Chapter II: Part 2

In the mean time Ireland had become the scene of conflict between the Roman Catholics and Protestants, and King James, having proceeded thither with a body of French troops, had reduced the greater part of that kingdom under his sway, and had maltreated the Protestants in various ways. In 1689 King William sent Duke Schomberg, with a body of troops, to aid the Protestants, and in 1690 His Majesty resolved to take the field in person. The QUEEN'S regiment of foot was selected to form part of the army in Ireland, and having embarked from Barnstaple in the middle of April, put to sea, but was driven by severe weather to Pembroke. Here the regiment remained about a week, and having again put to sea on the 30th of April, landed at Belfast on the 2d of May. King William arrived in Ireland on the 14th of June, and placing himself at the head of the army, advanced to the banks of the _Boyne_, on the opposite side of which river King James's army was formed in order of battle.

At day-break on the morning of the 1st of July, the regiment was under arms, every man displaying a green branch in his hat, to distinguish him from the enemy, who wore pieces of white paper in their hats, and the cheerful countenances of the musketeers, pikemen, and grenadiers seemed to give presage of victory. About six o'clock the regiment, with the remainder of Brigadier-General Trelawny's brigade, forming part of the force under Count Schomberg and Lieut.-General Douglas, filed to the right, and having marched about two miles up the river, forded the stream between the King's camp and Slane bridge. Sir Neal O'Neal's regiment of Irish dragoons, in the service of King James, offered some opposition; but was speedily routed and its commanding officer was mortally wounded. After passing the river, Trelawny's brigade halted a short time until additional forces arrived; then advancing through corn fields, over deep ditches, and across a difficult bog, drove the enemy's left wing from its ground in a spirited manner, and forced it to make a precipitate retreat towards Duleek. When the enemy's left flank was thus turned, King William passed the river with the other divisions of his army, and King James's forces were overpowered and chased from the field. Thus a decisive victory was gained, and the troops halted during the night near Duleek.

The regiment advanced with the army upon Dublin, and at the review at Finglass, on the 7th and 8th of July, it mustered (according to the official rolls) five hundred and fifty-three private men, besides officers and non-commissioned officers. The enemy having fled from Dublin, the regiment was stationed several weeks in garrison in that city, of which its colonel was appointed governor.

Meanwhile the combined English and Dutch fleets, commanded by Lord Torrington and Admiral Evertsen, had engaged (30th of June) the French fleet under the Count de Tourville, off the Beachy, and the Dutch, being in the van, suffered so severely, that the enemy not only claimed the victory, but actually gained the ascendancy at sea, and menaced England with an invasion. A body of French landed on the western coast, and destroyed a village, and this event having produced considerable alarm, King William ordered this regiment and several other corps to return to England.[12]

After its arrival in England the regiment was encamped on Southsea common, near Portsmouth, and in the autumn, the danger of foreign invasion having passed away, it was selected to form part of an expedition to Ireland under the Earl of Marlborough, (afterwards the great Duke of Marlborough.) The troops employed on this service[13] embarked about the middle of September, and arrived in Cork roads on the 21st of that month. The fleet entered the harbour on the following day, and the co-operation of part of the army on shore having been secured, the troops landed on the 23d and besieged the city of _Cork_. A breach having been made, four English regiments, under Brigadier-General Churchill and a body of Danes, passed the river on the 28th of September, wading up to the arm-pits to the east marsh, in order to storm the city wall on that side. The grenadiers under Lord Colchester led the attack, and, while advancing, the Duke of Grafton, who accompanied the storming party in the character of a volunteer, received a mortal wound. Before the storming party gained the breach, the enemy hung out a white flag, and agreed to surrender.

_Kinsale_ was afterwards besieged, and the enemy immediately vacated the town and retired into the Old and New Forts. The Old Fort was taken by storm on the 2d of October; and a breach having been made in the New Fort, the garrison surrendered on the 15th of October.

After the capture of these fortresses the regiment was placed in garrison in Cork, where it remained during the winter.

[Sidenote: 1691]

In the spring of 1691, when the army took the field under General De Ginkell, (afterwards Earl of Athlone,) this regiment was left in reserve in the county of Cork, to secure the garrisons, and to keep in check the bands of armed Roman Catholic peasantry, who prowled about the country committing every description of depredation; and, while employed in this service, detachments of the regiment had occasional encounters with the enemy's parties. After the overthrow of the Irish and French forces at Aughrim, the regiment was ordered to march from the county of Cork, and it joined the main army in the wild and desolate part of the country called Shalley. Advancing from thence to _Limerick_, it was engaged in the siege of this place, which was terminated by the surrender of the garrison in September, on condition of being permitted to proceed to France. Indemnity was also granted to the Roman Catholics who had engaged in this contest, and the power of King James was finally suppressed in Ireland.

After so many of the Irish regiments as were willing had proceeded to France, where they were taken into the service of Louis XIV., the other Irish corps which had fought in King James's cause were disbanded, and the regiment which forms the subject of this memoir returned to England, and immediately commenced recruiting its numbers.

[Sidenote: 1692]

On the 1st of January, 1692, the colonelcy was conferred on the lieut.-colonel, Henry Trelawny, vice Major-General Charles Trelawny, who was appointed Governor of Plymouth.

The regiment was allowed but a short period for the purpose of recruiting, before it was ordered to hold itself in readiness to proceed to the Netherlands, and having embarked at Portsmouth, sailed on the 31st of March, 1692; contrary winds, however, forced the transports to anchor in the Downs until the middle of April, when they sailed to Ostend. After landing, the regiment went into cantonments among the Belgic peasantry, and subsequently took the field with the army commanded by King William in person.

The regiment took part in the operations of the main army and in the advance to relieve the siege of Namur, which was frustrated by heavy rains. On the 29th of June, it was reviewed by King William and the Elector of Bavaria at the camp on the undulating grounds between Genappe and the forest of Soignies.

It was also present at the battle of _Steenkirk_, fought on the 24th of July, when the army of King William was repulsed in an attempt to force the position occupied by the French under Marshal Luxemburg. This regiment formed part of the main body, and, owing to the narrow and difficult defiles which lay between the two armies, it was not brought into action, and consequently had no opportunity of distinguishing itself. A detachment of the regiment, sent forward on the preceding evening, joined the advance-guard, and was sharply engaged. The loss on both sides was nearly equal.

THE QUEEN'S regiment of foot formed part of a detachment of ten battalions sent from the main army on the 22d of August, under Lieut.-General Talmash, to join a body of troops which had arrived at Ostend from England, under the orders of the Duke of Leinster. These forces were afterwards joined by a body of cavalry, and, having summoned between two and three thousand of the country people with spades and shovels, took and repaired the fortifications of Furnes, a small town situated upon the canal, two leagues from Nieuport and five from Dunkirk. After placing this town in a condition to resist an assault, the troops proceeded to Dixmude, and fortified and garrisoned the town. The regiment subsequently marched to Bruges, and went into cantonments in the villages near the banks of the canal between that place and Ghent; but the French having advanced to Charleroi, the regiment quitted its village cantonments and joined the main army at Drongen. The French Marshal, Boufflers, bombarded the lower town of Charleroi, and afterwards retreated, when this regiment returned to its former quarters.

[Sidenote: 1693]

During the winter a detachment was ordered to advance to the relief of _Furnes_, which was besieged by a French force under Marshal Boufflers; but the roads were so bad from heavy rains that, according to D'Auvergne, "several soldiers sunk almost to the middle in mud, and several horses remained stuck in it." This occasioned some delay, and the garrison surrendered on the 4th of January, 1693. The Dutch garrison at Dixmude, being alarmed at having the enemy so near them, withdrew from the place.

The detachment afterwards returned to its quarters, and in May the QUEEN'S regiment took the field with the army, and was posted in the second line at the celebrated position of Parck camp, the possession of which enabled King William to defeat the enemy's designs on Brabant.

In the movements which preceded the battle of _Landen_, which was fought on the 19th of July, 1693, the regiment also took part; and on the night before the battle it was posted in the village of Neer-Landen, on the left of the position; but on the following morning, when the French columns were seen advancing to the attack, the QUEEN'S and Prince George of Denmark's (now third) regiments were withdrawn from Neer-Landen, and ordered to take post in the village of Laér, to reinforce Brigadier-General Ramsay's brigade.

Scarcely had the regiment gained its post, when the glistening of bayonets and pikes, perceived at intervals above the undulations, gave indication of the approaching enemy; a cloud of light musketeers and grenadiers soon cleared the intervening space and attacked the village with great fury; and the defenders opened a most galling and destructive fire on their assailants. The enemy, by continually reinforcing the corps engaged, succeeded, after a severe struggle, in gaining some advantage; but the British troops renewed the conflict and regained their lost ground. Again the enemy brought forward his rallied forces, and a brigade of dragoons dismounting and joining in the attack, the village of Laér was carried. Brigadier-General Ramsay rallied his brigade, and after a short address, led the regiments to the attack. The French were exulting in their success, when suddenly a loud British huzza burst like a clap of thunder on their astonished ears, and the next moment the charging Britons broke through all opposition, forced the village, and in a short time cleared it of opponents.

The enemy, by his great superiority of numbers, was enabled to bring forward fresh troops, and he eventually succeeded in forcing the position at the village of Neer-Winden. The village of Laér was then no longer tenable, and the regiments were forced to retire, fighting, across the river Gheet. The King ordered the army to make a retrograde movement, which was not effected without considerable confusion and loss. The QUEEN'S regiment had Captain Crofts and Lieutenant Woodstock killed; Captain Wharton wounded; and Captain Carroll and Lieutenant Cole wounded and taken prisoners: of its loss in non-commissioned officers and private men, no account appears to have been preserved.

The enemy's loss in killed and wounded was so great that he derived little advantage from the victory.

THE QUEEN'S regiment continued with the main army until the autumn, when it marched into garrison at Malines.

[Sidenote: 1694]

The regiment marched out of Malines in May 1694, and pitched its tents near the cloister of Terbank, where three English and thirty-six Dutch battalions were encamped. During the campaign of this year two magnificent armies manœuvred on the plains of Flanders and Brabant, but no general engagement occurred. In September the QUEEN'S regiment of foot formed part of the covering army during the siege of _Huy_, which place was taken by capitulation, and the regiment subsequently marched to its former station at Malines.

[Sidenote: 1695]

In 1695 the regiment again took the field, and was employed in the movements which preceded the siege of the important fortress of _Namur_. The attack of this city excited universal attention throughout Europe. The strength of the place both by nature and art,--the extent of the castle, situated on a rock, with the works by which it was surrounded,--the number of veteran troops in the town,--the character of their commander (Marshal Boufflers),--the fact that this was one of the most important of the French king's conquests, and consequently strenuous exertions would be used for its preservation,--with the immense armies employed in covering and carrying on the siege, or in attempting to relieve the garrison, gave an important character to this undertaking, which produced a lively feeling of interest throughout Christendom; and the QUEEN'S was one of the regiments which had the honor of taking part in the enterprise.

When NAMUR was first invested, this regiment remained with the covering army under the veteran Prince of Vaudemont; but it formed part of the force detached on the 24th of June under Lord Cutts, and joined the besieging troops on the 1st of July. During the night of the 8th of that month a detachment from the grenadier company was engaged in storming the covered way which the enemy had constructed on the hill of Bouge, in which service Captain Selby was wounded, and several private men were killed and wounded.

The regiment was on duty in the trenches on the 9th, and also on the 13th of July; on the 17th the grenadiers were engaged in storming the counterscarp. The assaulting party of 500 grenadiers was commanded by Colonel Collingwood, with Major Carryle of the Queen's regiment second in command. The attack was made about five o'clock in the evening; the enemy defended their post with great bravery; every inch of ground was disputed; but the counterscarp was eventually carried. The regiment lost many men on this occasion; Captain Carter (son of Rear-Admiral Carter who was killed at Barfleur) was killed in the covered-way, and Major Carryle was wounded.

On the night of the 23rd of July a detachment of the regiment was engaged in extending the lodgement on the right of the bastion of St. Roche, and had Ensign Nuby killed; also Captain Mitchell and Lieutenant Cole wounded. On the succeeding day the batteries kept up an incessant fire, and preparations were made for a general assault; but this was prevented by the enemy agreeing to surrender the town, which they vacated on the 25th, and retired into the castle.

This regiment having sustained considerable loss during the siege of the town, marched from the lines of circumvallation on the 27th of July towards Brussels, forming part of the division under Lieut.-General Count Nassau, sent to reinforce the covering army under the Prince of Vaudemont, to enable him to oppose the immense French army commanded by Marshal Villeroy. The enemy advanced to Brussels and bombarded the city, and subsequently marched towards Namur; when this regiment was withdrawn from its camp between Genappe and Waterloo, and advanced to oppose the enemy's design of relieving the castle of Namur. The position which the army took up before Namur frustrated the purposes of the French marshal; and on the 20th of August, a detachment of the regiment was engaged under Lord Cutts in storming the counterscarp and breach of Terra Nova, in which service it had Lieutenant D'Arneau and several men killed. Preparations were subsequently made for a second assault on the castle; when Marshal Boufflers agreed to surrender on honourable terms, and thus this stupendous fortress was captured; the achievement reflected glory on the British arms and those of the several nations composing the army commanded by King William. The most brilliant feature in this enterprise, however, derived its lustre from the fact, that other monarchs had made conquests for themselves, to oppress their neighbours, or to raise a powerful monarchy out of the ruins of other states; but the King of England waged war for the good of Europe, and to establish liberty and peace upon a lasting foundation. After the damage done to the works of Namur had been repaired, the regiment returned to its former quarters at Malines.

[Sidenote: 1696]

The King of France finding that not only had an effectual stop been given to his arms, but that he was likely to lose many of his conquests, endeavoured to weaken the confederates by causing England to become the theatre of civil war. A party favourable to the Stuart dynasty still remained in England; the Duke of Berwick and several French officers were sent across the Channel to persuade the friends of King James to rise in arms; at the same time a plot for the assassination of King William was formed; and a French army marched to the coast to be in readiness to embark with King James for England.

Information of these events having been obtained, the QUEEN'S regiment of foot was suddenly ordered from its cantonments in the city of Malines to embark for England. It marched to Sas Van Ghent, where it went on board of transports, and sailed to Flushing, from whence a convoy of Dutch men-of-war accompanied the fleet to England. In the mean time the conspirators had been discovered, a British fleet was sent to blockade the French ports, and the designs of Louis XIV. were frustrated. The greater part of the forces which were ordered home on this occasion returned to Flanders without landing in England; but the QUEEN'S was one of the corps which disembarked at Gravesend, and was selected to remain on home service that year.

[Sidenote: 1697]

In the summer of 1697 the regiment again embarked for the Netherlands; and having joined the army commanded by King William near Brussels on the 14th of July, was reviewed by His Majesty on the 16th. Soon afterwards the King had the satisfaction of seeing his exertions in behalf of the liberties of, and balance of power in, Europe, crowned with a treaty of peace, which was concluded at Ryswick in September; and in the succeeding month this regiment was ordered to return to England. It landed in the beginning of December at Woolwich; from whence it marched to Plymouth and Penryn, where its establishment was reduced from nine hundred and twenty-five to five hundred and seventy-two officers and soldiers.

[Sidenote: 1698]

The danger arising from the exercise of so unconstitutional a prerogative as the raising of troops and the maintaining of a large army on the authority of the Crown only, as practised in the reign of King James II., was provided against at the Revolution. In the Bill of Rights, the raising or keeping of a standing army within the kingdom, in time of peace, unless with the consent of parliament, was declared to be contrary to law, and from that period to the present time the army has been maintained under the authority of an Act, annually renewed, called an "Act for punishing mutiny and desertion, and for the better payment of the army and their quarters." This Act specifies the number of soldiers to be kept up; the conditions under which they are enlisted, paid, billeted, &c.; and lays down a system of martial law for their government. Owing to the jealousy with which a standing army was regarded, and the cost of its maintenance, it was confined, after the peace of Ryswick, within very narrow limits; and in 1699 it was reduced, in opposition to the most obvious considerations of expediency, and in despite of the efforts of the King, to so few as seven thousand men. These troops were limited to "His Majesty's natural born subjects," and King William, who had been the instrument, under Divine Providence, of establishing a free government in these realms, and of fixing the balance of power in Europe, was obliged to submit to the mortification, which he felt most acutely, of dismissing his favourite regiments of Dutch guards and French refugees. When this reduction took place, the establishment of the QUEEN'S regiment was decreased to ten companies of thirty-six private men each. It continued to occupy Plymouth and Penryn, with one company detached to the Isle of Scilly.

[Sidenote: 1701]

The success which had attended the exertions of King William to prevent the aggrandizement of France by conquest, and to establish the balance of power in Europe upon an apparently solid foundation, was suddenly countervailed by the accession of the Duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV., to the throne of Spain; and two years had scarcely elapsed, before the signs of approaching war appeared, and the short-sighted policy of placing the army upon so low an establishment proved a source of great inconvenience.

[Sidenote: 1702]

The strength of the QUEEN'S regiment of foot was again increased to twelve companies, and in February, 1702, King William conferred the colonelcy on Brigadier-General William Seymour from the twenty-fourth regiment.

His Majesty having died in the following month, was succeeded by Queen Anne,[14] who declared war against France; and the first service in which the QUEEN'S regiment of foot was called upon to engage in this reign, was the expedition to the coast of Spain under the command of General the Duke of Ormond, a nobleman more remarkable for generosity and personal bravery, than for ability as commander-in-chief of an army.

Information had been received in England that the garrison of the city of _Cadiz_ was weak in numbers, the fortifications out of repair, and that the inhabitants of that part of Spain were favourable to the house of Austria. This fortress had been captured by a British armament in the reign of Queen Elizabeth,[15] and, in the anticipation of a similar result, an expedition was fitted out, and the QUEEN'S (now fourth) regiment of foot embarked[16] from Plymouth (mustering upwards of eight hundred men) to join in the enterprise.

When the fleet arrived on the Spanish coast, some delay was occasioned by the Admiral, Sir George Rooke, on pretence of seeking for information; but the troops landed in the middle of August, and dispersed a body of Spanish cavalry which was drawn up to oppose them, on which occasion the grenadier company of this regiment was engaged.

After landing, the QUEEN'S regiment took part in the operations by which the capture of the towns of _Rota_ and _Port St. Mary's_, and also _Fort St. Catherine_, was effected; it also took part in the siege of the fort of _Matagorda_; but the delay in landing had given the Spaniards time to recover from their first surprise, and Cadiz was found better prepared for resistance than was expected. The expedition proving too weak for the capture of this fortress, the troops retired to Rota, where they re-embarked, and afterwards sailed for England.

Nothing gives rise to more painful feelings in the breasts of British soldiers than the failure of an attempt of this nature. Though their honour and fame were untarnished, and their personal bravery had been conspicuous throughout, yet their fondly cherished hopes and sanguine expectations were blighted; the palm of victory and glory of conquest, which had appeared almost within their grasp, had vanished, and they were returning to England (where the anticipations of the people had been incautiously heightened by paragraphs in the Gazette expressive of the certainty of success) without having achieved anything to answer the expectations of their sovereign and country. The remembrance of their disappointment, however, suddenly vanished on the receipt of information of the arrival of a Spanish fleet from the West Indies, under a French convoy, at the harbour of _Vigo_ in Gallicia. The prospect of capturing this prize gave new life to the seamen and troops, and the squadron immediately bent its course thither.

The French Admiral, M. Chateaurenaud, had placed his shipping and the galleons within a narrow passage, the entrance to which was defended by a castle on one side, and by platforms mounted with cannon on both sides of the river; and a strong boom was laid across the entrance. These obstructions, instead of daunting the British and Dutch, raised their energies and gave new vigour to their movements. The fleet passed Vigo under a heavy cannonade from the works, and anchored within four miles of Rondendella. The Duke of Ormond landed with two brigades, in one of which was the QUEEN'S regiment of foot, in a sandy bay on the south side of the river, two leagues from Vigo; and captured the platforms and castle by storm in a most intrepid and gallant manner; while the fleet forced the boom, and bore down upon the enemy's men-of-war and galleons, which were all captured or destroyed. In this brilliant enterprise the troops had only two officers and forty men killed, and four officers and thirty men wounded; among the latter was Colonel Seymour of the QUEEN'S regiment.

The Duke of Ormond took possession of the town of Rondendella, and being inspired with confidence from this success, he was desirous of capturing Vigo, and of passing the winter with the troops in Spain, in order to follow up the advantage he had acquired in the spring; but the admiral could only supply the troops with two months' provision, and could not leave more than six frigates on the coast; the design was consequently laid aside and the expedition returned to England with its booty. Queen Anne went in state to St. Paul's cathedral to return thanks for this success, and each of the regiments of infantry received £561 10_s._ prize money.

[Sidenote: 1703]

After its return to England, the regiment was again stationed at Plymouth with four detached companies in village cantonments; a thirteenth company was added to its establishment, and in the summer of 1703 the nature of its services was changed, and it became a corps of MARINES.

A corps was raised for SEA service by King Charles II., in 1664, and designated the admiral's regiment; and during this reign battalions for sea service were formed as the occasions of the state required, of drafts from the land forces, and embarked on board the fleet. In 1689 King William III. incorporated the admiral's regiment in the second foot guards, and two marine regiments were established for service on board the fleet. These regiments were disbanded in 1698; but on the breaking out of the war of the Spanish succession, six regiments of marines were raised, and six regular regiments of foot were placed on the establishment of the navy for sea service.[17] In May, 1703, the QUEEN'S regiment, commanded by Colonel Seymour, was constituted a corps of MARINES; and its colonel was appointed to the care and command of Her Majesty's marine forces.

The uniform of the regiment underwent some alteration on this occasion, and the three-cornered cocked hats, worn by the officers and men, were replaced by high-crowned leather caps, covered with cloth of the same colour as the facing of the regiment, and ornamented with devices, the same as the caps worn at this period by the grenadiers.[18]

The first service in which the QUEEN'S (now fourth) regiment was called upon to engage after it was constituted a corps of MARINES, was embarking on board the fleet commanded by Admiral Sir George Rooke, for the purpose of conducting to Portugal the Archduke Charles of Austria, who had been acknowledged by the British, Dutch, Imperial, and Portuguese governments as sovereign of Spain by the title of Charles III., an event which excited a lively interest at the time, and from which most important results were anticipated.

His Catholic Majesty arrived at Portsmouth on the 26th of December, and was received by the fleet and town with the honours paid to crowned heads; after visiting Queen Anne at Windsor, he went on board, and put to sea, but was driven back by a storm.

[Sidenote: 1704]

The fleet again set sail on the 12th of February, 1704, arrived at Lisbon on the 25th of that month, and was followed by transports having a British and Dutch force on board under the command of Duke Schomberg, which force was designed to assist King Charles in his attempt to gain the throne of Spain.

It was customary at this period to employ marines occasionally in the field; but this regiment did not land. It remained on board the fleet, which, having put to sea, proceeded to the city of _Barcelona_, and expecting the Catalonians would declare in favour of King Charles III. as soon as they should be assured of protection and support, the governor was required to surrender; but he refused to receive the summons. Although the fleet was not prepared to capture the place, yet a body of MARINES was landed, and the town was bombarded. This producing no alteration in the governor's resolution, and the people exhibiting no marks of attachment to the house of Austria, the MARINES were re-embarked. The British and Dutch squadron subsequently proceeded in quest of the French fleet under the Count of Thoulouse, and, although the latter had the advantage in point of numbers and other particulars, yet the French admiral avoided an engagement.

Being unable to force the enemy to fight, the British and Dutch admirals resolved to make a sudden attempt on _Gibraltar_, and the QUEEN'S REGIMENT OF MARINES, now the FOURTH OR KING'S OWN REGIMENT OF FOOT, had the proud distinction of taking part in the capture of this stupendous fortress, a conquest from which the kingdom has probably derived as much advantage as from any previous achievement of the British arms, and which remains a monument of the national glory. The combined fleet arrived in the bay of _Gibraltar_ on the 21st of July; a body of English and Dutch MARINES were landed on the neck of land northward of the town under the orders of the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, to cut off the communication of the garrison with the country, and the governor was summoned to surrender the fortress for His Catholic Majesty King Charles III. This being refused, a heavy cannonade was opened on the 23d, by which the Spaniards were driven from their guns at the head of the south mole. The boats were manned, a body of men from the fleet, climbing up the difficult acclivity, with signal gallantry captured the fortifications on the mole, but had two lieutenants and forty men killed, and sixty wounded, by the explosion of a mine. Another body of men landed, and, urged forward by their innate valour and thirst for glory, captured a detached bastion between the mole and the town; and the governor, having been again summoned, agreed to surrender on condition of being permitted to march out with all the honours of war. On taking possession of the fortress, the seamen and MARINES were astonished at their own success; and they viewed, with a mixed feeling of wonder and delight, fortifications which a comparatively small number of men might have defended against a numerous army. The capture of _Gibraltar_ gave rise to new hopes and expectations to the friends of the house of Austria, and it derived additional interest from the fact that it preceded, but a very few days, the glorious victory gained by the Duke of Marlborough at Blenheim.

The loss of _Gibraltar_ disconcerted the measures of Philip II., and his grandfather Louis XIV. Eight thousand men, under the Marquis de Villadarias, were immediately detached from the Spanish army to retake the fortress; and the French admiral received orders to engage the British and Dutch fleet, and to co-operate in the re-capture of Gibraltar.

At this period the French monarch possessed a naval force of considerable magnitude, and his fleet under the Count of Thoulouse exceeded in numbers and power the combined British and Dutch squadron. The hostile fleets engaged on the 24th of August, about eleven leagues south of _Malaga_, and, after both sides had suffered severely, they were separated in the night.

The Marquis de Villadarias, having been joined by four thousand French from the fleet, commenced the siege of _Gibraltar_ on the 22d of October; and part of the QUEEN'S REGIMENT OF MARINES, being in garrison, had now the honour of defending that magnificent fortress which they had so nobly assisted to capture. The garrison was weak in numbers; but Sir John Leake and Rear-admiral Vander Dussen arrived in the bay from Lisbon, with thirteen English and six Dutch men-of-war, and, thus securing the besieged from an attack from the sea, gave them an opportunity to direct all their energies to the repulsing of the attacks from the land side.

During the night of the 11th of November, five hundred of the enemy contrived, by means of rope-ladders and other inventions, to ascend the mountain by a way which was deemed impracticable, and were supported by another body of three thousand men. The men engaged in this daring enterprise were, however, soon discovered, and were charged by five hundred of the MARINES in garrison with such resolution, that two hundred of the enemy were killed on the spot, upwards of two hundred were taken prisoners, and the remainder, endeavouring to escape, fell down the rock and were dashed to pieces.

The fire of the enemy's batteries having damaged the works, a body of men was landed from the fleet to assist in the defence, and Brigadier-General Fox with several other officers and a number of men having been killed, (5th of December, 1704,) aid was solicited from the army in Portugal. Meanwhile the enemy had made several breaches, and the garrison was held in constant readiness to resist an attack on the works by storm. British courage and endurance were now sternly proved. The governor, the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, spent his days in the works, and the greatest part of every night in the covered way, and his example produced so good an effect, that the conduct of the troops exceeded all expectation, and "THE ENGLISH MARINES GAINED IMMORTAL HONOUR."[19] New works were constructed within those already damaged, mines were prepared, and every means used to give the French and Spaniards a warm reception if they attempted to assault the fortress. In the midst of these preparations the garrison was reinforced by a battalion of foot guards, part of the English regiments of Barrymore (thirteenth foot) and Donegal (thirty-fifth foot), and of the Dutch regiment of Waes; and during the night of the 22d of December, a body of men issued from the fortress in the dark, forced the Spanish lines, routed a body of cavalry, levelled part of the works, burnt the fascines and gabions, and retired with little loss. The success which attended this display of British intrepidity, with the discovery of a conspiracy which several residents in the garrison had entered into with the enemy, disconcerted the measures of the besiegers and retarded their operations.

[Sidenote: 1705]

The siege was, however, prosecuted with vigour, and the Marquis of Villadarias, having received a considerable reinforcement, attacked the round tower in the beginning of February, 1705. On this occasion a chosen band of French grenadiers climbed the rock with hooks in one hand and their swords in the other, but were repulsed with loss.

A second attempt was made about four days afterwards. Six hundred select French and Walloon grenadiers, supported by a large body of Spaniards, ascended the hill with great silence during the night, and concealed themselves in the cliffs and hollow grounds until day-break. When the night-guard had been withdrawn from the breach near the round tower, they made a sudden rush at the wall, and with a shower of hand-grenades drove the ordinary guard from its post. At the same time two hundred French grenadiers attacked the round tower by storm. The troops in garrison were soon alarmed. CAPTAIN FISHER of the QUEEN'S REGIMENT OF MARINES, an officer of a most daring and heroic spirit, charged the enemy at the head of seventeen men; but his small party was soon overpowered and himself taken prisoner. Major Moncall, of Lord Barrymore's regiment, rushed to the scene of the conflict at the head of four hundred men, and being seconded by Colonel Rivett of the foot guards, who had climbed the rock on the right of the covered way with twenty grenadiers, he charged the enemy sword in hand, retook the round tower, and liberated CAPTAIN FISHER of the QUEEN'S MARINES. Additional troops were brought forward, and the French and Walloon grenadiers were chased from the works with the loss of more than half their numbers; but the gallant CAPTAIN FISHER, being foremost in the pursuit, was again made prisoner.

The French and Spaniards continued their attempts against this fortress with unavailing assiduity, until their formidable army was half ruined, and towards the end of March, 1705, they raised the siege, and retired. "And thus," observes the author of the Annals of Queen Anne, "the siege of that important place, after six months' toil and fruitless attempts, was at last raised, _by the obstinate and valiant defence of our brave Englishmen_;" and the QUEEN'S MARINES had their share in the glory of this brilliant success. The importance of _Gibraltar_ occasioned the siege to become a subject of great interest throughout Christendom, but especially in England; the result gave rise to the most lively feelings of joy and exultation; and the conduct of the British troops was the subject of merited commendation.

[Sidenote: 1706]

[Sidenote: 1707]

[Sidenote: 1708]

In the subsequent actions during this war, the regiments of MARINES gained additional honour. They had their share of the glory acquired in the capture of _Barcelona_ in the autumn of 1705, and in the gallant defence of that city in 1706; they fought at the unfortunate battle of _Almanza_ in 1707; took part in the capture and defence of several fortified towns in Spain, and in the capture of the island of _Minorca_ in 1708. In some of these services, detachments of the QUEEN'S MARINES were probably engaged; but, after the defence of Gibraltar, the regiment appears to have been employed, generally, on board the fleet.

[Sidenote: 1709]

[Sidenote: 1710]

Six companies of the regiment, having landed from on board the fleet, were stationed, during the winter of 1709, in Devonshire, and after reposing a few months in quarters, were removed, in March, 1710, to garrison duty at Plymouth. In July of the same year, the other seven companies, having arrived at Spithead, landed on the Isle of Wight, where they encamped until September, and afterwards proceeded to Portsmouth.

About this period the regiment was removed from the establishment of the navy, its title of MARINES was discontinued, and it resumed its station among the regular regiments of infantry; it was, however, included in the estimate for 1711, in the list of regiments for sea-service; but this did not prevent its being employed on other duties.

[Sidenote: 1711]

In January, 1711, the six companies at Plymouth having been relieved by Colonel Andrew Windsor's (now twenty-eighth) regiment, marched to Portsmouth; and on the 23d of that month the regiment received orders to hold itself in readiness to proceed to Portugal; but its destination was soon afterwards changed.

During the nine years which this war had been raging in Europe, British blood and treasure had been expended in making conquests for the house of Austria. The only advantage which had accrued to Great Britain was, that the power of the house of Bourbon had been diminished and that of Austria augmented: even Gibraltar and Minorca, though subsequently ceded to Great Britain, had been captured for the house of Austria. The new ministry chosen by Queen Anne in 1710 resolved to act upon a different principle. Colonel Nicholson having made a successful attack on Port Royal in Nova Scotia, on his return to England he submitted to the government a plan for the reduction of Placentia and _Quebec_, as a preparatory measure in order to secure Canada to the British Crown, to drive the French out of Newfoundland, and regain the fishery.

Canada is stated to have been discovered by the famous Italian adventurer, Sebastian Cabot, who sailed under a commission from Henry VII., and as the English monarch did not make any use of the discovery, the French soon attempted to derive advantage from it. Several small settlements were established, and in the early part of the seventeenth century the city of _Quebec_ was founded for the capital of the French possessions in this part of the world. Although the colony continued in a very depressed state for some time, and the settlers were often in danger of being exterminated by the Indians, yet, in the beginning of the eighteenth century, it had become of such importance, that its capture was considered one of the best means of weakening the power of the ambitious Louis XIV. An expedition was placed under the orders of Brigadier-General Hill, with a naval force under Commodore Sir Hovenden Walker; and the QUEEN'S regiment was selected to take part in this enterprise. On arriving at North America the fleet called at Boston for a supply of provisions, and the troops landed and encamped a short time on Rhode Island; but on the 20th of July they re-embarked, and, having been joined by two regiments of provincial troops, sailed on the intended expedition.

While the brave men who adopt the profession of arms are engaged in the service of their sovereign and country, they are exposed to numerous dangers; their hopes of conquest and prospects of fame are often suddenly terminated by adverse fortune, and such was the case in the expedition to Quebec. As the fleet was proceeding up the river St. Lawrence, it became enveloped in a thick fog, and encountered a severe gale of wind; and the veterans who had fought the battles of their country found themselves in the dangerous navigation of this immense river, in a dark and stormy night, with inexperienced men collected on a sudden to act as pilots. Eight transports crowded with men were dashed upon the rocks, and a number of officers and soldiers, who but a few hours before had meditated scenes of conquest, victory, and glory, were entombed in the deep. At the head of the list of officers and men lost by the regiment which forms the subject of this memoir, is MAJOR FISHER,[20] who is probably the same officer who displayed such heroism in the defence of Gibraltar. The other officers lost by the QUEEN'S regiment were,--Brevet Major Walker; Captains Stringer and Bush; Captain-Lieutenant L'Hulle; Ensigns Hyde, Hawker, Richardson, and Loggan; Quartermaster Redix; and Surgeon Jones; with ten serjeants, eighteen corporals, thirteen drummers, one hundred and sixty-seven private soldiers, and twenty women. This lamentable disaster occasioned all thoughts of prosecuting the enterprise to be laid aside. The fleet returned to England, and the QUEEN'S regiment, having landed at Portsmouth on the 10th of October, marched into dispersed quarters in Hampshire, and commenced recruiting its diminished numbers.[21]

[Sidenote: 1712]

In the autumn of 1712 the regiment was removed from country quarters to garrison duty at Portsmouth and Plymouth, where it passed the succeeding year.

[Sidenote: 1713]

From Portsmouth the regiment proceeded in September, 1713, to the islands of Jersey, Guernsey, and Scilly, with two companies at the town of Pendennis. A treaty of peace having been concluded at Utrecht, its establishment was reduced to ten companies of three officers, two serjeants, two corporals, one drummer, and thirty-six private men, each; but after several of the newly-raised corps had been disbanded, its numbers were augmented to forty private men per company.

[Sidenote: 1714]

While the regiment occupied these stations Her Majesty Queen Anne died, and was succeeded by King George I., on the 1st of August, 1714.

[Sidenote: 1715]

[Sidenote: 1716]

In the autumn of 1715 the regiment was withdrawn from the islands of Jersey, Guernsey, and Scilly, and proceeded to the town of Windsor, and the adjacent villages; and for several months it furnished the guard at Windsor Castle. While on this duty His Majesty was graciously pleased to confer upon it the title of THE KING'S OWN, an honorary distinction which it has continued to bear to the present time. The regiment occupied these quarters during the rebellion of the Earl of Mar, and in July, 1716, marched into garrison at Portsmouth.

[Sidenote: 1717]

The regiment remained at Portsmouth until May, 1717, when it proceeded to Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Wight; with two companies detached, one to Windsor, and one to Hampton Court. These companies were, however, relieved from duty at the residence of their Sovereign in November, by the foot guards, and joined the head-quarters at Jersey in the same month.

Lieut.-General William Seymour, after commanding the regiment nearly sixteen years, was succeeded by Colonel the Hon. Henry Berkeley, third son of Charles second Earl of Berkeley, by a commission dated the 25th of December, 1717.

[Sidenote: 1718]

[Sidenote: 1719]

The KING'S OWN remained at the islands of Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Wight during the succeeding year, and in the spring of 1719 they were removed to Plymouth. While at this station, their Colonel, the Hon. Henry Berkeley, was removed to the second, or Scots, troop of horse grenadier guards; and was succeeded by the Hon. Charles Cadogan, afterwards Lord Cadogan, Baron of Oakley, by commission dated the 21st of April, 1719.

[Sidenote: 1720]

[Sidenote: 1721]

[Sidenote: 1722]

In June of the same year the regiment was removed from garrison duty at Plymouth, and marched to Exeter; and it occupied various stations in the south and west of England until the summer of 1722, when, the government having received information that the friends of the Stuart dynasty were conspiring to effect the elevation of the Pretender to the throne, it formed part of a body of troops encamped on Salisbury Plain, to be in readiness to act on any emergency. It was reviewed with the other forces encamped on the plain, by King George I. and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales (afterwards George II.) on the 30th of August, and in September struck its tents and marched into quarters at Exeter.

[Sidenote: 1723]

[Sidenote: 1724]

[Sidenote: 1725]

In the following summer the KING'S OWN were encamped near Newbury; and in 1724 they occupied quarters at Newbury and Reading; from whence they occasionally furnished detachments for duty at Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace. In the summer of 1725 they marched to Berwick, and from thence proceeded to Perth, and were placed under the orders of the commander-in-chief in North Britain.

[Sidenote: 1731]

[Sidenote: 1732]

[Sidenote: 1733]

Returning to England in 1731, the regiment was stationed that year at Bristol: from whence it marched in July, 1732, to Exeter. In 1733, and the two succeeding years, it furnished detachments on coast duty in Sussex, and also in Cornwall.

[Sidenote: 1734]

In the summer of 1734 Lord Cadogan was removed from the KING'S OWN to the sixth or Inniskilling regiment of dragoons, and was succeeded by Brigadier-General William Barrell from the twenty-second regiment of foot, by commission dated the 8th of August, 1734.

[Sidenote: 1736]

[Sidenote: 1737]

Having called in its detachments, the regiment marched to the north of England in May, 1736; and after halting two months at Newcastle and Durham, proceeded to Edinburgh; but returned to England in July, 1737, and was stationed at York.

[Sidenote: 1739]

[Sidenote: 1740]

The regiment continued to be employed on home service: its establishment in this year was seven hundred and five officers and men; and in 1739 it was augmented to eight hundred and fifteen officers and men; at which number it continued until after the decease of Charles VI., Emperor of Germany, in 1740, when a war broke out between the Archduchess Maria Theresa and the Elector of Bavaria, respecting the kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungaria, and England became involved in the contest. During the summer of that year the regiment was encamped near Newbury, and in the autumn marched into quarters in Lancashire and Cheshire.

[Sidenote: 1741]

[Sidenote: 1742]

[Sidenote: 1744]

France took part with the Elector of Bavaria, and Great Britain with the house of Austria, and in 1742 a British army proceeded to Flanders; but the KING'S OWN were employed on home service until June, 1744, when they embarked for Flanders, and joined the allied army at its camp near the banks of the Scheldt. The regiment served the campaign of this year under Field-Marshal Wade, and was employed in several operations; but no general engagement occurred, and it had no opportunity of distinguishing itself.

[Sidenote: 1745]

In the following year, when the French besieged Tournay, and the allied army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland advanced to the relief of the town, the KING'S OWN were left in garrison at Ghent, and were consequently not at the battle of Fontenoy. The Duke of Cumberland, having failed in his attempt to relieve Tournay, retreated; and the KING'S OWN were relieved by one of the regiments which suffered severely at Fontenoy, and joined the army at its camp on the plains of Lessines on the 21st of May.

The KING'S OWN remained in Flanders until the rebellion broke out in Scotland, and Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, advanced at the head of several highland clans and captured Edinburgh. The regiment was then ordered to return to England, and it formed part of the army under the veteran Field-Marshal Wade, which was assembled in Yorkshire.

When the young Pretender and his adherents penetrated into England, this regiment was employed in covering Yorkshire, and, after the retreat of the rebel army from Derby, the regiment marched in pursuit of the enemy towards Scotland, and arrived at Newcastle-on-Tyne on the 26th of December.

[Sidenote: 1746]

The KING'S OWN were afterwards ordered to march to Edinburgh, where they arrived on the 10th of January, 1746, and the appearance of the royal forces at that city was hailed with illuminations and public rejoicings.

The rebels undertook the siege of Stirling Castle, and a detached party of Highlanders under Lord George Murray advanced to Linlithgow, from whence they were driven on the 13th of January by a body of troops under Major-General Huske. On the following day the Buffs, KING'S OWN, and Pulteney's (now thirteenth) regiment, advanced to Barrowstownness; and on the 16th, these troops having pitched their tents near _Falkirk_, were joined by the remainder of the army under Lieut.-General Hawley.

On the 17th of January, as the King's troops were at dinner in the camp, the advance of the enemy was discovered; the royal forces seized their arms, and proceeded along some rugged and difficult grounds to a large moor, where the rebel army appeared in order of battle.

Success or failure in the hour of battle has sometimes been found to depend upon accidental circumstances over which the commanders of armies have no control. Such was the case at the battle of _Falkirk_, where a tempest of wind and rain beat so violently in the faces of the royal forces at the moment when they engaged their adversaries, that the ammunition was spoiled in the act of loading; the soldiers could not see their opponents, and several regiments gave way. The KING'S OWN, however, evinced the same valour and intrepidity which were so successfully displayed at the fortress of Gibraltar; they were formed in brigade with Price's (now fourteenth) regiment under the orders of Brigadier-General Cholmondeley, and these two corps withstood the fury of the charging Highland host with a firmness which redounded to their honour.[22] Having been joined by the Royals, Buffs, and Ligonier's (now forty-eighth), these five regiments repulsed one wing of the rebel army, and continued on the field of battle until night, when they returned to the camp, and subsequently proceeded to Edinburgh.

The KING'S OWN formed part of the army under His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland which advanced from Edinburgh, on the 31st of January, towards Stirling, when the Highlanders made a precipitate retreat. The royal forces followed in pursuit, but were delayed in their advance by severe weather. The KING'S OWN formed part of the advance-guard under Major-General Bland which proceeded to Inverary on the 12th of March, and on the 17th advanced towards Strathsbogie to attack a thousand rebel foot and sixty hussars, posted at that place under Roy Stewart; but the enemy fled on the approach of the King's troops, and were pursued for several miles: the Marquis of Granby, Colonel Conway, Captain Holden, and several other officers, displayed their zeal for the royal cause by the spirited manner in which they pursued the Highlanders.