Chapter M: DCCC XLVIII (2)

Early in the year 1706, Lieut.-Col. Pearce received orders to march with the THIRTEENTH regiment from Vinaros to Oropeso, where an extraordinary alteration took place in the character of the corps, which is without parallel in the history of the British army. The Earl of Peterborough was much in want of cavalry for his expedition to Valencia, and he procured, with great zeal and industry, about eight hundred Spanish horses; about two hundred of these horses were given to the Royal Dragoons, and other corps, to remount the men whose horses had died, and with the other six hundred he resolved to form a corps of cavalry. He had been much pleased with the conduct of the THIRTEENTH foot on all occasions, and he determined to constitute them a _Regiment of Dragoons_. This was, however, not communicated to the officers and soldiers until every preparation was made, and as the regiment approached Oropeso, it was met by the Earl of Peterborough, and reviewed on a small plain near the town. After the review the horses were produced, and the regiment was constituted a corps of dragoons of eight troops, of which Lieut.-Col. Edward Pearce was appointed colonel. The following account of this circumstance is copied from Dr. Freind’s account of the Earl of Peterborough’s campaign in Valencia:--‘No surprise, I believe, was equal to that of the officers and soldiers of Colonel Pearce’s regiment, who had orders to march from Vinaros, to a place called Oropeso, four leagues from Castillon de la Plana: at this place, by ten in the morning, they were met by the Earl of Peterborough, on a plain just bordering on the town. His Lordship having made a review, was complimenting the regiment, and wishing he had horses and accoutrements, to try whether a corps of so good a character would maintain the like reputation upon such a change. They, no doubt, concurred very heartily with his Lordship in his wishes, little expecting the execution of them in a moment: but his Lordship having ordered his secretary to give the commissions already prepared, the officers at last believed the general in earnest; when, turning to the edge of a hill, they saw eight bodies of horses, drawn up separately, and found them all ready accoutred. Among these there were three good horses for each captain, two for each lieutenant, and one for each cornet. My Lord left to the field officers the choice of their troops; the other captains drew lots: and immediately they all mounted and marched to the quarters appointed for them.’

In the ‘Annals of Queen Anne,’ it is stated:--‘He (the Earl of Peterborough) collected above six hundred horses, with which he recruited his horse, and formed a regiment of dragoons of the LORD BARRYMORE’S regiment of foot, the command of which new regiment he gave to Lieut.-Col. Pearce, ordering the remaining officers of the old corps to return to England to recruit the same.’

Similar statements to the above are contained in Carleton’s Memoirs, Tindal’s History of England, and other historical works. In the official records, it is stated, that twenty-seven officers and six hundred and sixty non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the THIRTEENTH foot, then called the Earl of Barrymore’s regiment, were formed into a corps of dragoons in Spain; that Lieut.-Col. Pearce of the THIRTEENTH was appointed colonel of the new regiment of dragoons, which obtained rank in the army from the 25th of February, 1706; and that 900_l._ levy money was paid for recruiting the THIRTEENTH to its establishment in England.

The regiment of dragoons thus formed proved a valuable corps, and distinguished itself on several occasions. It formed part of the force engaged in the Earl of Peterborough’s splendid campaign in Valencia, and evinced great gallantry in the capturing of the Spanish battering train near the city of Valencia. After the siege of Barcelona was raised, this regiment advanced upon Madrid, and joined the army of Portugal, under the Earl of Galway, at Guadalaxara, on the 8th of August, 1706. It subsequently took part in covering the march of the army to Valencia, and was so reduced in numbers by continual service, and the losses it sustained in numerous skirmishes, that in the spring of 1707, it only mustered two hundred and seventy three men. It was one of the corps which displayed great intrepidity and bravery at the battle of Almanza, on the 25th of April, 1707, when it had Lieut.-Col. Deloches, Cornets Cundy and Holmes, and Quarter-Master Sturges killed; Lieut. Fitzgerald and Cornet Barry wounded and taken prisoners: it also sustained a severe loss in killed and wounded. It was disbanded after the treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

The remaining officers and soldiers of the THIRTEENTH, who were not constituted dragoons, returned to England in 1706, and had so great success in recruiting the regiment, that in less than two years it was fit for service.

[Sidenote: 1707]

While the regiment was recruiting in England, the allied army was defeated at Almanza, and a French and Spanish force invaded Portuguese Estremadura and the Alemtejo, when four regiments (the fifth, twentieth, thirty-ninth, and Stanwix’s, afterwards disbanded) embarked from Ireland for Portugal; and during the winter the THIRTEENTH regiment, being again fit for duty, proceeded to the same destination: it was placed on the strength of the army in Portugal on the 24th of December, 1707.

[Sidenote: 1708]

After landing at Lisbon, the regiment marched under the orders of its colonel, the Earl of Barrymore, to the Alemtejo; in the spring of 1708 it was encamped at Fuentes de Sapatores, between Elvas and Campo Mayor, with the army commanded by the Marquis de Fronteira, and was formed in brigade with the regiments of Stanwix and Galway (newly-raised corps, afterwards disbanded) under Brigadier-General Thomas Pearce (of the fifth foot); but the services of the THIRTEENTH were limited to operations of a defensive character.

[Sidenote: 1709]

In April, 1709, the regiment was encamped near Estremos, from whence it was removed to Elvas, and subsequently to the banks of the Caya. On the 7th of May, the French and Spaniards under the Marquis de Bay marched in the direction of Campo Mayor, when the Portuguese generals resolved to pass the _Caya_ and attack the enemy, contrary to the advice of the Earl of Galway. The Portuguese cavalry of the right wing crossed the river, and opened a sharp cannonade; but when the opposing horsemen advanced to charge, the Portuguese squadron galloped out of the field, leaving their cannon behind. The infantry of the allied army stood its ground, repulsed the charges of the Spanish cavalry three times, and afterwards commenced its retreat, when the Earl of Galway led forward the THIRTEENTH, Stanwix’s, and his own regiment, to favour the retrograde movement. The THIRTEENTH were in front, and charged the Spaniards with distinguished gallantry; the other two regiments of the brigade also evinced great bravery, and the three corps overthrew the leading columns of the opposing army, and recaptured the Portuguese guns. Animated and encouraged by this success, the three regiments pressed forward until they became exposed to the attack of superior numbers, when the Portuguese cavalry of the left wing were ordered to support them, but instead of obeying these orders, the Portuguese squadrons galloped to the rear. Thus forsaken, the three regiments were cut off from the allied army, surrounded by opponents, and only a few officers and men were able to cut their passage through the host of adversaries which environed them; the remainder were forced to surrender prisoners of war. Among the prisoners were Major-General Sankey and Brigadier-General Thomas Pearce.

The THIRTEENTH foot sustained a severe loss on this occasion; besides the killed and wounded, it had Colonel the Earl of Barrymore, four captains, eight lieutenants, eight ensigns, three volunteers, and between two and three hundred non-commissioned officers and soldiers taken prisoners.

[Sidenote: 1710]

The captured officers and soldiers were exchanged; and the regiment served the campaign of 1710 on the frontiers of Portugal, but had no opportunity of distinguishing itself.

[Sidenote: 1711]

[Sidenote: 1713]

In 1711 the THIRTEENTH foot were withdrawn from Portugal, and proceeded to Gibraltar, where they were stationed until the peace of Utrecht, 1713, when that fortress was ceded to Great Britain.

At the conclusion of the peace, 1713, the regiment received drafts of non-commissioned officers and soldiers from several corps which were ordered to be disbanded, and the protection of the important fortress of Gibraltar was confided to the fifth, THIRTEENTH, and twentieth regiments.

[Sidenote: 1715]

On the 8th July, 1715, the Earl of Barrymore was succeeded in the command of the regiment by Colonel Stanhope Cotton, who had served in Brigadier-General Bowles’s regiment, which was disbanded in 1713.

Colonel Cotton was honoured with the appointment of Lieut.-Governor of Gibraltar, and the THIRTEENTH regiment, under his command, was as much distinguished for its excellent conduct in garrison in time of peace, as it had been for its gallantry in action during the war.

[Sidenote: 1725]

After commanding the regiment upwards of twelve years, Colonel Cotton died on the 7th of December, 1725, when King George I. conferred the colonelcy of the THIRTEENTH foot on Brigadier-General Lord Mark Kerr, from the twenty-ninth regiment.

[Sidenote: 1726]

The importance of _Gibraltar_ had rendered the loss of that fortress a subject of deep regret to the crown of Spain, and on the prospect of England being involved in a continental war, in 1726, the Spanish monarch resolved to commence hostilities with Great Britain, by a determined effort to recover possession of this desirable entrepôt to the Mediterranean, which gave the THIRTEENTH regiment another opportunity of adding to its honours, that of a second successful defence of Gibraltar.

[Sidenote: 1727]

The Spaniards made preparations for the siege upon an extensive scale: their troops encamped before the fortress in January, 1727, under General Count de las Torres, and the bringing up of cannon and mortars occupied several weeks. In February they commenced constructing batteries, before any declaration of war had been made, and persisted in the work, notwithstanding the remonstrances of the Lieut.-Governor, Colonel Jasper Clayton.

On the 21st of February, the garrison opened its fire upon the besiegers, and from that day the thunder of cannon and mortars reverberated among the mountains of Andalusia, proclaiming the strenuous efforts of the besieging army, and the gallant defence made by the garrison, which was encouraged by the arrival of additional corps from England. The siege was continued until thousands of Spaniards had perished in the attempt; but very little loss had been sustained by the garrison. In the early part of June the fire slackened, and on the 18th of that month hostilities ceased, in consequence of preliminary articles for a treaty of peace having been agreed upon.

[Sidenote: 1728]

The regiment was relieved from duty at Gibraltar in the spring of 1728, and returning to England, after an absence of upwards of twenty years, landed at Portsmouth on the 1st of May.

[Sidenote: 1730]

On the 18th of July, 1730, King George II. reviewed the regiment, in brigade with the twelfth foot, on Winkfield plain. His Majesty was accompanied by the Queen, and a number of distinguished persons, and the appearance and movements of the two regiments excited great admiration.

[Sidenote: 1732]

[Sidenote: 1739]

In May, 1732, Lord Mark Kerr was removed to the eleventh dragoons, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the THIRTEENTH foot, by Colonel John Middleton, from the twenty-fifth regiment. This officer commanded the regiment seven years, and died on the 4th of May, 1739: the colonelcy remained vacant two months, and was conferred, on the 5th of July, on Colonel Henry Pulteney from major of the second foot guards.

On the 23rd of October of this year war was proclaimed against Spain, and the establishment of the regiment was augmented to eight hundred, and fifteen officers and soldiers.

[Sidenote: 1740]

In the summer of 1740 the THIRTEENTH foot pitched their tents in Windsor forest, where an encampment of two regiments of horse, three of dragoons, and three of foot, was formed, under Lieut.-General Honeywood. In the autumn of this year, Charles VI. Emperor of Germany died, when the succession of the Archduchess Maria Theresa, as Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, was disputed by the Elector of Bavaria, who was supported by the arms of France.

[Sidenote: 1741]

On the prospect of Great Britain being involved in the war on the Continent, the regiment was held in readiness to embark for foreign service, and in July, 1741, it pitched its tents on Lexden-heath, in the county of Essex, where three regiments of horse, four of dragoons, and seven of foot, were encamped, and held in readiness to proceed abroad.

[Sidenote: 1742]

[Sidenote: 1743]

In the summer of 1742, sixteen thousand men proceeded to Flanders, under the Earl of Stair, to support the house of Austria: the THIRTEENTH regiment was one of the corps which proceeded to Flanders, where it remained in quarters until the early part of the following year. On the 31st March, 1743, war was declared against France, and the troops which the King of Great Britain had assembled in the Netherlands began their march for Germany. The THIRTEENTH was engaged in operations in the territory bordering on the Rhine, and after several movements it was encamped at Aschaffenburg, where King George II. and His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland joined the army.

On the 27th of June, the troops commenced their march for Hanau, when a body of French crossed the river Maine, and formed for battle in a strong position near the village of _Dettingen_. The allied army formed for action under a heavy cannonade, and about midday the contest commenced. The THIRTEENTH were sharply engaged, and had the honour to signalize themselves under the eye of their sovereign, who evinced great personal bravery, and stimulated the soldiers to deeds of heroism by his presence and animating language. The French army was defeated and driven across the river Maine with severe loss, and the allied army stood triumphant on the field of battle, having in its possession many colours, standards, prisoners, and other trophies indicating a complete victory.

Twenty-one rank and file of the THIRTEENTH foot were killed on this occasion; and Ensigns Ogilbie and Gray, one drummer, and twenty-nine rank and file, wounded.

From the field of battle, the army continued its march, on the following day, to Hanau, where the regiment was encamped several weeks: it afterwards crossed the Rhine, and was engaged in operations in West Germany; but repassed the Rhine in October, and returned to Flanders for winter quarters.

[Sidenote: 1744]

In May, 1744, the regiment again took the field, and served the campaign of that year under Field-Marshal Wade: it was encamped between Asche and Alost, and afterwards on the banks of the Scheldt. Towards the end of the campaign it penetrated the territory subject to France as far as Lisle, but returned to Ghent for winter quarters.

[Sidenote: 1745]

In April, 1745, the regiment pitched its tents near Brussels, and in the beginning of May marched to the village of Soignies, from whence it advanced, with the army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, to the relief of _Tournay_, which fortress was besieged by a numerous French force. This movement brought on a general engagement, near the village of _Fontenoy_, on the 11th of May, when the regiment had another opportunity of distinguishing itself in conflict with the enemy.

On this occasion the regiment entered the plain in front of the French position, formed line under a heavy fire of artillery from the enemy’s batteries, and advanced to attack the formidable array of infantry and artillery posted on the right of the village of Fontenoy. The British infantry, advancing to the attack, exhibited a splendid spectacle of war, and the heroic resolution with which they precipitated themselves, with the bayonet, upon the opposing ranks, proved the innate bravery of the men; but owing to the failure of the Dutch in their attack on the village, the British were forced to retire. The attack was repeated, British prowess was again triumphant, and the French lines were forced; but the Dutch failed a second time, and the British were compelled to withdraw: the army retreated from the field of battle to Aeth.

Captain Queenchant, two serjeants, and thirty-five private soldiers of the THIRTEENTH foot, were killed; Captain Lieutenant Daniel Nicholas, Lieutenants William Jones and Samuel Edhouse, two serjeants, and thirty-nine private men were wounded.

Leaving Aeth on the 16th of May, the regiment encamped on the plains of Lessines, and was afterwards employed in defensive operations; but the allied army was not sufficiently numerous to prevent the enemy obtaining possession of several fortified towns.

While the army was in Flanders, Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, arrived in Scotland, and being joined by several clans, he asserted his father’s pretensions to the throne. Unaccustomed to hear the sound of war at their own gates, the British people were at first alarmed, but soon recovering, they evinced loyalty and union in sustaining the fixed rights of their sovereign and in defending their own liberties. The volunteer associations were not, however, ready to take the field for some time, and several corps were ordered to return from Flanders. The THIRTEENTH regiment was one of the corps ordered home on this occasion, and it landed at Blackwall on the 23rd of September. It was immediately ordered to the north; and, joining the troops assembled by Field-Marshal Wade at Doncaster, marched from thence to Newcastle-on-Tyne. When the clans penetrated into England, the regiment was employed in covering Yorkshire, and when they made their precipitate retreat to Scotland, it returned to Newcastle, where it arrived on the 26th of December.

[Sidenote: 1746]

From Newcastle the regiment marched to Edinburgh, and joined the forces assembled at that place, under Lieut.-General Hawley, for the relief of Stirling Castle, which was besieged by the young Pretender. This force advanced to _Falkirk_, where it arrived on the 16th of January, 1746, and encamped. On the following day the outposts gave information of the approach of the rebel army, and the King’s troops left their camp-ground and formed for battle on Falkirk moor. At the moment when the battle commenced, a heavy storm of wind and rain beat violently in the faces of the King’s troops; the soldiers could scarcely see their opponents, their muskets would not give fire, confusion ensued, and a great portion of the army retired from the field of battle: a few regiments, however, remained firm, and repulsed the left wing of the rebel army.

After retiring from Falkirk moor, the THIRTEENTH regiment marched back to Edinburgh, where additional forces arrived, and His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland took the command of the troops in Scotland.

On the 31st of January, the army again advanced, when the young Pretender raised the siege of Stirling Castle, and made a precipitate retreat towards Inverness. The THIRTEENTH were engaged in the pursuit of the rebel clans; but the army was forced to halt at Perth, in consequence of the severity of the weather, until the 20th of February, when the march was resumed; and in the beginning of March, the army arrived at Aberdeen, where it was detained by heavy rain and snow storms.

In the early part of April, the King’s troops were again in motion, and on the 14th of that month they arrived at Nairn. The rebels made a sudden advance From Inverness, with the view of surprising the royal forces in the night, but finding the outposts alert, they retreated.

Early on the morning of the 16th of April, the army advanced in three columns towards Inverness, and about eleven o’clock the rebel forces were discovered on _Culloden_ moor, when the royal army formed for battle; the THIRTEENTH regiment having its post in Brigadier-General Mordaunt’s division, and bringing into the field twenty-two officers, twenty-three serjeants, nineteen drummers, and three hundred and ten rank and file. In the first instance, the regiment formed part of the reserve, but as the army advanced, a change in the character of the ground occasioned the THIRTEENTH foot to be ordered forward to take post on the right of the royals. The fire of cannon was succeeded by several charges, in which the King’s troops were victorious. A body of Highlanders, with broad swords and targets, advanced towards the THIRTEENTH foot, but they were intimidated by the gallant bearing of the regiment, and fled from the field before the soldiers could close upon them with bayonets. The rebel army was routed at every part of the field, and pursued for several miles with great slaughter, and the loss of all its artillery. Thus the events of one day transformed the young Pretender from an imaginary monarch to a destitute fugitive, and after enduring great hardship and suffering he escaped to France.

After the victory at Culloden, the regiment was encamped a short period at Inverness, and it was subsequently employed in escorting the prisoners taken on that occasion.

The rebellion in Scotland having been suppressed, the THIRTEENTH regiment was ordered to return to the Netherlands. It landed in Holland in the autumn and advanced up the country to Maestricht, where it arrived on the 9th of October. At this period, the French army under Marshal Saxe, and the allied army under Prince Charles of Lorraine, were manœuvring in the vicinity of the city of Liege, and an engagement being expected, the regiment received orders to advance with all possible expedition, and join the army. In obedience to these orders, the regiment quitted Maestricht, and, by a forced march, arrived in the vicinity of Liege on the morning of the 11th of October, at the moment when the French army was developing its attack on three villages, which were occupied by eight battalions of English, Dutch, and Hessians. The regiment was instantly ordered to take post near the village of _Roucoux_, under the command of Brigadier-General Houghton. The leading brigades of the enemy were repulsed, and a second line of combatants was defeated; but the enemy brought forward so many fresh troops, that the eight battalions were driven from the villages by superior numbers. A retreat was ordered, which was executed with great regularity, and the army inarched to the vicinity of Maestricht.

[Sidenote: 1747]

The regiment was subsequently employed in the province of Limburg, and passed the winter in quarters near the Dutch frontiers.

In the spring of 1747, the regiment took the field, and formed part of the army under the command of His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland. After encamping for a short period near the banks of the Scheldt, it was employed in operations on the Great Nethe and on the Demer. On the 1st of July, the opposing armies confronted each other between Tongres and Maestricht, and the THIRTEENTH, twenty-fifth, and thirty-seventh regiments, with Freudeman’s Hanoverians, and a portion of artillery, took possession of the village of _Val_, situate about a league from Maestricht, and on the south of the road from that place to Tongres. The day was passed in cannonading and skirmishing, and the troops lay all the night on their arms.

Early on the morning of the 2nd of July, the French infantry descended the hills, and advanced in a grand column of upwards of sixty battalions against the village of Val, where the THIRTEENTH and three other regiments were formed to resist this immense array of French power, and the Duke of Cumberland galloped to that part of the field to encourage the soldiers to a determined resistance, and to be ready to support them as circumstances might require. About ten o’clock, the French artillery opened a heavy fire, and the second shot killed the Duke of Cumberland’s German aide-de-camp, Baron Ziggesaer: under the cover of this cannonade, the leading brigade of the French column attacked the village, and the British battalions withstood the tempest of war with astonishing firmness, repulsing the French regiments, and driving them back with severe loss. As the discomfited regiments retired, a second line of combatants advanced to storm the village, but they were met, overthrown, and driven back in disorder, and the THIRTEENTH and other regiments at that point remained triumphant at their post. Few moments elapsed before a fresh body of assailants came rushing forward, but the British battalions were again victorious; and a fourth attack on the village was also repulsed. The French commander appeared determined to carry this point, and his superior numbers enabling him to continue to send forward fresh troops, he eventually gained possession of the village; but the THIRTEENTH, and other corps which had occupied that post, were reinforced by four additional battalions, and they returned to the charge, and recovered the village in gallant style. The vicinity of _Val_ was covered with killed and wounded men, and several French brigades had been nearly destroyed, yet the French commander continued to order forward fresh troops: the soldiers on both sides fought with great resolution, and the village was lost and won several times.

The superior numbers of his army gave Marshal Saxe a decided advantage, and after the display of British valour, which reflected great honor on the corps engaged, the army was ordered to retreat towards Maestricht.

In the narratives of this battle published at the time, the heroic conduct of the corps engaged is highly commended. The THIRTEENTH foot had Lieutenant Haddock and forty rank and file killed; Captain Stafford, Lieutenant Naylor, Ensign Holyday, five serjeants, two drummers, and seventy rank and file wounded; fifty-one non-commissioned officers and soldiers prisoners of war and missing.

The regiment was employed near the frontiers of the United Provinces during the remainder of the campaign, but it was not again engaged in combat with the enemy.

[Sidenote: 1748]

A fine body of recruits from England replaced the losses of the preceding year, and in the spring of 1748, the regiment again took the field, and was employed in several services in the province of Limburg and in North Brabant. Preliminary articles for a treaty of peace were afterwards agreed upon, a suspension of hostilities took place, and the regiment went into quarters in Holland.

A treaty of peace, concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle, terminated the contest, and during the winter the regiment returned to England.

[Sidenote: 1749]

In 1749 a reduction was made in the strength of the army, and the THIRTEENTH regiment was placed on a peace establishment.

[Sidenote: 1751]

On the 1st of July, 1751, King George II. issued a regulation relative to the clothing, standards, and colours of the several regiments. According to this regulation, the uniform of the THIRTEENTH regiment was scarlet, faced and lined with _philemot yellow_. The first, or King’s, colour was the great union; the second colour was of philemot yellow silk, with the union in the upper canton, and in the centre of the colour, XIII. in gold Roman characters, within a wreath of roses and thistles on the same stalk.

[Sidenote: 1754]

[Sidenote: 1762]

The regiment remained in Great Britain until the year 1754, when it embarked for Gibraltar; and was stationed at that fortress during the whole of the seven years’ war; at the termination of hostilities in 1762, it returned to England.

[Sidenote: 1766]

King George III. paid great attention to everything connected with the army, and the THIRTEENTH foot obtained His Majesty’s special approbation of their conduct on all occasions. In June, 1766, His Royal Highness William, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER, was appointed colonel of the regiment, in succession to General the Honorable Henry Pulteney, who resigned.

[Sidenote: 1767]

His Majesty reviewed the regiment in Hyde Park, in brigade with the twelfth foot, on the 5th of June, 1767: the Queen, and a numerous assemblage of distinguished persons, were present on this occasion; and the King was pleased to express his high approbation of the appearance and discipline of the two corps.

In December the Duke of Gloucester was promoted to the rank of major-general, and appointed colonel of the third foot guards; at the same time the colonelcy of the THIRTEENTH foot was conferred on Major-General the Honorable James Murray, from colonel-commandant in the sixtieth regiment.

[Sidenote: 1768]

After remaining in England upwards of five years, the THIRTEENTH were ordered to transfer their services to Ireland, where they arrived in August, 1768, and were stationed in that part of the United Kingdom seven months.

[Sidenote: 1769]

In March, 1769, the regiment embarked for the island of Minorca.

[Sidenote: 1775]

[Sidenote: 1776]

When the American war commenced, in 1775, the regiment was performing garrison duty at Port Mahon; it was relieved, soon afterwards by a battalion of Hanoverians, which had been taken into British pay, and returned to England, where it arrived in February, 1776.

[Sidenote: 1778]

In the summer of 1778, the regiment was encamped near Plymouth, with four battalions of militia, under Lieut.-General Parker.

[Sidenote: 1779]

[Sidenote: 1780]

The regiment was encamped, in 1779, at Rye; and, in 1780, pitched its tents at Dorking.

[Sidenote: 1781]

Meanwhile the American war had been continued; France and Spain had taken part in the contest, in favour of the colonists; and an English armament had captured several French islands in the West Indies. The enemy sent a powerful force to recapture the lost possessions; and, in 1781, the THIRTEENTH received orders to proceed to the Leeward Islands, to augment the British force in that part of His Majesty’s dominions.

[Sidenote: 1782]

Soon after the regiment arrived in the West Indies, hostilities were terminated; the British Monarch acceded to the independence of the United States, and a treaty of peace was concluded. This change occasioned the regiment to return to England in 1782.

In this year, the THIRTEENTH foot received directions to assume the title of the FIRST SOMERSETSHIRE REGIMENT, and, in order to facilitate the procuring of recruits, to cultivate a connection between that county and the regiment.

[Sidenote: 1783]

The army was reduced in 1783, when the regiment was placed upon a peace establishment.

[Sidenote: 1784]

In the spring of 1784, the regiment embarked for Ireland, where it was quartered during the succeeding six years.

[Sidenote: 1789]

On the 5th of June, 1789, General the Honorable James Murray was removed to the twenty-first foot, or Royal North British Fusiliers, and His Majesty conferred the colonelcy of the THIRTEENTH regiment on Major-General George Ainslie, from the lieut.-colonelcy of the fifteenth light dragoons.

[Sidenote: 1790]

In the following year, the regiment received orders to hold itself in readiness for foreign service. A revolution had taken place in France; the French monarch was divested of regal power; the doctrines of liberty and equality were disseminated, and Great Britain was on the eve of being engaged in a contest to arrest the destructive operation of the principles of democracy.

The doctrines of equality were taught in the French West India Islands; their mischievous tendency was soon experienced among the black population, and the British Government deeming it necessary to augment its military power in that part of the world, the THIRTEENTH regiment was sent as a reinforcement to the island of Jamaica.

[Sidenote: 1791]

[Sidenote: 1793]

In 1791, the negroes of the French settlements in _St. Domingo_, (now the black republic of Hayti,) one of the largest and most fertile of the West India Islands, revolted; the island became a scene of massacre and devastation, and the French planters solicited the aid of the British, in 1793; when troops were sent to enable them to recover their estates from their former slaves. The revolted blacks and mulattoes took possession of part of the island, and declared themselves a free and independent people: the British gained several important posts; many of the planters transferred their allegiance to the British crown, and strenuous efforts were made to deliver the island from the domination of the slaves. Towards the end of 1793, the THIRTEENTH regiment embarked from Jamaica, and proceeded to the island of St. Domingo, where it was engaged in many difficult and arduous services, in which the officers and soldiers evinced valour, constancy, and patient endurance of the most distressing sufferings, in a manner which reflected great credit on the corps.

[Sidenote: 1794]

In January, 1794, the regiment was stationed at Jeremie, of which town its commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel John Whitelocke, was commandant. On the 31st of January, the regiment embarked, with the expedition commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Whitelocke, for the attach of the important post of Cape _Tiburon_, which commanded Cape Nichola mole, and an extensive bay. On the evening of the 2nd of February, the squadron approached the shore, where about six hundred and fifty blacks, and two hundred mulattoes and whites were formed to oppose the landing. A few broadsides from the frigates soon cleared the beach, and as the sun was declining beneath the horizon, Major Brent Spencer, of the THIRTEENTH, quitted the ships with the flank companies of the expedition. As the boats approached the shore, a line of opponents commenced a sharp fire of musketry; but the soldiers leaped upon the beach, charged with bayonets, routed their opponents in an instant, killed and wounded a number of blacks and mulattoes, and took possession of a house which was well situated for protecting the landing of the whole of the detachment. At daylight on the following morning, the THIRTEENTH and twentieth regiments landed, with a party of marines and of the British Legion; and as the troops prepared to attack the post, the enemy fled, leaving twenty-two pieces of heavy ordnance, three field-pieces, and a magazine full of every description of ammunition, behind them: about fifty of the enemy were killed and wounded, and a hundred and fifty taken prisoners.

The loss of the regiment, on this occasion, was limited to two private soldiers killed; Captain the Honorable Charles Colville, Lieutenant George Kinnaird Dana, Volunteer Dolphina, and two private soldiers, wounded. The conduct of Major Spencer of the THIRTEENTH, and of the officers and soldiers of the flank companies, was commended in Lieut.-Colonel Whitelocke’s despatch.

This important post was placed under the charge of Lieutenant Robert Baskerville, of the THIRTEENTH, who had fifty men of his own regiment, the colonial corps, and Jean Kino’s corps from Irois, under his orders for the defence of the post.

On the 20th of February, the flank companies of the THIRTEENTH were engaged in the storming of the post of _L’Acal_, situate six miles from Leogane. Part of the force designed for this service proceeded by water, and the remainder by land: the whole under Lieut.-Colonel Whitelocke. Contrary winds prevented the troops in transports taking part in the attack, but the other division captured the fort in gallant style; the soldiers climbing the hill, exposed to a heavy fire of grape and musketry, and their progress impeded by felled trees placed in all directions, and capturing the works with fixed bayonets. After obtaining possession of the fort, two officers and thirteen soldiers were killed by the explosion of a magazine. The only loss sustained by the THIRTEENTH foot was one private soldier killed; one serjeant, and one private soldier wounded. Major Spencer again distinguished himself.

The flank companies of the regiment were employed, under Brigadier-General Whyte, in the expedition against _Port-au-Prince_, the capital of the island: the troops employed in this service arrived in the bay on the 31st of May, and the capture of this place was accomplished in four days, with little loss. A malignant fever broke out in the town soon afterwards, and the British lost forty officers and six hundred soldiers by disease, within two months after the surrender of the place. Lieut.-Colonel Whitelocke had the rank of colonel in the expedition, and Major Spencer that of lieut.-colonel; they both distinguished themselves, and their conduct was commended in the strongest terms in Brigadier-General Whyte’s despatch.

Captain James Grant, of the THIRTEENTH regiment, commanded the garrison of _Fort Bizzeton_, which consisted of one hundred and twenty men. Between four and five o’clock on the morning of the 5th of December, three columns of the enemy, amounting to about two thousand men, approached the fort with great silence, and arrived under the works before they were discovered; but the garrison was under arms; it repulsed the assailants, and drove them from before the works with great loss. Major-General Sir Adam Williamson stated in his public despatch,--‘Captain Grant (THIRTEENTH), and his two lieutenants, Clunes of the Royals, and Hamilton of the twenty-second regiment, merit every attention that can be shown them. They were all three severely wounded early in the attack, but tied up their wounds and continued to defend their post. It has been a very gallant defence and does them great honor.’

[Sidenote: 1795]

[Sidenote: 1796]

The regiment continued actively employed in St. Domingo in the year 1795; but the climate proved particularly injurious to the health of the officers and soldiers, and its losses from disease were so severe that, in 1796, it returned to England a skeleton.

[Sidenote: 1797]

After remaining in England a few months, the regiment embarked for Ireland in 1797, and arrived in that part of the kingdom at the period when the Roman Catholics were combining against the British government, and preparing for open rebellion, in the expectation of receiving aid from France.

[Sidenote: 1798]

In May, 1798, the rebellion broke out, and the passions of the misguided peasantry having been excited into a state of fury, by all the motives which bigotry and vengeance could inspire, their conduct was marked by actions of a most atrocious and cruel character. The THIRTEENTH regiment was, however, weak in numbers, and it was not called in very active service on this occasion. The rebellion was suppressed towards the end of July; and in August, when a body of French troops arrived, they were surrounded and made prisoners.

[Sidenote: 1799]

The regiment remained in Ireland recruiting its numbers during the year 1799.

[Sidenote: 1800]

In the early part of 1800, the establishment was completed by volunteers from the Irish militia; and on the 3rd of March the regiment embarked for England, where it arrived, a splendid corps of disciplined men, and it was soon afterwards selected to proceed on foreign service.

The Spanish monarch had united with France, in the war against Great Britain, and an attack on the ports of Spain formed part of the plan for employing the disposable force of the country. The THIRTEENTH embarked from England on the 31st of July, and sailed, with the expedition under Lieut.-General Sir James Pulteney, to the bay of Corunna, and a landing was effected on the coast of Galicia, with the design of attacking the fortress of _Ferrol_; but after viewing the town and its defences, Sir James Pulteney resolved not to lose time in attacking this place, and the troops re-embarked and proceeded to join General Sir Ralph Abercromby, who commanded a British force in the Mediterranean. The united forces appeared before _Cadiz_, and summoned the governor to surrender; but a disease was ravaging the city at the time, and the fleet quitted the coast for fear of infection, and proceeded to Gibraltar.

At this period a veteran French army, which had been vauntingly styled the ‘_Army of the East_,’ was holding _Egypt_ in subjection, and meditating scenes of conquest in distant regions; and the British government resolved to employ the disposable force of the kingdom in delivering Egypt from the French yoke. The THIRTEENTH, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Charles Colville, were selected for this enterprise: they mustered seven hundred and thirty-seven rank and file, fit for duty, and formed part of the second brigade under Major-General Cradock.

After experiencing much severe weather at sea, the fleet arrived at the island of Malta, where the troops went on shore, and the abundance of fresh provisions which the island afforded, with the comforts of the beautiful city of Valetta, soon restored and reanimated the troops.

Leaving Malta on the 20th of December, the armament sailed to Marmorice, in Asiatic Turkey, where the fleet anchored in a spacious bay surrounded by mountains, while gun-boats were being procured for the expedition, horses for the cavalry, and a plan of co-operation arranged with the Turks.

[Sidenote: 1801]

On the 23rd of February, 1801, the fleet again put to sea, and arriving off Alexandria on the 1st of March, bore down at sunset into the bay of _Aboukir_. On the morning of the 8th of March, as the rays of light gilded the horizon, one hundred and fifty boats laden with soldiers approached the shore, which was crowded with French troops assembled to oppose the landing. The murmuring sound of a thousand oars, urging forward the _élite_ of a brave army, whose arms glittered in the rays of the morning sun, was soon lost in the loud thunder of cannon, and a storm of bullets from the shore cut furrows in the surface of the water; a few boats were struck and began to sink, others stopped to save the men, and a momentary check was given; but the impulse returned with increased ardour, and pressing through the storm of grape and musketry, the rowers forced their boats to the beach. The soldiers instantly leaped on the shore, formed as they advanced, and rushing up the heights with supernatural energy, charged with bayonets, and overthrew the opposing ranks. A sharp combat ensued; the THIRTEENTH regiment landed during the action, and the French were driven from their position, with the loss of three hundred men, eight pieces of cannon, and many horses. Thus was the first step gained towards the accomplishment of this brilliant enterprise; and the landing on the shores of Egypt ranks among the splendid achievements of the British arms.

Advancing towards _Alexandria_, the troops arrived, on the 12th of March, at the vicinity of Mandora Tower, and on the succeeding day marched through a wood of date trees to attack the enemy on the ridge of heights in front. As the British emerged from among the trees, the French advanced from the high ground and commenced the action. The brigade to which the THIRTEENTH belonged was advancing in column, when it was charged by a body of French cavalry, which was repulsed by the ninetieth regiment, forming the advance guard of the right column. Major-General Cradock instantly formed the brigade under a heavy fire, and the gallant conduct of the regiments was equal to the most sanguine expectation of their commander. The French were driven from their position, and compelled to retreat over the plains into the lines on the heights before Alexandria.

The regiment had Captain Chester, one serjeant, and fifteen rank and file killed; Captain Brown, Lieutenant Dolphin, and three soldiers, died of their wounds; Lieutenants Handcock, Copland, Serle, and Rich, Ensigns Hewson, Andrews, and O’Malley, three serjeants, and ninety-seven rank and file, wounded.

In general orders, issued on the following day, it was stated--‘The Commander-in-chief has the greatest satisfaction in thanking the troops for their soldier-like and intrepid conduct in the action of yesterday; he feels it incumbent on him particularly to express his most perfect satisfaction with the steady and gallant conduct of Major-General Cradock’s brigade.’ This brigade consisted of the eighth, THIRTEENTH, eighteenth, and ninetieth regiments.

The French forces at _Alexandria_ having been augmented in numbers by the arrival of additional troops from the interior, General Menou advanced early on the morning of the 21st of March, and attacked the English position with great intrepidity; but the French were repulsed at every point of attack, and the British soldiers stood triumphant over Buonaparte’s “_invincible_” legions, at the close of the third engagement on the distant shores of Egypt. Sir Ralph Abercromby was wounded in the action, and died a few days afterwards, much regretted by the army: he was succeeded by Lieut.-General (afterwards Lord) Hutchinson.

After this victory, one division traversed the country to Rosetta, and captured the forts at that place; part of the army then advanced up the river Nile, and forced the French troops at the city of Cairo to surrender. The THIRTEENTH foot were, however, not employed in these services, but were engaged in the _blockade of Alexandria_.

A body of troops arrived in Egypt from India; the forces which had captured Cairo returned to the vicinity of Alexandria, and the siege of this city was commenced. The French were unable to defend the place, and they surrendered in the beginning of September. Egypt was thus delivered from the power of the French “_Army of the East_,” which was forced to quit that country, shorn of its laurels, and to return to France with blighted hopes.

The British soldiers received the thanks of Parliament, and the expression of their Sovereign’s approbation of their heroic conduct; and the “SPHINX,” with the word “EGYPT,” on the colours of the THIRTEENTH REGIMENT, commemorates its gallant conduct on this splendid enterprise. The Grand Seignior established an order of Knighthood, of which the general officers were made members; and large gold medals were presented to the field officers, captains, and subalterns.

As a further proof of the estimation in which the Grand Seignior held the services of the British soldiers in Egypt, he ordered a palace to be built at Constantinople for the future residence of the British Ambassadors.

NAMES of the officers of the THIRTEENTH Regiment who received gold medals for service in Egypt:--

_Lieut.-Colonels._

Lawrence Bradshaw.
Hon. Charles Colville (_Commanding the regiment._)

_Majors._

Edward Scott (_Lieut.-Colonel_).
G. Kinnaird Dana (_Lt.-Colonel_).

_Captains._

Francis Weller.
William Belford.
John Beaver Brown (_wounded 13th March, 1801_).
A. W. Young.
John O’Neil Bayley.
Arthur Wilkinson.
Francis Wm. Schyler.
John Staunton (_Captain, Lieut. and Captain_.)

_Lieutenants._

Thomas Serle.
Cæsar Colclough.
James Wood.
George Innes.
Alexander Patterson.
George Thornhill.
Hyacinth Daly.
Richard Butler Handcock (_wounded 13th March, 1801_.)
John Peck (_wounded 13th March, 1801_).
James Blake.
James Kearnay Browne.
Richard Huson.
William Trench.
Patrick Hering.
George O’Malley.
Eyre Trench.
John Dunn.
Richard M. West.

_Ensigns._

Soden Davys.
Brinley Purefoy.
James Galbreath.
Edward Sheridan.
Peter Shansey.
John Richardson.
Richard Church.
James Fitzsimons O’Reilly.
John Custice.
Peter Shansey.

_Adjutant_, Geo. Parson.--_Quarter-Master_, Edw. Murray.

_Surgeon_, Wm. Patton.--_Assistant Surgeons_, Jas. McGuire,
and Francis Coul.

The British army in Egypt had equalled the most sanguine expectations of their country; and when ages have passed, the story of the gallant achievements of the soldiers who fought under the brave Sir Ralph Abercromby will stimulate to heroic actions the future warriors of the British empire. The English army had proved to the world that French soldiers were not invincible; the expectations of Buonaparte had been defeated, and negociations for a treaty of peace were commenced.

[Sidenote: 1802]

The THIRTEENTH regiment remained in Egypt until the 13th of January, 1802, when it embarked from Alexandria for the island of Malta, where it arrived on the 2nd of March.

The regiment was stationed at Malta twelve months, during which time a treaty of peace was concluded at Amiens, on the 25th March, 1802, in which the British government agreed to give up Malta; but the conduct of Buonaparte, then First Consul of France, was marked by so many acts of aggression, that the government considered itself justified in refusing to deliver up the island.

[Sidenote: 1803]

In March, 1803, when hostilities were on the eve of re-commencing, the regiment embarked for Gibraltar, to relieve the second battalion of the royal regiment of foot from garrison duty at that fortress.

[Sidenote: 1804]

On the decease of General Ainslie, in 1804, King George III., conferred the colonelcy of the THIRTEENTH foot on Lieut.-General Sir Alexander Campbell, (who had commanded the seventh West India regiment which was disbanded in 1802,) by commission dated the 11th of July, 1804.

While the regiment was stationed at Gibraltar, a fever of a very fatal character broke out in the town and garrison, and during the months of September, October, and November, the regiment lost four officers, and one hundred and twenty-six non-commissioned officers and private soldiers.

[Sidenote: 1805]

[Sidenote: 1806]

In the autumn of the following year, the regiment was relieved from garrison duty at Gibraltar, and it landed on the 1st of January, 1806, at Portsmouth, from whence it proceeded to Winchester and Weymouth.

The court of Spain had again united with Napoleon Buonaparte in hostilities against Great Britain, and in August the regiment returned to Portsmouth for the purpose of forming part of an expedition against the Spanish possessions in South America; but the order for the embarkation of the regiment was countermanded, and it marched to Dover, and afterwards to Deal barracks.

[Sidenote: 1807]

The regiment left Deal on the 4th of May, 1807, for Ramsgate, where it embarked for Ireland; and landing at Monkstown on the 23rd of May, marched from thence to Middleton barracks and afterwards to Cahir.

In the autumn, the regiment was completed to its establishment by volunteers from the militia, and embarking at Monkstown for England, landed at Portsmouth on the 2nd of December.

[Sidenote: 1808]

On the 26th of January, 1808, the regiment embarked for the West Indies, and on its arrival it was appointed to the garrison of Bermuda, where it landed on the 26th of March.

The West India islands belonging to France, which had been restored to that country at the peace of Amiens in 1802, had not been recaptured at the re-commencement of hostilities in 1803; but in 1808 an expedition was assembled at Carlisle Bay, Barbadoes, for the reduction of the French island of _Martinique_; the land forces were under Lieut.-General George Beckwith, and the navy was commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane, K.B. The THIRTEENTH foot embarked from Bermuda on the 23rd of November to join the expedition, and remained at Barbadoes until the armament was ready for the enterprise.

[Sidenote: 1809]

The fleet left Carlisle Bay on the 28th of January, 1809, and arrived off the island of _Martinique_ in two days. On the 30th, the troops landed in two divisions; the first division at Bay Robert, under Lieut.-General Sir George Prevost; and the second division, commanded by Major-General Maitland, near St. Luce and Point Solomon. Both divisions were actively engaged in operations for the reduction of the island. After a night march of seven miles through a difficult country, the first division occupied a position on the Great Lizard River; and on the 1st of February it engaged the enemy on Morne Brune and the heights of Surirey, which were warmly contested; but British valour was triumphant. In eight days from the time the fleet quitted Barbadoes, Fort Desaix (or Fort Bourbon) was invested, ‘notwithstanding heavy rains, and most unfavourable weather, in which the troops have borne every species of privation in a manner worthy the character of British soldiers.’[10] The siege of the fort was prosecuted with vigour; and on the 24th February, the French governor, General Villaret, surrendered, the French twenty-sixth and eighty-second regiments becoming prisoners, and delivering up their arms and EAGLES to the British troops. The conduct of the regiment, at the capture of this valuable island, was afterwards rewarded with the royal authority to bear on its colours the word “MARTINIQUE,” to commemorate its services on this occasion.

The THIRTEENTH were stationed at Martinique, where they received two hundred and fifty volunteers from the English militia, in October, 1809.

[Sidenote: 1810]

A strong detachment of the regiment embarked from Martinique on the 21st of January, 1810, and sailed to Prince Rupert’s, Dominica, where it joined the expedition against _Guadaloupe_, under the orders of Lieut.-General Beckwith: the detachment of the THIRTEENTH, sixty-third (600 rank and file), York light infantry volunteers, and fourth West India regiment, formed the fourth brigade under Brigadier-General Skinner, in the first division, commanded by Major-General Hislop. This division sailed from Dominica on the 26th of January, landed at St. Mary’s, in Capesterre, on the 28th, and took an active part in the operations by which the French troops in the island of Guadaloupe were forced to surrender on the 6th of February. The loss of the THIRTEENTH foot, in this service, was limited to one man killed and five wounded; and immediately after the capture of the island, the detachment rejoined the regiment at Martinique.

[Sidenote: 1811]

[Sidenote: 1812]

During the years 1811 and 1812, the THIRTEENTH were stationed at the island of Martinique.

[Sidenote: 1813]

On the 15th of February, 1813, General Campbell was removed to the thirty-second regiment, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the THIRTEENTH by Lieut.-General Edward Morrison, from Colonel-Commandant in the sixtieth foot.

In the meantime, the measures adopted by the English government, to counteract the tyrannical decrees of Napoleon, designed for the destruction of the commerce of Great Britain, had involved England in war with the United States of America, and the frontiers of Canada had become the theatre of conflict, to which the THIRTEENTH foot were directed to repair. The regiment accordingly embarked from Fort Royal, Martinique, on the 2nd of May, 1813, arrived on the 28th of June at Quebec, and proceeded from thence in steam-boats and bateaux to Montreal.