71st Regiment of Foot

“ The allies followed the retiring enemy with great energy, ascending precipices, passing morasses, overcoming numerous difficulties, and pressing upon and attacking the retreating army, with so much resolution, [34] that several French corps were nearly annihilated, and many prisoners, with a great quantity of baggage, were captured. The Twelfth foot shared in the hazards, toils and conflicts of this brilliant success, and when the weather became too severe for the troops to remain in the field, the regiment went into cantonments in the bishopric of Osnaburg in Westphalia. ”

“ If, however, the period of its stay in Canada was barren of laurels to the Eighty-Eighth, it gave the regiment an opportunity of displaying qualities which, if not so dazzling and brilliant, are equally valuable in, and honourable to the soldier, namely, firm discipline and unshakeable fidelity to his king, his country, and his colours. The extent to which desertion prevailed amongst the British troops in America, is unhappily but too well known ”

“ The column was now become a confused rabble, scattered in wild disorder, and cut down by the English horsemen on every side; while the English foot, slinging their muskets and drawing their swords, joined in the pursuit and chased the enemy a considerable distance. One hundred and fifty of the Irish were killed on the spot; and 1 major, 5 captains, 9 lieutenants, 2 ensigns, 1 adjutant, 1 surgeon, 6 serjeants, 17 corporals, 3 drummers, and 82 private men, were made prisoners; 150 muskets were also collected, which the Irish had thrown away to facilitate their flight. ”

“ 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 [xii] similar to those at present in use were adopted about twenty years afterwards.
An Ordnance regiment was raised in 1685, by order of King James II., to guard the artillery, and was designated the Royal Fusiliers (now 7th Foot) . ”

“ In the course of the march an accident occurred both annoying and prejudicial to the regiment. In order to facilitate the movements of the army, to render the column of march less encumbered, and to lessen the fatigue of the troops, it was customary, when not in the presence of the enemy, to proceed either by brigades or single corps: Major-General Sir Thomas Brisbane’s brigade, of which the Eighty-Eighth formed part, moved by regiments. ”

“ It commenced its march on the 31st of October, and, joining the division under Major-General John Sulivan Wood, was engaged in the unsuccessful attack on Jutgurgh. The Major-General stated in his despatch—"His Majesty's SEVENTEENTH regiment of foot led the column, headed by its gallant commander, Colonel Hardyman, and supported by the grenadiers of the second battalion of the seventeenth and fourteenth regiments of [35] Native infantry, and advanced upon the works ”

“ In the mean time the war in Europe was prosecuted with great vigour; the British troops were victorious in the Peninsula, and every effort was made to bring a powerful army into the field. At this period a third battalion was added to the Fourteenth Regiment of Foot; it was raised by volunteers from the Militia and assembled at Weedon under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel the Honorable James Stewart, and was soon in a condition fit for active service. ”

“ The French at Alexandria having been increased in numbers by troops from the interior, advanced on the 21st of March to attack the British, and the Royals had another opportunity of acquiring laurels on the distant shores of Egypt. The battalion, being on the right of the 1st brigade, had its post in the [Pg 169] centre of the front line, on the left of the Foot Guards. As soon as the day dawned a column of French grenadiers advanced, supported by a heavy line of infantry, to assault this part of the position. The Foot Guards threw forward a line of skirmishers ”

“ On this occasion the light company of the regiment behaved with much gallantry, and, having advanced to a wood on the left, kept in check a considerable body of the enemy, who meditated an attack on the batteries.
On the fall of Landrécies, the British troops moved to the vicinity of Tournay, where they were attacked on the 10th of May by a numerous body of French, who were defeated with severe loss. The Fourteenth Foot lost only one man on this occasion. ”

“ It retired in line under a heavy fire, protecting by its steady front the advanced troops, who were greatly out-numbered by the enemy. During the retreat the soldiers were forbidden to fire unless they could cover their man. Corporal Thomas Kelly, of the fourth company, was the first who pulled a trigger; going up to the Adjutant, Lieutenant Stewart, and pointing out a French officer, he said, “Do you see that officer standing by the olive-tree in front of me? He is a dangerous man, and has been giving directions to his soldiers that won’t sarve us ”

“ The sun was set, and the shades of night had gathered over the hostile armies, when suddenly a body of French troops was seen advancing boldly to the attack, and in an instant the regiments were engaged in a sharp conflict. Colonel Donkin’s brigade beat the enemy in front, and the Twenty-Ninth Regiment, by a gallant charge, drove back part of the Ninth French Regiment. The enemy returned to the attack; the fighting became vehement ”

“ Before the ground had been well quitted, it was covered by the enemy’s troops, who could be seen cutting down every straggler they met; they came close on the rear, annoying it as much as they could; all the wounded and sick as were able to make their way to the line were placed on the guns, and such officers’ horses as could be found; in a short time the guns were laden with them as much as could by any method be placed on them, which much increased the difficulty of moving, the soldiers being chiefly obliged to drag the guns. ”

“ Existing treaties were thus openly violated; at the same time the liberties of Europe were invaded by the seizure of the Spanish Netherlands, by the troops of France, and the detention of the Dutch garrisons in the barrier towns; and war was resolved upon. A considerable augmentation was made to the British army, and the Thirty-fourth Regiment of Foot is one of the corps embodied on this occasion. Its first colonel was Robert Lord Lucas, from the lieutenant-colonelcy of Sir John Jacob’s Regiment, now Thirteenth Light Infantry, his commission bearing date the 12th of February, 1702. ”

“ Amongst the measures of defence taken at this time by the government to secure the country against the invasion with which it was threatened by Buonaparte, a general order was issued from the Horse-Guards on the 2nd of December, 1803, commanding that (in case of the enemy’s effecting a landing in any part of the United Kingdom) all officers below the rank of general officers, and not attached to any particular regiment, should report themselves in person to the general officer commanding [6] the district in which they might happen to reside ”

“ One hundred and seventy-nine of the enemy were left dead on the field, while the loss of the British was limited to seven men killed and twelve wounded. The enemy’s camp, colours, baggage, and ammunition, with one piece of artillery, fell into the hands of the victors.
Major-General Nisbett Balfour was appointed colonel of the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 2nd of July 1794, in succession to General Sir Robert Boyd, K.B., deceased. ”

“ They were met and attacked by the second battalion of grenadiers, which was soon reinforced by the seventy-first regiment (Highlanders) ; and were also assailed on the left by Major-General Grant's corps, and sustained severe loss; many of the Americans being killed, and others drowned or suffocated in the morass. The American army was driven from its positions with severe loss, and made a precipitate retreat to the fortified lines at Brooklyn.
The regiment had Captain Sir Alexander Murray and two rank and file killed ”

“ The loss in private men fell chiefly on the Thirty-sixth, that regiment and the flank companies of the Seventy-sixth being the troops which formed the front division of the column. The grenadiers of the Thirty-sixth, who led, in advancing to the redoubt, had twenty men killed and wounded. ”

“ But early in 1847 it was found necessary to add nine regiments of infantry and one regiment of dragoons. [29] Of the infantry unit's, eight were of the conventional type; the ninth was formed as the Regiment of Voltigeurs and Foot Riflemen. Theoretically, only half of this latter regiment was to be mounted. Each horseman was to be paired with a foot soldier who was to get up behind and ride double when speed was needed. In practice, however, none of the Voltigeurs were mounted; the entire unit fought as foot riflemen. ”

“ Thus beset on every side, the French soldiers dispersed, and rushed with [52] great speed up the steep mountain by an unfrequented path; when the Twenty-eighth and Thirty-fourth British Foot passed a ploughed field at a running pace, and ascended the difficult precipice in pursuit, chasing the enemy among the rugged heights, and capturing many prisoners; a battalion of the French Thirty-fourth Regiment being made prisoners on this occasion by the second battalion of the British Thirty-fourth Regiment [15] . The French General Brun, and Colonel the Prince d’Aremberg, were among the prisoners. ”

“ Early in the year 1767 a system of honorary distinctions for long-continued good behaviour was introduced into this regiment, which was found to stimulate the indifferent to good conduct, and those already worthy, to perseverance in well-doing, and it produced such a body of non-commissioned officers as few corps could boast of. ”

“ The regiment was drawn up in line, and many men had already fallen; the colours carried by Ensigns Joseph Owgan and William Grattan, were pierced by numerous bullets, and three of the colour-serjeants were wounded, when Captain Dunne returned, and reported to Colonel Wallace, that besides the mass in his front, which was only the advance of a column about to assail him, a body of riflemen had occupied a cluster of rocks on the right of the regiment, and the main body of the enemy was moving towards an open space which separated the Eighty-Eighth from the Forty-Fifth regiment. ”

“ In the hours of leisure they do not wear their swords; on the march, like the rank and file, they wear a sort of gaiter of black cloth reaching almost to the knee. A regiment of foot-soldiers completely equipped for action presents an appearance at once pleasing and martial. ”

“ After eulogising the gallantry of the ninetieth regiment, which formed the advanced guard of the right column, Lieut.-Colonel Wilson, added:—
“The conduct of the NINETY-SECOND had been no less meritorious. Opposed to a tremendous fire, and suffering severely from the French line, they never receded a foot, but maintained the contest alone, until the marines and the rest of the line came to their support.” ”

“ Whereas we have thought fit to order a regiment of foot to be forthwith raised, under your command, which is to consist of ten companies, with three serjeants, three corporals, two drummers, and fifty-seven private men in each company, with two fifers to the grenadier company, besides a serjeant-major and quarter-master-serjeant, together with the usual number of commissioned officers ”

“ We have already, in our account of the 42d, given sufficient details of this engagement. While waiting for the transports some skirmishing took place with the French, in which four companies of the 71st were warmly engaged, and lost several men in killed and wounded. In the general battle on the 16th, the 71st, being placed on the extreme left of the British line, had little to do therein. In commemoration of this battle, and of the conduct of the regiment during the expedition, the 71st was authorised to bear the word Corunna on the regimental colours and appointments. ”

“ He was serving with his regiment at Boston, when the American war commenced, and throughout the campaigns which followed, he was actively employed. The thirty-eighth shared in the actions at Concord and Bunker's Hill in 1775; the capture of Long Island; the action at White Plains in 1776; and the expedition to Philadelphia in 1777. On the 12th of July, 1777, he was appointed major in the forty-ninth foot, which corps was also serving in America, from whence it was removed to the West Indies. ”

“ 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 58th (The 7th, or Cornwall's Marines) Regiment; disbanded.
1748-57. The 50th (Shirley's American Provincials) Regiment of Foot; disbanded.
1757-82. The 50th (raised in 1751 as the 52nd) Regiment of Foot.
1782-1827. The 50th (West Kent) Regiment of Foot.
1827-31. The 50th (The Duke of Clarence's) Regiment of Foot.
1831-81. The 50th (The Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot.
2nd Batt.
1759-63. The 97th Regiment of Foot; disbanded.
1779-83. The 97th Regiment of Foot; disbanded.
1794-95. The 97th (Strathspey Highlanders) Regiment; disbanded, the flank companies going to the Black Watch. ”