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[Illustration: _From a photograph by W. & D. Downey, London._]
A BRIEF HISTORY
OF
THE KING’S ROYAL RIFLE CORPS.
“_Celer et Audax._”
“Louisberg,” “Quebec, 1759,” “Martinique, 1762, 1809,” “Havannah,”
“Roleia,” “Vimiera,” “Talavera,” “Busaco,” “Fuentes D’Onor,” “Albuhera,”
“Ciudad Rodrigo,” “Badajoz,” “Salamanca,” “Vittoria,” “Pyrenees,”
“Nivelle,” “Nive,” “Orthes,” “Toulouse,” “Peninsula,” “Punjaub,”
“Mooltan,” “Goojerat,” “Delhi,” “Taku Forts,” “Pekin,” “South Africa,
1851–2–3, 1879,” “Ahmad Khel,” “Kandahar, 1880,” “Afghanistan, 1878–80,”
“Egypt, 1882, 1884,” “Tel-el-Kebir,” “Chitral,” “South Africa,
1899–1902,” “Defence of Ladysmith,” “Relief of Ladysmith.”
Colonel-in-Chief:
HIS MAJESTY THE KING.
Colonels Commandant:
1st Battalion - Field Marshal Rt. Hon. F. W. Lord Grenfell, P.C,
G.C.B., G.C.M.G.
2nd Battalion - Lieut.-Gen. Sir Edward T. H. Hutton, K.C.M.G., C.B.
3rd Battalion - Major-Gen. Sir Cromer Ashburnham, K.C.B.
4th Battalion - Major-Gen. Sir Wykeham Leigh-Pemberton, K.C.B.
Reprinted by permission from “THE KING’S ROYAL RIFLE CORPS CHRONICLE” OF
1911, AND PUBLISHED 1912.
WINCHESTER:
PRINTED BY WARREN AND SON, LTD., 85, HIGH STREET.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENTS.
PREFACE.
PART I.—1755–1824.
Sections
1.—1755–1763.— Origin of the Regiment and its Services in
North America _page_ 2–8
2.—1764–1807.— West Indies and the American War _page_ 8–11
3.—1808–1824.— Peninsular War—60th The Royal American
Regiment become 60th The Duke of York’s
Own Rifle Corps _page_ 11–15
PART II.—1825–1870.
4.—1825–1856.— Sikh War—South Africa _page_ 16–18
5.—1857–1860.— Delhi—Rohilkund—Pekin _page_ 18–23
6.—1861–1870.— North America—Red River _page_ 23–25
PART III.—1871–1902.
7.—1871–1881.— India—Afghan War—South Africa—Zulu
War—First Boer War _page_ 26–34
8.—1882–1885.— Egypt, 1882, Tel-el-Kebir—Egypt, 1884, El
Teb, and Tamai—and 1884–85, Nile
Expedition—Mounted Infantry _page_ 34–38
9.—1886–1898.— India, Wreck of _Warren Hastings_ _page_ 38–40
10.—1899–1902.— South African War—Talana Hill—Defence of
Ladysmith—Relief of Ladysmith—Transvaal _page_ 40–50
PART IV.
A Retrospect.
MAPS.
_To face_
MAP— NO. I.—_North America._ Illustrating the area of
Military Operations referred to in Part I, sections 1
and 2; also Part II, section 6 _p._ 10
MAP— NO. II.—_Spain, Portugal, and South-Western France._
Illustrating the area of Operations referred to in
Part I, section 3 _p._ 16
MAP— NO. III.—_India._ Illustrating the area of Operations
referred to in Part II, sections 4 and 5; also Part
III, sections 7 and 9 _p._ 22
MAP— NO. IV.—_South Africa._ Illustrating the area of
Operations referred to in Part III, sections 7, 8, and
10 _p._ 52
A BRIEF HISTORY
OF
THE KING’S ROYAL RIFLE CORPS.
PREFACE.
This abridged history of the Regiment has been prepared by certain
members of the History Committee, and edited by the Chairman.
The Chairman (Lieut.-General Sir Edward Hutton) is indebted to the
following members of the Regimental History Committee:—Major-General
Astley Terry, Major the Hon. C. Sackville-West, Captain Hereward Wake,
and also to Colonel Horatio Mends for the contribution, wholly or in
part, of Part I, Sec. 3; Part II, Secs. 4 and 5; Part III, Secs. 9 and
10; and Part III, Secs. 7 and 8 respectively.
The existing short history, written by Major-General Astley Terry and
Colonel Mends and published with the Standing Orders of the Regiment,
has been taken as a basis.
It has been the object of the compilers, while amplifying the short
history, to form a Prelude to the large and comprehensive History of the
Regiment by Captain Lewis Butler, the publication of which—from the
difficulties to be overcome, the researches to be made, and the immense
mass of detail to be dissected—must necessarily be further delayed.
Every effort has been made to narrate in a concise and popular form the
origin, history, and world-wide services of the several battalions, so
that every Rifleman may be able to learn at least the outlines of the
history of his Regiment—a Corps whose battle honours are unequalled in
number, and whose reputation for discipline and courage is unsurpassed
in the annals of the British Army.
The gallant exploits of the Regiment are here given in no spirit of
pride or self-adulation, but with the earnest hope that, profiting by
the example of their predecessors, the present and future generations of
Riflemen may not only successfully maintain as a sacred trust the credit
and renown of The King’s Royal Rifle Corps, but may also still further
add to the honours and reputation already won.
_December 1st, 1911._
NOTE.—The names of Officers of the British Army who do not belong to
the Regiment are printed in italics. Campaigns and battles,
which have been awarded as “Battle Honours” to the Regiment,
are printed in capitals.
PART I.—1755–1824.
I.
1755–1763.—ORIGIN OF THE REGIMENT AND ITS SERVICES IN NORTH AMERICA.
[Sidenote: ORIGIN.]
The Regiment was raised during 1755–56 in North America under special
conditions, for the express purpose of assisting our Army to retrieve
the terrible disaster which had befallen the British troops under
_General Braddock_ at the hands of a smaller force of French and Red
Indians in the forest fastnesses upon the banks of the Ohio River. It
had been found that the slow and ponderous movements of troops trained
upon the European model, with their heavy accoutrements, tight uniforms,
and unsuitable tactics, were helpless against savages, and almost
equally helpless against soldiers habituated to wars in the dense
forests and trackless wastes of America. It was therefore decided by the
British Government to raise in America, from amongst the Colonists
themselves, a force which should be able to meet these conditions.
[Sidenote: 60th ROYAL AMERICANS.]
Designated as the 62nd, and the following year as the 60th Royal
Americans, the Regiment was accordingly formed of 4,000 men in four
battalions, and General the Earl of Loudoun, Commander-in-Chief of the
British Army in America, was appointed Colonel-in-Chief. It was
recruited from settlers, mainly of German and Swiss origin, in the
States of Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North
Carolina, to which were added volunteers from British regiments and
others. Many of the senior officers and a considerable number of the
Company officers were drawn from the armies of Europe, some of them
being highly trained and experienced soldiers.
Through the bold initiative of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Bouquet,[1] a
Swiss officer of distinction, commanding the 1st Battalion, the 60th
Royal Americans adopted Colonial methods of equipment, simpler drill,
open formations, and the Indian system of forest warfare, thus early
acquiring those attributes of individual action, swift initiative, and
of elastic though firm discipline, which have been the conspicuous
characteristics of the Regiment throughout its long and brilliant
career, characteristics which have made its reputation. Thus equipped,
The Royal American Regiment from its very beginning played a
distinguished and memorable part in establishing British power in North
America.
The great struggle between France and England for supremacy in America
was at its height, when early in 1758, Abercromby,[2] who had succeeded
Loudoun as Commander-in-Chief, decided upon a general advance.
[Sidenote: July 8th, 1758, TICONDEROGA.]
The 1st and 4th Battalions, under Bouquet and Haldimand,[3] formed part
of the main Army in the Western Field of operations, and on the banks of
Lake Champlain, at the memorable defeat of Ticonderoga, “at once a glory
and a shame,” the 4th Battalion and a portion of the 1st showed a
stubborn courage worthy of the highest praise, and lost very heavily in
killed and wounded. On July the 27th, three weeks later, regardless of
their losses, the Regiment furnished a part of the column under
Bradstreet,[4] of the 60th, which, after a forced march, captured by a
_coup de main_ Fort Frontenac on Lake Ontario.
[Sidenote: Nov. 25th, 1758, Capture of FORT DUQUESNE.]
The 1st Battalion, employed on the Western frontiers under _General
Forbes_, played the leading part in the advance against Fort Duquesne on
the Ohio, in November, 1758, and led by the gallant Bouquet effected its
capture from the French and Red Indians. This brilliant triumph over
great physical difficulties was achieved by sheer determination,
endurance, and pluck; and the solid value of the victory is thus summed
up by the American historian, Parkman:—“It opened the great West to
English enterprise, took from France half her savage allies, and
relieved her Western borders from the scourge of Indian Wars.” Fort
Duquesne, re-christened Fort Pitt, was thereupon garrisoned by a
detachment of the 60th, and was destined later to play a prominent part
in the subsequent operations.
[Sidenote: July 26th, 1758, LOUISBURG.]
The 2nd and 3rd Battalions, under Lieut.-Colonel Young and Major
Augustine Prevost[5] respectively, early in 1758 were ordered to join
Generals Amherst[6] and _Wolfe_ in the Eastern Field of operations, and
they took a prominent part in the capture of LOUISBURG.
[Sidenote: Sept. 13th, 1759, QUEBEC.]
These two Battalions were subsequently in 1759 moved up the St. Lawrence
to Quebec, where they still further distinguished themselves at
Montmorency Falls, below Quebec, on July the 31st, and by their rapid
movements and their intrepid courage won from _General Wolfe_ the motto
of “Celer et Audax” (Swift and Bold). A still greater opportunity
occurred on the 13th of September at the decisive battle of QUEBEC,
where upon the Plains of Abraham the 2nd Battalion, whose Grenadier
Company had been the first to scale the heights, covered the left during
the battle against a very superior force of Red Indians and French, who
made the most determined efforts to assail the flank and rear of
_Wolfe’s_ army under cover of the dense bush and rocky ground.[7] The
60th thus lost heavily in killed and wounded. The 3rd Battalion played a
no less important part by holding in check the enemy, who threatened the
rear through the thick woods on the river banks.
[Sidenote: 1760, MONTREAL.]
Amherst, who in 1759 had succeeded Abercromby in chief command of the
Army, led the main force in its advance to Montreal, where, on the 8th
of September, 1760, the 4th Battalion, a portion of the 1st, and the
Grenadiers of the 2nd and 3rd, shared in the glories of the surrender of
the French Army under the Marquis de Vaudreuil—a surrender through which
the supremacy in America finally passed to the British Crown.
Following up their successes in 1758, under _Forbes_, Bouquet and the
1st Battalion had by degrees captured or occupied the whole of the
French posts west of the Alleghany Mountains, and they were accordingly
chosen for the arduous task of defending the various forts established
in the unexplored country south of the great lakes. A region embracing
thousands of miles of surface was thus consigned to the keeping of five
or six hundred men—a vast responsibility for a single weak Battalion
garrisoning a few insignificant forts.
In 1763 took place the general and sudden rising of the Indians under
Pontiac—a formidable conspiracy, bringing ruin and desolation to the
settlers in those wild regions, and even threatening the safety of the
Colonies. By surprise or stratagem the Indians, in overwhelming numbers,
secured many of the widely scattered posts held by the 60th, murdering
some of the slender garrisons and beleaguering others. But the important
posts of Fort Detroit upon the Straits joining Lake Erie and Lake Huron,
and of Fort Pitt commanding the Ohio River valley, both garrisoned by
the 60th under Gladwyn and Ecuyer respectively, were gallantly and
successfully held against tremendous odds. The relief of these two
important posts were operations of the greatest urgency, and every
effort was made to get sufficient troops for this purpose.
[Sidenote: Aug. 5th and 6th, 1763. BUSHEY RUN.]
[Sidenote: Nov. 15th, 1764, RED INDIAN CAMPAIGN.]
It was at once decided that Fort Pitt on the Ohio, guarding as it did
the Western frontier of the Colonies, must be saved at any cost, but
owing to the reduction of the Army in America after the great war, it
was with the utmost difficulty that, at Carlisle, 150 miles west of
Philadelphia, a small column was formed under Bouquet, consisting of
barely 500 men of the 1st Battalion 60th Royal Americans and the 42nd
Highlanders. This courageous band, led by the stout-hearted and
experienced Henry Bouquet, marched almost as a forlorn hope to the
relief of the garrison. Reaching, after a long and weary march, the
dangerous defiles of Bushey Run, ten miles only from their objective and
within view of the scene of Braddock’s crushing defeat, a site of battle
deliberately chosen by their cunning foe, the little force was suddenly
attacked by a vastly superior number of Indian braves. During two long
trying days the combatants fought a desperate battle, until at last
Bouquet’s genius as a leader achieved a brilliant victory. This victory,
pronounced by an American historian “the best contested action ever
fought between white men and Indians,” was followed up in the coming
year by a vigorous advance by Bradstreet upon Detroit by way of Lake
Erie; and by Bouquet marching from Fort Pitt with a column consisting of
his own Battalion of the 60th, the 42nd, and Provincial troops, which he
led into the very heart of the enemy’s country. Bouquet’s column was
triumphant, and upon reaching the Indian settlements on the River
Muskingum, deep in the wild fastnesses of the primeval forest, their
leader’s diplomatic skill and defiant attitude completed the successful
issue of the campaign. Bouquet thus rightly earned for himself and his
men the credit of having finally broken the French influence and Red
Indian power in the West, giving to the British Crown all the vast
territories west of the Alleghany Mountains and south of the Great
Lakes, comprising now the States of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Western
Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, and Illinois.
The conspicuous part played at this period by the 60th Royal Americans,
and the exceptional merit of many of its officers have hitherto been
better understood in the United States and in Canada than by our own
countrymen. But it is now at last acknowledged that the Regiment, owing
to its especial attributes, was in the forefront of all those operations
which (more than any others) added a peculiar lustre to the British
Crown at this early stage of the evolution of the British Empire in
North America. There is no period in the Regimental history of which The
King’s Royal Rifle Corps may more justly be proud than the epoch from
its birth in 1755 to the final overthrow of the French and Red-Indian
power in 1764.
[Sidenote: 1762, MARTINIQUE.]
[Sidenote: Aug. 13th, 1762, HAVANNAH.]
Meanwhile, in February, 1762, the 3rd Battalion, moving to the West
Indies, had taken part in the capture of MARTINIQUE. It subsequently
joined the expedition to Cuba under the _Earl of Albemarle_, where, led
by Brigadier-General Haviland,[8] it played a leading part in the
capture of HAVANNAH from the Spaniards on the 13th of August.
-----
Footnote 1:
Afterwards Brigadier-General Bouquet. Born 1719, died 1765. The victor
of Bushey Run. A brilliant officer, of the highest capacity as a
leader and administrator. It has been said that by his untimely death
Great Britain lost a general whose presence might well have caused the
American War of Independence to assume a different aspect. For
biographical sketch _vide_ Regimental Chronicle, 1910.
Footnote 2:
General James Abercromby, Colonel-in-Chief, 1757–1758.
Footnote 3:
Afterwards Lieut.-General Sir Frederick Haldimand. Born 1718, died
1791. Commander-in-Chief in North America, and Governor of Quebec—a
distinguished soldier-statesman.
Footnote 4:
Afterwards Major-General John Bradstreet. Born 1710, died 1774; a
successful leader of irregular troops.
Footnote 5:
Afterwards Major-General. Born 1723, died 1786; dangerously wounded in
July, 1759, above Quebec; the victor of Savannah, 1779, and a
distinguished soldier.
Footnote 6:
Afterwards Field Marshal Sir Jeffery Amherst, Baron Amherst,
Colonel-in-Chief, 1758–1797.
Footnote 7:
The Grenadier Companies also of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were
included in the six companies composing the Louisberg Grenadiers,
which occupied the place of honor in the front line.
Footnote 8:
General William Haviland was Colonel Commandant in 1761–1762.
II.
1764–1807.—WEST INDIES AND THE AMERICAN WAR.
[Sidenote: WEST INDIES.]
On the termination of the French War in America the British Army was
reduced, and in 1764 and 1763 respectively the 3rd and 4th Battalions
were disbanded.
The discontented and hostile feeling of the American Colonies at this
period rendered it advisable to transfer The Royal Americans to the West
Indies, recruited as they were from the Colonists themselves. Thus it
fell to the lot of the Regiment to take a prominent share in the
conquest and annexation of the West Indian Islands and the adjacent
coast, which took place at this period. The officers in many instances
filled important posts as Governors and Administrators of the various
islands.
On the outbreak of the War of Independence in 1775 the 3rd and 4th
Battalions were again raised in England and despatched to the West
Indies, and thence to Florida, where they figured prominently in the
operations in that region.
[Sidenote: 1779, SAVANNAH.]
[Sidenote: AMERICAN WAR.]
In 1779 the 3rd and some companies of the 4th Battalion formed portion
of an army under General Augustine Prevost in Georgia and South
Carolina. The Regiment played a leading part at the brilliant action of
Briars Creek (March 3rd, 1779), and also in the subsequent siege of
Savannah, where a superior force of French and Americans under Comte
d’Estaigne and General Lincoln was successfully held at bay by a very
much smaller army under Prevost, and at the final assault was signally
defeated with great loss (October the 9th, 1779). An improvised body of
Light Dragoons (or Mounted Infantry), organised by Lieut.-Colonel Marc
Prevost,[9] of the 60th, did remarkable service during these operations,
and at the victory on the 9th of October lost heavily, but greatly
distinguished itself by repulsing the main column of the enemy and
capturing the colour of the Carolina Regiment, now in the possession of
the Prevost family.
Upon the termination of the American War of Independence in 1783 the 3rd
and 4th Battalions were disbanded for the second time, but were again
raised in 1788 and despatched to the West Indies.
[Sidenote: WEST INDIES.]
The Regiment, for the most part quartered in the West Indies, took part
in the following military operations:—
Capture of the Island of Tobago, a brilliant feat of
arms April 17th, 1783
Capture (2nd) of Martinique March 1794
Capture Saint Lucia 1794
Capture Grande Terre Guadaloupe 1794
Capture Saint Vincent 1796
Capture Trinidad Feb. 1797
Capture Porto Rico April 1797
On the 23rd of August, 1797, Field-Marshal H.R.H. Frederick Duke of
York[10] was appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment, _vice_ Lord
Amherst deceased.
[Sidenote: 1797, 5th BATTALION (RIFLES) RAISED.]
In December of the same year the famous 5th Battalion was raised at
Cowes, Isle of Wight, under Lieutenant-Colonel Baron de Rottenburg,[11]
upon the German model as a Special Corps of Riflemen. Four hundred of
Hompesch’s Mounted Riflemen—a German Corps raised for service under the
British Crown—were drafted into the Battalion, which was armed with
rifles and dressed in green with red facings. The second
Lieutenant-Colonel was that celebrated Robert Crauford, who afterwards
made his name so famous in the Peninsular War as the honoured leader of
the Light Division. Thus, by the addition of the 5th Battalion to the
Regiment as Riflemen in 1797, the gradual evolution of the 60th Royal
Americans into The King’s Royal Rifle Corps was auspiciously begun.
[Illustration:
MAP I
NORTH AMERICA
Illustrating the area of Operations referred to in Part I, Sections 1
and 2, also Part II, Section 6.
Stanford’s Geog^l. Estab^t., London.
]
The system of organisation, drill, and tactics for Light Troops
introduced into the Regiment by Baron de Rottenburg, was embodied in a
Manual for Riflemen and Light Infantry. This volume[12] was published in
August, 1798, with a preface signed by the Adjutant General, and
especially commended to the Army by the Commander-in-Chief as a text
book on the subject.
In 1799 a 6th Battalion was added to the Regiment, so that the close of
the eighteenth century saw the Regiment composed of six battalions.
-----
Footnote 9:
Lieut.-Colonel Marc Prevost, born 1736, died 1785, youngest brother of
General Augustine Prevost—a brilliant and most promising officer, who
succumbed to the effect of his wounds.
Footnote 10:
Frederick, Duke of York, was the second son of George III, and brother
of George IV and William IV.
Footnote 11:
Afterwards Lieutenant-General. Born 1760, died 1832. He commanded the
5th Battalion, 1797–1808. He afterwards served as Major-General
commanding in Lower Canada, 1810–1815, during the American War,
1812–13.
Footnote 12:
_Regulations for the Exercise of Riflemen and Light Infantry and
Instructions for their conduct in the Field_, with diagrams, published
with a Memo, dated Horse Guards, August 1st, 1798. Copies of the
editions 1808 and 1812 will be found in the Library, Royal United
Service Institution, Whitehall.
III.
1808–1824.—PENINSULAR WAR. 60TH THE ROYAL AMERICAN REGIMENT BECOMES 60TH
THE DUKE OF YORK’S OWN RIFLE CORPS.
In 1808 Great Britain determined to take the offensive against France,
and, by occupying Portugal, endeavour to drive Napoleon and the French
from the Peninsula of Spain and Portugal.
[Sidenote: Aug. 17th, 1808, ROLEIA]
[Sidenote: Aug. 21st, 1808, VIMIERA.]
Thus began the Peninsular War, so full of glorious memories for the
British Army. The 5th Battalion, under the command of Major Davy,[13]
formed part of the force despatched under _Sir Arthur Wellesley_ to
Portugal, and in conjunction with the 2nd Battalion of the 95th[14]
opened the campaign at Obidos on the 15th of August; and two days later
took part in the fight of ROLEIA. The services of the Battalion as Light
Troops or Riflemen were valued so highly by the Commander of the forces,
and so important was their example, that in a very complimentary order
he directed its distribution by companies among the several brigades of
the army. Thus it came to be engaged in nearly all the great battles
throughout the war, starting brilliantly with the battle of VIMIERA,[15]
where a signal victory was gained over the French under General Junot.
_Wellesley_ was shortly afterwards superseded by Sir Harry Burrard[16]
and _Sir Hew Dalrymple_, who ended the campaign by the Convention of
Cintra, under the terms of which the French evacuated Portugal.
[Sidenote: Jan. 16th, 1809, CORUNNA.]
The three commanders were then ordered home, and Sir John Moore[17]
assumed charge of the troops. _Sir David Baird_ landed at Corunna with
reinforcements, including the 2nd Battalion, and on the 20th of December
he joined Moore near Mayorga. By the masterly dispositions of Napoleon
himself, an overwhelming force of French was concentrated under Soult,
and this forced the British to retire on Corunna. Soult, following in
pursuit, attacked them in the act of embarking, but met with a crushing
defeat. The British, however, paid a high price for their victory:
_Baird_ was severely wounded, and the gallant Sir John Moore was
killed—his death being a heavy loss to the British Army. At this
juncture General Hope[18] took over the command and completed the
embarkation of the troops. The Regiment, having been allotted to the
defence of the town of Corunna, was not actually engaged in the battle.
[Sidenote: July 27th and 28th, 1809, TALAVERA.]
In 1809 _Wellesley_, for the second time, landed in Portugal and assumed
command. After some delay, on May the 12th he forced the passage of the
Douro in the face of a large army under Soult, a most brilliant feat of
arms. On the 27th and 28th of July he attacked the French and Marshals
Jourdan and Victor, under King Joseph, and thereupon ensued the great
British victory of TALAVERA. “Upon this occasion,” wrote _Sir Arthur
Wellesley_ in his despatch, “the steadiness and discipline of the 5th
Battalion, 60th Regiment, were conspicuous.”
[Sidenote: Sept. 27th, 1810, BUSACO.]
On September the 27th, 1810, the British Commander, _Sir Arthur
Wellesley_, recently created _Lord Wellington_, signally defeated the
French under Massena at the battle of BUSACO; the conduct of the 60th
(at this time commanded by Colonel Williams[19]), being specially noted
by _General Picton_.
Yielding to superior numbers and to stress of circumstances,
_Wellington_ retreated, and, falling back upon the famous lines of
Torres Vedras, was closely followed by the French, who, on being stopped
by the fortifications and unable to procure supplies, were soon forced
in turn to retreat.
[Sidenote: May 3rd and 5th 1811, FUENTES D’ONOR.]
[Sidenote: May 16th, 1811, ALBUHERA.]
In March, 1811, the British again advanced, driving Ney from Pombal and
Redinha, and Massena from Casal Nova and Sabugal. While following up his
successes, _Wellington_ was attacked by Massena at FUENTES D’ONOR, on
the 3rd of May, and again on the 5th, but he held his ground in spite of
severe fighting. In the meanwhile Marshal Beresford,[20] who had four
companies of the 60th with his division, had in April taken Olivenza,
and on the 16th of May had defeated Soult at ALBUHERA; and the campaign
of 1811 was brought to a close by the brilliant action of Arroyo dos
Molinos by _General Hill_ on October the 28th, 1811, when the Regiment
specially distinguished itself.
[Sidenote: 1812, CIUDAD RODRIGO. BADAJOZ.]
[Sidenote: July 22nd, 1812, SALAMANCA.]
The next year, 1812, opened with the siege, assault, and capture of
CIUDAD RODRIGO, and immediately afterwards ensued the successful siege
of BADAJOZ. Sending _Hill_ to destroy the bridge of Almarez,
_Wellington_ proceeded northwards, and on the 22nd of July defeated
Marmont at the battle of SALAMANCA, the crowning feat of a long series
of brilliant manœuvres. The English General thereupon marched towards
Madrid, and, driving King Joseph before him, entered the capital in
triumph on the 12th of August. But the French were so strongly
reinforced that the British troops were obliged to retire for the winter
to Portugal.
[Sidenote: June 21st, 1813, VITTORIA.]
[Sidenote: July 24th to Aug. 2nd, 1813, PYRENEES.]
[Sidenote: Nov. 10th, 1813, NIVELLE.]
[Sidenote: Dec. 9th to 13th, NIVE.]
In May, 1813, the Army finally quitted Portugal, and again advancing
drove the French northwards by brilliant strategy. On the 21st of June
_Wellington_ gained a splendid victory over King Joseph at VITTORIA,
capturing 150 guns and his whole transport. The companies of the
Regiment with _Picton_ and the 3rd Division played an especially
brilliant part. Ignominiously driven from Spain the French Army rallied
on the Bidassoa, where Soult assumed command, having been despatched by
Napoleon to supersede his brother King Joseph and Marshal Jourdan. He
immediately attacked the English, but was defeated with great slaughter
at the battle of the PYRENEES, which lasted eight days, July the 24th to
August the 2nd. The 5th Battalion was at this time commanded by Major
Fitzgerald.[21] _Wellington_, then advancing into France, forced the
passage of the Bidassoa on October the 7th, and defeated the French at
the battle of NIVELLE, terminating the campaign by a victory on the NIVE
after a battle lasting five days.
[Sidenote: Feb. 27th, 1814, ORTHES.]
In February, 1814, occurred one of the most brilliant manœuvres of the
war—the famous passage of the Adour, which was forced in the teeth of a
Division of the French Army, the company of the 60th leading the advance
of the Guards’ Brigade, to which it was attached. On the 27th of the
same month Soult was again totally defeated at ORTHES.
[Sidenote: April 10th, 1814, TOULOUSE.]
_Wellington_, following up this victory, advanced on Toulouse, where, on
the 10th of April, the British troops won the last of the fourteen great
battles fought in the Peninsular War, in twelve of which the Regiment
had taken a glorious part. The repulse of a sortie from Bayonne was the
final episode of this memorable war.
Thus closes a momentous record of gallant achievements of the Regiment.
Among the officers of the 5th Battalion who distinguished themselves
during the Peninsular War, besides those already mentioned, were Major
Woodgate,[22] Lieutenant-Colonel Galiffe,[23] Captain Schoedde,[24] and
Captain de Blacquière.
To continue the history of the other Battalions of the Regiment at this
period, the 2nd Battalion, in January, 1809, after Corunna, had returned
to the Channel Islands, and thence to the West Indies. The 1st
Battalion, which had previously always been quartered in America, was in
1810, together with the 4th Battalion, brought to England, whence it
shortly afterwards proceeded to the Cape of Good Hope, and the 4th
Battalion was sent to Dominica.
A 7th and 8th Battalion were added in 1813, the former raised at
Gibraltar and the latter at Lisbon. Both battalions were dressed in
green, which colour at the end of 1815 was adopted for the whole
Regiment.
[Sidenote: 1824, 60th ROYAL AMERICANS become 60th THE DUKE OF YORK’S OWN
RIFLE CORPS.]
At the conclusion of the war with France the Regiment was reduced to two
battalions, of which the 1st was called “The Rifles,” and the 2nd “The
Light Infantry” Battalion. In 1824 the 2nd Battalion became also a Rifle
Battalion, and the Regiment dropping its old title of “Royal Americans”
was granted by George IV the name of “The Duke of York’s Own Rifle
Corps,” dated June 4th.
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Footnote 13:
Afterwards General Sir William Gabriel Davy, C.B., K.C.H., Colonel
Commandant, 60th Rifles, 1842–1856. He succeeded Baron de Rottenburg
in command of the 5th Battalion in 1808.
Footnote 14:
Formed in 1800, and now The Rifle Brigade.
Footnote 15:
The Battalion was especially mentioned in Wellesley’s despatch.
Footnote 16:
Formerly a Captain in the 60th.
Footnote 17:
Formerly Major in the 4th Battalion 60th.
Footnote 18:
Afterwards General the Earl of Hopetoun, G.C.B., Colonel-Commandant
6th Battalion 60th.
Footnote 19:
Afterwards Major-General Sir William Williams, K.C.B., K.T.S., died
1832.
Footnote 20:
Afterwards General Viscount Beresford, G.C.B., G.C.H.,
Colonel-in-Chief of the 60th Rifles, 1852–54.
Footnote 21:
Afterwards Field-Marshal Sir John Foster Fitzgerald, G.C.B. Born 1786,
died 1877, aged 91.
Footnote 22:
Afterwards Colonel and C.B., died 1861.
Footnote 23:
Afterwards Colonel and C.B., died 1848.
Footnote 24:
Afterwards Lieut.-General Sir James Holmes Schoedde, K.C.B., who
received thirteen clasps with his war medal. Born 1786, died 1861.
Major-Generals Sir Henry Clinton, Sir George Murray, and Sir James
Kampt, Colonels Commandant of the Regiment, also served with
distinction.