Henry John Thoroton Hildyard

“ I was obliged to form the line under a heavy cannonade from several batteries, as well as from the enemy’s line, which galled us exceedingly, and was a very trying situation for the troops, who bore it with firmness and undaunted bravery, which did draw the highest honour and showed a steady valour not to be surpassed by the first veterans of any nation in Europe. The conflict lasted from nine in the morning till near sunset, when we had driven the enemy from all their strong posts, and obliged them to retreat with precipitation, leaving us in full possession of the field of battle. ”

“ To have participated in a contest crowned with victory so decisive, and productive of consequences that have diffused peace, security, and happiness throughout Europe, may be to each of you a source of honourable pride, as well as of gratitude to the Omnipotent Arbiter of all human contests, who preserved you in such peril, and without whose protecting hand the battle belongs not to the strong, nor the race to the swift. ”

“ When a corps is so striking in appearance, and so complete in every branch of its discipline, little can occur to the Commander-in-Chief to particularize. He cannot but notice, however, that the Seventy-first Regiment has excited his admiration for its expertness in those parts of its exercise which are most essential and most difficult to execute. ”

“ So much perfection in a corps whose services in India will long be held in remembrance, does the greatest honour to Lieut.-Colonel Baird and all his officers, to whom and the corps at large the Commander-in-Chief desires to offer his best thanks. ”

“ The British force did not exceed 8,000 men, of which the Seventy-third was the only European regiment. Notwithstanding this immense disparity of force, Sir Eyre Coote determined to attack the enemy, and drew up his army in two lines, the first, of which the Seventy-third Highlanders formed a part, being commanded by Major-General Sir Hector Munro, the second by Major-General James Stuart. A plain divided the two armies, beyond which the enemy was drawn up on ground strengthened by front and flanking redoubts and batteries. ”

“ The march was continued in the form of a square, with the sick, baggage, and ammunition in the centre; and though the detachment was assailed on all sides by an immense force, the enemy after a desperate conflict of three hours’ duration, was driven back at every point.
Thus repulsed, Hyder Ali determined to retreat, and orders had been given to Colonel Lally, a French officer [16] in the service of the Sultan, to draw off his men, and to the cavalry to cover the retreat, when two explosions were seen to take place in the British line. ”

“ The head-quarters disembarked at Grenada on the 15th of December following.
It is a circumstance worthy of record that all the men of the first battalion who were married without leave were replaced by volunteers from the reserve battalion, thereby preventing the separation and consequent misery of those families, and that all permanent volunteers for Canada, and old soldiers who were permitted from general good character to remain in the colony after discharge, or who were found unfit for service in a tropical climate, were replaced by volunteers from the reserve battalion. ”

“ I accordingly marched on the 27th, in the morning, towards him, and, as reported, about 8 o’clock we discovered his army in order of battle and in full force to receive us, and in possession of many strong and advantageous posts, rendered the more formidable by the nature of the country lying between, which was intersected by very deep watercourses; in short, nothing could be more formidable than the situation of the enemy, and nothing more arduous than our approach to present a front to them. ”

“ Lieut.-General Hill has great satisfaction in congratulating the troops on the success which has attended their recent operations in Estremadura, and in so doing he cannot but endeavour to do justice to the merits of those through whose exertions it has been obtained. A patient, willing endurance of forced and night marches, during the worst of weather, and over bad roads, of bivouacs in wet weather, oftentimes without cover and [84] without fire, and a strict observance of discipline, are qualities, however, common in British soldiers, which the Lieut.-General cannot pass unnoticed. ”

“ With a view to draw his opponents from so inaccessible a country, Hyder Ali proceeded to the attack of Tripassoor, and on the 20th November Sir Eyre Coote retired out of the Pollamo, through the Naggary Pass, which obliged the enemy to raise the siege of Tripassoor and retire on Arcot. The campaign closed with the recapture of Chittoor by the enemy. On the 2nd December, the monsoon having set in, the army broke up its camp on the Koilatoor Plain, and the different corps marched into cantonments in the neighbourhood of Madras. ”

“ While the regiment was stationed in Ireland, war had recommenced with France, and Bonaparte having made preparations for invading Great Britain, additional measures of defence to those of the former year were adopted by the Government; and under the “Additional Force Act,” passed on the 10th of July, 1804, a second battalion was added to the Seventy-first Regiment, which was to consist of men to be raised for limited service in certain counties of North Britain. The second battalion was formed at Dumbarton in October, to the command of which Lieut.-Colonel Lord George Beresford was appointed. ”

“ The Peninsula was at this period the centre of political interest. Portugal, deserted by her government, and Spain betrayed, the people of each rose in arms to recover the national independence. Dissensions had arisen in the Royal family of Spain, occasioned by the sway of Emanuel Godoy, who bore the title of the “Prince of Peace.” This Minister was dismissed, but the Court was unable to restore tranquillity. In this emergency the French Emperor was solicited to be umpire, and Napoleon ultimately placed the crown of Spain on his brother Joseph, who was transferred from the throne of Naples. ”

“ In December occurred the death of Hyder Ali, who was, however, succeeded without commotion by his son Tippoo Saïb, to whom he left a kingdom of his own acquisition, which made him one of the most powerful princes in India. Notwithstanding that by private information overland news was received of a peace having been concluded between England and the other belligerent powers in Europe, still the Madras Government determined to persevere in its original plans for the attack of Cuddalore. With this view Major-General Stuart put his army in motion on the 21st April, marching by brigades in a1783. ”

“ The grenadier and light companies in this regiment consisted of four officers, five sergeants, and 101 rank and file each. They were stationed with the companies of the Thirty-ninth and Fifty-sixth Regiments, and a proportion of artillery and engineers, amounting in all to 668 men, in the centre, or reserve column, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Dachenhausen and Major Maxwell. The orders they received were to march through Bayside barrier, towards the mortar batteries. The moon shone brightly as the soldiers assembled on the sands at midnight. ”

“ We shall now return to the first battalion which we left in quarters at Poonamallee in February, 1780. At the commencement of 1780 a new war had broken out in India, the causes of which it is not easy to unravel, owing to the depth to which the several Presidencies of the East India Company had entered into the intrigues and quarrels of the Native rulers. On the 5th April, the Mahratta Chiefs, Holkar and Scindia, were defeated in their camp whilst advancing on Surat, and this victory was followed by numerous less important successes. ”

“ On the 27th September, near Sholingar, Colonel Craufurd received the Commander-in-Chief’s orders to move the British Army to the front. Hyder Ali, confident of success, made a forward movement to meet it, when a general action ensued. A detachment commanded by Colonel Edmonstone, and of which the flank companies Seventy-third formed a part, succeeded in turning the enemy’s left flank, and falling upon his camp and rear. The day closed with the total defeat of Hyder Ali’s troops, who were pursued by the cavalry until sunset. ”

“ On the 20th of March, 1809, the Royal authority was granted for the Seventy-first to be formed into a light infantry regiment, since which time it has been distinguished as the Highland Light Infantry.
The first battalion marched on the 27th of April, 1809, for Brabourne-Lees Barracks, and was brigaded with the Sixty-eighth and Eighty-fifth Light Infantry Regiments. Every exertion was here made to increase the strength and improve the discipline of the corps. ”

“ The bridge and works in the neighbourhood of Almaraz having been completely destroyed, the Seventy-first returned to Truxillo, where they remained a few days, then moved to Merida, and afterwards to Almendralejos. Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill’s force having received orders to make a diversion in the south, while the main army was moving northward on Salamanca, the battalion again moved from Almendralejos to the borders of Andalusia, through Llerena. On this march, the advanced parties of cavalry were constantly skirmishing with the enemy, but the Seventy-first was not engaged. ”

“ At eleven o’clock in the morning of the 21st of December, on a signal of two guns being fired from the batteries, the flank companies, in the order described, followed by the Fifty-second and Seventy-second Regiments, advanced to the assaults, the band of the Fifty-second playing “Britons, strike home,” while the grenadiers and light infantry mounted the breach. Immediate success followed the attempt, the fort being carried without the loss of a man. ”

“ The Lieut.-General, however, has the satisfaction of knowing that the troops have on every occasion maintained their high character; that they have only withdrawn from their positions by superior orders, and then it has been invariably attended with circumstances highly creditable to them. The Lieut.-General has not failed to report to the Commander of the Forces the details of the several affairs in which the corps have been engaged, and he knows that their services are duly appreciated by his Excellency. ”

“ The sudden approach of the united armies of Marshals Soult and Suchet rendered a speedy retreat necessary, and the division accordingly retired from Ponte Duenna in the night of the 28th of October, moving to form a junction with the army of the Marquis of Wellington, who had now relinquished the siege of Burgos. Near Madrid, the division halted for a short period, when, being joined by the garrison of that city, the troops retired leisurely by the Guadarama Pass on Alba de Tormes. ”

“ The battering train was destroyed, all the ammunition stores which could not be removed were buried, and on the 26th May the army marched in the direction of Bangalore. In the course of this retreat the British were joined by the Mahratta army, consisting of about 33,000 men, chiefly cavalry, and 30 pieces of cannon. Of the approach of this large force the British had been kept in total ignorance by the activity of Tippoo’s irregular troops. Captain Little, with two battalions of Bombay sepoys, joined with the Mahratta army, and supplies were now abundant. ”

“ On the 13th the first and reserve battalions were amalgamated into one battalion of eight companies, about 900 strong, of all ranks. It remained at Balaclava till the 3rd of May, when it embarked on board the “Furious” and “Gladiator” steam frigates, forming part of the first expedition to Kertch, which, however, was recalled without accomplishing its object. The regiment was disembarked on the 8th of May, and marched to the front, joining the third brigade of the fourth division, and serving in [125] the trenches. ”

“ The British Army, having accomplished one of the most celebrated retreats recorded in modern history, repulsing the pursuing enemy in all his attacks, and having traversed two hundred and fifty miles of mountainous country, accompanied by severe privation, was not destined to embark for England without a battle.
The transports not having arrived, a position was occupied in advance of Corunna, and some sharp skirmishing ensued, in which four companies of the Seventy-first were warmly engaged, and lost several men in killed and [69] wounded. Lieutenant William Lockwood was severely wounded. ”

“ On the 16th August the preparations which had been actively carried on for the siege of Arcot and the relief of Vellore being completed, the army was put in motion. On the 20th Tripassoor was retaken, and a large supply of grain found there. Hyder Ali’s camp was now at Conjeveram, and every exertion was made by his detachments to check the progress of the troops. On the 27th August, the enemy was found drawn up in order of battle upon the very ground which had witnessed Colonel Baillie’s defeat, a position which Hyder Ali’s religious notions induced him [21] to consider fortunate. ”

“ The casualties of the battalion during the three years that the siege lasted were 1 sergeant, 41 privates killed; 6 officers, 7 sergeants, and 108 rank and file wounded, and 58 privates died from sickness. Although application has frequently been made to the authorities, for permission to have Gibraltar inscribed on the colours, yet for some inexplicable reason, this has always been refused, though granted to other regiments that served during the siege with the Seventy-third. ”

“ In consequence of the augmentation which took place in the army at this period, the Seventy-first Highland Light Infantry was ordered to be divided into two battalions, the six service companies being termed the first battalion, and the depôt, augmented by two new companies, being styled the reserve battalion. The depôt was accordingly moved from Stirling to Chichester, and after receiving about 350 volunteers from other corps, was there organised into a battalion for foreign service. ”