in the extreme. In the midst of winter, in a dreary and desolate
country, the soldiers, chilled and drenched with the heavy rains,
and wearied by long and rapid marches, were almost destitute of
fuel to cook their victuals, and it was with extreme difficulty
that they could procure shelter. Provisions were scarce,
irregularly issued, and difficult of attainment. The waggons,
in which were their magazines, baggage, and stores, were often
deserted in the night by the Spanish drivers, who were terrified
by the approach of the French. Thus baggage, ammunition, stores,
and even money were destroyed to prevent them falling into the
hands of the enemy; and the weak, the sick, and the wounded were
necessarily left behind. The SEVENTY-FIRST suffered in proportion
with the rest, and by weakness, sickness, and fatigue lost about
ninety-three men.
[Sidenote: 1809.]
On the 5th of January 1809, a position was taken up at Lugo,
where some skirmishing occurred, in which three companies of the
SEVENTY-FIRST were engaged, and repulsed the enemy.
Lieut.-General Francis Dundas was appointed from the ninety-fourth
regiment to be Colonel of the SEVENTY-FIRST on the 7th of January
1809, in succession to Lieut.-General Sir John Francis Cradock,
K.B., removed to the forty-third regiment.
The retreat was again commenced on the 9th of January; and on
the 11th the army, still nearly fifteen thousand strong, reached
_Corunna_. The British army, having accomplished one of the most
celebrated retreats recorded in modern history, repulsing the
pursuing enemy in all his attacks, and having traversed two hundred
and fifty miles of mountainous country under very disheartening
circumstances, accompanied by severe privation, was not destined to
embark for England without a battle.
The transports not having arrived, a position was occupied in
advance of _Corunna_, and some sharp skirmishing ensued, in which
four companies of the SEVENTY-FIRST were warmly engaged, and lost
several men in killed and wounded. Lieutenant William Lockwood
was severely wounded. On this ground the battle of _Corunna_ was
fought, on the 16th of January; but the SEVENTY-FIRST, being placed
on the extreme left of the British line, had little to do therein.
The result of the action was glorious to the British army, but was
darkened by the loss of Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, who received
a severe wound during the battle, and died at ten o’clock on the
same night. His remains were wrapped in a military cloak, and
interred in the Citadel of Corunna, over which Marshal Soult, with
the true feeling of a soldier, erected a monument.
Lieut.-General Sir David Baird, who succeeded to the command upon
Sir John Moore being wounded, was also wounded, and the command
devolved upon Lieut.-General the Honorable John Hope.
At eight o’clock on the night of the 16th of January the troops
quitted their position, leaving the piquets posted, and a few men
to keep up the fires, and then marched into Corunna, where they
embarked for England on the following day.
In commemoration of this battle, and of the conduct of the
battalion during the expedition, the SEVENTY-FIRST, in common with
the army employed under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, received the
royal authority to bear the word “CORUNNA” on the regimental colour
and appointments.[24]
The thanks of both Houses of Parliament were conferred on
the troops, and were communicated to Lieut.-Colonel Pack by
Lieut.-General Sir David Baird in the following letter:--
“_Portsmouth, 30th January 1809._
“SIR,
“I have great pleasure in transmitting to you copies of letters
from the Lord Chancellor and the Speaker of the House of Commons,
enclosing the Resolutions of both Houses of Parliament, dated
25th of January 1809, which contain the thanks of those Houses to
the army lately engaged before Corunna.
“In communicating to you, Sir, this most signal mark of the
approbation of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, allow me to add my warmest congratulations
upon a distinction which you, and the corps under your command on
that day, had a share in obtaining for His Majesty’s service.
“I have, &c.
“(Signed) DAVID BAIRD,
“_Lieut.-General_.
“_Officer commanding First Battalion_
“SEVENTY-FIRST regiment.”
After the battalion had landed at Ramsgate, it was marched to
Ashford in Kent, where it continued for some time, collecting the
men, who from contrary winds were driven into different ports.
While at Ashford the battalion was brigaded with the Warwick
militia and the ninety-first regiment, under Brigadier-General the
Baron de Rottenburg. Great sickness prevailed at this station, and
Surgeon James Evans and several of the soldiers died of typhus
fever.
On the 20th of March 1809 the Royal authority was granted for the
SEVENTY-FIRST to be formed into a _light infantry_ regiment, when
it was directed that the clothing, arming, and discipline should
be the same in all respects as the forty-third, fifty-second,
sixty-eighth, and eighty-fifth regiments.
The first battalion marched, on the 27th of April 1809, for
Brabourne-Lees barracks, and was brigaded with the sixty-eighth and
eighty-fifth light infantry regiments. Every exertion was here made
to increase the strength and improve the discipline of the corps.
In June the first battalion was increased by a large reinforcement,
consisting of several officers and 311 non-commissioned officers
and privates from the second battalion, which continued to be
stationed in North Britain. Several volunteers from the militia
were also received at this period.
Immense preparations had been made by the British Government to fit
out the most formidable armament that had for a long time proceeded
from England. The troops amounted to 40,000 men, commanded by
Lieut.-General the Earl of Chatham; the naval portion consisted of
thirty-nine ships of the line, thirty-six frigates, and numerous
gun-boats and bomb-vessels, and other small craft, under Admiral
Sir Richard Strachan. The object of the expedition was to obtain
possession of the islands at the mouth of the _Scheldt_, and to
destroy the French ships in that river, with the docks and arsenals
at Antwerp. The first battalion of the SEVENTY-FIRST, towards the
end of June, received orders to prepare for the above service, and
marched, on the 28th and 29th of that month, in two divisions,
encamping near Gosport.
On the 16th of July the battalion, consisting of three field
officers, six captains, twenty-seven subalterns, five staff,
forty-eight serjeants, and 974 drummers and rank and file,
embarked at Portsmouth on board His Majesty’s ships _Belleisle_
and _Impérieuse_, and towards the end of the month sailed for the
Downs.
The battalion was brigaded, under Brigadier-General the Baron de
Rottenburg, with the sixty-eighth and eighty-fifth light infantry,
in the division commanded by Lieut.-General Alexander Mackenzie
Fraser, and in the corps of Lieut.-General Sir Eyre Coote, K.B.
The expedition sailed from the Downs on the 28th of July, and
having arrived off the Roompet Channel, preparations were made for
landing; small craft to cover the landing were also sent in shore,
and the light brigade, composed of the sixty-eighth, SEVENTY-FIRST,
and eighty-fifth light infantry, were landed under their fire. In
an instant they were in contact with the enemy’s sharpshooters, who
fell back, skirmishing. Being pushed hard, four guns, with their
equipment, and several prisoners were taken by two companies of the
SEVENTY-FIRST, under Captains George Sutherland and Henry Hall, and
one company of the eighty-fifth regiment.
A battery and flagstaff on the coast were taken possession of by
the tenth company of the SEVENTY-FIRST, and in lieu of a flag a
soldier’s red jacket was hoisted on it.
This advance having succeeded at all points, and the enemy
having fallen back on _Flushing_ and _Middleburg_, the army was
disembarked. The advance then dividing, proceeded by different
routes. The SEVENTY-FIRST moved by the sea dyke on a fort
called _Ter Veer_, the situation and strength of which was not
sufficiently known, an enemy’s deserter having given but imperfect
intelligence respecting it.
After nightfall the column continued to advance in perfect silence,
with orders to attack the post with the bayonet, when, on a sudden,
the advance-guard fell in with an enemy’s party, who came out for
the purpose of firing some houses which overlooked the works. The
column following the advance-guard had entered an avenue or road
leading to the fort, when the advance commenced the action with the
enemy, who, retiring within the place, opened a tremendous fire
from his works with artillery and musketry. Some guns pointing down
the road by which the battalion advanced did great execution, and
the SEVENTY-FIRST had Surgeon Charles Henry Quin killed, and about
eighteen men killed and wounded. The column, after some firing,
retired, and the place was the next day regularly invested by sea
and land. It took three days to reduce it, when it capitulated,
with its stores, and a garrison of 800 men.
_Flushing_ having been invested on the 1st of August, the
SEVENTY-FIRST, after the surrender of Ter Veer, were ordered into
the line of circumvallation, and placed on the extreme left,
resting on the Scheldt. The preparations for the attack on the
town having been completed, on the 13th a dreadful fire was opened
from the batteries and bomb-vessels, and congreve rockets having
been thrown into the town, it was on fire in many places. The
ships having joined in the attack, the enemy’s fire gradually
slackened, and at length ceased. A summons being sent in, a delay
was demanded, but being rejected, the firing recommenced.
On the 14th of August one of the outworks was carried at the point
of the bayonet by a party of detachments and two companies of the
SEVENTY-FIRST under Lieut.-Colonel Pack.
In this affair, Ensign Donald Sinclair, of the SEVENTY-FIRST, was
killed; Captain George Spottiswoode and a few men were wounded.
_Flushing_, with its garrison of 6,000 men, capitulated on the 15th
of August, and the right gate was occupied by a detachment of 300
men of the first or Royal Scots, and the left gate by a detachment
of similar strength of the SEVENTY-FIRST under Major Arthur Jones.
The naval arsenal, and some vessels of war which were on the
stocks, fell into the hands of the British.
The SEVENTY-FIRST shortly after proceeded to Middleburg, where the
battalion remained for a few days, when it was ordered to occupy
_Ter Veer_, of which place Lieut.-Colonel Pack was appointed
commandant, and Lieutenant Henry Clements, of the SEVENTY-FIRST,
town major. The battalion remained doing duty in the garrison until
this island, after destroying the works, &c., was finally evacuated
on the 22d of December.
On the 23d of December the battalion embarked in transports, and
sailed for England, after a service of five months in a very
unhealthy climate, which cost the battalion the loss of the
following officers and men.
Serjeants, Drummers,
Officers. and Rank and File.
Died on service 1 57
Killed 2 19
Died after return home 2 9
-- --
Total 5 85
In passing Cadsand, that fort opened a fire on the transports, one
of which, having part of the SEVENTY-FIRST on board, was struck by
a round shot, which carried off Serjeant Steel’s legs above the
knees.
On the 25th of December the first battalion of the SEVENTY-FIRST
disembarked at Deal, and marched to Brabourne-Lees barracks,
in Kent, where it was again brigaded with the sixty-eighth and
eighty-fifth light infantry, and was occupied in putting itself in
an efficient state for active service.
[Sidenote: 1810.]
Upon the SEVENTY-FIRST being made light infantry, they were
permitted to retain such parts of the national dress as might
not be inconsistent with their duties as a light corps. A
correspondence on the subject took place between Lieut.-Colonel
Pack and the Adjutant-General in April 1810, and the following
reply was received from head-quarters.
“_Horse Guards, 12th April 1810._
“SIR,
“Having submitted to the Commander-in-Chief your letter of the
4th instant, I am directed to state, that there is no objection
to the SEVENTY-FIRST being denominated _Highland Light Infantry
Regiment_, or to their retaining their pipes, and the Highland
garb for the pipers; and that they will, of course, be permitted
to wear caps according to the pattern which was lately approved
and sealed by authority.[25]
“I have, &c.
“(Signed) WILLIAM WYNYARD,
“_Deputy Adjutant-General_.
“_Lieut.-Colonel Pack,_
“_71st Regiment._”
On the 8th of May 1810 the first battalion marched to Deal
barracks, where every exertion was continued to render it fit for
active service. Here the battalion was deprived of the services
of Lieut.-Colonel Pack, who was appointed a brigadier in the
Portuguese army under Marshal William Carr Beresford, afterwards
General the Viscount Beresford.
Nothing of moment occurred until the early part of September, when
the battalion received orders to hold six companies in readiness
for foreign service. They were prepared accordingly by drafting
into them, from the companies which were to remain at home, the
most effective officers and men, several not having recovered from
the Walcheren fever.
The following were the companies selected and completed for foreign
service, namely:--
1st, or Capt. M^cIntyre’s,
2d, or “ Hall’s,
3d, or “ Adamson’s,
4th, or “ Walker’s,
6th, or “ Spottiswoode’s,
10th, or “ Lewis Grant’s.
They consisted of two field officers, six captains, fifteen
lieutenants, seven ensigns, four staff, thirty-eight serjeants,
twelve drummers, and six hundred and three rank and file.
On the 14th of September the above companies embarked in the Downs
on board the Melpomene and St. Fiorenzo frigates; three companies,
with the staff, and Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Nathaniel Levett
Peacocke, on board the former; the remaining three companies, under
Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Reynell, afterwards colonel of the
regiment, on board the latter. They sailed on the following day for
Lisbon, and entered the Tagus on the 25th of September, after a
short and pleasant passage. The companies were disembarked on the
following day, and quartered in the San Benito and Espirito Santo
convents.
The greatest exertions were made to complete the companies in field
equipment, bât-mules, &c., which being effected, the detachment
marched from Lisbon on the 2d of October to Mafra, where it was
shortly afterwards joined by Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Henry
Cadogan, who assumed the command, and Lieut.-Colonel Peacocke
returned to the second battalion in North Britain.
The detachment being ordered to join the army under Lieut.-General
Viscount Wellington, then retreating before Marshal Massena, Prince
of Essling, marched from Mafra on the 8th of October, and on the
10th of that month effected the junction at Sobral, where it was
brigaded with the fiftieth and ninety-second regiments under
Major-General Sir William Erskine, in the first division under
Lieut.-General Sir Brent Spencer, K.B.
The army having retired into a position in the rear of Sobral,
that place was occupied by the SEVENTY-FIRST, having for its
support the fiftieth and ninety-second regiments and Major-General
Alan Cameron’s brigade. On the 12th of October the piquets were
violently attacked by the enemy’s advance, and retired skirmishing.
In the meantime the place was ordered to be evacuated, and the
piquets having joined, the SEVENTY-FIRST took up a position on
the outside, within musket-shot of the town. In this affair the
detachment had eight men killed, and thirty-four wounded.
In this position the SEVENTY-FIRST continued, when on the 14th of
October they were again attacked with the greatest impetuosity,
and charged with the bayonet. The enemy was completely repulsed,
with very considerable loss in killed and wounded, being chased to
the spot from which he made the attack. Both parties resumed their
original position.
In Viscount Wellington’s despatch reporting this affair, the names
of Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Henry Cadogan, commanding the
SEVENTY-FIRST, and that of Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Reynell,
were particularly mentioned.
A soldier of the sixth company, named John Rea, behaved on this
occasion in the most gallant manner, and particularly distinguished
himself, for which he received a silver medal, with the following
inscription: “To John Rea, for his exemplary courage and good
conduct as a soldier at Sobral, 14th October 1810.”
On the 15th of October the SEVENTY-FIRST were ordered to withdraw
into the position at Zibriera, which was a continuation of the
lines of Torres Vedras. In this celebrated position, which bid
defiance to the French army, the troops were constantly on the
alert, and occupied in rendering it as strong as circumstances
would admit, and in observing the motions of the enemy.
Marshal Massena did not think proper to attack the British army
in this stronghold, and occupied his time in reconnoissances and
demonstrations, until compelled, through want of provisions, and
consequent sickness of his troops, to abandon his designs, and
retire to a position in his rear. This object he finally effected
in a masterly manner in the night between the 14th and 15th of
November, followed by the allied forces. Both armies thus evacuated
positions on which the attention of Europe had been fixed, and
which they had occupied for a month in the presence of each other.
The division in which the six companies of the SEVENTY-FIRST were
placed advanced by the route of Alemquer, Cartaxo, Atelaya, and
Almoster, and halted in and about the latter place from the 20th
to the 26th of November inclusive. The enemy in the meantime
retired to an extremely strong position at and in the vicinity
of Santarem, where Marshal Massena halted, although threatened
by Viscount Wellington, who, after some manœuvring, took up a
position immediately in the enemy’s front, having his head-quarters
at Cartaxo, and the different corps of the army cantoned in the
villages. The brigade to which the SEVENTY-FIRST belonged occupied
Alquintrinha.
[Sidenote: 1811.]
At this place the SEVENTY-FIRST remained in quarters until March
1811, at which period the army, having been reinforced[26], was
about to resume the offensive, when the enemy retired during
the night of the 5th of March, taking the same road, through
Estremadura, by which he entered Portugal.
The British army accordingly advanced in pursuit of Marshal
Massena, and the brigade in which was the SEVENTY-FIRST accompanied
it, moving by Redinha, Miranda de Corvo, and Saryedes, passing the
Coa, a little above Sabugal, upon the 5th of April, and on the 9th
arrived at Albergaria, a small town on the frontiers of Spain. The
SEVENTY-FIRST remained in Albergaria until the 2d of May, when the
enemy, having been strongly reinforced, moved from Salamanca, and
on that day crossed the frontier with a large convoy of provisions
for Almeida, then closely invested by the Portuguese forces under
Brigadier-General Pack.
In consequence of this movement, the allied army broke up its
cantonments on the Azava, and formed in order of battle upon the
high ground behind the Duas Casas, the left extending to the
high road to Almeida which crossed the river by a ford near Fort
Conception, and the right keeping up a communication with the
bridge at Sabugal; opposite the centre, the village of _Fuentes
d’Onor_ was strongly occupied by light infantry.
Upon the 3d of May the French took post on the opposite side of the
valley of the Duas Casas, their left fronting Fuentes d’Onor, and
their right extending about two miles and a half to Alameda. In the
afternoon of the 3d of May they attacked Fuentes d’Onor with much
vigour. That post was defended with the greatest bravery until the
light companies, being worn out and harassed by repeated attacks,
were obliged to retire, and the enemy possessed himself of the
lower part of the village.
The SEVENTY-FIRST were now ordered up to support, and, commanded
by Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Henry Cadogan, charged the enemy
through the village and across the Duas Casas, taking ten officers
and about a hundred men prisoners. The corps retained its conquest
that night and the whole of the next day, but upon Sunday the 5th
of May, the French having succeeded in turning some troops to the
immediate right, were obliged to give way; having been immediately
supported by the seventy-fourth and eighty-eighth regiments, they
again advanced, took possession of and retained the village until
the conclusion of the action.
A struggle of such duration could not be carried on without great
loss, and the SEVENTY-FIRST suffered severely. They went into
action about 320 strong, and lost nearly one half of their number
in killed and wounded.
The SEVENTY-FIRST had Lieutenants John Consell, William Houston,
and John Graham, and Ensign Donald John Kearns, together with four
serjeants and twenty-two rank and file, killed.
Captains Peter Adamson and James M^cIntyre, Lieutenants William
M^cCraw, Humphrey Fox, and Robert Law (Adjutant), Ensigns Charles
Cox, John Vandeleur, and Carique Lewin, six serjeants, three
buglers, and one hundred rank and file, were wounded. Two officers,
with several men, were taken prisoners.
In commemoration of the gallantry displayed in this prolonged
action, the SEVENTY-FIRST subsequently received the Royal authority
to bear the words “FUENTES D’ONOR” on the regimental colour and
appointments.
Viscount Wellington particularly mentioned the name of
Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Henry Cadogan in his despatch, and
being highly gratified with the conduct of the SEVENTY-FIRST
on this occasion, directed that a non-commissioned officer
should be selected for a commission. According to his Lordship’s
recommendation, Quartermaster-Serjeant William Gavin was shortly
afterwards promoted to an ensigncy in the regiment.
The SEVENTY-FIRST, upon the 14th, returned to their old quarters
at Albergaria, and remained there until the 26th of May, when the
brigade was ordered to the Alemtejo frontier, as a reinforcement to
Marshal Sir William Beresford’s[27] army, at this time besieging
Badajoz, and threatened by the advance of Marshal Soult from the
south of Spain.
[Sidenote: 2d bat.]
On the 15th of May 1811, the second battalion embarked at Leith for
South Britain, arrived at Ramsgate on the 23d of that month, and
remained stationed in England for nearly two years.
[Sidenote: 1st bat.]
The first battalion, upon its route southward, crossed the Tagus
on the 31st of May, and arrived near Albuhera on the 14th of June,
having passed through Portalegre, Aronches, Campo Mayor, and
Talavera Real.
The sanguinary battle of Albuhera, fought on the 16th of May,
had obliged Marshal Soult to retire previously to the arrival of
the reinforcement, which being considered no longer necessary,
the battalion retired to Elvas, where it remained two days; the
battalion again moved to Toro de Moro on the 19th of June, where it
remained for a month. At this encampment a detachment of 350 men,
with a proportion of officers, joined from the second battalion
then stationed at Deal.
About this period the first battalion became a part of the army
under Lieut.-General Rowland (afterwards Viscount) Hill. The
junction of the armies of Marshals Marmont and Soult having
obliged Viscount Wellington to raise the siege of Badajoz, which
had been resumed after the battle of Albuhera, the battalion, in
co-operation with his Lordship’s retrograde movement, retired
to Borba on the 20th of July. Here it remained until the 1st of
September, when it moved to Portalegre, and thence marched to
Castello de Vido on the 4th of October.