Richard Cannon

“ The Major-General will conclude by assuring both officers and men, that their happiness and glory will be for ever dear to him, and that to the latest day of his life he will consider the SEVENTY-THIRD regiment as part of his family, whose interests are inseparably interwoven with his own. Should any fortunate event ever enable him to promote the general welfare of the regiment, or the individual interest of any of its members, whether officers, non-commissioned officers, or privates, he hopes it is needless for him to declare with what pleasure he shall avail himself of the opportunity. ”

“ Great Britain has produced a race of lion-like champions who have dared to confront a host of foes, and have proved themselves valiant with any arms. At Crecy, King Edward III., at the head of about 30,000 men, defeated, on the 26th of August, 1346, Philip King of France, whose army is said to have amounted to 100,000 men; here British valour encountered veterans of renown:—the King of Bohemia, the King of Majorca, and many princes and nobles were slain, and the French army was routed and cut to pieces. ”

“ THE INFANTRY. The natives of Britain have, at all periods, been celebrated for innate courage and unshaken firmness, and the national superiority of the British troops over those of other countries has been evinced in the midst of the most imminent perils. History contains so many proofs of extraordinary acts of bravery, that no doubts can be raised upon the facts which are recorded. ”

“ The British Soldier is distinguished for a robust and muscular frame,—intrepidity which no danger can appal,—unconquerable spirit and resolution,—patience in fatigue and privation, and cheerful obedience to his superiors. These qualities, united with an excellent system of order and discipline to regulate and give a skilful direction to the energies and adventurous spirit of the hero, and a wise selection of officers of superior talent to command, whose presence inspires confidence,—have been the leading causes of the splendid victories gained by the British [xviii] arms. ”

“ Thus was an extensive tract of country, bountifully endowed with natural gifts, and producing the necessaries and luxuries of life, including spices, metals, and precious stones, added to the British dominions; a numerous race of human beings, of a peculiarly interesting character, was delivered from the power of despotism, and brought under the advantages of the just government and equitable laws of Great Britain. ”

“ Admiral Sir John Duckworth having failed in his mission to detach Turkey from the interests of France, Great Britain determined to seize upon Egypt, as a check to any fresh demonstration by the French against the British possessions in the East Indies, and an armament sailed from Sicily in February, 1807, and landed at Aboukir on the 18th of the following month. This expedition was under the command of Major-General Alexander Mackenzie Fraser, the colonel of the seventy-eighth Highlanders, and Captain Dick was embarked with the second battalion of that regiment. ”

“ Hyder Ali, a soldier of fortune, had risen to the chief command of the army of the Ruler of Mysore, [6] and when the Rajah died, leaving his eldest son a minor, Hyder Ali assumed the guardianship of the youthful prince, whom he placed under restraint, and seized on the reins of government. Having a considerable territory under his control, he maintained a formidable military establishment, which he endeavoured to bring into a high state of discipline and efficiency. ”

“ The arms and equipment of the British Troops have seldom differed materially, since the Conquest, from those of other European states; and in some respects the arming has, at certain periods, been allowed to be inferior to that of the nations with whom they have had to contend; yet, under this disadvantage, the bravery and superiority of the British infantry have been evinced on very many and most trying occasions, and splendid victories have been gained over very superior numbers. ”

“ 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 [v] 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. ”

“ These have all been surmounted by the conduct of the troops themselves: and the enemy has been taught, that whatever advantages of position or of numbers he may possess, there is inherent in the British officers and soldiers a bravery that knows not how to yield,—that no circumstances can appal,—and that will ensure victory, when it is to be obtained by the exertion of any human means. ”

“ The regiment continued to be actively employed until the whole of the Dutch settlements in Ceylon were reduced, which was accomplished in February, 1796, when the governor, John Geraud Van Angelbeck, surrendered the fortress of Colombo to the British arms. The people in the interior of the island had not been deprived of their independence by the Dutch, and they were not interfered with by the British so long as they preserved a peaceful demeanour. ”

“ 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 battalion proceeded to Colchester in April.
The dreadful disasters experienced by the French in their retreat from Russia, combined with the successes obtained over the forces of Napoleon in the Peninsula by the allies under the Marquis of Wellington, caused [45] the separation of Prussia and other states from the interest of France, and a treaty of alliance and subsidy was concluded between Great Britain and Sweden, in which it was stipulated that a Swedish army, commanded by the Crown Prince, [14] should join the Allies. ”

“ An Ordnance regiment was raised in 1685, by order of King James II., to guard the artillery, and was designated the Royal Fusiliers (now 7th Foot) . This corps, and the companies of grenadiers, did not carry pikes.
King William III. incorporated the Admiral’s regiment in the second Foot Guards, and raised two Marine regiments for sea-service. During the war in this reign, each company of infantry (excepting the fusiliers and grenadiers) consisted of 14 pikemen and 46 musketeers; the captains carried pikes; lieutenants, partisans; ensigns, half-pikes; and serjeants, halberds. ”

“ The weapons carried by the infantry, during the several reigns succeeding the Conquest, were bows and arrows, half-pikes, lances, halberds, various kinds of battle-axes, swords, and daggers. Armour was worn on the head and body, and in course of time the practice became general for military men to be so completely cased in steel, that it was almost impossible to slay them. ”

“ The insatiable ambition of Tippoo Sultan, the powerful ruler of the Mysore, soon involved the British Government in India in another war; he appeared near the confines of Travancore, at the head of a powerful army, made unreasonable demands on the Rajah, a British ally, and commenced hostilities towards the end of December 1789. ”

“ The feudal troops established by William the Conqueror consisted (as already stated in the Introduction to the Cavalry) almost entirely of horse; but when the warlike barons and knights, with their trains of tenants and vassals, took the field, a proportion of men appeared on foot, and, although these were of inferior degree, they proved stout-hearted Britons of stanch fidelity. When stipendiary troops were employed, infantry always constituted a considerable portion of the military force ”

“ The king assembled an army, overpowered the forces of the disobedient chief, and forced him to fly for protection to the British settlements in the island.
In addition to this oppressive tyranny over his own subjects, the King of Candy, elated with his success against the refractory chief, prepared to invade the British territory, against the frontier of which he had long carried on occasional hostilities. He had also inflicted cruelties on some British subjects, who had gone into his dominions on trading speculations. ”

“ During the reign of Queen Anne the pikes were laid aside, and every infantry soldier was armed with a musket, bayonet, and sword; the grenadiers ceased, about the same period, to carry hand grenades; and the regiments were directed to lay aside their third colour: the corps of Royal Artillery was first added to the Army in this reign.
About the year 1745, the men of the battalion companies of infantry ceased to carry swords; during [xv] the reign of George II. light companies were added to infantry regiments ”

“ In this harassing campaign, the superiority of the British over the native troops acting with them, was very evident; small parties only could be employed with effect, and therefore, more individual courage and exertion were required than with large bodies, where the excitement is much greater. The want of surgical aid was severely felt, and the officers at last, with the assistance of manuscript instructions, administered medicine, dressed wounds, and, on some occasions, performed trifling operations. Besides fever and dysentery, leech-bites were the occasion of many casualties. ”

“ In the General Orders issued by Lieut.-General Sir John Hope (afterwards Lord Hopetoun) , congratulating the army upon the successful result of the Battle of Corunna, on the 16th of January, 1809, it is stated:—“On no occasion has the undaunted valour of British troops ever been more manifest. At the termination of a severe and harassing march, rendered necessary by the superiority which the enemy had acquired, and which had materially impaired the efficiency of the troops, many disadvantages were to be encountered. ”

“ Lucia to the British troops, the capitulation being signed on the 30th of December, 1778. In 1779, Major Harris embarked with the fifth fusiliers, which were ordered to serve as marines, and was present in the engagement off Grenada, under Admiral Byron, on the 6th of July, 1779. In 1780, Major Harris returned to England, and in December of that year succeeded to a lieut.-colonelcy in the fifth fusiliers, from which he exchanged into the seventy-sixth regiment, and accompanied to the East Indies, as secretary, Sir William Medows, who was appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Madras. ”

“ The siege of Pondicherry was commenced in the early part of August, the army encamping in a thick wood where tigers were so numerous, that the natives durst [14] not travel in the night. On the 22nd of August a white flag was displayed by the garrison, with a request for permission to surrender. The French soldiers in the fortress had embraced democratical principles, and were particularly insubordinate ”

“ On this service the battalion lost ten officers, and three hundred and sixty-six men, of whom only one officer (Lieutenant John Maclaine) and about twenty men were killed, or died of wounds inflicted by the enemy, the remainder having fallen victims to the unhealthiness of the climate, which even after the rebellion was subdued, continued to prove fatal to the officers and men who remained on service in the interior. ”

“ These circumstances occasioned Lieut.-General Robert Brownrigg, the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Island of Ceylon, to render assistance to the natives to throw off the yoke, and at the same time preserve the English provinces from aggression, by invading the kingdom of Candy. The British troops advanced into the kingdom of Candy in seven divisions, in the beginning of February 1815, and detachments were formed from the SEVENTY-THIRD, and attached to four or five divisions of the invading army. ”

“ Companies of infantry varied at this period in numbers from 150 to 300 men; each company had a colour or ensign, and the mode of formation recommended by an English military writer (Sir John Smithe) in 1590 was:—the colour in the centre of the company guarded by the halberdiers; the pikemen in equal proportions, on each flank of the halberdiers: half the musketeers on each flank of the pikes ”

“ The establishment of the regiment for the ten companies serving in India, was fixed as follows:—One colonel, with an allowance in lieu of a company; one lieut.-colonel and captain, one major and captain; eight captains, twelve lieutenants, eight ensigns, one chaplain, one adjutant, one quarter-master, one surgeon, one surgeon’s mate, thirty serjeants, forty corporals, twenty drummers, two fifers, and seven hundred private men. ”

“ The thanks of both Houses of Parliament were voted to the army with the greatest enthusiasm, “for its distinguished valour at Waterloo;” and the SEVENTY-THIRD and other regiments engaged, were permitted to bear the word “Waterloo” on their colours and appointments, in commemoration of their distinguished services on the 18th of June, 1815. ”