Richard Cannon

“ The heights occupied by the fourth division were attacked with great fury: the Royal Fusiliers were hotly engaged, and sternly, and with sanguinary tenacity, was the ground contested. Appalling shouts smote the ears of the French soldiers as they stormed the position, and the next moment ranks of British bayonets met them in mid-onset, and in the shock of steel the French soldiers were forced back with a horrid carnage. Four times the Royal Fusiliers precipitated themselves on the hosts of opponents which assailed their post, and on every occasion they proved victorious. ”

“ 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. 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. ”

“ Nothing availed against a general whose sagacity foresaw everything, whose vigilance attended to everything, whose constancy no labour could subdue, whose courage no danger could dismay, and whose intuitive glance always caught the decisive moment and insured victory; while the discipline he maintained and the confidence he inspired were equivalent to an army. ”

“ These achievements, with others of recent dates in the distant climes of India, prove that the same valour and constancy which glowed in the breasts of the heroes of Crecy, Poictiers, Agincourt, Blenheim, and Ramilies, continue to animate the Britons of the nineteenth century.
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. ”

“ Lieut.-Colonel Pakenham continued his victorious career against the heights of Surirey, and being gallantly supported by the twenty-third regiment, the soldiers under his orders, animated by the zeal and ardour of their brave leaders, overcame obstacles of a formidable character with heroic valour; they carried the hill, and, by a spirited charge, forced the French to take shelter under the guns of their redoubts. ”

“ During the summer Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable Edward Michael Pakenham, commanding the first battalion in Nova Scotia, was placed on the staff of the army in Portugal. The affable deportment, amiable disposition, and liberality of this brave and zealous officer, with his gallantry in the field, and his assiduous attention to the interests, comfort, reputation, and efficiency of the regiment during the series of years he had served with the Royal Fusiliers, had procured him the regard and esteem of every member of the corps. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The French commander urged his veterans forward; individuals, spurred on by an unavailing intrepidity, sacrificed their lives to gain time for their companions to deploy;—the columns responded to the calls of their leader, and, striving to extricate themselves, fired on friends and foes;—the lancers on the flanks threatened to charge; but British intrepidity could not be shaken;—the Fusiliers knew not how to quail! The brigade preserved its firm array ”

“ Lieutenant-General Sir George Prevost has that opinion of the commanding officer, the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of this already distinguished corps which induces him to pronounce his confidence that the Royal Fusiliers will maintain their reputation on whatever service they may be employed, and that when called upon to face the enemy of their country, [50] they will again add to their own fame, and exalt the glory of the British arms. ”

“ Encouraged by this presage of victory, the Fusiliers marched sternly onward in line, over heaps of killed and wounded, to encounter three heavy columns of French infantry, supported by cavalry and artillery, and each column mustering about twice the numbers of the Fusilier Brigade.
Gallantly issuing from amidst the smoke and broken fragments of discomfited corps, the Fusiliers marched [57] with a firm and solemn step over the carcases of men and horses which obstructed their way, and their bearing was that of men determined to decide the fortune of a battle. ”

“ Advancing from the banks of the Coa towards the interior of Spain, the Royal Fusiliers once more confronted the legions of Napoleon; the battalion was [74] strong in numbers, bringing into the field a fine body of men on whose natural strength and valour the qualities of order, subordination, and discipline had been engrafted, which rendered them fit for any service.
By a daring advance the French were once more driven from Salamanca; by combinations evincing consummate skill, and by efforts of an extraordinary character, the enemy's positions on the Douro were turned ”

“ Many soldiers of different corps quitted their ranks to plunder; but it was observed that, when the Royal Fusiliers, pursuing the enemy, passed the French baggage and treasure-waggons, they were so impressed with a sense of the necessity of preserving order, so accustomed to perfect obedience, and jealous of the honour of their corps, that they refrained from irregularities, and followed the enemy with unbroken ranks. A decisive victory was gained: and the excellent conduct of the regiment was rewarded with the honour of bearing the word "Vittoria" on its colours. ”

“ The Royal Fusiliers, and other corps at this part of the field, were attacked in front and flank, and a sanguinary conflict ensued. Colonel Fitzpatrick was carried from the field wounded, yet the Fusiliers stood their ground; ranks of opponents ascended the breast-work, and were speedily cut down or forced back. At length the British battalions were overpowered and driven from their ground. Stung with resentment at this disaster, they speedily rallied, and, rushing sword in hand upon their opponents, they once more regained the lost ground. ”

“ 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 [xv] 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 ”

“ The French, under General De Houdelot, were advantageously posted on the declivity of the hill, with a river in their front, and their left protected by artillery. Lieut.-Colonel Pakenham, with the flank companies of the Seventh, and rifle company of the twenty-third, turned the enemy's right; the light battalion moved against the enemy's left; and the battalion companies of the Seventh, and grenadiers of the first West India regiment, advanced against the front. Animated by a spirit of emulation and a thirst for glory, the British troops rushed onward with enthusiasm ”

“ 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. ”

“ Lord George Hamilton, fifth son of William Duke of Hamilton, was an officer in the Royal Regiment in the reign of Charles II., and also of James II., and, adhering to the Protestant interest at the Revolution in 1688, he was advanced to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and on the 1st of March, 1690, to the brevet rank of colonel. He served under King William III. in Ireland, and distinguished himself at the battle of the Boyne; and in 1691 he was at the siege of Athlone, at the battle of Aghrim, and the capture of Limerick. ”

“ Bows and arrows gave place to various kinds of fire-arms, but British archers continued formidable adversaries; and owing to the inconvenient construction and imperfect bore of the fire-arms when first introduced, a body of men, well trained in the use of the bow from their youth, was considered a valuable acquisition to every army, even as late as the sixteenth century.
During a great part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth each company of infantry usually consisted of men armed five different ways; in every hundred men forty were "men-at-arms," and sixty "shot;" ”

“ 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. ”

“ If the non-commissioned officers of a regiment are permitted to express their approbation of the conduct of the Adjutant, why may they not exercise the same right with respect to their commanding officer? ”

“ The sentiments entertained in the navy were also prevalent in the army; the troops refused to fight in the cause of Papacy and arbitrary government, and King James fled to France. The Royal Fusiliers landed and were ordered by the Prince of Orange to occupy quarters at Barnet.
From this period the Royal Fusiliers ceased to be considered exclusively as an Ordnance Regiment, and took their turn of duty with the regular regiments of the line: the regiment was not, however, furnished with a division of pikemen; but every man continued to be armed with a fusil. ”

“ During a period exceeding one hundred and sixty years, the Royal Fusiliers have proved themselves to be a faithful and zealous Regiment in the cause of Royalty, and in the interests of their country. Their services in various parts of Europe and America, when war has required their presence and exertions, have, on all occasions, been conspicuous ”

“ Non-commissioned officers and private soldiers of infantry regiments were frequently employed as gunners; and the care and protection of the guns were confided to particular corps. On the augmentation of the army during the rebellion of James Duke of Monmouth, in the summer of 1685, King James II. resolved, that the first infantry corps raised on that occasion should be an Ordnance Regiment, for the care and protection of the cannon; of which corps His Majesty appointed George Lord Dartmouth, then Master-general of the Ordnance, colonel, by commission dated the 11th of June, 1685. ”

“ The French army had been re-organized by Marshal Soult, who pushed his divisions boldly forward to drive the British from the mountains. The enemy having made a demonstration of an attack on the front posts, two companies of the Royal Fusiliers advanced on the 24th of July to a height westward of Roncesvalles, where they were joined by the remainder of the battalion during the night; on the following morning the enemy attacked Major-General Byng's post in Roncesvalles, and the fourth division was ordered to advance. ”

“ On the 1st of January, 1810, the first battalion mustered upwards of a thousand officers and soldiers, and events occurred soon afterwards which occasioned the removal of this fine body of men from North America to the theatre of war in the Peninsula, where the Spaniards and Portuguese were struggling for independence against the forces of France, and where a British army sent to aid the patriots was acquiring never-fading laurels under Sir Arthur Wellesley, who had been created Viscount Wellington. ”

“ The introduction of artillery, and the expert and proper management of field-guns, rendered it necessary that a suitable description of officers and men should be selected for such an important and scientific branch of the service, in order to ensure its usefulness; hence it may be inferred, that as qualifications of a superior kind were requisite, the Subaltern Officers in the Royal Fusiliers obtained, on their first appointment, the rank of Lieutenant, a distinction which is continued to the present time. ”

“ 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. ”