Chapter M: DCCC XLVIII (2)

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

[Sidenote: 1749]

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

[Sidenote: 1751]

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

TWELFTH

REGIMENT OF FOOT.]

[Sidenote: 1752]

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

[Sidenote: 1755]

[Sidenote: 1756]

[Sidenote: 1757]

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

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

[Sidenote: 1758]

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

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

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

[Sidenote: 1759]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Sidenote: 1760]

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

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

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

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

[Sidenote: 1761]

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

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

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

[Sidenote: 1762]

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

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

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

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

[Sidenote: 1763]

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

[Sidenote: 1764]

[Sidenote: 1765]

[Sidenote: 1766]

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

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

[Sidenote: 1767]

[Sidenote: 1769]

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

[Sidenote: 1775]

[Sidenote: 1778]

[Sidenote: 1779]

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

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

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

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

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

[Sidenote: 1780]

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

[Sidenote: 1781]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Sidenote: 1782]

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

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

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

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

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

[Sidenote: 1783]

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

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

The TWELFTH regiment of foot was rewarded, with the other corps which took part in this long and arduous service, with the thanks of its Sovereign, and of the Houses of Parliament, and with the honour of bearing on its colours the word 'GIBRALTAR,' with the '_Castle and Key_,' and the motto '_Montis Insignia Calpé_,' in commemoration of its services during the siege.[18]

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

+-------------------------+----------+-----------+----------+---------+
| | Officers.| Serjeants.| Drummers.| Rank and|
| | | | | File. |
+-------------------------+----------+-----------+----------+---------+
| Killed | 1 | 3 | 1 | 13 |
| Died of Wounds | | | | 10 |
| Disabled by Wounds | 1 | | | 10 |
| Wounded, that recovered | 2 | 4 | 7 | 89 |
| Died of Diseases | | 3 | | 32 |
| +----------+-----------+----------+---------+
| Total | 4 | 10 | 8 | 154 |
+-------------------------+----------+-----------+----------+---------+

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

_J. M. Jopling del^t._ _Madeley Lith. 3 Wellington S^t Strand._

TWELFTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

VIEW OF THE NORTH PART OF GIBRALTAR, AND OF THE ATTACK BY LAND AND SEA SEPT^R 13^{TH} & 14^{TH} 1782

_For Cannons Military Records_]

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

[Sidenote: 1784]

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

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

[Sidenote: 1785]

[Sidenote: 1786]

[Sidenote: 1787]

[Sidenote: 1788]

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

[Sidenote: 1790]

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

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

[Sidenote: 1791]

[Sidenote: 1792]

[Sidenote: 1793]

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

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

[Sidenote: 1794]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[Sidenote: 1795]

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

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

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

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

[Sidenote: 1796]

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

[Sidenote: 1797]

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

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

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

[Sidenote: 1798]

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

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

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

[Sidenote: 1799]

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

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

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

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

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