Historical record of the Ninety-second Regiment, originally termed "The Gordon Highlanders" and numbered the Hundredth Regiment

Chapter V: Part 5

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“We, the magistrates and vestry of Trelawny, cannot permit the
departure from this post, of the distinguished regiment under
your command, without declaring our sense of the exemplary
conduct of the officers and orderly demeanour of the men, during
the time they have been stationed among us. In expressing our
satisfaction at the cordiality that has prevailed between your
regiment and the inhabitants of the district, we cannot but
ascribe to you the excellent state of discipline which has led to
this desirable result.

“We beg to offer our best wishes for the health of yourself and
officers, in whatever part of the world your military duties may
call you to.

(Signed) “HENRY GORDON.
“_Magistrate Presiding._

“Lieut.-Colonel Williamson,
Commanding NINETY-SECOND regiment.”

About the middle of April, the recruits which had lately joined were attacked by fever, which carried off one-third of their number.

On the 21st of June, the regiment, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Williamson, was inspected by Major-General Sir John Keane, who expressed himself highly pleased with the movements, and the attention which the men appeared to have paid to the new system of drill, prescribed by the General Order of the 10th of March, 1824, according to the improvements introduced by Major-General Sir Henry Torrens, K.C.B., Adjutant-General of the Forces.

Symptoms of insurrection having appeared among the slaves on the north side of the island, four companies of the regiment were embarked on the 25th of June on board His Majesty’s ship “Hussar”; two of them were landed on the 28th at Savanna la Mar, and were stationed there; and on the 30th another was landed at Black River; while the fourth remained on board the frigate on its cruise round the island, and was again landed at Fort Augusta, where the detachments at Savanna la Mar, and Lacovia, joined the head-quarters on the 6th and 7th of August.

On the 13th of September, Major Andrew Robert Charlton assumed the command of the regiment, Lieut.-Colonel Williamson having obtained leave of absence to return to Europe.

[Sidenote: 1825]

The head-quarters and the six companies at Fort Augusta proceeded on the 13th of January, 1825, to Up-Park Camp, where the two companies stationed at Kingston joined on the following day, and the regiment became united, having been more or less detached since the 10th of March, 1820.

On the 14th of February, a detachment of twenty-four recruits arrived from England; and a detachment of two officers and sixteen recruits joined from England on the 25th of June.

In July orders were received fixing the establishment of the regiment at ten companies; six _service_ and four _depôt_ companies.

About the middle of July, the regiment was attacked with fever, which, in the course of two months, carried off Major Andrew Robert Charlton, Captain Andrew Donaldson, Lieutenant and Adjutant James Deans, and sixty men; the command then devolved on Captain Robert Winchester, who was subsequently promoted to the rank of major in the regiment.

[Sidenote: 1826]

On the 10th of February, 1826, Lieut.-Colonel Williamson and a detachment of three officers and sixty men arrived from England on board of His Majesty’s ship “Magnificent.”

Major-General Sir John Keane, K.C.B., on the 11th of March, inspected the head-quarters of the regiment, at Fort Augusta, under Major Winchester, he having been in command the greater part of the time since the last annual inspection, and expressed his entire satisfaction at the soldier-like appearance of the men, and their correct performance of the field exercises: the flourishing state of the regimental school attracted his particular notice amongst the various points of interior economy.

In August the regiment received orders to be in readiness for embarkation for England upon being relieved by the eighty-fourth regiment.

The two companies at Kingston, marched, on the 23rd of December, to Up-Park Camp; two companies from Fort Augusta replaced them; and, on the 24th, the other two companies proceeded to Kingston Barracks, where the head-quarters were established, leaving the sick and hospital establishment at Fort Augusta, a station which had been found an excellent convalescent post.

Sickness prevailed to a considerable extent at Kingston, and therefore changes continually took place between the three stations, Fort Augusta, Kingston, and Up-Park Camp.

[Sidenote: 1827]

The first division of the eighty-fourth regiment having arrived at Fort Augusta on the 3rd of February, 1827, the convalescents of the NINETY-SECOND were removed to Up-Park Camp, to await their embarkation for Europe.

On the 19th of February, the head-quarters of the regiment, under Lieut.-Colonel Williamson, embarked, at Kingston, on board the “Arab” transport, and sailed on the 24th, arriving at Spithead on the 25th of April.

The head-quarter division was transshipped from the “Arab” to the “Amphitrite” and “Zephyr” transports, in Portsmouth harbour, and sailed for Leith Roads. It landed at Leith on the 10th of May, and marched to Edinburgh Castle, where the four depôt companies, from Glasgow, joined on the 23rd of that month, and were consolidated with the regiment.

The three companies which had been left at Up-Park Camp, under the command of Major Winchester, embarked at Kingston on the 30th of March, sailed on the 3rd of April, landed at Portsmouth on the 21st of May, and were quartered in Forton Barracks, re-embarked on the 25th of May, and on the 31st, joined the head-quarters at Edinburgh Castle, where the regiment was assembled.

On the 27th of June, the regiment, under Lieut.-Colonel Williamson, was inspected by Major-General Sir Robert W. O’Callaghan, K.C.B., commanding in North Britain. Its strength consisted of thirty-seven serjeants, eleven drummers, and six hundred and thirty-one rank and file.

[Sidenote: 1828]

Four companies, under the command of Major Winchester, marched on the 25th of February, 1828, for Glasgow Barracks.

The six companies at head-quarters in Edinburgh Castle, were inspected by Major-General Sir Robert O’Callaghan on the 3rd of April; on the 23rd, two companies marched for Glasgow, and on the 24th were followed by the other two companies with the head-quarters. Two companies being left at Edinburgh Castle, joined the head-quarters at Glasgow on the 30th of April.

Lieut.-Colonel Williamson having, on the 26th of May, obtained leave of absence until further orders, the command of the regiment devolved on Major Winchester.

The regiment embarked on the 29th of July, and two following days, on board the “Eclipse,” “Sheffield,” and “Frolic” steam-boats, arriving at Belfast on the 30th of July, and the two following days, where the regiment was billeted.

On the 3rd of August, the regiment embarked at Belfast, and landed on the following day at Dublin.

The regiment, commanded by Major Winchester, was inspected on the 5th of August, in the Phœnix Park, by Lieut.-General Sir John Byng, K.C.B., commanding the forces in Ireland, and on the 6th and 7th of that month marched for Fermoy, where the divisions arrived on the 15th and 16th of August.

[Sidenote: 1829]

On the 19th of January, 1829, Lieut.-Colonel John McDonald,[17] joined and assumed the command of the NINETY-SECOND, he having been appointed to the regiment from the half-pay on the 21st of November of the previous year.

Orders having been received directing that steel-mounted swords should be adopted by Highland regiments, the officers of the NINETY-SECOND, immediately supplied themselves with “_Claidheamh mor_,” similar to those originally used in the regiment.

[Sidenote: 1830]

A letter, dated 13th of April, 1830, was at this period received from the Adjutant-General of the Forces, authorising the adoption of regimental tartan trousers for all occasions when the kilt is not worn.

On the 11th of May, the first division of the regiment marched for Kilkenny, and was followed next day by the head-quarters, at which place they arrived on the 14th and 15th of May; detaching a company to each of the following places—Carlow, Athy, and Maryborough. On the 8th of June, another company marched from head-quarters for New Ross.

The regiment, under Lieut.-Colonel John McDonald, was reviewed on the 5th November, by Lieut.-General Sir John Byng, K.C.B., commanding the forces in Ireland, who directed the commanding officer to make known

“the gratification which he felt at witnessing their soldier-like
appearance, and the correctness of their movements, as well as
the excellent style and cleanliness in which their barracks are
kept.

“That from their former services together, he considers them to
be old friends, and was therefore the more pleased to find the
NINETY-SECOND greatly improved since he last saw them, and in a
state, which, in their best days, they never surpassed; and that
immediately on his return to Dublin, he would make a point of
reporting the very high state of discipline in which he found the
regiment, and which, he was sure, would also afford to General
Lord Hill, a pleasure the most sincere.”

The head-quarter division, consisting of three companies, marched, on the 26th of May, _en route_ to Birr, and the remaining three companies, under the command of Major Winchester, marched next day for the same place, detaching one company to Nenagh.

The head-quarters arrived at Birr on the 29th of May, and the second division on the 31st of that month; the companies from Maryborough, Carlow, Athy, and Wexford arrived about the same period.

The following is an extract from the regimental orders, of the 9th of June, relative to the receipt of an address from the magistrates of Queen’s County:—

“The commanding officer directs the following address from the
magistrates of Queen’s County may be entered in the orderly
books, and is confident that every soldier will feel proud
at the high estimation in which the regiment is held by the
inhabitants of every quarter where it has been stationed, and
that the approbation[18] so lately expressed by His Majesty’s
representative, and the Commander of the forces in this country,
will act upon their minds as a strong stimulus to persevere in
the same steady and unerring line of conduct.”

“SIR, Maryborough, June 7, 1830.

“We, the undersigned magistrates of Maryborough district, at
petty sessions assembled, avail ourselves of this, the earliest
opportunity of expressing our high approbation of the conduct
of the different detachments of the NINETY-SECOND Highlanders,
quartered in the town of Maryborough for the last twelve months.
In justice to the excellent character of the men, we feel called
upon to testify, that not a single complaint was made by the
inhabitants against any of them, and that their conduct was
uniformly correct and exemplary.

“The general zeal and intelligence of the officers, supported
by the steadiness and discipline of the men, when co-operating
with the civil power, particularly during the last winter (in
suppressing outrages of a _white-boy_ nature, which unhappily
extended to our hitherto peaceable county), demand our cordial
thanks; and we beg that you, Sir, will be pleased to make known
to the officers and men these our sentiments, and to assure them
that their services will long be gratefully remembered by every
respectable inhabitant of this town and vicinity.

“We have, &c.,
(Signed) “W. PERCEVAL, J. P.
“D. O’DONOGHUE, J. P.
“MATT. CASSAN, J. P.

“Lieut.-Colonel McDonald,
Commanding NINETY-SECOND Highlanders,
&c. &c. &c.”

On the 18th of June, the regiment was reviewed by Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B., commanding the Western District. It being the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, the regiments performed a variety of movements, as executed on that memorable day; the NINETY-SECOND afterwards went through the sword exercise, &c., and the Major-General was pleased to express his approbation of the splendid appearance which the regiment made on that occasion.

On the 8th of October, the head-quarter division, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel McDonald, and, on the following day, the second division, under Major Winchester, marched from Birr _en route_ to Dublin, arriving there on the 13th and 14th October respectively, and were quartered in the Royal Barracks.

The regiment was inspected on the 30th of October by Major-General Sir Edward Blakeney, K.C.B., who expressed his unqualified approbation of its appearance and interior arrangements.

At this period an address was received from the magistrates of Nenagh, (Lord Dunally in the chair,) relative to the good conduct of the detachment of the regiment, under Captain William Prittie Bayly, lately stationed at that place.

On the 13th of December, the regiment was formed in the Palatine Square to receive His Excellency Lieut.-General the Right Honorable Sir John Byng, K.C.B., commanding the forces in Ireland. A new stand of colours (the gift of the officers) was escorted by the grenadier company from the Lieut.-Colonel’s quarters. His Excellency then made a most appropriate and flattering speech, in which he alluded to the anniversary of that day (the battle of the Nive), and the brilliant and distinguished conduct of the NINETY-SECOND on the occasion, as well as on many others of which he himself was an eye-witness. After receiving the colours from the officers of the grenadiers, and remarking how delighted he was to see the names of so many well-earned battles emblazoned on them, he placed them in the hands of the ensigns, and the regiment saluted.

Addressing Lieut.-Colonel McDonald, His Excellency observed, “that he made no allusion to the necessity of defending those colours,—that any such remark would be out of place when addressing the NINETY-SECOND,—however, he could not give the young officers and soldiers better advice, than to follow the steps of those who preceded them.”

To which the Lieut.-Colonel replied, “That if anything could enhance the value attached to those colours by the regiment, it was their being placed in the hands of the ensigns by one who had that day seventeen years shown himself so very conspicuous in planting the colours of a regiment on the enemy’s redoubts,[19] and that he pledged himself in the name of his brother officers and soldiers for their honor and safety.”

On the 23rd of December, the troops in garrison at Dublin, were paraded in review-order to receive General the Marquis of Anglesey, K.G., on his arrival to assume the government of Ireland, and lined the streets through which the procession passed to the Castle.

[Sidenote: 1831]

A company of the regiment, in light marching order, under the command of Captain James McIntosh, proceeded on the 22nd of February, 1831, by forced marches to Drumcondra, in the county of Meath, which was in a state of disturbance, and where immense assemblages of the population were traversing the country.

The following letter was received from the Assistant Adjutant-General (Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Charles Fitzroy) on the 23rd of February:—

“Royal Barracks, Dublin, 23rd February, 1831.

“SIR,

“I have the honor to enclose an extract of a letter from the
Adjutant-General of the Forces, that the same may be entered
in your regimental order book, and read to the regiment; and
moreover, to express the infinite satisfaction Major-General Sir
Edward Blakeney feels in the good opinion, therein expressed,
of the General Commanding in Chief, for your zeal and exertions
in the command of the NINETY-SECOND regiment (Highlanders), and
to congratulate the regiment on having so well merited this
testimony.

“I have, &c.
(Signed) “CHARLES FITZROY, _Lieut.-Colonel_,
“_Assistant Adjutant-General_.

“Lieut.-Colonel McDonald,
Commanding NINETY-SECOND Highlanders.”

Extract from a letter, dated 9th of February, 1831 (before alluded to), addressed by the Adjutant-General, to the Lieut.-General commanding in Ireland:—

“_9th February, 1831._

“The Report on the NINETY-SECOND regiment, so creditable
throughout to the zeal and successful exertions of Lieut.-Colonel
McDonald in the management of his command, is very satisfactory
to His Lordship the General Commanding in Chief.”

(Signed) “JOHN MACDONALD,
“_Adjutant-General_.”

The company which had been detached in the county of Meath returned to its quarters on the 22nd of March, and on the following day a letter was received, expressive of the entire approbation of the Lord Lieutenant of the services performed in the disturbed district by the troops employed.

The regiment was removed from the Royal Barracks on the 19th of April: the head-quarters, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel McDonald, consisting of four companies, with the recruits, were stationed in the New Barracks, and six companies, under Major Winchester, at George-street.

Major-General Sir Edward Blakeney, K.C.B., inspected the regiment on the 3rd of May, in the Phœnix Park, in the presence of His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant and a great concourse of spectators, on which occasion its movements and appearance drew forth the admiration of its military superiors.

The head-quarters and four companies from the New Barracks, and four companies from George-street, marched, on the 18th of May, to Richmond Barracks, leaving two companies stationed in George-street, under the command of Major Hugh Henry Rose.

Lieut.-General Sir John Hamilton Dalrymple, Bart., (afterwards the Earl of Stair) was appointed by His Majesty King William IV., to be Colonel of the NINETY-SECOND on the 20th of July, in succession to Lieut.-General the Honorable Alexander Duff, removed to the thirty-seventh regiment.

Major-General Sir Edward Blakeney, K.C.B., again reviewed the regiment in the Phœnix Park, on the 10th of September, in heavy marching order, and addressing the officers and men, he said, “that they were all he could wish, and that their movements excelled everything he had ever seen.”

On the 26th of September, His Majesty conferred the honorary distinction of a Knight Companion of the most Honorable Military Order of the Bath on Lieut.-Colonel John McDonald, of the NINETY-SECOND regiment.

The first division, consisting of four companies, under the command of Brevet-Major Stephen Noel, embarked on the 13th of October, and proceeded by canal-conveyance to Killaloe: two companies followed on the 17th, and the head-quarters and remaining companies, on the 18th of October, under the command of Major Winchester, Lieut.-Colonel McDonald, having proceeded direct to the head-quarters at Clare Castle, where they were stationed on the 22nd of October, and the regiment was distributed at several places in the county of Clare.

[Sidenote: 1832]

On the 9th of February, 1832, the head-quarter division from Clare Castle marched into Limerick, and was quartered in the New Barracks, where it was joined by the several detachments in the course of February and March.

A company, under the command of Captain John Gilbert Ogilvie, proceeded, on the 22nd of March, to Mount Pleasant, near Askeaton, in the county of Limerick, for the protection of property: it rejoined at head-quarters on the 4th of April.

Major-General Sir George Bingham, K.C.B., made his inspection of the regiment on the 7th of May, and stated that he was particularly gratified by the manner in which the officers and men went through the whole of the sword and stick exercise, being the first time he had ever seen it performed by an entire regiment. The appearance, movements, and interior economy of the regiment drew forth his commendation.

On the 9th of May, the regiment marched from Limerick for Fermoy.

Lieut.-General the Right Honorable Sir Hussey Vivian, Bart., K.C.B., commanding the forces in Ireland, inspected the regiment on the 6th of August, and expressed himself highly pleased with its appearance.

The subaltern’s detachment, stationed at Galbally, in the county of Limerick, was, on the 21st of December, called upon to protect the persons of two magistrates whose lives were endangered by the attack of a mob, while proceeding from thence towards Tipperary; at a place called Knockballinamaloo-Cross, the party were assailed with stones, and a general assault made on the troops, to their imminent danger. The magistrates ordered them to fire, and the result was that two of the mob were killed and several wounded.

The regiment was frequently employed in aid of the civil power, in keeping the peace, and in enforcing the collection of tithes; and in every instance its conduct and discipline received unqualified approval.

[Sidenote: 1833]

On the 1st of August, 1833, the regiment was divided into six service and four depôt companies, preparatory to the embarkation of the former for Gibraltar.

The depôt companies marched from Fermoy to Cork, and embarked for Londonderry, where they arrived on the 17th of August.

The depôt companies embarked at Londonderry on the 28th of October, and arrived at Glasgow on the 29th of that month; on the 30th of November they marched for Greenlaw.

[Sidenote: 1834]

The service companies having marched from Fermoy to Middleton, were conveyed in boats to Cork Harbour, where they embarked on the 21st of February, 1834, and arrived at _Gibraltar_ on the 10th of March.

On the 1st of May, 1834, the depôt companies were removed to Fort George.

[Sidenote: 1835]

The depôt companies were stationed at Fort George during the first six months of the year 1835, and in June were removed to Perth.

[Sidenote: 1836]

In January, 1836, the service companies proceeded from Gibraltar to _Malta_, where they arrived in February.

The depôt companies were removed in July from Perth to Ireland, and were stationed at Londonderry.

[Sidenote: 1837]

During the year 1837, the NINETY-SECOND remained stationed at Malta.

The regiment was inspected by Major-General Sir Henry Bouverie, K.C.B., commanding at Malta, on the 28th of November, when he remarked “the singular intelligence and steadiness shown by all the officers and men;” and added, “that the field-day had the best effect of any he had ever witnessed.”

In May the depôt companies proceeded from Londonderry to Armagh, and in September following to Mullingar.

[Sidenote: 1838]

The depôt companies were removed from Mullingar to Nenagh in May, and in September proceeded to Limerick.

On the 12th of July, 1838, His Royal Highness the Prince Maximilian of Bavaria landed at Malta, and attended a parade of the garrison: on the day following he examined the barracks occupied by the NINETY-SECOND, and expressed himself much pleased with every part of the interior economy of the regiment.

On the 30th of November, 1838, the regiment lined the ramparts at St. Elmo, while the “Hastings” (seventy-four guns,) entered the harbour with Her Majesty the Queen Dowager on board. On the following day the regiment was formed as a Guard of Honor in the square in front of the palace to receive Her Majesty, who landed to examine the accommodation prepared for her, and returned again on board the “Hastings.”

On the 4th of December, the Queen Dowager landed amidst the rejoicings of the inhabitants, and occupied the palace. The field officers, and the heads of departments, were presented to Her Majesty by the Governor in the evening, and the town and public buildings were splendidly illuminated.

The Queen Dowager held a levée at the palace on the 12th of December, when all the officers were presented. The Earl Howe, Lord Chamberlain, having previously intimated Her Majesty’s desire to see the NINETY-SECOND HIGHLAND REGIMENT, whenever it might be convenient, the officers, immediately after the levée, repaired to their companies, and the regiment was formed in review-order on the Floriana Parade. After the regiment had marched past in slow and quick time, and performed several movements, Her Majesty expressed herself highly pleased with the appearance of the corps.

[Sidenote: 1839]

In January, 1839, the depôt companies proceeded from Limerick to Birr, where they were stationed during the year.

[Sidenote: 1840]

The depôt companies were removed from Birr to Mullingar in January, 1840; and in May proceeded to Glasgow, from whence in July they marched to Stirling.

[Sidenote: 1841]

The first division of the regiment, consisting of two companies, under the command of Brevet-Major Stephen Noel, embarked on board the “Somersetshire” transport, at Malta, on the morning of the 9th of January 1841, for _Barbadoes_, and arrived there on the 4th of April. The head-quarters, with four companies under the command of Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Robert Winchester, embarked on board the “Cornwall” transport, at Malta, on the morning of the 21st of January, for _Barbadoes_, and arrived there on the 4th of April with the first division.

The head-quarters and two companies were afterwards stationed at St. Vincent, two companies at St. Lucia and Pigeon Island, and two companies detached to Dominica. On the 24th of May, a requisition was received for military aid to suppress a serious disturbance at Kingstown, St. Vincent; the conduct of the NINETY-SECOND on this occasion received the thanks of the President of the Council and the House of Assembly of St. Vincent.

In May, 1841, the depôt companies were removed from Stirling to Fort George, near Inverness.

[Sidenote: 1842]

The service companies of the NINETY-SECOND regiment were concentrated at Barbadoes on the 6th of February, 1842, where they continued during the remainder of that year.

In June, 1842, the depôt companies proceeded from Fort George to Dundee.

[Sidenote: 1843]

On the 22nd of May, 1843, the head-quarters and one company of the regiment, under the command of Colonel McDonald, C.B., embarked in the “Crocodile” troop-ship for Trinidad; detachments were also stationed at Grenada and Tobago.

Her Majesty was pleased to appoint Lieut.-General Sir William Macbean, K.C.B., to be colonel of the NINETY-SECOND regiment on the 31st of May, in succession to General the Earl of Stair, who was removed to the forty-sixth regiment.

The company at Tobago embarked on board the “Java” transport on the 5th of December; the head-quarters and three companies at Trinidad embarked in the same ship on the 8th of December; the two companies at Grenada embarked also in the “Java” on the 15th of December, and the ship sailed for Portsmouth on the 25th of December.

[Sidenote: 1844]

The service companies disembarked at Aberdeen on the 16th, 17th, and 18th of February, 1844, and were joined by the depôt companies from Dundee.

The regiment proceeded from Aberdeen to Glasgow in September. On the 8th of October, the regiment formed part of the procession for the inauguration of an equestrian statue of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington, erected in front of the Exchange at Glasgow.

[Sidenote: 1845]

In July, 1845, the regiment marched to Edinburgh Castle, where it was stationed during that year.

[Sidenote: 1846]

On the 6th of April, 1846, a letter of thanks was received from the Magistrates and Commissioners of Police of Edinburgh, for the promptness and efficiency with which a piquet of the regiment, under Captain Sutherland, attended, and assisted in saving property, and preserving order, during a calamitous fire at night in the New Town of Edinburgh.

The NINETY-SECOND regiment embarked for Belfast in April, 1846, and in August following was removed to Enniskillen.

Major John Alexander Forbes was promoted to the rank of lieut.-colonel in the NINETY-SECOND regiment on the 9th of November, 1846, in succession to Colonel John McDonald, C.B., who was promoted major-general on the same date.

[Sidenote: 1847]

In May, 1847, the regiment was removed from Enniskillen to Dublin, and in December it proceeded to Limerick.

[Sidenote: 1848]

The regiment proceeded in December, 1848, from Limerick to Clonmel, in the Kilkenny district, which was under the command of Major-General John McDonald; his former regiment thus became again under his orders.

[Sidenote: 1849]

The regiment remained at Clonmel during the year 1849.

[Sidenote: 1850]

On the 2nd of April, 1850, the NINETY-SECOND regiment marched from Clonmel to Kilkenny.

On the 9th of December, orders were given for the regiment to be formed into six service and four depôt companies, preparatory to the embarkation of the former for the Ionian Islands.

[Sidenote: 1851]

In February, 1851, the service companies proceeded from Kilkenny to Fermoy, and the depôt companies to Carlow: a complimentary address was received from the mayor and citizens of Kilkenny, on the NINETY-SECOND quitting that city, expressive of the regret they experienced in parting with the regiment, the conduct of which had gained the esteem of all classes.

The service companies embarked at Cork on the 14th of April, on board of Her Majesty’s troop-ship “Apollo” and the freight ship “Edmonstone” for Corfu, the head-quarters being under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Mark Kerr Atherley.

CONCLUSION.

The foregoing pages contain a detail of the services of the NINETY-SECOND HIGHLAND REGIMENT for fifty-eight years from the period of its formation in 1793, during which it has shared in the honors acquired in many of the arduous and distinguished actions, which have largely increased the fame of the British army.

The distinctions, which it has gained on active foreign service, are duly attested by the inscriptions on the regimental colour, and the national credit of the regiment has been maintained by its correct and orderly conduct, and its attention to the rules of discipline, in every station at which it has been employed, whether at home or abroad.

1851.

FOOTNOTES:

[6] The ninety-first, ninety-second, ninety-third, ninety-fourth, ninety-fifth, ninety-sixth, ninety-seventh, and ninety-ninth regiments, which were directed to be raised at the commencement of the war with France in 1793, were afterwards disbanded, so that the _ninety-eighth_ was numbered the _ninety-first_, and the _Hundredth_ became the NINETY-SECOND regiment.

[7] Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, K.B., was promoted to the local rank of General on the Continent of Europe, on the 13th of August 1799.

[8] Colonel the Marquis of Huntly commanded the regiment in this memorable charge, which began and decided the action at Egmont-op-Zee: all the rest was a pursuit. The Marquis of Huntly, and Major-General (afterwards Sir John) Moore, were wounded, and the command of the regiment devolved upon Lieut.-Colonel Erskine.

Major-General Moore was carried to the surgeon by two soldiers of the regiment; and a few years afterwards, when writing for a drawing of the uniform, for the purpose of having a soldier of the NINETY-SECOND as one of the supporters to his coat of arms, on being made a Knight of the Bath, he mentioned the circumstance of their having remarked—“There is the General, we must take him to the doctor:” and then added, “We can do no more; we must join the lads, for every man is wanted!!” Major-General Moore, on his recovery, inquired for those men in order to reward them, and offered twenty pounds, but no one claimed it; and he remarked, that “it was a noble trait of the regiment, that no men in its ranks came forward to personate the parties, or to claim the reward.”—It was, therefore, supposed they were killed.

It may be observed, that this is one of the few instances on record of _crossing bayonets_ by large bodies. Even the supernumerary rank of the NINETY-SECOND on this occasion was bayoneted; among the number Lieutenant McCardy was killed, and Lieutenant Donald McDonald (who afterwards succeeded to the command of the regiment at Waterloo) received three bayonet wounds.

[9] List of regiments which served in Egypt in 1801, is inserted in the Appendix, page 139.

[10] _Vide_ General Order, dated Horse Guards, 16th of May, 1801, and List of regiments employed in Egypt, inserted in pages 137, &c. of the Appendix.

[11] Lieut.-General Burrard was created a Baronet in November 1807.

[12] A list of the regiments employed in the expedition to _Copenhagen_ it inserted in the Appendix, page 141.

[13] Vide General Orders of the 18th of January and 1st of February, 1809; also a list of regiments employed under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore at Corunna, inserted in pages 142, &c., of the Appendix.

[14] At Almaraz on the 19th of May, 1812, the individual merit and gallantry of Privates James Gall and John Somerville of the Grenadier Company of the NINETY-SECOND regiment, were brought under the notice of the Commander-in-Chief as having tended to forward, in a very considerable degree, the object of Lord Hill upon Fort Ragusa: his Lordship ordered two doubloons to be given to these soldiers on the field, being the first men who leaped into the river.

[15] “The hill this carried was called the Englishmen’s Hill, not, as some recent writers have supposed, in commemoration of a victory gained by the Black Prince, but because of a disaster which there befel a part of his army. His battle was fought between Navarrette and Najera, many leagues from Vittoria, and beyond the Ebro; but on this hill the two gallant knights, Sir Thomas and Sir William Felton, took post with two hundred companions, and being surrounded by Don Tello with six thousand, all died or were taken after a long, desperate, and heroic resistance.”—(History of the Peninsular War, by Major-General Sir William Napier, K.C.B.)

[16] On the 30th of September, 1815, His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, in the name and on the behalf of His Majesty, was pleased to grant the dignity of a baronet of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to Ewen Cameron, Esq., of Fassifern and Callart, in the county of Argyll, and of Arthurstone, in the county of Angus, to commemorate the services of his son, Colonel Cameron, of the NINETY-SECOND regiment.

[17] Now Major-General McDonald, commanding the Kilkenny district in Ireland.

[18] Referring to an expression of thanks and approbation from the Lord Lieutenant to Lieut.-General the Right Honorable Sir John Byng, K.C.B., and from him to the regiment, for the spontaneous interference of some soldiers of the grenadier company in saving the life of a police constable, and retaking a prisoner, who had been rescued from him by a mob at Maryborough, on the 20th of May, 1830.

[19] Lieut.-General Sir John Byng, the present General the Earl of Strafford, and Colonel of the Coldstream Guards, in consideration of his gallantry in the action of the 13th of December, 1813,—wherein he led his troops, under a most galling fire, to the assault of a strong height occupied in great force by the enemy, and having himself ascended the hill first with the colour of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment of foot in his hand, he planted the colour upon the summit, and drove the enemy (far superior in numbers) down the ridge to the suburbs of _St. Pierre_,—received the Royal Authority, on the 7th of July, 1815, to bear the following honorable augmentation, namely, “Over the arms of the family of Byng, in bend sinister, a representation of the colour of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment,” and the following crest, namely, “Out of a mural crown an arm embowed, grasping the colour of the aforesaid THIRTY-FIRST regiment, and pendent from the wrist by a riband, the Gold Cross presented to him by His Majesty’s command, as a mark of his royal approbation of his distinguished services,” and in an escrol above the word “_Mouguerre_,” being the name of a height near the hamlet of _St. Pierre_.

_The Advanced Post at Sunrise.—The Sentry sees something suspicious and calls the Corporal._

_For Cannon’s Military Records._

_Madeley Lith. 3, Wellington St. Strand._]

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS

THE NINETY-SECOND REGIMENT

(HIGHLANDERS).

GEORGE, MARQUIS OF HUNTLY.

_Appointed 3rd May, 1796._

George, Marquis of Huntly, son of Alexander, fourth Duke of Gordon, choosing the profession of arms, was appointed to a commission in the thirty-fifth regiment in 1790. In the same year he raised an independent company of Highlanders; and exchanging, in January, 1791, to the forty-second regiment, he brought with him a fine band of young Highlanders. On the 11th of July, 1792, he was promoted to captain-lieutenant and lieutenant-colonel in the third Foot Guards. He accompanied the detachment of Foot Guards to Flanders in the spring of 1793, was at the action of St. Amand on the 8th of May, and was engaged in driving the French from the position at the village of Famars on the 23rd of May. He was subsequently employed at the siege of Valenciennes, which fortress surrendered to the Duke of York in July. On the 18th of August he was engaged at Lincelles; and he afterwards served at the siege of Dunkirk. When the army went into winter quarters, the MARQUIS OF HUNTLY returned to England, and in the following year was raised a corps of Highlanders, which was numbered the _hundredth_ regiment, now the NINETY-SECOND, of which he was appointed lieutenant-colonel commandant on the 10th of February, 1794. He accompanied his regiment to Gibraltar; and on his return to England, he was captured by a French privateer. He afterwards rejoined his regiment at the island of Corsica, where he served upwards of a year; and on the 3rd of May, 1796, he was promoted to the rank of colonel. On the breaking out of the rebellion in Ireland, in 1798, he joined his regiment in that country, where he served as brigadier-general, and was actively employed against the rebels, particularly in Wexford. He accompanied the expedition to Holland in 1799, was at the landing at the Helder, and continued actively employed until the 2nd of October, when he was wounded at the battle of Egmont-op-Zee. On the 1st of January, 1801, he was promoted to the rank of major-general; and in 1803 he was appointed to the staff of North Britain, where he served three years. In January, 1806, he was appointed to the colonelcy of the forty-second, or the Royal Highlanders; and in April, 1808, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general. He commanded a division in the expedition to Holland in 1809; and in August, 1819, he was advanced to the rank of general. In 1820 he was removed to the first,—the Royal Regiment of Foot,—and in a few months afterwards he was nominated a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honorable Military Order of the Bath. In 1827 he succeeded, on the decease of his father, to the dignity of DUKE OF GORDON: he was also appointed Governor of Edinburgh Castle, and Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. In 1834 he was removed to the Scots Fusilier Guards. He was distinguished as a kind-hearted and gallant nobleman and soldier,—contributing largely to many charitable institutions. His social, private, and public virtues, endeared him to his family and friends; and a succession of uninterrupted acts of philanthropy procured him universal esteem. He died on the 28th of May, 1836; and his remains, by especial command of his Majesty King William IV., were escorted by the first battalion of the Scots Fusilier Guards from London to Greenwich, where they were placed on board a steam-vessel, for the purpose of being conveyed to Scotland for interment in a mausoleum erected on the paternal estate. By his Grace’s decease the dukedom became extinct.

JOHN, EARL OF HOPETOUN, G.C.B.

_Appointed 3rd January, 1806._

The Honorable John Hope, son of John, second Earl of Hopetoun, evinced a predilection for the profession of arms from his youth, and served as a volunteer in his fifteenth year. On the 28th of May, 1784, he was appointed cornet in the tenth Light Dragoons; two years afterwards, he was nominated lieutenant in the twenty-seventh foot, and in 1789, captain in the seventeenth Light Dragoons; in 1792, he was promoted major in the first foot, and in the following year, lieutenant-colonel in the twenty-fifth regiment, with which corps he served in the West Indies, where he was appointed adjutant-general, and served the campaigns of 1794, 1795, 1796, and 1797, with great distinction, being particularly noticed in the orders and public despatches of Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, and other commanders. In 1796, he was elected a member of parliament for the county of Linlithgow. He was nominated deputy adjutant-general to the expedition to Holland in 1799, and was severely wounded at the landing in North Holland on the 27th of August. In 1800, he was appointed adjutant-general to the army in the Mediterranean, under Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, and served in the expedition to Egypt: he was at the actions of the 8th and 13th of March, 1801, and was wounded before Alexandria on the 21st of March, when Sir Ralph Abercromby received a wound, of which he died on the 28th of March. Brigadier-General Hope recovered, and requesting to have a brigade, was succeeded as adjutant-general by Colonel Abercromby. On the 16th of June, he joined the army before Cairo, with the twenty-eighth and forty-second regiments, and he afterwards evinced ability in conducting the negotiations for the surrender of the capital of Egypt by the French troops, under General Belliard. He continued in the command of a brigade until the deliverance of Egypt was accomplished, and received the second class of the Order of the Crescent established by the Grand Seignior. In 1802, his services were rewarded by the colonelcy of the North Lowland Fencible Infantry, and the rank of major-general; to which was added, in June, 1805, the appointment of deputy-governor of Portsmouth; but he resigned this appointment soon afterwards, to accompany the troops sent to Hanover under Lieutenant-General Lord Cathcart. In October, 1805, he was appointed colonel commandant of a battalion of the sixtieth regiment; and in 1806, he succeeded the Marquis of Huntly in the colonelcy of the NINETY-SECOND regiment. On the 25th of April, 1808, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general. He was nominated second in command of the expedition to the Baltic, under Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore, and afterwards accompanied the troops to Portugal. He commanded a division of the army which advanced into Spain, under Sir John Moore, and shared in that campaign; and in the battle of Corunna, when he succeeded to the command of the army,—Sir John Moore being killed, and Sir David Baird wounded—he was successful in repulsing the attack of the French under Marshal Soult. On the embarkation of the army, he took particular care to prevent any soldier being left behind, and was the last man who went on board the fleet. His despatch contains an interesting account of the battle.[20] He was thanked for his distinguished services by parliament, was honored with the approbation of his Sovereign, and the admiration and applause of his country; and was nominated a Knight of the Most Honorable Military Order of the Bath. After his return from Spain, he served with the Walcheren expedition, under General the Earl of Chatham, and was subsequently appointed commander-in-chief in Ireland, from which he was removed, in 1813, to the appointment of second in command in the peninsula. Lieutenant-General SIR JOHN HOPE, commanded the left wing of the army at the battle of the Nivelle on the 10th of November, and signalized himself at the battle of the Nive, in December; on which occasion the British commander stated in his public despatch—“I cannot sufficiently applaud the ability, coolness, and judgment, of Lieutenant-General Sir John Hope.” He passed the Adour with the left wing of the army in February, 1814, and blockaded the important fortress of Bayonne,—in which service he evinced great ability and perseverance: and he remained in the command of the blockading force until the termination of the war. After Napoleon had abdicated, the French commandant at Bayonne not believing the news, made a sortie on the night of the 14th of April, and gained some advantage. Lieutenant-General SIR JOHN HOPE coming up with some troops in the dark, encountered the enemy, when his horse being shot, fell upon him, and he was wounded and taken prisoner. The French were, however, repulsed. At the restoration of peace, he returned to England with a high reputation. He received the thanks of parliament; a medal and a clasp for the battles of Corunna and the Nive; was elevated to the peerage of the United Kingdom by the title of BARON NIDDRY, of Niddry, in the county of Linlithgow, and was nominated a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honorable Military Order of the Bath. He afterwards succeeded to the dignity of EARL OF HOPETOUN. In 1819, he was promoted to the rank of General, and was appointed colonel of the forty-second, or the Royal Highlanders, in 1820. He died at Paris on the 27th of August, 1823.

SIR JOHN HOPE, G.C.H.

_Appointed 29th January, 1820._

John Hope entered the Dutch service, as a cadet, in one of the regiments of the _Scots Brigade_ (Houston’s) in the service of the United Provinces, in 1778, and served at Bergen-op-Zoom and Maestretcht, going through the subordinate ranks of corporal and serjeant. In 1779 he was appointed ensign, and in 1782 he was promoted captain of a company; but, being called upon to renounce his allegiance to the British monarch, he quitted the Dutch service, and in 1787 he was appointed captain in the sixtieth foot, but his company was soon afterwards reduced. On the 30th of June, 1788, he was appointed captain in the thirteenth Light Dragoons, and in 1792 he was nominated aide-de-camp to Lieut.-General Sir William Erskine, in which capacity he served the campaigns of 1793 and 1794, in Holland, and returned to England in 1795, when he was promoted to the majority of the twenty-eighth Light Dragoons, and in 1796 to the lieut.-colonelcy of the same corps, with which he embarked for the Cape of Good Hope in the same year. He served at the Cape until 1799, when his regiment was incorporated in other corps, and he returned to England. In April, 1799, he was appointed to the thirty-seventh foot, which corps he joined, in 1800, in the West Indies, where he remained until 1804, when he returned to England, and exchanged to the sixtieth regiment. In 1805 he was nominated assistant adjutant-general in Scotland, and in 1807 he served as deputy adjutant-general to the expedition to Copenhagen, under Lieut.-General Lord Cathcart. He was appointed brigadier-general on the staff of North Britain in 1808, and subsequently deputy adjutant-general in that part of the United Kingdom. He was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1810, and appointed to the staff of the Severn district, from whence he was removed to the staff of the Peninsula in 1812, and served with the army under the Duke of Wellington at the battle of Salamanca, for which he received a medal. He subsequently served on the staff of Ireland and North Britain until 1819, when he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general. He was honored with the dignity of Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order. In 1820 he was appointed colonel of the NINETY-SECOND regiment, from which he was removed, in 1823, to the seventy-second Highlanders. He died in August 1836.

HONORABLE SIR ALEXANDER DUFF, G.C.H.

_Appointed 6th September, 1823._

Removed to the thirty-seventh regiment on the 20th of July, 1831.

JOHN EARL OF STAIR, K.T.

_Appointed 20th July, 1831._

Removed to the forty-sixth regiment on the 31st May, 1843.

SIR WILLIAM MACBEAN, K.C.B.

_Appointed 31st May, 1843._

Succession of LIEUTENANT-COLONELS in the NINETY-SECOND Regiment (HIGHLANDERS).

Succession of MAJORS of NINETY-SECOND Regiment (HIGHLANDERS).

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Historical record of the Ninety-second Regiment, originally termed "The Gordon Highlanders" and numbered the Hundredth RegimentChapter V: Part 5

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