regiment were killed on this occasion; Lieutenant Cuthbert, Ensign
M'Farlane, three serjeants, and nineteen rank and file wounded;
Captain Leake, Lieutenant Campbell, and several private soldiers
taken prisoners.
[Sidenote: 1747]
After passing the winter in cantonments in Holland, the regiment
took the field with the army commanded by His Royal Highness the
Duke of Cumberland, and distinguished itself at the battle of
_Val_, on the 2nd of July in that year. The enemy attacked the
village of Val, which was occupied by the thirteenth, twenty-fifth,
and thirty-seventh regiments, and a battalion of Hanoverians, who
repulsed the attacks of their numerous opponents some time, but were
eventually forced to give way. They were reinforced by the eighth,
NINETEENTH, and forty-eighth regiments, and a foreign corps, and
returning to the charge, recovered the village. The fighting at
this point was very severe; several French brigades were nearly
annihilated, and the village was lost and won several times. During
this protracted contest the innate valour of the British troops was
very conspicuous; but the enemy at length succeeded in breaking the
line, and the army was ordered to retreat to Maestricht, where it
arrived on the same evening.
Lieut.-Colonel Williams, two serjeants, one drummer, and thirty-two
rank and file of the regiment were killed; Major Petitot, Captain
Masters, Lieutenants Goddard, Brown, Martin, and Phillips, Ensigns
Dobson and Fuller, three serjeants, and one hundred and three rank
and file wounded; fifteen rank and file missing.[8]
[Sidenote: 1748]
The regiment again took the field in 1748. Preliminary articles for a
treaty of peace were signed at Aix-la-Chapelle, and a suspension of
hostilities took place.
In this year Major-General the Honorable Charles Howard was removed
to the third dragoon guards, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of
the NINETEENTH regiment by Colonel Lord George Beauclerk, from the
eighth marines.
[Sidenote: 1749]
The regiment returned to England during the winter of 1748-9, and
immediately proceeded to Gibraltar, where it was stationed four years.
[Sidenote: 1751]
On the 1st of July, 1751, a warrant was issued by authority of King
George II., for establishing uniformity in the clothing, standards,
and colours of the several regiments, by which the facing of the
NINETEENTH was directed to be _green_. The First, or the King's
colour, was directed to be the Great Union; the Second, or Regimental
colour, to be the colour of the facings of the regiment, with the
Union in the upper canton; in the centre of the colour, the Rank of
the regiment, in gold Roman characters, within a wreath of roses and
thistles on the same stalk, surmounted by the Crown.[9]
[Sidenote: 1753]
[Sidenote: 1755]
[Sidenote: 1756]
Having been relieved from garrison duty at Gibraltar, in 1753, the
regiment returned to England; in 1755 it was stationed in Scotland;
in 1756 it was again stationed in England.
A dispute respecting the extent of the British dominions in North
America having occasioned another war with France, the regiment was
augmented to _two battalions_.
[Sidenote: 1758]
In 1758 the Second battalion was formed into the SIXTY-SIXTH
regiment, under the command of Colonel Edward Sandford.
[Sidenote: 1759]
[Sidenote: 1760]
During the summer of 1759 the regiment was encamped at Brentwood, and
in 1760 at Barham Downs.
[Sidenote: 1761]
In 1761 the regiment was placed under the orders of Major-General
Hodgson, for the attack of one of the French islands off the coast of
Brittany, called _Belle-Isle_. The expedition appeared before this
place on the 7th of April; but the whole island was found like one
vast fortress, the little which nature had left undone by rocks and
crags having been supplied by art; and the first attempt on the 8th
of April, to establish a post on the island, failed. The NINETEENTH,
mustering eight hundred men, under Lieut.-Colonel Robert Douglas,
evinced great gallantry on this occasion in the assault of the
enemy's entrenchments on the shore; the officers and soldiers rushed
to the attack with heroic bravery, but were unable to ascend the
steep acclivity; they attempted to help one another up, under a heavy
fire, but failed, and were ordered to re-embark.
The regiment lost Lieutenant Dougal Stuart, three serjeants, one
drummer, and forty-seven rank and file killed; Major Lumisden, one
serjeant, one drummer, and thirty-eight rank and file wounded;
Lieutenants Scrymsour, Forbes, and Nugent, one serjeant, and
eighty-nine rank and file prisoners, thirty of whom were wounded.
Another attempt was made on the 22nd of April, when Brigadier-General
Lambert effected a landing on the rocks near Point Lomaria: the
difficulty of mounting the precipice had made the enemy least
attentive to that part. Beauclerk's grenadiers (NINETEENTH), with
Captain Patterson of the regiment, gained the summit before the
enemy saw what was intended, who immediately marched a body of three
hundred men to attack them; the grenadiers maintained their ground
till the remainder of Brigadier Lambert's troops got up. Three
brass field-pieces were taken, and some wounded prisoners. Captain
Patterson lost his arm, and the other casualties were about thirty
men killed. The cannon was afterwards landed from the ships and
dragged up the rocks; the lines which covered the town of Palais
were captured; the siege of the citadel was carried on with vigour,
and the garrison surrendered on the 7th of June. The conquest of
the island was thus achieved, and the officers and soldiers taken
prisoners re-joined their regiments.
[Sidenote: 1762]
Returning from Belle-Isle when the capture of that island was
completed, the regiment was stationed in England in 1762.
The war was terminated in 1762 by the peace of Fontainebleau, and
the regiment again proceeded to Gibraltar, at which fortress it was
stationed during the following eight years.
[Sidenote: 1768]
On the decease of Lieut.-General Lord George Beauclerk, the colonelcy
of the regiment was conferred on Major-General David Graeme, from the
forty-ninth regiment, by commission dated the 25th of May, 1768.
On the 19th of December, 1768, a warrant was issued by command of
King George III. for regulating the standards, colours, clothing,
&c., of the regiments of cavalry and infantry, by which it was
directed, that the _facing_ of the NINETEENTH REGIMENT OF FOOT should
be _deep green_.
[Sidenote: 1771]
Early in the spring of 1771 the regiment was relieved from duty at
Gibraltar, and arrived in England in May.
[Sidenote: 1773]
[Sidenote: 1775]
In 1773 the regiment was stationed in Scotland; and in 1775 it
embarked for Ireland, where it was quartered upwards of five years.
[Sidenote: 1781]
The American war commenced in the same year in which the regiment
embarked for Ireland, and was continued with varied success. In 1781
the regiment was ordered to proceed to South Carolina and Georgia,
to reinforce the British troops in those provinces; it embarked
from Ireland on the 17th of March, and arrived in America in May;
but the peculiar turn which the circumstances of the war took
shortly afterwards, prevented the regiment having an opportunity of
distinguishing itself.
[Sidenote: 1782]
A letter, dated the 31st of August, 1782, conveyed to the regiment
His Majesty's pleasure that it should be designated the NINETEENTH,
or the FIRST YORKSHIRE NORTH RIDING REGIMENT, in order that a
connexion between the corps and that part of the county of York
should be cultivated, with the view of promoting the success of the
recruiting service.
[Sidenote: 1783]
[Sidenote: 1791]
Hostilities terminated in 1782, and the regiment proceeded to the
Leeward Islands; in 1783 it was removed to Jamaica, where it was
stationed until 1791, when it returned to England, and landed at
Portsmouth in June.
[Sidenote: 1793]
The French revolution had commenced while the regiment was at
Jamaica, and in 1793 the King of France was beheaded, and a
republican government was established, which was followed by war
between England and France. The French Royalists of _La Vendée_
and _La Loire_ took arms against the regicide government, and
solicited aid from England; the NINETEENTH regiment embarked with the
expedition under Major-General the Earl of Moira, to aid the French
Royalists, who expected to be able to gain possession of a sufficient
portion of the coast for the English troops to land; the expedition
was held in suspense, the fleet being driven about the Channel in
stormy weather in the winter of 1793-4.
[Sidenote: 1794]
No opportunity of landing in France, and of joining the Vendéeans,
having occurred, the regiment disembarked on the coast of Devonshire
in January, 1794, and went into quarters: the health of the men
having suffered from being long detained on board of the fleet.
After a few months' repose in quarters, the regiment again embarked,
and sailed with the troops under the Earl of Moira for Ostend, which
fortress was menaced by a numerous French force. The regiment landed
at Ostend on the 26th of June. The Earl of Moira resolved not to
limit his services to the defence of Ostend, but to attempt to effect
a junction with the army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke
of York; and after a tedious and difficult march in the face of a
victorious enemy of superior numbers, whose troops were overrunning
the country in all directions, the British arrived at Alost, where
they repulsed the attack of a body of the enemy on the 6th of July,
and joined the Duke of York's army at Malines three days afterwards.
The allies did not bring into the field a force sufficiently numerous
to contend with the immense armies of France, and the consequence
was a disastrous campaign, and a retreat through Holland to Germany
during the frosts and snow-storms of an unusually severe winter;
and the NINETEENTH shared, with other regiments, in the sufferings
occasioned by these operations. The regiment was engaged under
Major-General Lord Cathcart in the attack of the enemy's post at
_Tuyl_ on the 30th of December, when it had five men killed and
wounded; it also took part in several skirmishes, frequently crossing
rivers on the ice to engage the numerous forces of the enemy.
[Sidenote: 1795]
In the early part of January, 1795, it was found necessary to resume
the retreat, and a series of retrograde movements, through a country
covered with snow and ice, brought the army into Germany, where the
soldiers obtained a short repose, and afterwards embarked from Bremen
for England.
The NINETEENTH landed from Germany in May, 1795, and were stationed
in England eleven months.
[Sidenote: 1796]
On the 28th of April, 1796, the regiment embarked for the East
Indies, and landed at Madras in the middle of November following.
A short time previously to the arrival of the regiment in India, the
large and mountainous island of Ceylon, situate in the Indian Sea,
had been captured from the Dutch, who had become united with France
in hostility to Great Britain. After reposing a few weeks at Madras,
the regiment received orders to transfer its services to Ceylon, and
it landed at Columbo, the capital of the island, in December, 1796.
[Sidenote: 1797]
General David Graeme died in January, 1797, and King George III.
conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on Major-General Samuel
Hulse, from the fifty-sixth regiment of foot.
In the island of Ceylon, which produces a great diversity of
vegetables, the finest fruits, and spices of good quality,
particularly cinnamon, the regiment was stationed twenty-four years.
[Sidenote: 1798]
About this period the officers and soldiers of the NINETEENTH
regiment subscribed one day's pay, amounting to £84, for the relief
of the widows and children of the men killed in the victory obtained
by Admiral Lord Nelson over the French fleet at the battle of the
Nile, on the 1st of August, 1798. The regiment subscribed also 2500
pagodas (8_s._ 9_d._ each) towards carrying on the war in Europe.
[Sidenote: 1799]
Five companies embarked in February, 1799, for the continent of
India, to take part in the war with the ruler of the province of
_Mysore_, the celebrated Tippoo Saib, whose adoption of French
counsels, and hostility to the British interests, proved his ruin.
The Mysore was invaded by the British troops, under Lieut.-General
(afterwards Lord) Harris, in March, 1799, and the army advanced by
triumphant marches to the capital, the strong and splendid city and
fortress of _Seringapatam_, which was captured by storm on the 4th of
May, when Tippoo fell, mortally wounded, in the defence of the place.
The capture of the capital having terminated the war in the Mysore,
the five companies of the regiment afterwards returned to Ceylon.
[Sidenote: 1800]
From Columbo, the regiment marched, in October, 1800, to Point de
Galle, where the head-quarters were stationed several months.
[Sidenote: 1801]
In April, 1801, the regiment embarked for the harbour, town, and
fortress of Trincomalee, situate in a barren tract of country on the
north-east side of the island of Ceylon, from whence detachments
were sent to various posts in the interior. The centre of the island
appeared to be defended against the approach of Europeans by the
unhealthy climate of the district, through which it was necessary to
pass to enter the inland provinces, which were governed by a native
chief called the King of Candy.
[Sidenote: 1802]
In 1802 a treaty of peace was concluded between England and France
and Holland; but the island of Ceylon was retained by the British.
[Sidenote: 1803]
War with France and Holland was resumed in 1803, and, at the same
time, it was found necessary to commence hostilities with the
Candians, inhabiting the interior of the island of Ceylon, with whom
attempts had been made to establish a treaty of amity and commerce,
but without success.
Some outrages having been committed by the Candians on British
subjects, demand was made for reparation, which was evaded on various
pretences, and a body of troops, of which a detachment of the
NINETEENTH regiment formed part, penetrated through the unhealthy
districts into the interior, to demand redress, and to exact security
against the repetition of outrage. The troops experienced little
opposition, and advanced to _Candy_, the capital, which was found
abandoned by the inhabitants. A treaty was framed, and everything
appeared in a train for a satisfactory arrangement; but after
evincing unparalleled duplicity and treachery, the population of the
surrounding districts suddenly attacked the town after hostilities
had ceased, and the British troops, under Major Davey, being
overpowered by numbers, agreed to capitulate, on condition of being
allowed to march with their arms to the British settlements on the
coast. These conditions were violated; the British soldiers were
barbarously massacred, at Candy, on the 24th of June, excepting a few
men who escaped, or were spared by the assassins; the Malays in the
English service were required to enter the Candian service, and all
who refused were destroyed. The NINETEENTH regiment had the following
officers and soldiers massacred on this occasion,--Lieutenants M. H.
Bynn, Peter Plenderleath, and Hector M'Lean, Ensign Robert Smith,
Quarter-Master John Brown, Assistant-Surgeon William Hope, and one
hundred and seventy-two non-commissioned officers and privates.
After this act of perfidy and cruelty the Candians attacked the
British settlements, and gained some temporary advantages; but were
eventually driven back with loss. The surviving officers and soldiers
of the NINETEENTH regiment were employed in much harassing and
perilous service, and many casualties were occasioned by the climate.
Captain Beaver particularly distinguished himself, and the governor,
Major-General M^cDowall, expressed his sense of the captain's
services, in general orders dated Columbo, 2nd September, 1803,
in the following terms: "The Governor has observed, with peculiar
satisfaction, the rapid series of well-judged and well-executed
operations, by which Captain HERBERT BEAVER, of the NINETEENTH
regiment, has hitherto proceeded, in recovering the important
province of Matura from the Candians, and in bringing back its
deluded inhabitants to their duty. The indefatigable activity, zeal,
and ability, which that officer has displayed, since his assumption
of the command in that district, has fully justified the high opinion
which his Excellency had formed of him from his former services, and
which induced the Governor to appoint him to that arduous station, in
a time of such extreme difficulty and discouragement." The governor
also expressed his approbation of the conduct of the officers and
soldiers serving under Captain Beaver.
[Sidenote: 1804]
In 1804 the Candians again made preparations for an attack on the
British settlements; and the English troops penetrated the provinces
of Candy. Some sharp fighting occurred; and on the 14th of October
Lieutenants B. Vincent and H. L. Smith were killed at Fort M^cDowall.
[Sidenote: 1805]
Another attack on the British territory was made in the early part of
1805; but the Candians were completely routed in every quarter. In
October of this year the NINETEENTH regiment embarked for Columbo.
[Sidenote: 1806]
The regiment proceeded by sea to Trincomalee in September, 1806; but
marched back to Columbo two months afterwards.
[Sidenote: 1807]
[Sidenote: 1808]
During the years 1807 and 1808, the regiment was stationed at the
capital of the island of Ceylon.
[Sidenote: 1809]
Disputes of a tedious and complicated character between the British
government and the Rajah of _Travancore_, a province situated at
the south-west extremity of Hindoostan, occasioned the NINETEENTH
regiment to be withdrawn from Ceylon in February, 1809, and to
proceed to Madras to join the troops designed for the reduction of
the hostile Rajah. The country of Travancore was taken possession of
without much serious opposition, when a force of sufficient strength
was assembled for that purpose, and the Rajah was forced to submit.
In December the regiment returned to Ceylon.
[Sidenote: 1810]
General Sir Samuel Hulse having been removed to the sixty-second
regiment, the colonelcy of the NINETEENTH was conferred on
Lieut.-General Sir Hew Dalrymple from the thirty-seventh, by
commission dated the 25th of June, 1810.
The war with France was continued, a British army was fighting for
the liberties of Europe in Portugal and Spain, and in 1810 the
English government resolved to deprive Napoleon of the Isle of
France, now called the _Mauritius_, the only remaining territory
in the possession of France, in the East. To take part in this
enterprise, four companies of the NINETEENTH regiment embarked from
Ceylon on the 6th of September, 1810. The expedition rendezvoused
at the island of Rodriguez, from whence it sailed to the Isle of
France, and a landing was effected on the 29th of November. The
troops suffered much from the want of water in their advance upon
Port Louis, the capital, and finding a plentiful supply at the
powder-mills on the road, they halted there during the night of the
30th of November. Some sharp skirmishing occurred, and several men
were killed and wounded. On the following day the troops resumed
their march; drove the French from their positions with great
gallantry; and forced the governor to surrender this valuable colony
in three days.
The four companies afterwards returned to Ceylon.
[Sidenote: 1811]
Lieut.-General Sir Hew Dalrymple was removed, in April, 1811, to the
fifty-seventh regiment, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the
NINETEENTH by Major-General Hilgrove Turner, from the Cape regiment.
[Sidenote: 1812]
[Sidenote: 1813]
[Sidenote: 1814]
The reigning sovereign of Candy evinced so cruel and tyrannical a
disposition, that he became odious to his subjects, who experienced
a total insecurity of life and property under his rule, individuals
being frequently deprived of both at the caprice of the king. The
governor of one of his provinces was summoned to appear at the
capital; but this chief, expecting that the sacrifice of his life,
and the seizure of his property, were intended, did not obey the
mandate. The king assembled an army, overpowered the forces of the
disobedient chief, and forced him to fly for protection to the
British settlements. About the period when these events agitated the
interior of the island of Ceylon, the NINETEENTH regiment embarked
for Trincomalee, where it arrived in the beginning of March, 1814.
[Sidenote: 1815]
Elated with his success against the disobedient chief, the King of
Candy prepared to invade the British territory; and the governor,
Major-General Brownrigg, resolved to preserve the English provinces
from aggression by invading the kingdom of Candy. The British troops
advanced into the kingdom of Candy, in seven divisions, in the
beginning of February, 1815, and the NINETEENTH regiment marched from
Trincomalee to take part in this service. The soldiers underwent
great fatigue in crossing mountains, passing morasses and rivers,
and traversing regions inhabited only by the wild beasts of the
forest; they succeeded in overcoming all opposition, and arrived at
the capital in the middle of February. The king fled; but he was
seized by his own subjects, ill-treated, and brought a prisoner to
the British camp. An assembly of Candian chiefs declared the Malbar
dynasty deposed, and the provinces of Candy united to the dominions
of the British crown. Thus was an extensive tract of country,
bountifully endowed with natural gifts, and producing the necessaries
and luxuries of life, including spices, metals, and precious stones,
added to the British dominions; a numerous race of human beings, of
a peculiarly interesting character, was delivered from the power of
despotism, and brought under the advantages of the just government
and equitable laws of Great Britain. Every species of torture was
immediately abolished; but the ancient religion of the inhabitants,
and the former mode of administering justice, were preserved. The
conduct of the British troops was highly meritorious, and reflected
credit on the several corps employed on this enterprise: the soldiers
abstained from plunder and violence, and behaved with such order
and regularity as to conciliate the inhabitants, whose condition,
improved by a policy founded on liberal ideas, and exhibiting
enlarged views, prepared the way for their emancipation from the
errors of superstition, and their introduction to the advantages of
Christianity, and of European arts, sciences, and commerce.
The British troops occupied posts in the newly-acquired territory,
and the corps not required for this duty returned to their former
quarters.
[Sidenote: 1816]
The NINETEENTH regiment remained at Trincomalee, and other stations
in that quarter of the island, until February, 1818, when it returned
to Columbo.
[Sidenote: 1818]
Soon afterwards a new claimant to the throne of Candy arrived in
that country, from the continent of India, and being supported by
several native chiefs, who were hostile to the British interests, a
rebellion took place. This event called the NINETEENTH again into the
field; they marched for Candy in April, 1818, and again traversed
mountainous districts and wild and beautiful regions; some desultory
fighting occurred; but a greater loss of life was occasioned by the
climate, than by the swords of the insurgents. The rebellion was
suppressed; the regiment returned to Columbo in September; and in
October it marched to Point de Galle.
[Sidenote: 1819]
[Sidenote: 1820]
After serving twenty-three years at Ceylon, and taking a
distinguished part in the important events which had occurred in that
island, the regiment was relieved from duty there, and embarked for
England in January, 1820; it landed at Gravesend on the 19th of May,
and was stationed in the south of England during the remainder of the
year.
[Sidenote: 1821]