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. ”

“ Twenty camels set off, and my brother, Captain Frederick Barlow, Sixty-first Regiment, very humanely volunteered, notwithstanding the intolerable heat, to attend the camels. I filled a cag with a mixture of port wine and water, which he took with him, and it proved of the most essential service. At the distance of from four to six miles from camp, he picked up twenty-one poor exhausted fainting wretches, who, without this assistance, must have died in a very few hours: some not able to speak, and the whole totally incapable of walking a step further. ”

“ Lieutenant-General Sir Rowland Hill came up to the regiment, and thanked the officers and soldiers repeatedly for the very gallant manner in which they had ascended under the enemy’s fire. A second redoubt was captured at this part of the enemy’s line, and afterwards a third. The Sixty-first penetrated the enemy’s camp, which had been abandoned and set on fire. The light company of the regiment was detached on this occasion, and distinguished itself. A decisive victory was gained, and the British army established itself in the French territory. ”

“ 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. ”

“ While the regiment was at Gibraltar, Portugal was delivered from the power of France by British skill and valour; but Spain was subject to the oppression of Napoleon, who had removed his brother Joseph from the throne of Naples, and caused him to be proclaimed King of Spain. ”

“ The French rallied under a cloud of skirmishers, and appeared intent on attempting to recover the hill. At this moment the regiment was exposed to the fire of a number of sharpshooters, and a numerous artillery, it was threatened with a charge of infantry, and a hostile body of cavalry was manœuvring on its left, yet it was as steady as on an ordinary parade; the surviving officers and soldiers formed four divisions two deep, and prepared to charge with their gallant associates of the Eleventh Regiment. ”

“ After reposing a short period in quarters, the regiment marched for Bordeaux; and at Bazas the Portuguese brigade, which had long served with the sixth division, was separated from it to return to Portugal; a feeling of respect for these brave companions in [45] war pervaded all ranks of the British army: many reciprocal acts of kindness had marked the estimation in which the soldiers of the British and Portuguese armies held each other. ”

“ While the regiment was at Gibraltar the French revolutionary war commenced, and in 1794 the French West India islands of Martinico, St. Lucia, and Guadeloupe were captured. The French republican government fitted out an expedition for the recovery of the conquered islands, and some success attended their efforts. This occurrence occasioned an order to be received for the Sixty-first Regiment to be embarked from Gibraltar to reinforce the British troops in the West Indies, where it arrived in December, and landed at the island of Martinico. ”

“ The fourth division being pressed by very superior numbers, the sixth division advanced at a running pace to its support, and on passing the village of Arapiles the Sixty-first opened their fire; but the French soldiers were so mingled with the men of the fourth division, that the regiment ceased firing for fear of destroying friends as well as enemies. The French carried the hill, and, elated with success, rushed forward with great impetuosity ”

“ The Sixty-first passed the Nivelle river, and marched through a rugged country towards the bridge of Amotz, to attack the works at that place; the skirmishers of the regiment were in front under Lieutenant Harris. Advancing up a difficult ascent, covered with bushes, under a sharp fire, the regiment drove a body of French troops from a semicircular breastwork; several officers of the regiment outran the men, who had knapsacks to carry, and first jumped into the works:—Captain William Henry Furnace, who had repeatedly distinguished himself, fell a sacrifice to his gallantry ”

“ Napoleon Bonaparte having assembled a numerous army at Boulogne, and made preparations for the invasion of England, the British military establishment was considerably augmented, and a second battalion was formed and added to the Sixty-first Regiment; it was composed of men raised in the counties of Durham and Northumberland, under the provisions of the Army of Reserve Act, passed in the summer of 1803, and was placed on the establishment of the army on the 9th of July. ”

“ The regiment afterwards continued its route down the Nile to the vicinity of Rosetta. The siege of Alexandria was carried on with vigour, and the deliverance of Egypt was completed by the surrender of the French garrison in the beginning of September.
The Sixty-first received, in common with the other corps which served on this expedition, the honor of bearing on their colours the word “Egypt” with the Sphinx, as a distinguished mark of His Majesty’s royal approbation of their conduct: the officers were permitted to accept of gold medals from the Grand Seignior. ”

“ James Murray, and Lieut.-General Sir William Draper, K.B. The combined French and Spanish forces mustered sixteen thousand men, commanded by Lieutenant-General the Duke of Crillon, who proved an officer of ability. The British garrison, however, made a resolute defence of the fortress intrusted to their charge; and the King of Spain, losing patience with the slow progress of the siege, caused a large sum of money to be offered to the British general, to induce him to betray his trust, which was rejected with indignation [2] . ”

“ 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. ”

“ At Legattah we found a large detachment of Sepoys, under Captain Mahony, of the Seventh Bombay Regiment: he behaved to us in the most attentive and liberal manner. We were supplied with every necessary by this officer; and he fulfilled the duties of his post, not to the strict letter of his orders, but to the fullest extent of every humane and hospitable construction of them. The ensuing march to Buramba was to be a very long one ”

“ Richard Cannon, Principal Clerk of the Adjutant-General’s Office; and while the perusal of them cannot fail to be useful and interesting to military men of every rank, it is considered that they will also afford entertainment and information to the general reader, particularly to those who may have served in the Army, or who have relatives in the Service.
There exists in the breasts of most of those who have [viii] served, or are serving, in the Army, an Esprit de Corps—an attachment to every thing belonging to their Regiment ”

“ The men of General Hulse’s brigade, which was on the left, went down by hundreds, and the Sixty-first and Eleventh Regiments won their way desperately, and through such a fire as British soldiers only can sustain. ”

“ Mutton we received as rations in abundance,—indeed at every post in the desert where water was to be had, even in the smallest quantity, General Baird had made depôts of provisions; therefore we had only to carry the necessary supply for those halting-places where no water was to be found. All our stragglers reached the camp before two P.M. of this day.
July 22nd.—I this day ordered the men to wash their persons, and otherwise to put themselves into as clean and good order as circumstances would permit. At six o’clock P.M. we marched. The road leads through a most romantic valley ”

“ Early in December a forward movement was ordered; and on the morning of the 9th of that month a beacon lighted on the heights above Cambo gave the signal for the attack, when the passage of the river Nive was forced, and the enemy driven back towards Bayonne. ”

“ Major Downing, Captains Oke, McLeod, and Greene, Lieutenants Falkner, Daniel, Chapman, Chipchase, Furnace, Gloster, Collis, Wolfe, Brackenbury, Royal, and Toole, Ensigns [32] White and Singleton, twenty-two serjeants, one drummer, and two hundred and eighty rank and file, wounded. Major Downing died of his wounds [5] .
Captain Annesley, who commanded the regiment at the close of the action, received a gold medal; and the word “Salamanca” was inscribed on the colours, by royal authority, to commemorate its distinguished gallantry on this memorable occasion. ”