presented to the SEVENTY-SECOND regiment by Lady Hope, I am fully
aware that I am not addressing a newly-raised corps, whose name and
character have yet to be acquired. As it has pleased His Majesty
to confer so distinguished an honour on the regiment, as to permit
the SEVENTY-SECOND to assume the name of the DUKE OF ALBANY’S OWN
HIGHLANDERS, I cannot omit congratulating the corps on having
received so flattering and honorable a mark of approbation, and
expressing my conviction, that this additional badge, which is now
placed on these colours, will afford a new and powerful inducement
for maintaining the high character which the SEVENTY-SECOND
regiment has so long and so deservedly possessed. I feel
particularly gratified that the honour of delivering these colours
has devolved on me, and that their presentation should also have
taken place in the capital of the country where the regiment was
first raised, and after its return from a long period of honorable
and distinguished service. The country being now at peace, there
is no opportunity for the SEVENTY-SECOND to gain fresh honours by
victories in the field; but the regiment may deserve and obtain
almost equal honour and credit by setting an example of discipline
and good conduct on home service, which becomes now particularly
incumbent when so highly distinguished by being named after His
Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief, to whom the whole army is
indebted for the present state of order and discipline to which
it has attained. That the SEVENTY-SECOND will ever continue to
deserve the approbation of His Royal Highness I make no doubt: and
I have now to offer my most sincere good wishes for the prosperity
of the corps collectively, and of every individual officer,
non-commissioned officer, and private soldier of the regiment.”
Towards the end of July, routes were received for marching to
Port Patrick, for embarkation for Ireland; and before quitting
Edinburgh, the regiment received the thanks of the Lord Provost
and Magistrates for its exemplary conduct; it landed at Donaghadee
on the 26th of August; and the head-quarters were established at
Belfast.
[Sidenote: 1826]
[Sidenote: 1827]
In September, 1826, the regiment marched to Londonderry, from
whence nineteen detachments were sent out; and in May, 1827, the
detachments were called in, and the whole proceeded to Dublin.
Orders were received in September to form _six service_ and _four
depôt_ companies; the service companies embarked for Liverpool,
from whence they proceeded to London, where they arrived on the 9th
of October, and took the duty at the Tower.
[Sidenote: 1828]
On the 5th of January, 1828, the first life guards, royal horse
guards, four battalions of foot guards, and the SEVENTY-SECOND
regiment, were reviewed on the parade in St. James’s park, by
Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington, in presence of Don Miguel,
Infant of Portugal.
In April the regiment marched to Canterbury, where it
was inspected on the 2nd of June by General Lord Hill,
commanding-in-chief, who was pleased to state,--“That although it
had been his lot to see and serve with most of the regiments in
the service, he felt he should not be doing full justice to the
SEVENTY-SECOND Highlanders, if he did not express his particular
approbation of every thing connected with them, and add, he
had never before seen a regiment their equal in movements, in
appearance, and in steadiness under arms.”
The regiment remained at Canterbury until the end of June, when
it marched to Gravesend, where it embarked, under the orders of
Lieut.-Colonel Arbuthnot, for the Cape of Good Hope--a colony where
the reputation of the corps was established, and it landed at Cape
Town in September and October following.
[Sidenote: 1830]
In May, 1830, the depôt companies were withdrawn from Ireland, and
landing at Glasgow, were stationed in Scotland during the five
following years.
[Sidenote: 1833]
While the service companies were stationed in Cape Town, the
aggressions of the Kafir tribes, which are divided into three
nations,--the Amapendas, the Tambookies, and the Amakosa, assumed
a formidable and an atrocious character previously unknown. The
colonial boundary extended, on one side, to the Keiskamma, but a
chief named Macoma, had been permitted to reside within the British
territory. Owing to some atrocities committed by him and his
followers on the Tambookies, which were attended with the shedding
of human blood within the colony, he was deprived of the lands he
held by sufferance in the British territory. His expulsion was,
however, not strictly enforced until 1833, when he was removed
beyond the boundary, and he became violently exasperated against
the British. The predatory habits of the Kafirs also led to
disputes, when the British were searching for stolen property, and
the lenity observed towards the aggressors emboldened them, and
occasioned them to become more audacious in their attacks.
[Sidenote: 1834]
Towards the end of 1834 thousands of Kafirs rushed into the colony,
and commenced the work of murder, rapine, and devastation by fire,
among the settlers.
[Sidenote: 1835]
The SEVENTY-SECOND Highlanders were stationed at Cape Town,
when the news of these alarming events arrived at the seat
of government, and they were immediately ordered towards the
frontiers. Three companies sailed for Algoa Bay, on the 2nd of
January, 1835, and arrived at that place on the 10th; the other
three companies advanced up the country by horse waggons; and as
the regiment approached Graham’s Town, it traversed the scenes of
outrage, and witnessed the ruins of once flourishing farms bearing
marks of savage vengeance; the town was found barricaded, and the
houses turned to fortifications. Ten thousand Kafirs had penetrated
the colony, and the smoke of ruined farms, with the cries of widows
and orphans, were seen and heard on every side.
Having advanced towards the frontiers, the head-quarters were
established at Graham’s Town, and detachments were employed in
chasing the vengeful marauders from the confines of the British
possessions.
Preparations were made to carry hostilities into the heart of
Kafirland, to visit with necessary chastisement the atrocious
aggressions of the tribes, and to enforce such measures as should
be calculated to prevent the recurrence of similar outrages. The
force assembled for this service was divided into four columns:
the first was commanded by Lieut.-Colonel JOHN PEDDIE, K.H.,
SEVENTY-SECOND regiment; it consisted of a detachment of the
royal artillery with two guns, a detachment of the Cape mounted
riflemen, the SEVENTY-SECOND Highlanders, a provisional battalion,
and the Swellendaham burghers; and in the middle of March it
advanced to the right bank of the Keiskamma, from whence it
penetrated into the interior of Kafirland. The predatory tribes
were incapable of offering serious opposition; they were chastised
for their atrocious conduct, subdued, deprived of a portion of
their territory bordering on the frontiers of the colony, and
such additional precautionary measures were adopted as appeared
necessary to ensure the safety of the British subjects.
The SEVENTY-SECOND Highlanders were employed in Kafirland during
the months of April and May: the head-quarters were afterwards
established at King William’s Town until October, when they were
removed to Graham’s Town.
In June of this year the depôt companies proceeded from Scotland to
Ireland.
[Sidenote: 1836]
On the death of Lieut.-General Sir John Hope, the colonelcy of the
regiment was conferred on Major-General Sir Colin Campbell, K.C.B.,
from the ninety-ninth foot, by commission dated the 15th of August,
1836.
[Sidenote: 1837]
[Sidenote: 1838]
The head-quarters of the service companies remained at Graham’s
Town three years, furnishing detachments along the frontiers,
occupying posts, and performing much trying and difficult service:
in October, 1838, they were relieved from this duty, and returned
to Cape Town.
In May, 1838, the depôt companies returned to Scotland.
[Sidenote: 1839]
During the year 1839 the service companies were stationed at Cape
Town, and the depôt companies at Paisley and Dundee.
[Sidenote: 1840]
After taking part in the important duty of protecting the
possessions of Great Britain at the Cape of Good Hope nearly
twelve years, the service companies were relieved in April, 1840,
and returned to England, and disembarked at Portsmouth on the 8th
of June following: the regiment was subsequently stationed at
Fort Cumberland: the depôt had proceeded from North Britain to
Portsmouth in May, 1840.
The following general order was issued by Major-General Sir George
Napier, K.C.B., commanding the forces at the Cape of Good Hope, on
the 10th of April, 1840, upon the embarkation of the SEVENTY-SECOND
for England:--
“His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief cannot permit the
SEVENTY-SECOND Highlanders to embark for England, from the colony
of the Cape of Good Hope, in which they have been stationed for
the long period of twelve years, without his expressing his marked
approbation of the conduct of this highly disciplined and exemplary
corps while under his immediate command; and from the reports His
Excellency has received from Colonel Smith, the Deputy-Quarter
Master-General, under whose orders this regiment has been during
the greater part of the above period, including a very arduous
and active service in the Field, His Excellency is enabled to
record, which he does with great satisfaction, the very meritorious
services of the SEVENTY-SECOND Highlanders, in whatever duty they
have been engaged, whether in the Field or in Quarters.
“His Excellency begs to assure Major Hope, the officers,
non-commissioned officers, and soldiers of the SEVENTY-SECOND
regiment, that he will ever feel a lively interest in their
welfare.”
[Sidenote: 1841]
In July, 1841, the regiment proceeded from Portsmouth to Windsor.
[Sidenote: 1842]
On the 26th of January, 1842, new colours were presented to the
SEVENTY-SECOND Highland regiment by Field-Marshal His Grace
the Duke of Wellington, in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle,
the ceremony being honoured by the presence of Her Majesty
Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, the King of Prussia, and other
distinguished personages. The following is the Duke of Wellington’s
address to the regiment on this interesting occasion:--
“Colonel ARBUTHNOT,[21] and you, Gentlemen, Officers, and you,
Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers, of the SEVENTY-SECOND
Highland regiment,--I have attended here this day, in compliance
with the wishes of your Commanding Officer, and by permission of
Her Majesty, to present to you your new colours. These colours have
been consecrated by one of the highest dignitaries of our Church,
and are presented to you in the presence of Her Majesty, and of
her Illustrious and Royal Guest the King of Prussia, of Prince
Albert, and a number of most distinguished personages. They are
composed of the colours of the three nations, and bear the cipher
of Her Majesty; and I have no doubt, from your previous character
and your present high state of discipline, that you will guard
them under every circumstance, to the utmost of your power. These
Colours you are henceforth to consider as your Head-Quarters, and
in every circumstance, in all times of privation and of distress,
you will look to them as your rallying point; and I would again
remind you, that their presentation is witnessed by the Monarch
of one of the most powerful nations in Europe--a nation which
boasts of an army which has heretofore been a pattern for all
modern troops,--and which has done so much towards contributing
to the general pacification of Europe. I have long known the
SEVENTY-SECOND Highland Regiment. Half a century has now nearly
elapsed since I had the pleasure of serving in the same Army
with them in the Plains of Hindoostan; since that period they
have been engaged in the conquest of some of the most valuable
colonies of the British Crown; and latterly, in performing most
distinguished services at the Cape of Good Hope. Fourteen years
out of the last sixteen they have spent on Foreign service; and
with only eighteen months at home for their re-formation and their
re-disciplining, appear in their present high state of regularity
and order. The best part of a long life has been spent by me in
Barracks, Camps, and Cantonments, and it has been my duty, as
well as my inclination, always to study how best to promote the
health and discipline of the troops; and I have always found it
only to be done by paying the strictest regard to regularity and
good order, and the greatest attention to the orders of their
Officers. I address myself now particularly to the older soldiers,
and wish them to understand that their strict attention to their
discipline, and respect to their superiors, will often have the
best effect on the younger soldiers; and it is, therefore, their
duty to set a good example to their juniors by so doing; and by
these means alone can they expect to command the respect and regard
of the community amongst whom they are employed. I have made it
my business to enquire particularly, and am rejoiced to find that
the SEVENTY-SECOND have always commanded that respect and regard,
wherever they have been stationed, to which their high state of
discipline and good order so justly entitle them. You will, I am
sure, always recollect the circumstances under which these Colours
are now given into your charge; having been consecrated by one
of the highest dignitaries of the Church, in the presence of Her
Majesty, who now looks down upon you, and of her Royal Visitor:
and I give them into your charge, confident that at all times,
under all circumstances, whether at home or abroad, and in all
privations, you will rally round them, and protect them to the
utmost of your power.”
Colonel Arbuthnot, in reply, said:--
“My Lord Duke,--It would be highly presumptuous in me, if I were
to make any reply to the address which your Grace has delivered
to us; but I cannot avoid stating that it is impossible for me,
and indeed, I may add, out of the power of any one to express,
how deeply I, my Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, and Men,
feel the high honour which has been conferred on us, by having had
our Colours presented to us by the greatest Soldier the world has
ever seen, and that in the presence of our Sovereign, His Majesty
the King of Prussia, and Field-Marshal His Royal Highness Prince
Albert.”
The regiment remained at Windsor until April, 1842, when it
proceeded to Salford Barracks, from thence to Blackburn, and in
September to Bolton, Lancashire.
[Sidenote: 1843]
In April, 1843, the seventy-second regiment proceeded to Dublin,
and in August to Templemore, marching from thence to Fermoy in
September.
[Sidenote: 1844]
Quitting Fermoy on the 2nd of July, 1844, the regiment proceeded to
Buttevant, and on the 28th of September to Cork, having been put
under orders for Foreign service. The six service companies, under
the command of Lieut.-Colonel Lord Arthur Lennox, embarked for
Gibraltar in Her Majesty’s troop-ship Resistance, from Cork, on the
27th of November, 1844, and disembarked at their destination on the
12th of December following.
[Sidenote: 1845]
[Sidenote: 1846]
[Sidenote: 1847]
The depôt companies marched from Cork to Templemore in April, 1845,
and to Nenagh in February, 1846. In September, 1847, they proceeded
to Charles Fort, near Kinsale, and in December were removed to
Scotland, and stationed at Paisley.
[Sidenote: 1848]
The regiment remained at Gibraltar until February, 1848, and on
the 15th of that month embarked for Barbadoes under the command
of Lieut.-Colonel Gascoyne, on board the Bombay transport. The
following letter was addressed by General Sir Robert Wilson,
Governor of Gibraltar, to the Adjutant-General reporting the
embarkation:--
Gibraltar, 15th of February, 1848.
“Sir,
“I have the honour to acquaint you that Her Majesty’s
SEVENTY-SECOND regiment embarked this morning on board the
transport Bombay, and I have the satisfaction to add, that up to
the last moment this distinguished corps conducted itself so
as to merit the highest approbation that could be bestowed on
the commanding officer, officers, non-commissioned officers, and
privates for military qualities, and general deportment towards
the community at large.
I have, &c.
R. T. WILSON,
General and Governor.”
The SEVENTY-SECOND arrived at Barbadoes on the 14th of March, 1848.
The depôt companies continued in North Britain, until the 18th of
May, when they embarked for England, under Lieut.-Colonel C. M.
Maclean, and arrived at Sheerness on the 24th of May, at which
period this Record is concluded.
1848.
[Illustration:
SEVENTY-SECOND
OR
DUKE OF ALBANY’S OWN
HIGHLANDERS.
_For Cannon’s Military Records._
_Madeley lith. 3 Wellington S^t Strand._]
FOOTNOTES:
[6] From the Dutch service.
[7] From the Austrian service.
[8] Among the French prisoners was a wounded young serjeant of
very interesting appearance and manners, who was treated with much
kindness by Lieut.-Colonel Wangenheim, commanding the detachments
of Hanoverians. Many years afterwards, when the French army
entered Hanover, General Wangenheim attended the levée of General
Bernadotte, who referred to the circumstance at Cudalore in 1783,
and added,--“I am the individual who, when a young serjeant,
received kindness from you in India.”--_Colonel David Stewart on
the Scots Highlanders._
[9] “1790, 5th Sept. Camp at Coimbetore.--Dined with Captain
Frazer; he talked of nothing but the storm of Palacatcherry.
Captain Frazer has applied for, and obtained, the command of the
four flank companies; it is very spirited of him, leaving the
command of the regiment, and volunteering so dangerous a service;
but he was as great as Cæsar this evening, and nothing would serve
him but dying in the breach. He often appealed to me, when speaking
of what the grenadiers could do.”--_Journal of Lieutenant Ronald
Campbell, of the Grenadier Company, Seventy-second Regiment, 2
vols., fol. MS._
[10] LIEUTENANT CAMPBELL, of the SEVENTY-SECOND foot, appears to
have been delighted with this part of the Mysore: he states in his
journal:--“I have never seen any part of India comparable to the
valley on our right; it is truly beautiful beyond conception! The
hills that bound it form an amphitheatre, covered with wood, except
where a rugged precipice or stupendous rock shows itself, and
waterfalls enrich the scene. The valley is covered with delightful
verdure, and luxuriant crops, interspersed with clumps of the
stateliest trees in the world, bearing a charmingly variegated
foliage; and beneath their shade, small houses, built of cajan-leaf
and bamboo, afford shelter to the cow-herds who tend their flocks
and watch their fields. Numberless villages are strewed in the
valley, and everything bears the mark of peace and plenty. The
inhabitants are protected by us, and as we passed, we saw in every
field the busy husbandmen reaping the fruits of their labour. After
coming to our camp ground, I walked out with Captain Braithwaite,
and we found the untilled land covered with bringals, yams, and
other vegetables, growing spontaneously. On our left hand lie the
Animalli woods, famous for their extent and thickness, and for
the size, variety, and quality of their trees (teak-wood being
in the greatest abundance and perfection); also for the number
of wild animals viz.--elephants, tigers, bears, wolves, and the
wild-boar, with a numerous tribe of the rarest birds--peacocks in
great numbers. Wild elephants are so numerous, that when Tippoo was
here, about four months since, he caught, as we are told, seventy
of them. We are encamped on the ground he occupied; I can trace the
place where, they say, his own tents stood.”
[11] Journal of Lieutenant Ronald Campbell, of the Grenadier
Company Seventy-second regiment, 2 vols, fol. MS.
[12] Journal of Lieutenant R. Campbell.
[13] A drawing of this fortress is given in the Journal of
Lieutenant Campbell of the Seventy-second Highlanders.
[14] Lieutenant Campbell’s Journal.
[15] On the 12th of August, as the Grenadiers and Captain Gordon’s
company of the SEVENTY-SECOND were on duty in the trenches, exposed
to a burning sun, and a severe cannonade from the fortress, Colonel
Campbell, field officer of the trenches, sent his orderly to
Lieutenant Campbell of the Grenadiers, requesting that the piper of
the Grenadiers might be directed to play some _pibrachs_. This was
considered a strange request to be made at so unsuitable a time; it
was, however, immediately complied with: “but we were a good deal
surprised to perceive that the moment the piper began, the fire
from the enemy slackened, and soon after almost entirely ceased.
The French all got upon the works, and seemed more astonished at
hearing the bag-pipe, than we with Colonel Campbell’s request.”
_Lieutenant Campbell’s Journal._
[16] On the 5th of May, 1801, the regiment lost its distinguished
commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel HUGH FRAZER, who had always
evinced a lively interest in its reputation. He entered the army
in November, 1775, as lieutenant in the first battalion of the
seventy-first regiment, then raised under Major-General Simon
Frazer and Lieut.-Colonel Sir William Erskine, for service in
North America; and in 1778 he was promoted captain in Seaforth’s
Highlanders, now the SEVENTY-SECOND regiment, which corps he
accompanied to India. He served with his regiment at the attack
on Cudalore, and the capture of Palacatcherry, in 1783; and he
commanded the SEVENTY-SECOND during the campaigns in the Mysore
in 1790, 1791, and 1792, at the capture of Pondicherry in 1793,
and at the conquest of Ceylon in 1795, and was conspicuous for
personal bravery, ability, and a deep interest in the honour of his
corps. He was always foremost to volunteer his personal services,
and those of his regiment, at the post of honour and danger; and
some high ground near Seringapatam, the scene of his gallantry,
was named “Frazer’s Hill.” He was promoted to the majority of the
regiment on the 2nd of March, 1791, and to the lieut.-colonelcy on
the 1st of September, 1795. He bequeathed 500_l_ to the officers’
mess, to be appropriated in such manner as should best commemorate
his attachment to the corps, and his esteem for the officers.
[17] Number of men which landed at the Cape of Good Hope in
January, 1806, under Major-General Sir David Baird:--
+-------------------------+--------------------------+----------------+
| | | Number landed, |
| | | including |
| BRIGADES. | REGIMENTS. | Recruits |
| | | for India, |
| | | attached. |
+-------------------------+--------------------------+----------------+
| 1st. Commanded by { | Twenty-fourth | 600 |
| Brigadier-General { | Thirty-eighth | 900 |
| Beresford { | Eighty-third | 800 |
| | | |
| 2nd. Under Brigadier- { | Seventy-first | 800 |
| General Ferguson { | SEVENTY-SECOND | 600 |
| { | Ninety-third | 800 |
| | Fifty-ninth | 900 |
| | Company’s recruits | 200 |
| | Seamen and marines | 1100 |
| | Artillery | 200 |
| | Twentieth Light Dragoons | 300 |
| | +----------------+
| | Total. | 7200 |
+-------------------------+--------------------------+----------------+
[18] “The soldiers suffered excessively from the heat of the sun,
which was as intense as I ever felt it in India; though our fatigue
was extreme, yet, for the momentary halt we made, the grenadier
company (SEVENTY-SECOND) requested the pipers might play them
their regimental quick step, _Capper fiedth_, to which they danced
a Highland Reel, to the utter astonishment of the fifty-ninth
regiment, which was close in our rear.”--_Journal of Captain
Campbell, Grenadier Company_, SEVENTY-SECOND _regiment_.
[19] Afterwards Lieut.-General Sir Colquhoun Grant, K.C.B. and
G.C.H., Colonel of the Fifteenth, or King’s Hussars, who died in
December 1835.