Richard Cannon

“ The burning ships exhibited one of the grandest spectacles of destruction ever beheld; and amidst this exciting scene the British seamen pushed off in boats to rescue the Spaniards from the blazing vessels. They preserved between three and four hundred, and while they were thus engaged, one of the ships blew up with a dreadful explosion; four others met the same fate before seven o’clock, and another shortly afterwards, and the remainder burnt to the water’s edge, their magazines having been inundated. Not one could be preserved as a trophy. ”

“ The Thirty-ninth regiment, ‘Primus in Indis,’ having obtained imperishable renown in the earlier wars in India, bearing upon its colours the record of its gallantry at ‘Plassey,’ quitted this country in 1758; and after a lapse of seventy-four years, during which it reaped a rich harvest of glory in the ‘Peninsula,’ again returned to India, and has again profited by the opportunities, which a long service in this country has afforded, of adding fresh lustre to its fame. The victory of ‘Maharajpore’ is already recorded on its colours, and nobly did it earn that badge. ”

“ Dark was the cloud which hung over the affairs of the East India Company at this period; self-preservation made it imperative to adopt measures of retaliation, and it was a proud epoch in the career of the Thirty-ninth when a portion of the regiment was selected for service in Bengal, where the subsequent successes, obtained under Lieut.-Colonel Clive, dispersed the prevailing gloom, and paved the way for British ascendancy in India. ”

“ 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. It must therefore be admitted, that the distinguishing feature of the British soldier is Intrepidity. ”

“ It is unnecessary for me, Thirty-ninth, to emblazon your achievements; your friends will ever remember, and your enemies can never forget, that during the Peninsular War, which in its results was as glorious to the British Arms as it was important to the general interests of Europe, you, led on by your present gallant Commander, fought at Albuhera, of which battle this is the twentieth anniversary; that you were also engaged with, and defeated, the enemy at Vittoria, at the Pyrenees, the Nivelle, the Nive, and at Orthes. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Lieut.-Colonel Wright, officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of Her Majesty’s Thirty-ninth regiment, I present to you new colours, consecrated with all the solemn ceremonies of religion, to be borne, as your colours always have been, with honor before the enemy. ”

“ The claimant of the Spanish throne, Charles III., was in October 1711 elected Emperor of Germany by the title of Charles VI., his brother Joseph having died at Vienna in the preceding April. This circumstance materially affected the war, and inclined Great Britain to agree to peace, for the consolidation of Spain with the empire of Germany would have perilled the balance of power in Europe as much as the anticipated union of the crowns of France and Spain. The course of events had also shown, that a French, and not an Austrian prince, was the choice of the Spanish nation. ”

“ 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 England the most enthusiastic applause was universal; illuminations and other modes of testifying the joy of the people followed the receipt of the news of the destruction of the supposed invincible battering ships, and every family which could boast a defender of Gibraltar belonging to it, was proud of the honor. The loss of the garrison on the 13th and 14th of September, was limited to one officer, two serjeants, and thirteen private soldiers killed; five officers and sixty-three rank and file wounded: that of the enemy exceeded two thousand officers and soldiers. ”

“ In the wars of Queen Anne, the fame of the British army under the great Marlborough was spread throughout the world; and if we glance at the achievements performed within the memory of persons now living, there is abundant proof that the Britons of the present age are not inferior to their ancestors in the qualities [xvii] which constitute good soldiers. Witness the deeds of the brave men, of whom there are many now surviving, who fought in Egypt in 1801, under the brave Abercromby, and compelled the French army, which had been vainly styled Invincible, to evacuate that country ”

“ Great Britain has produced a race of heroes who, in moments of danger and terror, have stood “firm as the rocks of their native shore:” and when half the world has been arrayed against them, they have fought the battles of their Country with unshaken fortitude. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Sixty-second foot affords, of recording the high sense he entertains of their respective merits, and the admiration with which he has witnessed their uniform good conduct in quarters, and their gallantry in the field.
“Each regiment bears on its colours the names of many hard-fought battles in the “Peninsula,” and each regiment will carry home the record of victories achieved in the wars of this country, nobly gained by their indomitable bravery under his Lordship’s immediate command. ”

“ 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. ”

“ While the war in Germany was undecided, the flank companies of the first battalion of the Thirty-ninth regiment were, in November 1805, detached to Naples, and landed at that city on the 22nd of that month. A Russian armament also arrived at Naples.
The Emperor Napoleon being triumphant in Germany, seized the moment of victory to denounce vengeance against the King of Naples for permitting a British and Russian armament to enter his ports and land on his shores ”

“ 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 ”

“ I am convinced that one who has so often witnessed the gallantry of soldiers, will not read unmoved this proud but distressing record of heroism and death.
“The survivors of those who reached the top, merit the honor to have their names laid before His Grace the Duke of Wellington, and it would be very grateful to their feelings if your Excellency would do this. They are men of excellent character; most of them had two, and some three medals. The bold Sepoy of the camel corps is highly praised by them for his courageous conduct. ”

“ 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 tremendous fire of the Spaniards produced little effect beyond the bursting of many of their own cannon, and rendering others useless. The siege was continued until thousands of the enemy had perished, while very little loss was sustained by the garrison. [10] In the early part of June the fire slackened; and shortly afterwards hostilities ceased, in consequence of preliminary articles for a treaty of peace having been agreed upon. Thus the fortress of Gibraltar was a second time preserved, and continued to form one of the trophies of British prowess. ”

“ Great Britain now began to see her former allies converted into enemies; and Holland, having become united to France in the early part of the previous year, was styled the Batavian Republic. In April 1796, a secret service having been ordered by Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, then Commander-in-chief in the West Indies, the Thirty-ninth, and the late Ninety-third and Ninety-ninth regiments, with a detachment of the Royal Artillery, were embarked at Barbadoes on this expedition, which proved to be against the Dutch colonies of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ Grey in the beginning of 1794, the Forty-eighth regiment was drafted, when Captain Airey volunteered his services, and was employed in the succeeding campaign, during which he commanded the light company of the Sixty-fifth regiment, in the third battalion of Light Infantry. On the conclusion of the campaign he rejoined his regiment at Plymouth in October 1794. In December Captain Airey re-embarked with the regiment for the West Indies, but, from sickness, it was with several others re-landed. ”

“ This seasonable reinforcement arriving soon after the defeat of the allied army at Almanza, in the south-east of Spain, and at the moment when the enemy, having captured Serpa [4] and Moura in the Alemtejo, had seized on the bridge of Olivenza in Portuguese Estremadura, and menaced that important place with a siege, its presence revived the drooping spirits of the Portuguese. ”

“ On the 9th of March 1744, the Thirty-ninth regiment proceeded from Ireland to Great Britain, and was employed on board the fleet, as Marines, for two years.
War was at last declared by France against Great Britain on the 20th of March 1744, and a counter-declaration was made by the latter country on the 29th of the same month; thus these two powers, from auxiliaries, now became principals in the contest. ”

“ The share which the British army have had in producing those events, and the high character with which the army will quit this country, must be equally satisfactory to every individual belonging to it, as they are to the Commander of the Forces, and he trusts that the troops will continue the same good conduct to the last. ”

“ French troops, had excited the indignation of the Spanish people, who solicited, and readily obtained, the aid of Great Britain; and the latter power had, in April 1809, sent Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley with reinforcements to Portugal, to save that country from invasion, and also to assist the Spaniards in their struggle for independence.
The second battalion was selected to proceed to join the army in the Peninsula under the command of Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley: it embarked on the 22nd of June 1809 for the Tagus, and arrived at Lisbon on the 2nd of July. ”