Richard Cannon

“ The conduct of the British Troops, their valour, and endurance, have shone conspicuously under great and trying difficulties; and their character has been established in Continental warfare by the irresistible spirit with which they have effected debarkations in spite of the most formidable opposition, and by the gallantry and steadiness with which they have maintained their advantages against superior numbers. ”

“ In transmitting you the annexed notification of the arrival at Buttevant of several of your detachments from Clare, I am directed by Major-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot to express to you the very great pleasure he feels in having to assure you, that both the officers and men of the Fifth Regiment performed their duty, under most trying circumstances, during the disturbances in this county, to his perfect satisfaction in every respect. ”

“ The progress of the siege had been marked by surprising energy, but it was prolonged by the resolute defence of the garrison; and when all things were ready for a general assault, a French army of overwhelming numbers, commanded by Marshal Schomberg, advanced to its relief. The Prince of Orange immediately raised the siege and retired; and the three English regiments, having sustained a severe loss, and having nearly half the number of the surviving officers and men wounded, were sent into quarters of refreshment in Holland. ”

“ From Portugal, the regiment proceeded to Gibraltar, which fortress had been captured by an English and Dutch force in 1704, and was ceded to Great Britain in 1713 by the treaty of Utrecht, when the Earl of Portmore was appointed Governor; and the protection of the place was confided to the Fifth, Thirteenth, and Twentieth regiments. Here the regiment remained in garrison for a period of fifteen years; its establishment was 500 men, and it became as celebrated for its excellent conduct in time of peace, as it had been distinguished for its noble bearing and gallantry in war. ”

“ The English Brigade being frequently put on the most desperate attacks, and always behaving themselves according to their accustomed bravery; his Highness, after a very sharp night's service performed by them, gave each regiment a fat ox, and six sheep, which they killed and hung upon poles in sight of the army, to divide into equal parts to each company. ”

“ Portugal being now free from the presence of an enemy, an army, commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore, was sent up the country in the autumn, to assist the Spaniards in their resistance to the armies of France, and the first battalion of the Fifth Regiment was selected to form part of this expedition. ”

“ On the 7th of May the French and Spaniards, commanded by the Marquis de Bay, marched in the direction of Campo Mayor, when the Portuguese generals, contrary to the advice of the Earl of Galway, resolved to pass the Caya and attack the enemy. The Portuguese cavalry and artillery took the lead, and, having passed the river and gained the opposite heights, opened a sharp cannonade; but upon the advance of their adversaries to charge, these squadrons faced about and galloped out of the field, leaving their cannon behind. The British division, arriving at the moment, repulsed the enemy ”

“ A night excursion was afterwards made ten miles farther up the river, when the troops, surprising some companies of the enemy in their quarters, made a dreadful slaughter with the bayonet, and reduced the houses to ashes, with the loss of only two men of the Fifth killed, and two wounded. "It is but justice to inform you," observes the commanding officer in his despatch, "that the officers and men, both British and Provincials, behaved on this occasion in a manner to do themselves honour. ”

“ Edward Lloyd became proficient in the duties of his profession in active service under the Prince of Orange, who promoted him to the Colonelcy of the Fifth Foot in May, 1689. While serving with his regiment in Ireland, and in the Netherlands, he acquired the confidence and esteem of his superior officers, and he had every prospect of rising to high military rank; but his mortal career was terminated by death on the 26th of August, 1694. ”

“ The enemy, anticipating success, prepared for the attack; but in a moment, the British dragoons, retiring a few paces, mounted their horses, and when the enemy thought to have commenced the battle, the skeleton [21] squadrons withdrew; presenting to the surprised French the magic spectacle of what appeared to be an army vanishing out of sight. The enemy's cavalry galloped forward in pursuit; but the Allies continued their retreat in good order, and at six o'clock on the morning of the 16th were in position in front of Ghent. ”

“ In Great Britain, where so large a number of persons are devoted to the active concerns of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and where these pursuits have, for so long a period, been undisturbed by the presence of war, which few other countries have escaped, comparatively little is known of the vicissitudes of active service, and of the casualties of climate, to which, even during peace, the British Troops are exposed in every part of the globe, with little or no interval of repose. ”

“ The casualties of the preceding campaign having been replaced by recruits from England, the Fifth again took the field in the spring of 1710, and was employed in the Alentejo; but the army was weak and unequal to any important undertaking, and the French having had some success in the province of Tras os Montes, occasioned a detachment to be sent thither. In the autumn the army advanced across the Guadiana, and on the 4th of October arrived at the rich plains of Xeres de los Cabaleros on the river Ardilla in Spanish Estremadura. ”

“ Early in the year 1767 a system of honorary distinctions for long-continued good behaviour was introduced into this regiment, which was found to stimulate the indifferent to good conduct, and those already worthy, to perseverance in well-doing, and it produced such a body of non-commissioned officers as few corps could boast of. ”

“ In the general attack made on the 19th of September on the whole line of the French positions in North Holland, the Fifth regiment formed part of the column under Lieutenant-General Dundas, destined to carry the intrenched villages of Walmenhuysen, and Schoreldam, in the attack upon the latter of which, the first battalion took an active part, and had one Lieutenant (Harris) mortally, and its Lieutenant-Colonel (Stephenson) severely wounded; sustaining, besides, a loss of five killed, four wounded, and four missing. ”

“ As late as the 12th of October, the Fifth Regiment was still in front of the enemy, and eventually occupied the works at the Helder, during the retreat and final embarkation of the army; being, according to Sir James Pulteney's letter of the 20th of November, among the last of the British troops who quitted Holland, and exhibiting to the end, persevering good conduct and unwearied courage, under hardships which his Royal Highness the Duke of York, in general orders, dated 8th of October, [59] 1799, designated as "insupportable." ”

“ In their tranquil enjoyment of the blessings which the country derives from the industry and the enterprise of the agriculturist and the trader, its happy inhabitants may be supposed not often to reflect on the perilous duties of the soldier and the sailor,—on their sufferings,—and on the sacrifice of valuable life, by which so many national benefits are obtained and preserved. ”

“ The Commander of the Forces cannot part with the officers and non-commissioned officers of the second battalion of the Fifth regiment, without again requesting them to accept his thanks for their uniform good conduct and brilliant and important services since they have been under his command. ”

“ At length the division of the enemy's infantry, which had marched with the cavalry from Ciudad Rodrigo, was brought up to the attack on the road to Fuente Guinaldo. The second battalion of the Fifth regiment, and the Seventy-seventh regiment, were formed into one square, and the Twenty-first Portugese regiment into another, supported by Major-General Alten's small body of cavalry and the Portuguese artillery. ”

“ At 11 o'clock on the night of the 30th of that month it marched with the main army for Liebenau, and, having crossed the Dymel, advanced at five on the following morning to attack the enemy in his position on the heights of Warbourg.
The German corps and British grenadiers in advance having commenced the action, the French retired before the English infantry arrived. "No troops could show more eagerness than they showed. Many of the men, from the heat of the weather, and overstraining themselves to get on through morasses and difficult ground, suddenly dropped down on their march. ”

“ In 1706, six hundred and sixty men of the Thirteenth Foot were formed into a regiment of Dragoons by the Earl of Peterborough, in Catalonia, and the Colonelcy conferred on the Lieutenant-Colonel, Edward Pearce. The remainder of the regiment returned to England to recruit, and, having completed the establishment, arrived in Portugal as above stated. ”

“ The Fifth forming part of the centre column, left its camp before daylight on the morning of the 24th of June, and crossed the Dymel at Liebenau at four o'clock; then, advancing a distance of nine miles through a rugged and woody country, arrived in front of the enemy's camp, and commenced a sharp fire. The French, surprised and confounded, abandoned their camp, leaving their tents standing, and commenced their retreat: at the same time General Stainville threw himself with his division into the woods of Wilhelmsthal to favour the movement. ”

“ The Prince of Orange resolved to make a second attack on the Dauphin Bastion on the 4th of August, when a detachment from the Brigade, commanded by Captain Anthony Barnwell of Fenwick's regiment, with another from the Dutch Foot Guards, commanded by Baron Sparr, formed the storming party. [3] At three o'clock the Brigade was under arms with the storming party in front; and at five the gallant little band, advancing under a tempest of bullets, went cheering to the attack and carried the bastion in gallant style—the English, gaining the lead of the Dutch, first made a lodgment. ”

“ It is presumed that a record of achievements in war,—victories so complete and surprising, gained by our countrymen,—our brothers—our fellow-citizens in arms,—a record which revives the memory of the brave, and brings their gallant deeds before us, will certainly prove acceptable to the public. ”

“ On extraordinary occasions, the Houses of Parliament have been in the habit of conferring on the Commanders, and the Officers and Troops acting under their orders, expressions of approbation and of thanks for their skill and bravery, and these testimonials, confirmed by the high honour of their Sovereign's Approbation, constitute the reward which the soldier most highly prizes. ”

“ The Royal Warrants of the 1st of July, 1751, and 19th of December, 1768, while they recognise and confirm the badge, are silent respecting the motto; an omission, however, not confined to the Fifth Regiment only, for the warrants do not notice the motto of any one infantry regiment, though others (the Royal Scots for instance,) must have had mottoes. It will be seen in the text that the motto surmounted the badge on the medal of merit, one of which from the original die with the date 10th of March, 1767, is now (1837) in possession of Colonel Sutherland, commanding the regiment. ”

“ Having advanced along the gloomy passes of the lofty Pyrenean mountains, [82] the regiment was stationed a short time at Olaque, in the pass of Roncesvalles, from whence it retired, on the advance of the enemy under Marshal Soult, to a position in the Pyrenees, in front of Pampeluna. Here the troops were attacked by the enemy, and after much hard fighting had occurred, the third division advanced across the heights in its front to turn the enemy's left flank, when the French were driven from their ground and pursued along the defiles in the mountains. ”