“Star of the brave! whose beam hath shed
Such glory o’er the quick and dead;
Thou radiant and adored deceit!
Which millions rushed in arms to greet;
Wild meteor of immortal birth!
Why rise in Heaven to set on Earth?”
INTRODUCTION—EARLY HISTORY—THE RESTORATION—TIMES
OF THE STUARTS—THE REVOLUTION—1660–1688.
The very name of “_Guards_” inspires the idea of all that is militarily
splendid and excellent, great and glorious, noble and brave, faithful
and loyal; and awakens in our minds a host of most interesting and
exciting recollections. Guards are peculiarly a monarchical and despotic
institution, having no real existence in a Republic or similar form of
government. We would esteem this force as a chosen band of faithful,
stalwart, and splendidly-equipped soldiers, specially charged with the
defence of the throne, and calculated, by their imposing array, to add
lustre and dignity to the Crown. Apart from this holiday display, the
history of Guards is pre-eminently distinguished by the most splendid
achievements of heroism and devotion. Their firmness and fidelity have
alike rebuked the arrogance of the nobles who insulted, and stilled the
turbulence of the people who challenged, the prerogative of the Crown.
Nay, more, when the avalanche of revolution, descending, overthrew the
tottering throne, having enjoyed the smile, unshaken, the Guards
encountered the frowning of fortune; whilst fond memory bids us trace
the footprints of their greatness.
But the great Napoleon had a truer conception of what such a corps ought
to be, in the constitution of his Imperial Guard, which at one time
amounted to upwards of 100,000 of the best troops in the world. Selected
not merely for fidelity or display, each one was a veteran, who, passing
through the fires of battle and inured to war, had won by his valour the
right to a place in the ranks of “the Brave.” No wonder that Europe
trembled when the bearskin of the Guard was recognised amongst the
number of her foes; no marvel that the charm of invincibility should so
long be enjoyed by this phalanx of warriors, and the halo of victory
rest upon their brows.
Romance presents no scene more deeply touching than is recorded in the
page of history, when, amid the crumbling ruins of his colossal
empire—under the eye and directed by the transcendent genius of their
beloved chief, which never on any occasion shone forth more
conspicuously—the shattered remnant of the French Guards, faithful amid
the faithless, with unmurmuring constancy and heroic devotion,
withstood, all but alone, the attack of allied Europe; dealing out the
same terrible blows as of old, which, were it possible, must have
rescued their country from the countless hosts which already desecrated
her plains. But the closing scene was postponed for an after year, when
France once more marshalled around the Guard, and Napoleon cast the
fatal die for empire or ruin. What Austria, Russia, Prussia, nay, banded
Europe, had failed to do, our British soldiers achieved. The spell was
broken, as the Guard was overthrown. Noble and brave, ever commanding
our respect in their life, they were doubly so in their death. We cannot
help according this tribute to so brave a foe. Nay, we feel honoured as,
regarding their grave on the plains of Waterloo, we shed a tear for the
worthy representative of the Guard; and, lingering beside the relics of
“the mighty dead,” we catch the meaning of their watchword—
“THE GUARD DIES, BUT NEVER SURRENDERS.”
Guards claim to be of a very ancient origin. Perhaps the earliest record
of such a force is to be found in the Bible, where—in times of the
tyranny of Saul, first king of Israel, 1093 B.C.—we read “the goodliest
of the young men” (1 Sam. viii. 11–16; xiv. 52) “were chosen” for
himself, and “their hearts touched” (1 Sam. x. 26), so that “they
followed him” as a guard. Notwithstanding this ill-omened inauguration,
Guards have been perpetuated, and embraced in the military institutions
of the several States which successively attained the dominion of the
known world, especially where victorious ambition induced them to reject
the simplicity of the Republic and adopt the glitter and the pomp of
Imperialism. In despotic monarchies, princes have generally selected
their Guards from foreigners, as less likely to be affected by the
political struggles which from time to time agitated the nation and
threatened the security of the throne. The Guard thus selected
frequently included exiles of rank—of noble, nay, royal blood. To the
Protestant refugees, which the persecutions of the Church of Rome had
expatriated, the Guard presented a very general, an honourable, and a
secure retreat. These, as well as the chivalrous and adventurous spirit
of Scotsmen, are foremost amongst the many causes which have led our
countrymen to enlist as the Guard in nearly every State in Europe.
Coming nearer home, and more immediately to our text, we find, in
England, that Henry VII., in 1485, raised a bodyguard of 50 men,
afterwards increased to 200, and styled it the “Yeomen of the Guard.” In
1550, Edward VI. added a corps of Horse Guards; whilst, in Scotland, at
a very early period, “the Archers of the Guard” surrounded and upheld
the Sovereign.
[Illustration: LORD CLYDE, COLONEL OF THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS.]
The Guards of the present British army, comprised in three regiments—the
first of which containing three, and the others two battalions each—were
raised about the year of the Restoration, 1660. The union, and
consequent intermixture of the peoples of the two, nay, of the three
nations, has so assimilated the composition of our regiments, that,
whatever may have been their origin, it is exceedingly difficult now to
discover aught of the ancient landmarks—national or county—which once
characterised them. Still, it is our business, in the present
undertaking, to trace these originals, and do justice to the land,
whichever it be, that, in earlier years, contributed its mite to lay the
foundation of the present renown of our army.
From the intimate way in which our Guards have always been associated in
duty and a brilliant career of honour, we have preferred briefly to
sketch their history together, rather than separately and severally. In
such a narrative as we have entered upon, it is scarcely possible to
avoid repetition, many of the regiments having seen the same service. It
must therefore be admitted as a necessary evil; we only trust the good
old story of our nation’s glory will not suffer by being twice told.
The Coldstream, or Second Regiment of Guards—which, although second in
the Army List, is nevertheless the senior—was raised by General Monk
(afterwards Duke of Albemarle) about the year 1650. They were
principally formed from Fenwick’s and Hesellrigg’s Regiments, and took
their name from their having proceeded from Coldstream on their famous
march to restore the “Merry Monarch!” Born during a time of war, they
were early initiated into its bloody toils. They formed part of the army
of General Monk, which, in name of Oliver Cromwell, subdued and occupied
Scotland. With the Scottish army, they marched into England in 1660,
were quartered in London, and there effectually helped to maintain peace
between the factions of the Parliament and army, which then struggled
for the dominion of the State—vacant by the death of the Protectorate.
Ultimately, the intrigue of General Monk effected the present
deliverance of the country from the disorders which distracted
Government, by the restoration of the monarchy in the person of Charles
II. On the disbandment of the army, Charles, grateful for the good
offices of Monk, retained his—the Coldstream—regiment in his own
service. The alarm attending the insurrection of Venner, in 1660—a
fanatic preacher, who was ultimately overpowered, and his followers,
about thirty in number, nearly all slain—presented a favourable
opportunity, which the King was not slow to improve, for insisting upon
Parliament granting him leave to raise money to maintain an additional
military force for his own and the nation’s safeguard. The result was
the formation of a chosen body of troops, chiefly composed of Jacobite
gentlemen who had shared with him the vicissitudes of exile, and so
constituted the First, or Grenadier Guards, under Colonel Russell. Two
years later, 1662, the resistance which the unreasonable demands of the
King upon the Scottish Presbyterians stirred up, induced the formation
in Scotland, amongst other troops, of a regiment of Scots Foot
Guards—the Scots Fusilier, or Third Regiment of Guards—the command being
conferred on the Earl of Linlithgow.
Whilst a small body of the Guards were hotly engaged on the shores of
Africa, heroically defending against the Moors the fortress of
Tangier—the profitless dowry of the Queen of Charles II.—the main body
of the Grenadiers and Coldstreams, or, as they were then called, the
First and Second Regiments of Guards, were employed at home sustaining
the tottering throne of the monarch. Failing to profit by the lessons
which a recent adversity were so well fitted to teach, Charles, like the
rest of his unhappy race, devoted to his own indulgence, plunged
heedlessly into all the excesses of folly and passion. Casting aside or
neglecting the cares of his kingdom, so far at least as they interfered
with his own gratification, he consigned to creatures of his pleasure,
to the bigotry of fawning Jesuits, or the blind fanaticism of a cruel
brother (the Duke of York) the interests, the business, and the duties
of royalty. Amid such dissoluteness and misrule, the Guards, whilst
fulfilling their duty, must ofttimes have been forced to witness the
dark intrigues of a licentious court; nay, more, they were frequently
called to obey officers who had obtained commissions from their having
ministered discreditably to the passionate appetites of superiors, or as
being the fruit of some unhallowed intercourse. Their duty, too,
required they should guard not merely the Sovereign of a great nation,
but his _seraglio_—the abandoned crowd who, dishonouring themselves,
dishonoured their sex, preyed upon the honour of the nation, with
undisguised effrontery daily glittered in finery, and disgraced the
palaces of royalty by their presence. Gladly might the brave and
honourable soldier welcome a respite from such irksome duties and the
influences of such evil examples on the field of battle; but these were
times of comparative peace. It was not until Charles had sunk into the
grave, the victim of his own indulgence, and his brother, the Duke of
York, had ascended the throne as James II., that the peace was
disturbed—and then but for a moment—by the pretensions and rebellion of
Monmouth, speedily terminated by the battle of Sedgemoor, in 1685.
During the reign of James II., who departed not from the evil ways of
his brother, but added injustice and cruelty to the lengthy catalogue of
royal iniquities, only one incident would we notice as belonging to the
history of the Coldstreams, and as emphatically declaring how far even
these stood apart from the sins of the age. James had committed to the
Tower the Archbishop of Canterbury and other six bishops, who dared
respectfully to remonstrate with the King on behalf of their Protestant
brethren, injured by the pretensions of the Roman Catholics. Faithful to
their duty, the Coldstreams nevertheless received these martyrs to their
ancient faith with every token of respect and reverence. From the heart
of many a soldier ascended the prayer, and from his eye dropped the dewy
tear, as he guarded the gloomy dungeons of their prison.
At length, when the cup of royal iniquity was full to overflowing, when
the follies and cruelties of the race of Stuart had alienated the
affections of an otherwise loyal people, then the oppressed, called to
arms, with one voice drove the last and worst representative of that
unfortunate family from the throne. Then, even then, when all else
failed him, even his own children—the Duke of Grafton, Colonel of the
Grenadier Guards, deserting—the Guards, the Coldstreams, remained
faithful, and with their Colonel, Lord Craven (appointed on the death of
Monk, in 1670), at their head, refused to give place to the stranger.
Nor did they forsake the unhappy prince, or for a moment belie their
allegiance to him, until his pusillanimous flight had rendered their
services no longer of advantage to him. Then only did they make their
peace with the new Sovereign—William, Prince of Orange. Respecting their
constancy to the fallen monarch, and recognising the Guards to be men of
worth, the Prince—now the King—retained their services, nor hesitated to
confide his own person to their keeping, as the faithful body-guard of a
constitutional throne.
Aware that an officer, well versed in military histories, and to whose
kindness we are largely indebted for much valuable information embraced
in this compilation, is now preparing the annals of the Guards, in
separate volumes, we forbear saying more of the Grenadiers and
Coldstreams, esteeming the history of the Scots Fusilier Guards
sufficient for the purposes of our present undertaking, as being the one
regiment of the three undoubtedly Scottish.
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