Highland army

“ Without hesitation, but fired by the honour laid upon them, the Highlanders charged headlong at the French cavalry who fell into disorder. The artillery horses had already fallen, but undismayed the 42nd pulled the precious guns home again.
It was a swift, minor incident, but at the moment when the British army was in the heart of a hostile and frost-bound country it stood out of the dreary story like a splash of gold upon a grey sky. Never have the Black Watch refused the call, and very seldom have they failed. ”

“ Thus armed, the success of a Highland army depended more upon individual bravery than upon combined efforts, and their manner of fighting was, as the Chevalier Johnstone observes, adapted for brave but undisciplined troops. “They advance,” says that writer, “with rapidity, discharge their pieces when within musket length of the enemy, and then, throwing them down, draw their swords, and holding a dirk in their left hand with their target, they dart with fury on the enemy through the smoke of their fire. ”

“ The second line of the Highland army consisted of the Gordons under Lord Lewis Gordon, formed in column on the right, the French Royal Scots, the Irish piquets or brigade, Lord Kilmarnock’s foot guards, [1197] Lord John Drummond’s regiment, and Glenbucket’s regiment in column on the left, flanked on the right by Fitz-James’s dragoons, and Lord Elcho’s horse-guards, and on the left by the Perth squadron, under Lords Strathallan and Pitsligo, and the prince’s body-guards under Lord Balmerino. ”

“ He therefore sent an engineer across [339] the river on the opposite side of the fort to reconnoitre the enemy’s entrenchments, who reported that the works being still unfinished, might be attempted with a prospect of success. Preparations for the attack were therefore instantly made. The whole army being put in motion, the picquets, followed by the grenadiers, the battalions and reserve, which last consisted of the Highlanders and the 55th regiment, advanced with great alacrity towards the entrenchments, which they found to be much more formidable than they expected. ”

“ The minority objected that, should they fail in the attempt, and be repulsed, it would be difficult to rally the Highlanders,—that even supposing no spy should give the Duke of Cumberland notice of their approach, he might, if alarmed by any of his patrols, have time to put his army in order in his camp, place his cannon, charged with cartouch-shot, as he pleased, and get all his horse in readiness to pursue the Highlanders if beat off. ”

“ Two regiments of dragoons coming in upon the same side entirely broke that wing of the Highlanders, and though three battalions of the right of the second line were brought up and gave their fire very well, yet the ground and everything else was so favourable for the enemy that nothing could be done but a total route ensued.
I am positively informed that the Highland army did not consist of above seven thousand fighting men, [197] and that the Duke of Cumberland's must have been ten or twelve thousand. ”

“ But the truth of the matter is that Napoleon was beaten here as his troops had been beaten in the Peninsular simply by the dogged front of the British infantry. We have seen how the Highlanders withstood the cavalry at Quatre Bras, how they stormed the French position at Toulouse, how they were the better men at Fuentes de Oñoro. They were not alone in that quality of endurance and nerve. Throughout the whole British Army there was a confidence in itself that has remained till this day, and which is possessed by no other soldiers in the world. ”

“ Seeing the critical position in which the rash Highlanders were placed, he sent back for the cavalry to advance immediately, at the same time bravely shouting to the few followers that were with him, “Let us go, Monsieurs, and assist these our distressed friends, in so great hazard through the foolish rashness of their commander. We shall, God willing, bring them off, at least in some good order, so as they shall neither be all lost, nor endanger the army by their sudden flight, whereto they may be forced.” ”

“ After all that has been said of the force and terrour of the Highland sword, I could not find that the art of defence was any part of common education. The gentlemen were perhaps sometimes skilful gladiators, but the common men had no other powers than those of violence and courage. Yet it is well known, that the onset of the Highlanders was very formidable. As an army cannot consist of philosophers, a panick is easily excited by any unwonted mode of annoyance. New dangers are naturally magnified ”

“ In the action about to commence, the combatants on both sides were deprived of the use of their artillery. The Highlanders, from the rapidity of their march, left their cannon behind them, and those belonging to Hawley’s army, consisting of ten pieces, stuck fast in a swamp at the bottom of the hill. The royal forces were greatly superior to the Highlanders in numbers, but the latter had the advantage of the ground, and having the wind and the rain in their backs, were not annoyed to the same extent as their adversaries, who received the wind and rain directly in their faces. ”

“ The Light Division formed the right of the British army, and the duty of the Highland Brigade and the Guards was to support this division in its attack on the right of the Russian position. The 42d formed the right of the Highland Brigade, the 93d the centre, and the 79th the left. The Kourganè hill, which had to be assailed by the Light Division, supported by the Highlanders and Guards, was defended by two redoubts, by 42 guns, and by a force of some 17,000 men. ”

“ So piercing was the cold, although it was only the beginning of November, that the enemy crossed the Waal on the ice, pushing back the English army behind the Leck. The French had taken Tuil, and a few days later General Dundas, with the aid of the Black Watch, drove the enemy back again over the Waal. Again the French advanced, and it fell to the Highlanders as at Fontenoy to cover the British rear. Retreat they must for fear of being outflanked. To make matters worse the swift advance of the French cavalry drove the Light Dragoons backward, resulting in the loss of two guns. ”

“ It included the 42d and Montgomery’s Highlanders, and when afterwards joined by the second battalion of the Royal Highlanders, it amounted to 14,500 men. Preceded by the first battalion of the last named regiment and the light infantry, the main body of the army moved forward on the 21st, and encamped in the neighbourhood of Ticonderoga. The enemy seemed at first resolved to defend that important fortress; but perceiving the formidable preparations made by the English general for a siege, they abandoned the fort, after having in part dismantled the fortifications, and retired to Crown Point. ”

“ The Highlanders arrived in the Thames on the 4th of November, and whilst the other regiments were sent to Scotland under General Hawley to assist in quelling the insurrection, the 43d was marched to the coast of Kent, and joined the division of the army assembled there to repel an expected invasion. When it is considered that more than three hundred of the soldiers in the 43d had fathers and brothers engaged in the rebellion, the prudence and humanity of keeping them aloof from a contest between duty and affection, are evident. ”

“ This army was composed of an artillery division, an engineer brigade, a cavalry division, and four infantry divisions. The 78th Highlanders, consisting of 18 officers and 501 men, under Colonel Stisted, formed with the 90th Light Infantry, and the regiment of Ferozepore, the 2nd Brigade, under Brigadier Wanklin of the 84th Regiment, of the 1st Division under Major-General Sir James Outram, G.C.B. In the 2nd Division were the 42nd and 93rd Highlanders, and in the 3rd Division, the 79th Highlanders. ”

“ Yearly they have sent forth their thousands from their glens to follow the battle flag of Britain wherever it flew. It was a Highland rearlorn hope that followed the broken wreck of Cumberland’s army after the disastrous day at Fontenoy, when more British soldiers lay dead upon the field than fell at Waterloo itself. It was another Highland regiment that scaled the rock-face over the St. ”

“ The British fought doggedly, watching their regiments rent to tatters, calling up every man, even the cooks, to take a hand. Cavalry and infantry, officers and men fought till they could fight no more. But the tide was turning, and when night fell upon the 31st of October the grand attack was beaten off. Of the losses of our soldiers and our brave Highlanders some estimate may be made by the casualties of individual regiments, one of which entered the battle with 1100 men and came out with only 73, and another which numbered 1350 returned only 300 strong. ”

“ The besetting sins of the Anglo-Saxon race are, the love of gain and the love of power. In many instances, while our services could be dispensed with, we have not been permitted to join the army, and of course have not been killed in the wars. ”

“ It was impossible for the Highlanders to withstand much longer such repeated attacks, particularly as they were reduced to the necessity of fighting every man on his own ground, and unless supported they must soon have been destroyed. The fortunate arrival of the brigade of Brigadier-General Stuart, which advanced from the second line, and formed on the left of the Highlanders, probably saved them from destruction. At this time the enemy were advancing in great force, both in cavalry and infantry, apparently determined to overwhelm the handful of men who had hitherto baffled all their efforts. ”

“ Major-General Armstrong then glanced rapidly at all the brilliant services performed by the 74th Highlanders, from Assaye to the Indian Mutiny, concluding as follows:—
“Bravery is the characteristic of the British [612] soldier, but the 74th Highlanders possesses also another claim to distinction, such as in all my long service I have never seen surpassed, and which has justly obtained for the regiment a high reputation—I mean that very best criterion of the good soldier, steady good conduct, obedience to orders, and the most perfect discipline at all times, whether in camp or quarters. ”

“ Their dash carried them right into the midst of the Prussian batteries. Shooting the gunners at their posts, they rendered the guns unserviceable, and having completed their daring mission, prepared to retire.”
The French Nord de la France is no less emphatic in its praise. “The British soldier,” it says, speaking of an advance of the Highlanders under a murderous fire, “is wonderful. He is a slave to duty. For him to retreat he must be ordered to do so, and these Scotsmen were prepared to give their lives to the last man.” ”

“ Our victory may be said to be complete; but it cannot be denied, that, as the Allies behaved extremely well, more especially the English, so they made a soldier like retreat which was much favoured by an adjacent wood. The British behaved well, and could be exceeded in ardour by none but our officers, who animated the troops by their example, when the Highland furies rushed in upon us with more violence than ever did a sea driven by a tempest. ”

“ THE LEGEND OF THE VISION OF CAMPBELL OF INVERAWE.
Perhaps you are all acquainted with the history of the Black Watch, which, as Mr. Macpherson has already told you, was afterwards formed into that gallant corps now immortalized by its actions as the Forty-Second Highlanders? General Stewart of Garth, in his interesting account of the Highland Regiments, tells us that it was originally composed of independent companies, which were raised about 1725 or 1730. These were stationed in small bodies in different parts of the country, in order to preserve the peace of the Highlands. ”

“ As a Highland war spirit, its glory has departed, and he would be a bold man who would say he was sorry for it. True, the Highland regiments who fight Britain’s battles abroad still wear the tartan and march to the same old strains, but they are not now Highland clans. They are British battalions, whose empire, instead of being bounded by the horizon of a Scottish glen, is worldwide, and they march and wheel, and charge the enemy and 11storm the heights in strict accordance with the orders of a general who has his orders from Westminster. ”

“ He represented, that the regular troops now in the kingdom were insufficient to withstand the body of Highlanders his friends could bring into the field; and he stated his belief, that if in the outset he obtained an advantage over the government forces, the country in general would declare in his favour, and his friends abroad would at once aid him,—that every thing, in fact, now depended upon the Highlanders,—and that to accomplish the restoration of his father, it was only necessary that they should instantly declare themselves and begin the war. ”

“ After a momentary delay in reforming, the three regiments advanced up the hill, in échelon, the 42nd leading on the right, the 93rd close behind on the left. The hill was steep, and the fire from the battery in front of the enemy’s battalions very severe. Yet the Highlanders continued to advance for nearly a mile without firing a shot, though numerous gaps in their ranks showed that that of the enemy was doing its work. A short distance above the river, the 93rd passed the 77th regiment, part of the Light Division, halted in line, and thus found itself immediately opposed to the enemy. ”