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. ”

“ On passing the “Orlando” frigate, the seamen cheered, but the soldiers gave a feeble response. On landing, twelve men were sent to the hospital, four lieutenants, one serjeant, two drummers, and forty-seven rank and file, under Captain Creagh, in rags, their feet and legs bare, and ulcerated, emaciated and tottering from exhaustion and hunger, entered the fort; the pitiable remains of two hundred picked [55] men, who marched out only three months before, forming two fine flank companies equal to any service. ”

“ The light company, supported by the grenadiers, and followed by the regiment, descended the mountain at a running pace. Two columns of the enemy, having each a field-piece, and being supported by the heavy guns of the redoubt, opened a sharp fire of grape and musketry; but, as the Eighty-sixth arrived on the plain, they closed on their adversaries with the bayonet. This spirited conduct decided the contest; the opposing ranks, unable to withstand the shock of steel, faced about and fled. ”

“ The Arabs threw down their matchlocks, drew their creesis, and rushing upon their assailants with deadly fury, refused to give or receive quarter. The contest was of short duration; British discipline and prowess were again victorious; two hundred Arab horsemen and foot lay on the ground, and the Eighty-sixth stood triumphant on the scene of conflict. Among the trophies of the day, were fifteen stand of Scindian and Arab colours, which were sent to head-quarters, excepting two, retained by the Eighty-sixth regiment, as trophies of the valour displayed by the corps on this occasion. ”

“ At the period of the conclusion of this record, the Eighty-sixth, or the Royal County Down Regiment, is under orders again to proceed to India. Although comparatively a young corps, it has performed much valuable service to the country in all quarters of the globe; it had not the good fortune to serve in the Peninsular War, in which so many corps acquired honorary inscriptions; but it has earned distinctions for its colours, which furnish a powerful incentive to perseverance in the path of duty and honor to all who may have their names recorded in the books of this distinguished regiment. ”

“ Some strove to climb by the shot holes made by the British guns, and others drove their bayonets into the mud walls to ascend by, while the enemy above hurled large stones, logs of timber, packs of flaming oiled cotton, and jars filled with combustibles, upon their heads, with a terrible destruction ”

“ While in quest of the enemy, the advance-guard of the Seventy-fifth Regiment was suddenly attacked, when emerging from a defile, on the 6th of February, and overpowered, with a loss of many men and a gun. The three companies of the Eighty-sixth, being at the head of the column of march, moved forward, encountered the enemy, and, by a determined charge, routed the hostile forces, chasing them across the bed of a river into the jungle, where they dispersed, leaving their tents, baggage, camels, horses, and the captured gun behind. The regiment lost very few men in this gallant exploit. ”

“ Thus was captured a fortress of great importance to the commercial interests of Britain, with a territory yielding a considerable revenue, which were added to the British dominions. In his public despatch, Lieut.-Colonel Woodington highly commended the conduct of Major Cuyler and Captain Richardson, and added,—“The whole of the officers and men employed on this service have conducted themselves so much to my satisfaction, that I cannot express myself too strongly in their commendation.” ”

“ 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 day became so intolerably hot, that Lieut.-Colonel Lloyd ordered the tents to be pitched to shelter the men from the sun; but at ten o’clock the guides stated it was necessary to march, as the camels would be so debilitated by the heat, if they rested on the sand, as to require water before they could move again; but if kept in motion they would not be affected in so fatal a degree; adding, if the soldiers slept, the camel drivers might steal the water, which they feared would be found scarcely sufficient. ”

“ A schooner and gun-boat having arrived with cannon and ammunition, the troops advanced on the 25th of August, and arriving within two miles of the fortress, discovered a numerous body of hostile cavalry, infantry, and Arabs, in order of battle on the plain. These opponents were speedily routed with the loss of their flag and a number of killed and wounded; and the armament soon afterwards attacked, and carried, the pettah with great gallantry; Ensign D’Aguilar distinguished himself on this occasion.
The siege of the fort was commenced, and a breach was reported practicable ”

“ 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. ”

“ Fifteen miles of rugged country, covered with underwood destitute of roads, and infested with wild elephants, were traversed on the 1st of October, to the post of Kataboa, commanded by Captain Ritchie, of the Seventy-third Regiment, who had buried nearly a hundred men of his detachment at this place, and of [51] the seventy Europeans left alive, the captain and assistant surgeon were the only persons free from fever. At this place the Eighty-sixth were joined by seventy rank and file of the Ceylon corps, under Lieutenant Noonan, who was to act as interpreter and guide. ”

“ At three o’clock on the following day, the flank companies of the Sixty-fifth and Eighty-sixth, supported by the Seventy-fifth and Seventy-sixth regiments, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Monson, stormed a large and high bastion. After passing the ditch, the forlorn hope was destroyed in attempting to ascend the breach, which was extremely steep, and knee-deep in mud and loose stones. Every effort was made, the men climbing over the dead bodies of their comrades, and struggling to gain the rampart, but in vain. ”

“ The soldiers were advancing to storm the place with the greatest gallantry, when their progress was arrested by a deep ditch, cut through the rock a short time previously, and the Arabs in garrison being numerous and prepared, opened a heavy fire. Lieutenant Creagh was killed by a cannon ball, while in the act of leading the soldiers to the attack; Lieutenant Lovell was also killed, and many officers and soldiers were wounded; soon after day-break the troops were obliged to retire. ”

“ The river having fallen considerably during the night, the soldiers passed the stream on the following day, under cover of the fire of the guns, and assaulting the breast-works of the main body of Canojee’s legions, carried them at the point of the bayonet, and pursued the routed enemy two miles with great slaughter. A body of Arabs disdaining to seek their safety in flight, fought with great desperation until overpowered. ”

“ While at Moses’ Well, several soldiers died of the plague, when the men’s clothing, bedding, and tents were burnt, and the six companies embarked for India; no other cases of the plague occurring, the companies landed at Bombay on the 4th of July. In November, the three companies arrived from the province of Guzerat, and the regiment was once more united at Bombay. ”

“ Cornelius Cuyler was appointed ensign in the fifty-fifth foot, on the 31st of May, 1759, and, immediately proceeding to North America, joined his regiment before the fort of Ticonderoga, on the west shore of Lake Champlain, in July of the same year, in time to take part in the reduction of that post. In 1760 he served at the reduction of Isle-aux-Noix and at the capture of Montreal, which completed the conquest of Canada. In 1764 he was appointed captain in the forty-sixth foot, with which corps he served two years on the frontiers of North America, one year at New York, and eight in Ireland. ”

“ Two of the Nizam’s sons rebelled, put several of his adherents to death, and threatened to depose their father; when the left wing of the Eighty-sixth, a battalion of sepoys, and two guns, were ordered to enter the city of Hyderabad, preceded by two battalions of the Nizam’s regular infantry under European officers, with two six-pounders. The Nizam’s battalions were attacked by the insurgents in a narrow street, and overpowered, with the loss of fifty officers and soldiers and one gun. ”

“ A division of the regiment on marching through Tipperary, in 1823, halted at the village of Middleton: in the evening the commanding officer observed the soldiers assembled round a tomb in the burial ground, with their caps off; on enquiring the cause, a soldier of the grenadiers replied, “Your honour, we are come up to see our old captain.” On joining the group, he observed the tomb of his old and respected comrade, Lieut.-Colonel Lanphier, and the following words, which had been scratched by the soldiers beneath the inscription on the tomb-stone, “A Brave Soldier!” ”

“ 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 ”

“ Seventeen men, unable to travel, were left on the ground, and camels were left to bring them forward as soon as they could be moved.
During the march several officers and soldiers experienced an extraordinary sensation of seeing horses, camels, and all kinds of animals, moving with rapid transition before them, which false perception their judgment could not correct. At eleven the detachment halted; the night was excessively dark, and the officers and soldiers were so exhausted, that unconquerable sleep seized upon all. ”

“ Charles Ross, son of Admiral Sir Lockhart Ross, of Balnagown, Bart., who signalized himself during the seven [69] years’ war, obtained a commission of cornet in the seventh dragoons, in January, 1780, and in May, 1784, he was promoted captain in the third Irish horse, now sixth dragoon guards, in which corps he remained three years, when he was advanced to the commission of major in the thirty-seventh foot. ”

“ The Eighty-sixth pitched their tents with Colonel Stuart’s division, which was with the Vizier’s army; the soldiers had suffered the loss of their uniforms, which had been burnt in consequence of the plague, and they had been forced to abandon their knapsacks on the march; being very fine men, their appearance excited great interest. On the [18] 16th, the three officers left behind on the march, joined; they had returned to Suez, and afterwards passed the Desert with a caravan. ”

“ Having penetrated so far beyond the boundaries of Guzerat, the troops under Lieut.-Colonel Murray found their communication with that country cut off, and Holkar threatening to enter and lay waste the province; their supplies were nearly exhausted; they were in a territory devastated by famine and disease; the rainy season was approaching, and a small force, under Lieut.-Colonel Monson, sent by General Lord Lake to effect a junction with Lieut.-Col. Murray, was pursued by Holkar’s numerous legions, and forced to make a precipitate flight, abandoning its cannon and baggage. ”

“ The guides being responsible for the safety of the detachment, Lieut.-Colonel Lloyd acceded to their wishes; the tents were struck at eleven, and the march resumed; the thermometer being at 109. Captain Cuyler soon fainted again, and fell from his horse, and a camel and two men were left to attend him and bring him forward. The men beginning to drop fast in the rear, Lieut.-Colonel Lloyd halted about one o’clock, cut his own baggage from the camels, which example was followed by all the officers, as many men as could be carried were then mounted on the camels, and the [16] whole proceeded. ”

“ In June the regiment marched to Weedon, where it was inspected on the 8th of August by General Lord Hill, Commanding-in-Chief, who expressed to Lieut.-Colonel Sir Michael Creagh, in front of the regiment, his approbation of the highly efficient state of the corps, after so long a service in the West Indies.
After the inspection, the regiment marched into Lancashire, and occupied Salford-barracks, Manchester, detaching one company to the Isle of Man. ”

“ In the beginning of 1796, the establishment was augmented to twelve companies,—the eleventh and twelfth being recruiting companies; and as the ships of war came into port, the officers and soldiers of the Eighty-sixth landed and joined the regiment ”