Richard Cannon

“ There exists in the breasts of most of those who have served, or are serving, in the Army, an Esprit de Corps—an attachment to everything belonging to their Regiment; to such persons a narrative of the services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove interesting. Authentic accounts of the actions of the great, the valiant, the loyal, have always been of paramount interest with a brave and civilized people. ”

“ 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, [vii] 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. ”

“ Soon after the arrival of the regiment in India, the tranquillity of the eastern dominions of Great Britain was interrupted by the sovereign of Ava, who governed a numerous nation of Burmans, inhabiting an extensive territory, lying in one direction, between the Chinese dominions and Bengal. For many years the Burmese officers, in the country contiguous to the British territory, had been guilty of acts of encroachment and aggression, which at length became of so outrageous a character, as to render it necessary to call upon the court of Ava for an explanation. ”

“ Never was victory more complete or decided, and never was a triumph of discipline and valour, over the disjointed efforts of irregular courage and infinitely superior numbers, more conspicuous. Majors Dennie and Thornhill, of the Thirteenth Light Infantry were distinguished by the steadiness with which they led their men.’—Major-General Sir A. Campbell’s Despatch. ”

“ On extraordinary occasions, the Houses of Parliament have been in the habit of conferring on the Commanders, and the Officers and Troops acting under their orders, expressions of approbation and of thanks for their skill and bravery; and these testimonials, confirmed by the high honour of their Sovereign’s approbation, constitute the reward which the soldier most highly prizes.
It has not, however, until late years, been the practice (which appears to have long prevailed in some of the Continental armies) for British Regiments to keep regular records of their services and achievements. ”

“ 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 ”

“ A body of Highlanders, with broad swords and targets, advanced towards the Thirteenth foot, but they were intimidated by the gallant bearing of the regiment, and fled from the field before the soldiers could close upon them with bayonets. The rebel army was routed at every part of the field, and pursued for several miles with great [36] slaughter, and the loss of all its artillery. Thus the events of one day transformed the young Pretender from an imaginary monarch to a destitute fugitive, and after enduring great hardship and suffering he escaped to France. ”

“ While the army was in Flanders, Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, arrived in Scotland, and being joined by several clans, he asserted his father’s pretensions to the throne. Unaccustomed to hear the sound of war at their own gates, the British people were at first alarmed, but soon recovering, they evinced loyalty and union in sustaining the fixed rights of their sovereign and in defending their own liberties. The volunteer associations were not, however, ready to take the field for some time, and several corps were ordered [34] to return from Flanders. ”

“ 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. ”

“ At the moment when the battle commenced, a heavy storm of wind and rain beat violently in the faces of the King’s troops; the soldiers could scarcely see their opponents, their muskets would not give fire, confusion ensued, and a great portion of the army retired from the field of battle: a few regiments, however, remained firm, and repulsed the left wing of the rebel army.
After retiring from Falkirk moor, the Thirteenth regiment marched back to Edinburgh, where additional forces arrived, and His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland took the command of the troops in Scotland. ”

“ The importance of Gibraltar had rendered the loss of that fortress a subject of deep regret to the crown of Spain, and on the prospect of England being involved in a continental war, in 1726, the Spanish monarch resolved to commence hostilities with Great Britain, by a determined effort to recover possession of this desirable entrepôt to the Mediterranean, which gave the Thirteenth regiment another opportunity of adding to its honours, that of a second successful defence of Gibraltar. ”

“ The British got over the fausse-braye, climbed up the rampart with great difficulty,—pulled up the palisades from the parapet, ascended the rampart, and captured the fort sword in hand, making thirty officers and one hundred and seventy soldiers prisoners; the remainder of the garrison, which consisted of six hundred men, were either killed in the attack, or drowned in attempting to escape across the river, excepting twelve men, who passed the stream in small boats. ”

“ Ferdinando Hastings, cousin of Theophilus seventh Earl of Huntingdon, entered the army in the reign of King Charles II., and was promoted to the command of a company in the first foot guards; in 1686, he was appointed lieut.-colonel of the regiment which is now the Thirteenth Light Infantry. At the Revolution in 1688, he united with the Earl of Bath in bringing over the garrison of Plymouth to the interest of the Prince of Orange, and was rewarded with the colonelcy of his regiment. ”

“ 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. ”

“ In the summer of 1742, sixteen thousand men proceeded to Flanders, under the Earl of Stair, to support the house of Austria: the Thirteenth regiment was one of the corps which proceeded to Flanders, where it remained in quarters until the early part of the following year. On the 31st March, 1743, war was declared against France, and the troops which the King of Great Britain had assembled in the Netherlands began their march for Germany. ”

“ 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, being 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. ”

“ In 1664 King Charles II. raised a corps for sea-service, styled the Admiral’s regiment. In 1678 each company of 100 men usually consisted of 30 pikemen, 60 musketeers, and 10 men armed with light firelocks. In this year the King added a company of men armed with hand-grenades to each of the old British regiments, which was designated the “grenadier company.” Daggers were so contrived as to fit in the muzzles of the muskets, and bayonets [xiv] similar to those at present in use were adopted about twenty years afterwards. ”

“ 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. This quality was evinced by the inhabitants of England when their country was invaded by Julius Cæsar with a Roman army, on which occasion the undaunted Britons rushed into the sea to attack the Roman soldiers as they descended from their ships ”

“ 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 besieging army was so very weak in numbers that extraordinary efforts were necessary: the soldiers and seamen were incessant in their exertions; cannon and mortars were dragged up steep precipices by men, and a practicable breach having been made, a detachment of the Thirteenth foot was in readiness to take part in storming the works, when the governor surrendered. ”

“ Advancing towards Alexandria, the troops arrived, on the 12th of March, at the vicinity of Mandora Tower, and on the succeeding day marched through a wood of date trees to attack the enemy on the ridge of heights in front. As the British emerged from among the trees, the French advanced from the high ground and commenced the action. The brigade to which the Thirteenth belonged was advancing in column, when it was charged by a body of French cavalry, which was repulsed by the ninetieth regiment, forming the advance guard of the right column. ”

“ 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 French forces at Alexandria having been augmented in numbers by the arrival of additional troops from the interior, General Menou advanced early on the morning of the 21st of March, and attacked the English position with great intrepidity; but the French were repulsed at every point of attack, and the British soldiers stood triumphant over Buonaparte’s “invincible” legions, at the close of the third engagement on the distant shores of Egypt. ”

“ The doctrines of equality were taught in the French West India Islands; their mischievous tendency was soon experienced among the black population, and the British Government deeming it necessary to augment its military power in that part of the world, the Thirteenth regiment was sent as a reinforcement to the island of Jamaica. ”

“ Arriving in the vicinity of the position, the British artillery commenced a sharp cannonade; Brigadier-General Elrington’s troops drove the enemy from the jungle, six companies of the eighty-seventh regiment carried the posts at the [72] bottom of the ridge, and the Burmese were driven from the valley to their principal works on the hills, which appeared very formidable; the heights could only be ascended by a narrow road, commanded by artillery, and defended by stockades crowded with men armed with muskets. ”

“ 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. ”

“ In the early part of the seventeenth century Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, reduced the strength of regiments to 1000 men; he caused the gunpowder, which had heretofore been carried in flasks, or in small wooden bandoliers, each containing a charge, to be made up into cartridges, and carried in pouches; and he formed each regiment into two wings of musketeers, and a centre division of pikemen. He also adopted the practice of forming four regiments into a brigade; and the number of colours was afterwards reduced to three in each regiment. ”

“ His Royal Highness was distinguished as a polite scholar and an accomplished gentleman, engaging in his manners, respectful to his sovereign, affable to his acquaintance, and generous and condescending to his inferiors; a liberal supporter of every institution calculated to promote the interests of society, accompanied by a modest serenity of conduct which kept many instances of his generosity out of public view ”

“ After being repulsed in their attack on its front, the Highlanders attempted to turn its right flank, when Colonel Hastings wheeled his pikemen to the right, and by a determined charge routed the clans at that point. As the conquering pikemen of the Thirteenth were returning to their post in the centre of the regiment, they discovered that the other corps of the royal army were overpowered, and the soldiers flying in every direction ”