory can be equalled only by the substantial advantages which it promises to establish, by restoring the peace and safety of the British possessions in India, and a durable foundation of genuine security.

'The Governor-General in Council reflects with pride, satisfaction, and gratitude, that in this arduous crisis, the spirit and exertions of our Indian army have kept pace with those of our countrymen at home; and that in India, as in Europe, Great Britain has found in the malevolent designs of her enemies, an increasing source of her own prosperity, fame, and power.'

Heath del.

Madeley Lith. 3 Wellington S^t Strand.

TWELFTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.
STORMING OF SERINGAPATAM MAY 4^TH 1799.
For Cannons Military Records.

The territory subject to the late Tippoo Sultan was divided: to Great Britain was allotted the capital and several extensive districts; another portion was given to the Nizam; and a third to the Mahratta power; the remainder continued to form an independent state under a descendant of the ancient rulers of Mysore. Thus was the hostile combination against England confounded, British territory extended, and its power and revenue increased. The Twelfth regiment was afterwards rewarded with the royal authority to bear the word Seringapatam on its colours, to commemorate [71]its gallant conduct during this war, and the officers received medals from the East India Company.[20] The regiment captured eight stand of colours from the troops of Tippoo Sultan at the storming of the capital.

After encamping a short time near Seringapatam, and afterwards near Yarriagoranelly, the regiment marched into garrison at the captured fortress; but while it was stationed there, a partisan, named Dhoondia, excited the Mysoreans to take arms in opposition to the allied powers, which occasioned orders to be issued for the Twelfth foot again to take the field. This partisan assembled an irregular force, and gained possession of several fortified places. When a small body of troops was sent against him, he fled, and was pursued to the frontiers of the Mysore country.

The regiment was afterwards encamped near Seringapatam, where it was joined in December, 1800, by the seventy-seventh foot, some battalions of Sepoys, and a proportion of native cavalry, forming a small army under Colonel Pater, for the purpose of reducing the warlike tribes of the Wynaad country,—a mountainous district overrun with woods, and comprising about twelve hundred square miles, situate in the province of Malabar.

Leaving the vicinity of Seringapatam on the 26th of December, five companies of the regiment arrived at Manantoddy on the 9th of January, 1801, and were employed until the 23rd of that month, in stockading [72]the small hill fort, and in making arrangements for entering the woody districts of the Wynaad country.

From Manantoddy the Twelfth proceeded to Peria Colgum, where they constructed a redoubt: they afterwards marched to Lackerry Cottah, at which village another redoubt was constructed.

The little army under Colonel Pater traversed the country in almost every practicable direction, ascending hills, cutting roads through almost impenetrable jungle of bamboos, skirmishing with the warlike inhabitants, and forcing them to submit, in which service the Twelfth had several men killed and wounded: the climate, and extraordinary fatigue undergone by the troops, also occasioned the loss of many lives from disease. The Wynaad country having been forced to submit, and the hostile rajah taken prisoner, the companies of the Twelfth regiment employed in this service returned to Seringapatam.

The regiment quitted Seringapatam in the middle of October, 1801, and proceeded to Trichinopoly, a celebrated city and fortress, situate on a hill, or rock, three hundred and fifty feet high, on the south bank of the river Cavery, opposite the island of Seringam, famous for its magnificent Hindoo temples.

At Trichinopoly the regiment was joined in January, 1802, by the remains of two companies, which had embarked on board of His Majesty's ships, at Madras, for Batavia. These companies had suffered severely from the climate of the island of Java; and of the five officers and one hundred and twenty-five men who embarked at Madras, only three officers and sixty-three soldiers returned; Lieutenants Gordon and Neville and sixty-two men died of fevers, and other diseases.

[73]

Three companies had been stationed under Major John Picton, at Vellore, in the Carnatic, the residence of the family of the late Tippoo Sultan, consisting of his brother, twelve sons, eight daughters, and an immense number of women; and these companies were afterwards employed against the insurgent sect called the Polygans, in which several non-commissioned officers and soldiers were killed and wounded; Lieutenant William Firth was also wounded, and Lieutenant Parker died of the jungle fever. After the performance of this service, the three companies joined the regiment at Trichinopoly, where the Twelfth were stationed during the years 1803 and 1804.

In August, 1805, the regiment marched to Seringapatam, where a very fatal fever broke out in 1806, when the Twelfth removed to an encampment at some distance from the fortress; but they lost many officers and soldiers in that and the following year.

In April, 1807, more than half the surviving officers and men were suffering from disease, when an order arrived for the remainder to march to the coast of Malabar, and occupy quarters at the port of Cannanore, where the regiment was stationed upwards of eighteen months.

At Cannanore the health of the men was restored, and when inspected in 1808, by Colonel Cuppage, a district order was published, in which the colonel expressed 'his thanks to Captain Eustace and the officers and men of His Majesty's Twelfth regiment, for their handsome appearance at the review. The dress, steadiness, and general appearance of the men, marked the great attention paid to their discipline, and their[74] uniform good conduct and friendly disposition towards the natives reflect every credit on the corps.'

While the Twelfth foot were at Cannanore, some disputes, of a tedious and complicated character, occurred between the British and the Rajah of Travancore, a province situate at the south-west extremity of Hindoostan. In 1795, a treaty of alliance was concluded between the British and the Rajah, who agreed to subsidize three battalions of Sepoys for the defence of his dominions; when the disputes with the Rajah came to a crisis, these battalions were at the port of Coulan (or Quilon), and they were threatened with destruction by the natives, together with every person in the British interest. While the execution of these menaces was delayed, the Twelfth regiment embarked, towards the end of December, 1808, in potamars (small undecked vessels), to proceed along the coast a distance of three hundred miles to Coulan, in the Travancore country. Four of these boats, having three companies and a half on board, arrived at their destination in a few days, and were immediately landed, to the great joy of the Sepoys. A severe gale of wind dispersed the boats containing the other companies of the regiment, and several of them were wrecked on the coast of Cochin, a small province on the north of Travancore, but by great exertions the soldiers were saved; others gained the port of Cochin, where they remained until the storm was over. One potamar, containing Serjeant-Major Tilsey and thirty-three rank and file, was driven on the coast of Travancore, near Alleppi, when the natives sent off several small canoes. The soldiers, believing they had arrived at the friendly port[75] of Coulan, went on board the canoes two or three at a time, but on landing they were overpowered by the natives, their wrists broken with an iron bar, their hands tied behind them, and they were cast into a dungeon, where they remained several days without food. They were afterwards conducted, when scarcely able to walk, to a high ground near the sea, and precipitated into a watery grave. The serjeant-major was reserved to the last, and as he witnessed his companions in arms successively hurled headlong into the deep, he struggled to release himself, and tore pieces of flesh from his shoulders with his teeth, exclaiming 'Let me die like a soldier!' but the barbarians derided him, and eventually put an end to his torments in the same manner as the others. A negro youth, who accompanied this portion of the regiment as cook, witnessed this tragic scene, and was menaced with the same fate, but was spared, and he afterwards made known the fate of the party. Another potamar, having nearly a company on board, under Lieutenant George Blanchard Gray and Adjutant Hayes, approached the coast a few miles from Coulan, and were, in consequence of the shattered state of the vessel, deciding on the propriety of landing, when a volley of musketry from the shore announced the hostile intentions of the natives. The vessel was bound together with some large tents, to prevent its splitting, and it arrived safely at Cochin, but went to pieces in the harbour. All the potamars being damaged, other vessels were procured to continue the voyage.

The officers and men of the regiment, who arrived at Coulan on the 29th of December, joined the Sepoys encamped near the town. On the evening of the same[76] day, the Travancoreans attacked the piquet under Captain Clapham of the Sepoys; the fire of musketry and artillery indicating a sharp conflict, Lieut.-Colonel Chalmers, commanding the troops at that station, detached Ensign James Keappock, and forty men of the Twelfth, to support the Sepoys, and the enemy was forced to retire, leaving about eighty men dead on the scene of conflict.

The Travancoreans were excited to rage and fury against the British, who had thus gained a footing in the heart of their country; they assembled in immense multitudes before the camp, kept up an incessant fire on the piquets, and heavy columns menaced the encampment; the soldiers were thus kept constantly ready for action, and they lay on their arms night and day.

On the 8th of January, 1809, the remainder of the regiment arrived at Coulan, excepting one company, commanded by Lieutenant Thomas Thompson, left with six hundred Sepoys and several guns for the defence of Cochin. The men of the Twelfth, with the Sepoys and guns which had arrived, were landed as expeditiously as possible; but the force was obliged to remain encamped on a sandy plain near the sea, enclosed by an almost impenetrable forest of cocoa-nut trees, from the want of means for carrying on active operations. The Resident prohibited the felling of the trees to conciliate the natives; but this produced no advantage, and the wood afforded shelter to the Travancorean marksmen, who annoyed the camp with their fire, keeping the troops in a constant state of alarm; the outposts were also frequently attacked by parties of the enemy.

Before daylight, on the 15th of January, a tumul[77]tuous noise in the wood proclaimed the approach of an immense number of men, and at break of day the Travancoreans commenced an attack along the whole front of the British line, at the same time heavy columns were seen among the trees threatening both flanks. Thinking the attack was a surprise, the enemy fired his artillery at the tents; but when sufficient light enabled the Travancoreans to see the British ranks, they immediately directed their guns on the Twelfth regiment, as if desirous of annihilating the Europeans first. Thus perilously exposed to the enemy's numerous artillery, the British instantly advanced the right wing of the Twelfth and two battalions of Sepoys against the enemy's left, and the left wing of the Twelfth, with one battalion of Sepoys, against the right of the enemy's line. The whole force was instantly brought into close action; but the British had only five small field-pieces to answer the fire of the forty guns brought into action by the enemy: the British musketry was, however, well directed, and the incessant peals which echoed in the woods announced a vigorous contest, which was continued for several hours, during which clouds of barbed arrows, from the enemy's local troops, inflicted painful wounds on the British soldiers. About mid-day, the Twelfth were ordered to charge with bayonets, and capture the enemy's artillery; they rushed forward with distinguished bravery, the soldiers shouting "Remember our murdered comrades at Alleppi!" as they precipitated themselves upon their opponents. The Travancoreans made a resolute defence, many of them being bayoneted at their guns; and a discharge of grape-shot, from one field-piece, killed eleven grenadiers of the Twelfth regiment. During[78] this contest many distinguished acts of gallantry were displayed by the officers and men, and Ensign Keappock, being attacked by two opponents, slew them. Finally both wings of the regiment were triumphant; heaps of Travancoreans fell beneath the bayonets of the Twelfth, who captured eighteen brass field-pieces. The loss of these guns intimidated the enemy, who retired about three o'clock in the afternoon, leaving five thousand killed and wounded on the field of battle. The British were unable to follow up the advantage, from the want of stores, which prevented their quitting the coast.

The enemy appears to have been very confident of success on this occasion, and to have been intent on the annihilation of the Europeans; several Travancoreans of their Carnatic brigade were taken prisoners, and ropes being found in their possession, they were questioned on the subject, when they confessed that the cords were brought for the purpose of hanging the British soldiers, and that the British officers were to have been trampled to death by elephants.

The regiment had fifty men killed and wounded; no officers were killed, but the following were wounded—Captain Richard Bayley, Lieutenant M. J. Molloy, and Surgeon Robert Erskine.

On the succeeding day, the following statement was published in orders,—'It is with the greatest satisfaction that Lieut.-Colonel Chalmers congratulates the troops he has the honour to command, on the glorious success obtained yesterday, against the attack of an enemy whose force did not amount to less than thirty thousand men. He begs leave to offer his most particular thanks to Lieut.-Colonel Picton, who commanded[79] the right wing of this little force, with a wing of the Twelfth regiment, and to the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates, whose gallantry and high discipline have, on all occasions, appeared conspicuous. Lieut.-Colonel Chalmers has to offer his thanks to Major Hamilton, who commanded on the left, with a wing of His Majesty's Twelfth regiment, and to the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates, whose gallant conduct needs no further comment, than that they belonged to His Majesty's Twelfth.' The Political Resident, Colonel C. Macauly, stated in a letter to Lieut.-Colonel Chalmers, 'I have received the details of the victory over the united force of the Divan—an achievement that reflects signal honour on the discipline and animated valour of the troops under your command, and sheds fresh lustre on the British arms.'

A numerous army of opponents continued to hover near the British force at Coulan, and it was deemed advisable to cut down many of the trees, to throw up a breast-work in front of the encampment, and to construct a redoubt, which was armed with the guns taken from the enemy.

In the mean time, the company of the Twelfth under Lieutenant Thompson, with the battalion of Sepoys, commanded by Major Hewett, left for the defence of the port of Cochin, had been attacked by the troops of the Rajah of the province of Cochin. During the action, the Sepoys gave way, and the company of the Twelfth had to maintain a desperate struggle with very superior numbers. The enemy was repulsed, and the inhabitants of Cochin were preserved from a general massacre, with which they had been menaced for being[80] favourable to the British interests; they openly attributed their preservation to the distinguished heroism of the company of the Twelfth, which had half its non-commissioned officers and private soldiers killed and wounded; Lieutenant Thompson was severely wounded, and died a short time afterwards.

The Twelfth regiment and Sepoys continued to resist the armed population of Travancore and the numerous forces of the Rajah; but being constantly harassed by the approach of bodies of the enemy, the physical powers of the soldiers became diminished, and their numbers decreased by disease; but the innate valour of the troops remained unabated. Before daylight on the 31st of January, the Travancoreans made another effort to surprise the camp; but a rocket announced their approach, and the British were under arms, as they usually were, at three o'clock in the morning: many of the cocoa-nut trees had been cut down to enlarge the plain, and as the enemy's heavy columns emerged from the wood, a sharp cannonade was opened upon them; but they formed line under fire and advanced, when the guns of the redoubt rent chasms in their ranks. Undismayed by the storm of grape and bullets which smote their ranks, the Travancoreans pressed forward, and endeavoured to establish several guns on a rising ground; but the artillery of the redoubt dismounted their ordnance. After keeping up an irregular fire of musketry for some time, they withdrew from the front, and concentrating on the right, renewed the attack with greater vigour, when the left wing of the Twelfth regiment was detached under Captain William Henry Forssteen, to aid the Sepoys on that flank. On the arrival of the Twelfth on the right,[81] a charge with bayonets was executed with great vigour and the Travancoreans fled from the field, leaving one brass six-pounder behind them; several other guns were preserved by the swiftness of the elephants.

On the following day, the troops were thanked in orders 'for the steady and cool manner in which they met and repulsed the attack of the enemy.'

After this defeat, in which they lost an immense number of men, the Travancoreans did not hazard another general attack; but they frequently endeavoured to surprise the piquets in the night, in which they were always defeated. On the 13th of February, the nineteenth regiment arrived from Columbo; and the troops were only prevented advancing up the country from the want of stores and the means of conveyance. A small supply having arrived, they advanced in two columns, the first composed of the Twelfth and a battalion of Sepoys, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Picton; and the second, of the nineteenth and a battalion of Sepoys, under Lieut.-Colonel Stewart, and by a combined attack they captured the enemy's stockade and extensive breast-works, in gallant style, on the 21st of February.

In the meantime another British force had penetrated the Travancore country under Colonel St. Leger, and this army arrived at Travandapatam, the capital, without meeting with serious opposition. The refractory Rajah made overtures for peace, and the Twelfth regiment returned to Coulan, detaching the flank companies to the capital.

The regiment commenced its march for Seringapatam, on the 23rd of May; but was forced to halt several days in consequence of the heavy rains of the[82] Malabar monsoon, which rendered the rivers impassable, swept away part of the regimental baggage, and drowned several men in the rapid currents which rushed along the low grounds. On the 24th of July the regiment arrived at Trichinopoly.

In Europe, the war with France was being prosecuted with vigour, and in the month of March, 1810, the flank companies of the regiment were completed to one hundred rank and file each, and marched under Captain Forssteen, for Madras, to take part in an expedition against the French island of Bourbon, situate in the Indian ocean, about four hundred miles east of Madagascar. In June the expedition arrived at Rodriguez, and in July came in sight of the island of Bourbon, when the surf was so high as to render a landing dangerous; an attempt was, however, made; the light infantry of the Twelfth in a small schooner, and about three hundred men of the thirty-third and sixty-ninth regiments in boats, approached the shore and effected a landing with the loss of a few men drowned; but the schooner and boats were dashed to pieces, the soldiers' ammunition damaged, and many of their arms lost. As no more men could be landed, Lieutenant Foulkstone of the sixty-ninth regiment volunteered to swim through the surf and convey orders to Lieut.-Colonel Macleod, to take possession of St. Marie. This order was instantly obeyed, and the light infantry of the Twelfth distinguished themselves in storming the batteries, in which service they had two private soldiers killed; Lieutenants John Spinks, and John B. Whannell, with five rank and file wounded. The grenadier company of the Twelfth, and other corps afterwards landed at Grand Chaloupe, and by[83] their spirited conduct, particularly the gallant behaviour of the eighty-sixth regiment, the reduction of the island was speedily accomplished.

While the flank companies were engaged in this service, the regiment was stationed at Wallajahbad, from whence it marched, in August, to St. Thomas's Mount, and in September to Madras, where it embarked on board the "Russell," of seventy-four guns, and the "Cornwallis," "Hesper," "Cornelia," "Bucephalus," and "Clorinde" frigates, to take part in the expedition against the Mauritius, or Isle of France, another island in the Indian sea, belonging to France; the grenadiers and light infantry of the regiment also embarked from St. Paul's in the island of Bourbon, to share in the enterprise. On the 28th of November the armament approached the Isle of France, and the troops effected a landing in the bay of Mapon, when one brigade was ordered into a large wood, through which it was necessary to pass. The light company of the Twelfth under Captain Forssteen, preceded by a section under Lieutenant Ashe, penetrated among the trees, and skirmished with a French piquet, in which service two men were killed, and Lieutenant Ashe and three private soldiers wounded. After a march of nine miles, the light infantry of the Twelfth halted on some low ground surrounded by jungle. The weather was very hot, water could not be procured, and the sufferings of the soldiers, in consequence, were very severe; but on the following day some alleviation of suffering was obtained by sucking the dew from the herbage, and advancing to the powder mills, within five miles of Port Louis, the capital, clear streams of water were discovered. While halting at this place, the piquets[84] were attacked by the enemy, when the rifle company of the Twelfth, and the light infantry of the fifty-ninth, dashed forward, and drove back the French skirmishers, wounding General de Caen.

On the following morning the army advanced, the grenadiers of the Twelfth being in front, and the light infantry on the flanks, under Captains Firth and Forssteen, Lieutenant Keappock commanding the leading section of grenadiers. While advancing along a narrow road, through a country covered with underwood, the army was suddenly assailed with grape shot, from an eminence; but a charge with bayonets forced the French to withdraw. Arriving at some open grounds, the British formed line, when the French abandoned their guns and retreated towards the town, leaving a body of troops on a mountain on the British left. The Twelfth were ordered to storm the height, and they raised a loud shout, and soon gained the summit, when the French fled, leaving a gun behind them.

The officers and soldiers of the regiment evinced great heroism in these services; Lieutenant Keappock was wounded in the side, but continued at his post until a shot in the head forced him to retire; his honourable, though dangerous post, was taken by Lieutenant Jenkins, who received a severe contusion on the breast by a ball, but continued at the head of the leading section.

In this short but brilliant and decisive service, the regiment had Major Jeremiah O'Keefe, one drummer, and sixteen rank and file killed; Lieutenants Keappock and Ashe, three serjeants, and twenty-eight rank and file wounded; five men missing.

The French Governor, General de Caen, seeing no[85] prospect of being able to make effectual resistance, surrendered the island. This enterprise was thus successfully accomplished, and the conduct of the Twelfth regiment was commended in orders, also in the public despatch of Major-General Abercromby.

After the surrender of the Isle of France, the flank companies proceeded to Port Louis, and the battalion companies descended the Long Mountain, and embarked from Tortue bay, in the "Psyche" frigate, for Grand Port, where they were joined by the flank companies, after being separated eleven months.

General Picton died on the 14th of October, 1811, in his eighty-fourth year, and was succeeded in the Colonelcy of the Twelfth foot, by Lieut.-General Sir Charles Hastings, Baronet, from the seventy-seventh regiment of foot.

The regiment was stationed in the Isle of France during the years 1811 and 1812.

In the meantime the war with France was approaching to a crisis; Napoleon Bonaparte had attained the summit of power, and the efforts of Great Britain were commensurate with the importance of the contest; the army was augmented, and in the autumn of 1811 a second battalion was added to the Twelfth regiment of four hundred and fifty-one officers and soldiers, into which the recruiting companies of the regiment were incorporated.

In the autumn of 1812, the second battalion proceeded to Ireland.

In April, 1813, the first battalion embarked from Port Louis, for the island of Bourbon, where it was stationed nearly two years.

During this period the tyrannical power of Bonaparte[86] had been overthrown, and the Bourbon dynasty restored to the throne of France. On the re-establishment of peace in Europe, the island of Bourbon was restored to the French monarchy, and in consequence of this arrangement the regiment embarked from St. Denis on the 3rd of April, 1815; the French soldiers, who arrived from Europe to take possession of the island, landing as the British went on board the ships prepared to receive them.

The Mauritius, or Isle of France, was retained by the British government, and the Twelfth foot having been selected to form part of the garrison of that valuable island, immediately proceeded thither.

Soon afterwards, Bonaparte quitted the island of Elba, in violation of his engagements, and regained the throne of France, when the powers of Europe took arms against the usurper, and his veteran legions were overpowered in the field of Waterloo by the allied army under Field Marshal His Grace the Duke of Wellington, on the 18th of June, 1815. To replace the losses of the British army at Waterloo, additional forces were sent to the continent, and the second battalion of the Twelfth regiment, which had returned to England a few months previously from Ireland, embarked for Flanders on the 27th of June, under the command of Colonel Julius Stirke; it landed at Ostend and advanced to Paris, where the campaign was terminated by the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty to the throne of France. Peace being again established in Europe, the battalion returned to England in December.

In June, 1815, the rifle company of the first battalion proceeded to Bengal, and formed part of a field[87] brigade assembled for service; it, however, returned to the Mauritius in November.

In January, 1816, the second battalion again proceeded to Ireland.

The first battalion continued to form part of the garrison of the Mauritius during the year 1816, and the first six months of 1817; on the 1st of July of the latter year, a serious fire broke out at Port Louis, when the exertions of the garrison to extinguish the flames, called forth the admiration and thanks of the inhabitants, which were communicated to the troops by the governor.

Transports having arrived to convey the regiment to Europe, a general order was published, in which it was stated, 'Major-General Sir Edward Butler, in taking leave of the Twelfth regiment, feels himself highly gratified in stating, that its conduct, during its services in this island, has, in every particular, been such as to meet with his highest approbation, and he begs to assure Lieut.-Colonel Forssteen, the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men of the Twelfth regiment, that they carry with them his warmest wishes for their prosperity and welfare.'

The regiment sailed from Port Louis on the 25th of July, arrived at Portsmouth on the 10th of November, and afterwards proceeded to Cork, where it landed on the 26th of December, after an absence from Europe of nearly twenty-two years.

A representation of the distinguished services of the regiment in the Travancore country, and other parts of India, with its gallantry at the capture of the islands of Bourbon and Mauritius, procured for it the royal authority to bear the word "India" on its colours.

[88]

From Cork the regiment marched to Athlone, where it arrived on the 9th of January, 1818; and joined the second battalion, which was stationed at that place.

On the 16th of January the second battalion was disbanded at Athlone, transferring six hundred and sixty men to the first battalion. The regiment performed duty in the counties of Cork, Limerick, and Clare, until June, 1820, when it marched to Dublin.

In the autumn of the same year, the regiment embarked for England; it landed at Liverpool, and was afterwards stationed at Manchester and Macclesfield.

On the regiment quitting these quarters, in February, 1821, Major-General Sir James Lyon stated, in a letter to Lieut.-Colonel Forssteen, 'Although the Twelfth foot have been stationed but a short time in this place, I cannot refrain from expressing to you, that no military change could have given me more concern than their departure. I have had every opportunity of observing their uniform good conduct and strict attention to every branch of discipline, and nothing but satisfaction has ever been manifested to me by the civil authorities, and the inhabitants in general, on the very exemplary behaviour of the men. I beg of you to make known to the corps, the value I attach to the honor of having had a regiment of such high character placed under my orders, and that I must ever take an interest in its welfare and success.'

From Lancashire, the regiment marched to Portsmouth, where it embarked for Jersey and Guernsey.

While stationed at these islands, the appearance of the regiment, the conduct of the men, and the excellent system of interior economy which existed in the[89] corps, elicited the commendations of Major-General Sir Colin Halkett, at the inspections in October, 1821, May and October, 1822; and when the Twelfth were about to return to England, in May, 1823, the Major-General repeated his expressions of approbation, with his warm interest in the welfare of the corps. The conduct of the four companies at Guernsey, under Major Bayley, was also specially commended by the Lieut.-Governor, Colonel Sir John Colborne.

On arriving in England, the regiment was stationed at Chatham and Sheerness until October, when it proceeded to Fort Cumberland.

On the decease of General Sir Charles Hastings, Baronet, the Colonelcy was conferred on Lieut.-General the Honorable Robert Meade, from the ninetieth regiment, by commission dated the 9th of October, 1823.

The regiment having received orders to transfer its services to Gibraltar, the scene of its former triumphs, it embarked on board of His Majesty's Ships "Ganges" and "Superb," on the 8th of November, and arrived at that celebrated fortress on the 25th of the same month.

In 1825, the establishment of the regiment was augmented from eight to ten companies, six to be considered service companies and remain at Gibraltar, and four depôt companies to be stationed in the United Kingdom; in consequence of this arrangement the officers and non-commissioned officers of two companies were sent to England.

A new pair of Colours having been provided for the regiment, and bearing the following honorary distinctions, the words "Minden," "Gibraltar" with the Castle and Key and the motto 'Montis Insignia Calpé,' "Seringapatam" and "India," they were presented to[90] the corps, on the 28th of June, 1827, by General Sir George Don, who addressed the commanding officer (Major-Turberville), the officers, and soldiers, to the following effect:—

'It appears by the record of the Twelfth Regiment, to which I have the honor of presenting these colours, that among the many valiant deeds of the corps, it achieved distinguished glory at the battle of Minden. In 1797 I attended the renowned Duke of Brunswick on the spot where this battle was fought; after His Serene Highness had shown me the position occupied by the British, he said, It was here the conflict was most obstinate and it was here that the British Infantry gained immortal glory. This Rock, and Seringapatam, were afterwards among the scenes where the Twelfth Regiment distinguished itself, and which are immortalized in the history of our country. Being myself a soldier of fifty-seven years' standing, I am alive to every instance of meritorious conduct in my brother soldiers, and it is extremely gratifying to me to reflect, that the Twelfth Regiment, which so early established its fame, has continued to augment it on every occasion; and I am confident that whenever these Colours shall be displayed before an enemy, the regiment will, by its valiant conduct, add to the number of glorious records with which they are graced.'

In 1828 the garrison of Gibraltar was afflicted with a severe epidemic fever, which occasioned the death of upwards of five hundred soldiers; the inhabitants suffered much more severely than the troops. During the prevalence of the disease, the Twelfth were encamped for four months on the neutral ground, where they were reviewed on the 27th of December,[91] by the Lieut.-Governor Sir George Don, who expressed to Lieut.-Colonel Bayley, his entire approbation of the appearance of the corps, of its discipline, and interior economy. Eight officers, and two hundred and eighteen non-commissioned officers and soldiers, had been afflicted with the fever, of which number, two officers (Lieutenant Forssteen and Ensign Werge) and fifty-three soldiers had died.

The regiment remained at Gibraltar until the spring of 1834, when it embarked for England, and landed at Portsmouth, from whence it marched to Winchester, and during the winter into Lancashire.

In November 1835, the regiment embarked at Liverpool for Ireland; it landed at Dublin, and was quartered in that city until October 1836, when it proceeded to Athlone.

The regiment was again divided into six service and four depôt companies in the summer of 1837; and in August, the service companies embarked at Cork for the Mauritius, where they arrived in December, and landed at Port Louis.

During the year 1838 the depôt companies were stationed at Kinsale and Tralee.

On the augmentation of the army in August, 1839, the establishment of the Twelfth was increased to forty-seven serjeants, fourteen drummers, and eight hundred rank and file.

In May, 1839, the depôt companies embarked at Cork for Wales, and continued to be stationed at Newtown, Builth, and Brecon, until May, 1840, when they proceeded to Scotland and occupied the barracks at Paisley until May, 1841, when they returned to South Britain and were stationed at Sunderland.

[92]

In April, 1842, the Twelfth Regiment having been augmented to an establishment of one lieut.-colonel, twelve captains, fourteen lieutenants, ten ensigns, six staff officers, sixty-seven serjeants, twenty-five drummers, and twelve hundred rank and file, was ordered to be separated into two battalions; the six service companies abroad being termed the First battalion, and the depôt, augmented to six companies, being styled the Reserve battalion.

The depôt was consequently removed from Sunderland to Weedon in May, 1842, and receiving 255 volunteers from other corps, was there organised for foreign service. The reserve battalion embarked from Portsmouth in the "Java" transport for the Mauritius in November, 1842, under the command of Major Sir Robert Douglas, Bart., but was disembarked at the Cape of Good Hope, and remained there until May, 1843, when it proceeded to its original destination.

On the 2nd of November, 1847, Her Majesty's Troopship "Resistance" arrived with the first battalion of the Fifth Fusiliers for the purpose of relieving the first battalion of the Twelfth Regiment, which embarked from the Mauritius on the 16th of December, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Patton.

The first battalion arrived at Spithead on the 1st of March, 1848, and disembarked on the 3rd of March at Portsmouth, where it was joined by the depôt company from the Isle of Wight. The reserve battalion, after being completed by the transfer of effective men from the first battalion, continued at the Mauritius.

[93]

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS

OF THE

TWELFTH, OR EAST SUFFOLK

REGIMENT OF FOOT.

Henry Duke of Norfolk, K. G.

Appointed 20th of June, 1685.

Henry Howard, son of Henry sixth Duke of Norfolk, sat in the House of Lords by the title of Lord Mowbray, in the lifetime of his father, and on the death of Prince Rupert, in 1682, he was nominated Governor and Constable of Windsor Castle and Warden of the forest at Windsor, also Lord-lieutenant of the counties of Berks and Surrey. On the decease of his father, in 1684, he succeeded to the dignity of Duke of Norfolk, and of Earl Marshal of England, and he was also constituted Lord-lieutenant of Norfolk. On the accession of King James II., he was one of the peers who signed the order for His Majesty's proclamation, and he was shortly afterwards elected a Knight Companion of the most noble Order of the Garter. He took an active part in favour of the King, on the breaking out of the rebellion of James Duke of Monmouth, and interested himself in the raising of a corps of pikemen and musketeers, now Twelfth foot, of which he was appointed colonel, and of which his garrison company at Windsor Castle formed a part. In a few months after tranquillity was restored, he relinquished the command of the regiment, but continued to attend at court, and witnessed, with painful emotions, the predilection of the King in favour of papacy and arbitrary government. On one occasion His Majesty gave the Duke of Norfolk the sword of state to carry before him to the Roman Catholic chapel; but on arriving[94] at the door, His Grace stopped, not being willing to enter the chapel, when the King said, "My Lord, your father would have gone further;" to which the Duke replied, "Your Majesty's father was the better man, and he would not have gone so far."[21]

The Duke of Norfolk continued faithful to the interests of the Protestant religion, and was one of the peers who invited the Prince of Orange to come to England with an army to oppose the proceedings of the court. When the Prince landed, His Grace was in London, and signed the petition to the King for a free Parliament; His Majesty replied, "They should have a Parliament, and such a one as they asked for, when the Prince of Orange had quitted the realm:" and commenced his journey, on the same day, to place himself at the head of his army. His Grace set out for his seat in Norfolk, declared for the Prince of Orange, and brought over that, and some of the neighbouring counties, to the Prince's interest. On the accession of the Prince and Princess of Orange to the throne, His Grace was sworn a member of the privy council, and he took an active part in raising a regiment for the King's service, now the Twenty-second foot, of which he was appointed Colonel, by commission dated the 16th of March, 1689. He died on the 2nd of April, 1701.

Edward Earl of Lichfield.

Appointed 14th June, 1686.

Sir Edward Henry Lee, of Ditchley, Baronet, was advanced to the peerage by King Charles II., in 1674, by the titles of Baron of Spelsbury, in the county of Bucks, and Earl of Lichfield. He was appointed one of the Lords of the bedchamber to King James II., also Custos Rotulorum for the county of Oxford, high steward of the borough of Woodstock, and lord-lieutenant of Woodstock park. In 1686 he succeeded the Duke of Norfolk in the colonelcy of the regiment, now Twelfth foot, which he continued to command [95] until November, 1688, when, being a staunch supporter of the measures of the court, he was removed to the colonelcy of the first regiment of foot guards, which he only held a few weeks, the Prince of Orange conferring that appointment on the Duke of Grafton. The Earl of Lichfield was not afterwards employed in a military capacity. He died on the 14th of July, 1716.

Robert Lord Hunsdon.

Appointed 30th November, 1688.

Sir Robert Carey, Knight, served in a military capacity in the reign of King Charles II., and succeeded, on the decease of John Earl of Dover without issue, to the dignity of Lord Hunsdon. He was one of the supporters of the measures of King James II., who appointed him Lieut.-Colonel of the old Holland regiment (now Third foot) in 1685, and in November, 1688, promoted him to the colonelcy of the Twelfth foot, from which he was removed, at the Revolution, by the Prince of Orange. He died in 1692.

Henry Wharton.

Appointed 31st December, 1688.

Henry Wharton served in the foot guards in the reign of King Charles II., and in the summer of 1685, when the Duke of Monmouth raised the standard of rebellion in the west of England, he raised a company of foot for the service of King James II., which was incorporated in the Duke of Norfolk's regiment. He proved a very zealous and determined supporter of the interests of the Protestant religion, and on the 31st of December, 1688, the Prince of Orange promoted him to the Colonelcy of the regiment. He served in Ireland under Marshal Duke Schomberg, signalized himself at the siege of Carrickfergus, and evinced, on all occasions, so much personal bravery and spirit of enterprise, united with a generous disposition and a kind regard for the interests of his soldiers, that he was beloved by his regiment. He died at Dundalk in October, 1689, much regretted by the officers and men of his regiment.

[96]

Richard Brewer.

Appointed 1st November, 1689.

Richard Brewer raised a company of pikemen and musketeers for Sir Edward Hales's regiment, now Fourteenth foot, in the summer of 1685, and served in that corps until the Revolution. He prized the established religion and constitution of his country too highly to permit himself to aid in their destruction, and he espoused the principles of the Revolution with great warmth. On the 31st of December, 1688, he was promoted to the Lieut.-Colonelcy of the Twelfth foot, with which corps he served in Ireland, and evinced signal bravery on several occasions, for which he was rewarded with the Colonelcy of the regiment on the 1st of November, 1689. He commanded the Twelfth regiment, at the battle of the Boyne in 1690, also in the action at Lanesborough, and was appointed commandant at Mullingar, near which place the troops, under his immediate command, had several rencounters with detachments of the enemy. He continued to serve in Ireland until the deliverance of that country from the power of King James was accomplished, and in 1692 he commanded his regiment in the expedition under the Duke of Leinster. He also served at the head of his regiment in the Netherlands, during the campaign of 1694; in the attack on Fort Kenoque, and the defence of Dixmude in 1695 (on which last-mentioned occasion he opposed the Governor, in the resolution to surrender), and in the protection of the maritime towns of Flanders in 1696. After the peace of Ryswick, he proceeded with his regiment to Ireland; and on the breaking out of the war, in the reign of Queen Anne, he retired from the service.

John Livesay.

Appointed 28th September, 1702.

This officer was appointed Lieutenant in the royal fusiliers in 1685; he served in the army during the wars of King William III., and was distinguished for gallantry and a strict attention to duty on all occasions, and these qualities were rewarded by[97] Queen Anne, in September, 1702, with the colonelcy of the Twelfth regiment, which he commanded in the West Indies in 1703, 1704, and 1705. On the 1st of January, 1707, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General, and on the 1st of January, 1710, to that of Major-General. Political events, connected with the removal of the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough from the command of the army, and the measures pursued by the new ministry of Queen Anne, occasioned Major-General Livesay to retire from the command of the regiment in 1712. He died on the 22nd of February, 1718.

Richard Phillips.

Appointed 16th March, 1712.

Richard Phillips entered the army in September, 1669, and at the augmentation of the army, on the declaration of war against France and Spain, in 1702, he was promoted to the command of a company in one of the corps raised on that occasion. He proceeded with his regiment (Brettons, afterwards disbanded) to the relief of Barcelona in 1706; served in Spain under the Earl of Galway, in 1707, and was taken prisoner at the battle of Almanza. He subsequently served with his company on board the fleet as marines, and was promoted to the Lieut.-Colonelcy of the regiment. Queen Anne rewarded his services, in 1712, with the colonelcy of the Twelfth foot, from which he was removed, in 1717, to the fortieth regiment, then newly formed of independent companies, at Placentia, Annapolis, and other parts of America. He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General in 1735, to that of Major-General in 1739, and to that of Lieut.-General in 1742. In 1750, he was removed to the thirty-eighth foot. He died in January, 1751.

Thomas Stanwix.

Appointed 25th August, 1717.

Thomas Stanwix served in the Netherlands, with reputation, under King William III., and afterwards in Holland and Germany under the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough.[98] In April, 1706, he was commissioned to raise, form, and discipline a regiment of foot, in Ireland, with which corps he embarked from Cork, in May, 1707, for Portugal, where he served under the Marquis de Montandre, the Marquis de Fronterira, and the Earl of Galway. In 1709 he was at the battle of the Caya, where his regiment highly distinguished itself, and in 1710 he commanded the storming party at the capture of Xeres de los Cavaleras: at the peace of Utrecht his regiment was disbanded. In 1715, when the partisans of the Pretender sought to elevate him to the throne, Colonel Stanwix was commissioned to raise a regiment of foot, for the service of King George I., and in July, 1717, he was removed to the thirtieth regiment, which he only commanded five weeks, when he was appointed to the Twelfth foot. He died 14th of March, 1725.

Thomas Whetham.

Appointed 22nd March, 1725.

This officer obtained a commission in Sir William Clifton's regiment, now fifteenth foot, on the breaking out of the rebellion of James Duke of Monmouth, in June, 1685; and he served under King William in Ireland and Flanders, where he acquired a reputation for gallantry and attention to all his duties. On the 29th of August, 1702, Queen Anne rewarded him with the colonelcy of the Twenty-seventh regiment of foot, with which corps he served in the West Indies in 1703 and 1704, and was engaged in the unsuccessful attack on the island of Guadaloupe. In 1707 he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General, and in 1710 to that of Major-General; he served in Spain during the latter part of the war of succession, commanded the garrison of the island of Minorca for a short period; and in 1715, and 1716, he commanded a brigade of infantry in Scotland, under the Duke of Argyle, during the rebellion of the Earl of Mar. In 1725, he was removed to the Twelfth foot, and in 1727 he obtained the rank of Lieut.-General; he was promoted to the rank of general in 1739, and was governor of Berwick and Holy Island for several years. He died on the 28th of April, 1741.

[99]

Scipio Duroure.

Appointed 12th August, 1741.

Scipio Duroure obtained a commission in the army in December, 1705, and he had the advantage of serving three campaigns under the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough. He served many years in the Twelfth foot, of which corps he was appointed Lieut.-Colonel on the 25th of August, 1734; he was also appointed captain and keeper of the castle of St. Maws (or Moss), and promoted to the colonelcy of the Twelfth regiment in 1741. He distinguished himself at the battle of Dettingen in 1743, and behaved with great gallantry, at the head of his regiment, at the battle of Fontenoy, in 1745, where he was mortally wounded.

Henry Skelton.

Appointed 28th May, 1745.

Henry Skelton entered the army in December, 1708, and served two campaigns in the Netherlands. He was many years an officer in the third foot guards, was promoted Major of the regiment with the rank of Colonel in the army, in 1739, and in April, 1743, he was advanced to Lieut.-Colonel in the same corps. In August following, King George II. rewarded him with the colonelcy of the thirty-second regiment; His Majesty also promoted him to the rank of Major-General, and removed him to the Twelfth foot in 1745, and advanced him to the rank of Lieut.-General in 1747. He died on the 9th of April, 1757.

Robert Napier.

Appointed 22nd April, 1757.

Robert Napier was appointed ensign in the second foot, on the 9th of May, 1722, and after performing regimental duty a few years, he was placed on the staff, and employed in the Quarter-Master-General's Department. In 1745, he was pro[100]moted to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel, and appointed Deputy Quarter-Master-General; in 1746, he was advanced to the rank of Colonel, and he was afterwards appointed Adjutant-General of the forces. In 1755, King George II. appointed him colonel of a newly-raised regiment, now fifty-first foot; in 1756 he was promoted to the rank of Major-General, and in 1757, he was removed to the Twelfth foot. In 1759, he was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-General. He died in November, 1766.

Henry Clinton.

Appointed 21st November, 1766.

Henry Clinton, grandson of Francis, sixth Earl of Lincoln, served in an independent company of foot at New York, and in 1751 he was appointed Lieutenant and Captain in the second foot guards, from which he was promoted, in 1758, to Captain and Lieut.-Colonel in the first foot guards. He served in Germany during the seven years' war, was promoted to the rank of Colonel in 1762, and in 1766 he obtained the colonelcy of the Twelfth foot. He was promoted, in 1772, to the rank of Major-General. On the commencement of the American war, in 1775, he was sent with reinforcements to Boston, with the local rank of Lieut.-General, and at the battle of Bunker's Hill he joined the troops engaged with additional forces from Boston during the conflict, and contributed materially to the gaining of the victory. He afterwards proceeded to North Carolina, with the local rank of General; assumed the command of the troops which arrived from Great Britain, and in 1776 he undertook the reduction of Charleston, but was not able to accomplish his object from the want of a sufficient force. He then joined General Sir William Howe, was engaged in the reduction of Long Island, and commanded the leading column of the army at the battle of Brooklyn. General Clinton also commanded the division which took possession of New York Island, was at White Plains and other engagements, also commanded the troops which took Rhode Island, and was rewarded with the dignity of Knight of the Bath. In 1777 he commanded[101] at New York, and, in order to create a diversion in favour of General Burgoyne's army, he proceeded up the river and captured Forts Clinton and Montgomery. In the following spring he was nominated Commander-in-Chief in North America, and assuming the command of the army at Philadelphia, marched from thence to New York, repulsing the attacks of the enemy during the movement. In the winter of 1778, he was removed from the Twelfth foot to the command of a corps of Royal Highland Emigrants, and in 1779 he was appointed Colonel of the seventh, or Queen's Own Light Dragoons.

The departure of the French Fleet from North America enabled General Sir Henry Clinton to fit out an expedition against Charleston, which he captured in 1780, for which he received the thanks of Parliament, and this success was followed by important results in North and South Carolina; but the tide of success did not long flow in favour of the British cause, and some reverses taking place, he was succeeded as Commander-in-Chief in North America by General Carleton. He arrived in England in June, 1782, and afterwards published a vindication of his conduct. The appointment of Governor of Limerick was conferred upon General Sir Henry Clinton; he was also groom of the bedchamber to the Duke of Gloucester, and was many years a member of Parliament; in 1795, he was appointed Governor of Gibraltar. He died in December of the same year.

William Picton.

Appointed 21st April, 1779.

The first services of this officer were in the marines, in which corps he was promoted to the rank of Captain, in March, 1755, and in August, 1756, he was appointed Captain of the grenadier company in the Twelfth foot. He served at the head of his company, in Germany, during the seven years' war, and evinced great gallantry on numerous occasions. In 1762, he was promoted Major, and in 1765, Lieut.-Colonel of his regiment. He performed all the duties of commanding officer[102] of the Twelfth regiment, in the United Kingdom and afterwards at Gibraltar, with reputation to himself and advantage to the service, for thirteen years, and in 1778 he was appointed Colonel of the seventy-fifth foot, then newly raised, and afterwards disbanded: in the following year he was removed to the Twelfth regiment.

King George III. frequently selected individuals of merit on whom he conferred distinguished marks of his Royal approbation, and the promotion of Colonel Picton furnishes an instance of His Majesty's attention to meritorious services, which had not the advantage of Ministerial or Parliamentary patronage. When appointed to the colonelcy of the Twelfth, Colonel Picton went to Court, and after kissing His Majesty's hand at the levee, he was admitted to an audience in the King's closet, when he acknowledged, in grateful terms, the honor conferred upon him; and His Majesty replied, "You are entirely obliged to Captain Picton, who commanded the grenadier company of the Twelfth regiment, in the late war in Germany;" at the same time alluding particularly to his gallantry at Zierenberg, for which he was thanked in general orders.[22]

After this interview, he joined his regiment at Gibraltar, and distinguished himself in the defence of that fortress, under General Eliott.

In 1782, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General, in 1793 to that of Lieut.-General, and in 1798 to that of General. He died in 1811.

Sir Charles Hastings, Baronet.

Appointed 15th October, 1811.

Charles Hastings, natural son of Francis, tenth Earl of Huntingdon, was appointed Ensign in the Twelfth foot in July 1770, and joined the regiment at Gibraltar. In 1776 he was promoted Lieutenant, and he was permitted to serve with the twenty-third regiment in America, where he was [103]appointed Aide-de-Camp to Earl Percy, and afterwards to Sir Henry Clinton. He was at the actions at Pelham Manor and White Plains, and at the capture of Fort Washington; also in the successful expedition against the American magazines at Danbury. He accompanied Sir William Howe to Pennsylvania, was engaged at Brandywine and Germantown, and was twice wounded. In 1780 he was promoted Captain in the Twelfth foot, and joined his regiment at Gibraltar, where he had several opportunities of distinguishing himself during the siege of that fortress, and he evinced great gallantry at the sortie in November, 1781. In 1782, he was appointed Major in the seventy-sixth; in 1783 he was promoted to Lieut.-Colonel in the seventy-second, which regiment was disbanded in the same year. He obtained the Lieut.-Colonelcy of the thirty-fourth regiment in 1786, and was afterwards removed to the sixty-first, and subsequently to the sixty-fifth. He was promoted to the rank of Major-General in 1796, and to that of Lieut.-General in 1803. In February, 1806, he was created a Baronet, of Willesley Hall, in the county of Derby; and in November following he was appointed Colonel of the fourth garrison battalion, from which he was removed to the seventy-seventh regiment in July, 1811; and in October following, to the Twelfth foot. In 1813 he was promoted to the rank of General. He died in 1823.

Honorable Robert Meade.

Appointed 9th October, 1823.

London: Printed by W. Clowes & Sons, Stamford Street,
for Her Majesty's Stationery Office.