Archibald K. Murray

“ The daring spirit and rising genius of Marlborough, who then commanded the British army, aspiring to something mightier, turning his eye towards Germany, selected a grander field of action—planned a campaign, which, taking Europe by surprise, fell like a thunderbolt upon the foe, and produced the most glorious results. The soldierly bearing of the Royal Scots Dragoons had already attracted the keen eye of the Commander-in-Chief, and won for them this tribute to their fidelity and worth, inasmuch as they were selected to be his own body-guard. ”

“ Passing down the stream of time, through the Feudal Age, we find one among the many greater, mightier, wealthier—a giant towering above his fellows—exercised lordship, levied tribute, military and civil, over others as over slaves. These were the days of chivalry,—the Crusades—when cavalry constituted the grand strength of an army. Here we might begin the history of cavalry as an important constituent in armies, were such our purpose. The comparative poverty of our ancient Scottish nobility prevented them contributing largely to the chivalry of the age. ”

“ When escape was seen to be impossible, and resistance hopeless, to prevent the colours falling into the hands of the foe, they were wound round a cannon shot and sunk in the river; and thus, however severe the dispensation which befel themselves in being made prisoners of war, the regiment was spared the aggravated pain of seeing the colours it had followed to so many glorious successes—the epitome of a soldier’s honour—becoming now, in the hands of the enemy, the record of its present misfortune. ”

“ There, too, hath been the birth-place and the abiding shrine of freedom—the bulwark and the bastion of patriotism and loyalty. Ascending higher, these—the peoples of the rejected and despised places of the earth—have ofttimes begotten and been honoured to wear the crowning attribute of piety. Turning to the history of Scotland or of Switzerland, for illustration, and taking merely a military retrospect, there it will be found. All centuries, all ages, all circumstances, are witness to the bravery and the fidelity of their mountain-soldiers. ”

“ But there were also times in our history when the stormy tempest of angry passion was at least for the moment hushed, and the fiery valour of the clans, gathered into one, descended from the Highlands, resistless as the mountain torrent, to do battle for Scottish freedom in the day of Scotland’s need. And thus their gallant demeanour upon the field of Bannockburn has waked the muse of Scott to immortalise their fame, as he beautifully tells of our “Scottish Chiefs” in his “Lord of the Isles.” ”

“ The following year witnessed the escape of Napoleon from Elba, his return to France, and the general and disgraceful desertion of the French army to their old chief. This untoward event at once arrested the retiring armies of the allies, and recalled them again in haste to Paris. The promptitude and harmony of the measures adopted by the Cabinets of Britain and Prussia enabled their armies forthwith to take the field, and so stemming the returning tide of French despotism, for ever crush the might of the tyrant whose restless ambition, like an evil spirit, had so long troubled Europe. ”

“ Long and sorely had our soldiers struggled to overcome the gigantic tyranny of France, but like the many-headed monster of heathen fiction, no sooner was one head wounded, than a new one appeared to challenge the attack. So, scarcely had we succeeded in one quarter ere the foe arose in terrible strength in another. Thus we find our armies, sometimes in Flanders, sometimes in the Peninsula, sometimes in Egypt, sometimes in India, and sometimes in America, waging a desperate and incessant war with this Gorgon-headed enemy. ”

“ The first Napoleon conquered by the sword—the present Napoleon conquers by superior craft and intrigue, whilst we, as a nation, are sitting by to register with an occasional growl his successes. It has been the knowledge of these facts—this new system of warfare—that has aroused the nation to see its danger in time; to feel that “our glory” is but an ideal security; to know that steam and electricity have comparatively bridged the sea, and so done away with our best defence; to learn that the inventions of men comparatively equalise combatants. ”

“ Whilst the horrid cruelties perpetrated by the demagogues of Paris excited the commiseration of beholding Europe for an unfortunate and misguided people, the victims of their own folly, it at the same time inspired feelings of fear among the terror-stricken tyrants of the Continent, and palsied the might of their councils. A momentary irresolution seized the British Cabinet, until the energy and eloquence of Pitt awakened the Government to its true duty. The charm which spell-bound other states, failed to ravish us of our freedom. ”

“ The attack of the third division was not only the most spirited, but the most perfect thing of the kind that modern times have witnessed. Regardless alike of a charge of cavalry and of the murderous fire which the enemy’s batteries opened, on went these fearless warriors, horse and foot, without check or pause, until they won the ridge, and then the infantry giving their volley, and the cavalry falling on sword in hand, the French were pierced, broken, and discomfited. ”

“ Reduced to the last extremities, shut up to a dark despair, indignant for the seeming neglect of friends, and dreading the relentless wrath of the enemy, the brave garrison accepted the only hope of life which yet remained, by surrender; and, be it said to the honour of the Indian character—with the generosity which becomes the conquering soldier in the presence of a brave yet vanquished foe—the terms imposed were such as enabled the exhausted remnant of the garrison to retire with all the honours of war. ”

“ A considerate attention to the wants, nay, the very weaknesses of the soldier, is likely to accomplish more for good discipline than the stern frigidity of mere military despotism. It was in the camp that the iron will of Napoleon, unbending, achieved a charmed omnipotence over his soldiers, and by a single simple, pithy sentence fired them with that ardour and devotion which made Europe tremble beneath the tread of his invincible legions. ”

“ A second assault failed likewise, so resolute was the defence of the enemy, but a third attempt, with additional forces, was crowned with success; the French being driven out of the village with great loss. There is no more treasured illustration of the worth of our British soldiers than is recorded in this famous battle, and no more distinguished honour than belongs to the regiments who have won a title, by their presence and brave deeds on the occasion, to share its glory or bear upon their colours the proud and envied word “Blenheim.” ”

“ Grieving that so large a kingdom as that of Spain should have fallen a prey to the rapacious perfidy of Napoleon, and sympathising with the patriotic efforts which a spirited people were then putting forth to be free, our Government had recognised in that peninsula, with its extensive sea-board, a fair theatre for action, and as the result proved, a vulnerable point where Europe might strike a fatal blow at the absorbing dominion of France. ”

“ It is usually the bravest of the brave that fall. Alas! that so many who gave fair promise to ornament and illustrate the British soldier as the hero, should have fallen—buds nipped by the frost of death. Let it be borne very encouragingly in mind, 144that adversity is the furnace wherein the gold of true valour is purified—is the schoolmaster which teaches how to win prosperity. The greatest glory which rests upon the departed genius of Sir John Moore, is that which pictures him in adversity in retreat—his lion spirit unsubdued, his towering abilities shining forth. ”

“ Delhi, the great central tower of rebellious strength, was the scene of months of hard fighting and sore privation; but over all these British valour triumphing, was rewarded in the reduction of that important stronghold, and the utter discomfiture of its daring defenders. But Lucknow reversed the picture. There we find the British besieged by a countless host of the enemy; there we regard a handful of brave men resolved to sell their lives as dearly as possible, rather than yield to the ruthless rebels who in multitudes encompassed the Residency. ”

“ The honourable bearing of the Royal Highlanders throughout the war had been so conspicuous as to win for them the hearty esteem of their countrymen. Hence their return was welcomed by all classes, and their progress northward was little else than a triumphal march. At Glasgow, the joy of the people was unbounded.
Whilst stationed in Scotland, the regiment was called to fulfil a most painful duty, in the suppression of the riots which had arisen in the Highlands from the expulsion of the poorer peasantry from the haunts and homes of “auld langsyne.” ”

“ We know no exception in which these corps of guards have not maintained the Scottish character, nay, been specially distinguished for the valour and fidelity with which they fulfilled their duty. Thus originated the First Royals, or Royal Scots Regiment of the present British army. The free citizens, continuing to prosper and proportionably growing in power and influence, gradually insinuated themselves into State affairs. As they grew in wealth, so unfortunately they increased in pride and arrogance, forgetting altogether their early humility. ”

“ The army, returning to England, was shortly thereafter employed in a new attempt to expel the French from the Netherlands. In this unfortunate effort, known as the Walcheren Expedition, our third battalion had a part. But the day of better things was now about to dawn, when these repeated disasters should be redeemed, and the eclipse of the world’s liberty be dissipated, through the triumphs which, rewarding the heroic endurance and persevering valour of our soldiers, should crown our arms. Trained by adversity, our troops had learned how to conquer. ”

“ Sprung from this race of heroes, as the new-begotten and second representative of this distinguished family in our army, the Seventy-eighth has strong claims upon our interest and sympathy—an interest and sympathy which have been quickened into a warm affection, finding an echo in the soul of the brave and noble of every land. Appreciating the gallantry of its services at Lucknow in behalf of suffering valour and murdered innocence, we hail it with feelings of national gratitude as the “Saviour of India.” ”

“ The bigotry which at various times in our world’s history has lighted the fires of persecution, has always proved itself impotent to make men righteous or unrighteous. Rather has it entailed a curse upon the tyrant whilst inflicting a woe upon the people who groaned beneath his rule. The freedom which the accession of the House of Orange conferred upon every rank of society, and every phase of belief, 170established the sovereignty of William and Mary, not merely over the heads of the people, but in the love and loyalty of their hearts. ”

“ Believing our “Scottish Rights Association” to sympathise with us in these regrets, and believing it to be composed of men truly in earnest, we commend, to their most serious consideration—not merely as a theme for eloquent disquisition, but as a field for action—the revival and preservation, in their original integrity, of the old Scottish and Highland regiments. ”

“ In this we have deceived ourselves, and on more than one occasion paid the penalty of our folly in the blood of the gallant few, who, overwhelmed by countless numbers, the victims of a matchless perfidy, have fallen as exposed to an almost certain destruction. Alone, as in a nest of hornets, we felt the sting of defeat when we had supposed an easy victory. Our discipline, our bravery, and our superior arms, failed to grasp the success we had imagined was to be had for the mere taking. ”

“ In 1805 the first battalion was removed to Gibraltar. Napoleon, disappointed in his favourite scheme of effecting our conquest, suddenly directed his march eastward, launching the thunderbolts of war with remorseless wrath upon the devoted sovereignties of Germany, yea, piercing, in his aggressions, the gloomy wilds of Russia. By a crooked policy, begetting a matchless perfidy, Napoleon had found further employment for the myriad spoilers who looked to him for prey, in the invasion and appropriation of Spain and Portugal. ”

“ Whilst the barren, dreary wilderness, the bleak and desolate mountain-land—like the poor and needy upon whom Nature has frowned—enjoy the smile of Providence “in a better portion;” for there, amid a comparatively poor people, are nurtured all the sterner, the nobler, the truer, the God-like qualities of the man, the soldier, and the hero. ”

“ On the other hand, the French—depressed by the evil tidings of the Grand Army in Russia; tired, moreover, with incessant yet fruitless fightings; disunited by discontent, privation, and jealousy—when the season once more invited action, found their armies dispirited and disorganised. No wonder, then, that the forward march of the British led to a series of victories ever gracing our arms, until, surmounting the natural barriers of the Pyrenees, our troops descended into the plains of France in the day of that country’s humiliation. ”