to bear the word “PYRENEES” on the regimental colour and
appointments, in commemoration of the services of the first
battalion in the actions of the 25th, 30th, and 31st of July, which
have been designated the “_Battles of the Pyrenees_.”
In these actions the SEVENTY-FIRST had Lieutenant Alexander Duff
killed; Major Maxwell Mackenzie, Captains Leslie Walker and
Alexander Grant, Lieutenants Thomas Park, John Roberts, William
Woolcombe, William Peacocke, and Anthony Pack wounded.
The following “Morning Reports” of the 14th of June and 7th of
August, the former being prior to the battle of Vittoria, and the
latter a few days subsequent to the actions in the Pyrenees, will
show how the ranks of the SEVENTY-FIRST were thinned within a
period of less than two months.
Rank
Sergts. Buglers. and File.
14th June 1813, present and }
fit for duty } 54 21 909
7th August 1813 Ditto 21 15 356
-----------------------
Decrease 33 6 553
=======================
For nearly three months the battalion was encamped on the
heights of Roncesvalles, during which period _St. Sebastian_ and
_Pampeluna_ were captured. The men were principally employed during
this interval in the construction of block-houses and batteries,
and the formation of roads for the artillery.
In the early part of the season the neighbouring heights of
_Altobispo_ were occupied weekly by the brigades of the division;
but as the cold increased with the high winds, the piquets alone
were appointed for this duty. Such was the inclemency of the
weather, and natural advantages of this position, that it was
scarcely thought that the enemy would attempt an attack. This
opinion, however, was ill founded, as upon the night of the 11th
of October an attempt was made by a strong party upon the advance,
composed of fifteen men of the SEVENTY-FIRST, under Serjeant
James Ross. Instead of flinching from an unequal contest, this
small band, relying upon the strength of the position, and being,
moreover, favored by the darkness, which concealed its strength,
maintained its ground, and forced the enemy to retire. The bravery
of this party called forth high encomiums from Lieut.-General the
Honorable Sir William Stewart, commanding the division, and at his
request the soldiers composing it were all presented with medals.
On the 8th of November the division was again in motion, for the
purpose of entering the French territory; and on the 9th of that
month it bivouacked near the heights of Maya, where orders were
received to march as light as possible. The heights were passed
that night by moonlight, for the purpose of joining the grand army;
but the march over bad roads was so fatiguing that when the brigade
arrived in position on the _Nivelle_ it was not called upon to take
an active part in the glorious proceedings of the rest of the army
on the 10th of November, in forcing the French from their fortified
position on that river.
After the battle of the Nivelle, the battalion marched in the
direction of Cambo, on the Nive, where some smart skirmishing
occurred, in which two men were killed, and four serjeants, one
bugler, and forty-one rank and file wounded. When the French
crossed to the right bank, the SEVENTY-FIRST occupied part of the
town of Cambo.
The battalion remained in Cambo for nearly a month, and was here
joined by a detachment of four serjeants and eighty-two rank and
file, under the command of Lieutenant Charles Henderson, from the
second battalion, at this period stationed at Glasgow.
On the 9th of December the first battalion was engaged in the
passage of the _Nive_. The left wing of the SEVENTY-FIRST entered
the river, supported by the fire of the right, and reached the
opposite bank without experiencing any loss.
The enemy now retired within Bayonne, and the corps of
Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill was established with its right on
the Adour, the left above the Nive, and the centre at _St. Pierre_,
across the high road to St. Jean Pied-de-Port.
In this disposition the second division, of which the SEVENTY-FIRST
formed part, was placed at St. Pierre. Marshal Soult having
completely failed in an attempt which he made against the left of
the army, moved with his whole force against Sir Rowland Hill’s
corps, with the expectation of overwhelming him before he could be
supported.
The enemy came on with great boldness upon the 13th of December,
and made vigorous efforts against the centre, which he repeatedly
attacked; but at last, finding his most earnest endeavours
fruitless, he drew off. In the action of this day the loss of the
first battalion of the SEVENTY-FIRST regiment was very severe,
having been placed close to the main road, against which the French
made such formidable and repeated attacks.
Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell Mackenzie, and Lieutenants William
Campbell and Charles Henderson, together with two serjeants, one
bugler, and twenty-three rank and file were killed. Captains Robert
Barclay and William Alexander Grant, and Lieutenants John M^cIntyre
and William Torriano, with thirty-seven rank and file, were wounded.
The following short but highly expressive Division Order was issued
by Lieutenant General the Honorable Sir William Stewart, K.B.:
“_Head-Quarters, near Petite Moguerre,_
“_December 14th, 1813._
“The second division has greatly distinguished itself, and its
gallantry in yesterday’s action is avowed by the Commander of the
Forces and the allied army.”
In commemoration of these services, the SEVENTY-FIRST subsequently
received the Royal authority to bear the word “NIVE” on the
regimental colour and appointments.
The battalion marched on the 19th of December to Urcuit, and to Urt
upon the 28th of that month. A small piquet of the SEVENTY-FIRST,
under the command of Corporal Dogherty, here distinguished itself,
by beating off an enemy’s party of nearly treble its strength.
[Sidenote: 1814.]
While stationed in this quarter, the companies were frequently
engaged in skirmishes with the enemy, particularly at St.
Hellette, heights of Garris, and St. Palais, in the month of
January 1814.
In the beginning of February the battalion marched from Urt,
and during its advance had frequent skirmishes with the enemy’s
rear-guard.
On the 26th of February the battalion was in action at
_Sauveterre_, and upon the 27th had the honor of participating in
the battle of _Orthes_.
In commemoration of this victory the SEVENTY-FIRST afterwards
received the Royal authority to bear the word “ORTHES” on the
regimental colour and appointments.
Two divisions of the French army having retired to _Aire_, after
the action of the 27th of February, Lieut.-General Sir Rowland
Hill moved upon that town to dislodge them. Upon the 2d of March
the French were found strongly posted upon a ridge of hills,
extending across the great road in front of the town, having their
right on the Adour. The second division attacked them along the
road, seconded by a Portuguese brigade, and drove them from their
position, in gallant style. Lieutenant James Anderson and seventeen
rank and file were killed; Lieutenant Henry Frederick Lockyer, one
serjeant, and nineteen rank and file, were wounded.
A detachment from the second battalion, consisting of one captain,
four subalterns, and a hundred and thirty-four rank and file, under
the command of Major Arthur Jones, joined at Aire.
On the 25th of March part of the battalion was engaged in an affair
at _Tarbes_, in which Lieutenant Robert Law was wounded, and upon
the 10th of April was in position at _Toulouse_, where some of the
companies were employed skirmishing, and sustained a loss of one
serjeant and three rank and file killed; six rank and file were
wounded.
During the night of the 11th of April the French troops evacuated
_Toulouse_, and a white flag was hoisted. On the following day the
Marquis of Wellington entered the city, amidst the acclamations
of the inhabitants. In the course of the afternoon of the 12th of
April intelligence was received of the abdication of Napoleon,
and had not the express been delayed on the journey by the French
police the sacrifice of many valuable lives would have been
prevented.
A disbelief in the truth of this intelligence occasioned much
unnecessary bloodshed at _Bayonne_, the garrison of which made
a desperate _sortie_ on the 14th of April, and Lieutenant Sir
John Hope (afterwards Earl of Hopetoun) was taken prisoner.
Major-General Andrew Hay was killed, and Major-General Stopford was
wounded.
A treaty of peace was established between Great Britain and France;
Louis XVIII. was restored to the throne of France; and Napoleon
Bonaparte was permitted to reside at Elba, the sovereignty of that
island having been conceded to him by the allied powers.
The war being ended, the first battalion of the SEVENTY-FIRST
regiment marched from Toulouse to Blanchfort, where it was encamped
for sixteen days, and afterwards proceeded to Pouillac, where it
embarked on the 15th of July for England, on board of His Majesty’s
ship “Sultan,” of seventy-four guns.
Prior to the breaking up of the Peninsular army, the Duke of
Wellington issued the following General Order:--
“_Bordeaux, 14th June 1814._
“GENERAL ORDER.
“The Commander of the Forces, being upon the point of returning
to England, again takes this opportunity of congratulating the
army upon the recent events which have restored peace to their
country and to the world.
“The share which the British army have had in producing those
events, and the high character with which the army will quit
this country, must be equally satisfactory to every individual
belonging to it, as they are to the Commander of the Forces, and
he trusts that the troops will continue the same good conduct to
the last.
“The Commander of the Forces once more requests the army to
accept his thanks.
“Although circumstances may alter the relations in which he has
stood towards them for some years so much to his satisfaction, he
assures them he will never cease to feel the warmest interest in
their welfare and honor, and that he will be at all times happy
to be of any service to those to whose conduct, discipline, and
gallantry their country is so much indebted.”
In addition to the other distinctions acquired during the war
in Spain, Portugal, and the south of France, the SEVENTY-FIRST
subsequently received the Royal authority to bear the word
“PENINSULA” on the regimental colour and appointments.
The first battalion arrived at Cork on the 28th of July, and
marched to Mallow, where it remained for a few days. On the 4th of
August the battalion marched to Limerick, where Colonel Reynell
assumed the command of it in December, and in which city it
continued to be quartered during the remainder of the year.
[Sidenote: 2d bat.]
The second battalion remained stationed in North Britain.
[Sidenote: 1815.]
[Sidenote: 1st bat.]
In January 1815, the first battalion of the SEVENTY-FIRST
regiment marched from Limerick to Cork, and embarked as part
of an expedition under orders for North America. Peace having
been concluded with the United States, and contrary winds having
prevented the sailing of the vessels, the destination of the
battalion was changed, and subsequent events occasioned its being
employed against its former opponents. The tranquillity which
Europe appeared to have gained by the splendid successes over the
French in the Peninsula was again to be disturbed. Napoleon, who
had been accustomed to imperial sway, was naturally discontented
with his small sovereignty of Elba. Besides, the correspondence
kept up by him with his adherents in France gave him hopes of
regaining his former power, which were, for a short time, fully
realized. Napoleon Bonaparte landed at Cannes, in Provence, on
the 1st of March 1815, with a small body of men, and on the 20th
of that month entered Paris at the head of an army which had
joined him on the road. This could not be matter of wonder, for
the officers and soldiers had won their fame under his command,
and gladly welcomed their former leader, under whom they probably
expected to acquire fresh honors, which might cancel the memory of
the defeats sustained in the Peninsula.
Louis XVIII., unable to stem the torrent, withdrew from Paris
to Ghent, and Napoleon resumed his former dignity of Emperor of
the French. This assumption the allied powers determined not to
acknowledge, and resolved to deprive him of his sovereignty, and
again restore the ancient dynasty.
The first battalion of the SEVENTY-FIRST, in consequence of these
occurrences, proceeded to the Downs, and was there transhipped into
small craft, which conveyed it to Ostend, where it disembarked on
the 22d of April.
The battalion next proceeded to Ghent, and, after remaining
there a week, marched to Leuze, between Ath and Tournay, and was
subsequently placed in the light brigade with the first battalion
of the fifty-second, six companies of the second and two companies
of the third battalion of the ninety-fifth regiment (Rifles), under
the command of Major-General Frederick Adam, in the division of
Lieut.-General Sir Henry Clinton.[31]
The strength of the brigade was as follows:--
Rank and File.
52d regt. 1st bat. 997
71st do. do. 788
95th do. 2d bat. Rifles 571
95th do. 3d do. do. 185
------
Total 2,541
======
Brevet Colonel Reynell, afterwards Lieut.-General Sir Thomas
Reynell, commanded the battalion at this period.
Napoleon resolved on attacking the Allies before their forces had
been fully collected, and by well-masked and admirably combined
movements, a portion of his army was concentrated on the 14th of
June between the Sambre and the Meuse.
On the morning of the 16th of June, as the battalion was proceeding
to the usual exercising ground of the brigade at Leuze, it received
orders for an immediate advance upon _Nivelles_, where it arrived
late that night. On the same day Prince Blucher had been attacked
at _Ligny_, and was forced to retreat to Wavre. The Duke of
Wellington and a portion of his army had been also attacked at
_Quatre Bras_ by Marshal Ney, who, however, made no impression upon
the British position.
In the course of the morning of the 17th of June, the Duke of
Wellington made a retrograde movement upon _Waterloo_, in order to
keep up his communication with the Prussians. At day-break on the
same morning, the first battalion of the SEVENTY-FIRST retired, and
broke up its position, with the rest of the allied army, on the
plains in the neighbourhood of _Waterloo_, being situated to the
left and rear of _Hougomont_.
The SEVENTY-FIRST, with the rest of the army, bivouacked in
position during the night of the 17th of June, drenched by the
rain, which fell heavily. Upon the morning of the memorable 18th
of June, the battalion stood in open column, and in this situation
was exposed for some time to a heavy fire of artillery, but a
judicious movement to a short distance alleviated in a great
measure this annoyance. Line was next formed, and about two o’clock
the battalion, with the rest of the brigade, advanced, met their
opponents in position, charged, and instantly overthrew them.
A heavy fire now commenced upon the retreating enemy, but the
_alignement_ having been completely deranged by the impetuosity of
the advance, Colonel Reynell, with his usual coolness, proceeded
to restore order, and had just completed the dressing of the line
when the French cavalry were seen advancing. Square was instantly
formed, and the SEVENTY-FIRST, with the rest of the brigade,
sustained a charge from three regiments of French cavalry, namely,
one of _cuirassiers_, one of _grenadiers-à-cheval_, and one of
lancers.
The charge was made with the most obstinate bravery, but nothing
could overcome the steadiness of the British infantry, and after a
destructive loss, the French were forced to retire.
Previously to this advance, the square of the SEVENTY-FIRST was
struck by a round-shot, which killed or wounded an officer and
eighteen men of the eighth company.
About seven o’clock in the evening the left wing of the battalion
was formed in rear of the right, and, while thus placed, was, with
the rest of the division, attacked by a column of the Imperial
Guard. These troops were fresh, having been kept in reserve during
the day. They were allowed to approach close without molestation,
and the regiments throwing in a close and well-directed fire, they
could not deploy, but broke, and retired in confusion.
The enemy having now exhausted all his efforts, the British, in
their turn, advanced. The SEVENTY-FIRST, in the first instance,
suffered much from the fire of some guns that raked their front;
these were soon silenced, and the battalion was afterwards left
unmolested. In this advance the light brigade captured several
guns. Night closed in fast, and the corps rested after this
lengthened and sanguinary encounter, the pursuit of the discomfited
enemy being committed to the Prussians, under Marshal Blucher, who
had arrived on the field of battle.
The SEVENTY-FIRST had Brevet Major Edmund L’Estrange (Aide-de-Camp
to Major-General Sir Denis Pack, K.C.B.), and Ensign John Todd,
killed. The following officers were wounded: the Lieut.-Colonel
commanding the battalion, Colonel Thomas Reynell; Brevet
Lieut.-Colonel Arthur Jones; Captains Samuel Reed, Donald Campbell,
William Alexander Grant, James Henderson, and Brevet-Major Charles
Johnstone; Lieutenants Joseph Barrallier, Robert Lind, John
Roberts, James Coates, Robert Law, Carique Lewin, and Lieutenant
and Adjutant William Anderson.
The number of serjeants, buglers, and rank and file killed amounted
to twenty-nine; one hundred and sixty-six were wounded, and
thirty-six died of their wounds.
Both Houses of Parliament, with the greatest enthusiasm, voted
their thanks to the army “for its distinguished valour at Waterloo.”
For the share which the battalion had in this glorious victory, the
SEVENTY-FIRST were permitted to bear, in common with the rest of
the army engaged upon the 18th of June, the word “WATERLOO” on the
regimental colour and appointments.
The officers and men engaged were presented with silver medals by
His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, and were allowed to reckon
two years additional service.
The battalion, with the rest of the army, afterwards marched
towards Paris, and entered that city on the 7th of July. The
brigade encamped that day in the _Champs Elysées_, near the Place
Louis Quinze, being the only British troops quartered within the
barriers, and continued there until the beginning of November, when
it proceeded to Versailles, and to Viarmes in December.
Meanwhile Louis XVIII. had entered Paris, and was again reinstated
on the throne of his ancestors. Napoleon Bonaparte had surrendered
to Captain Maitland, commanding the “Bellerophon” British ship
of war, and the island of St. Helena having been fixed for his
residence, he was conveyed thither with a few of his devoted
followers.
[Sidenote: 2d bat.]
On the 24th of December 1815, the second battalion of the
SEVENTY-FIRST was disbanded at Glasgow, the effective officers and
men being transferred to the first battalion.
[Sidenote: 1816.]
In January 1816, the SEVENTY-FIRST marched to the Pas-de-Calais, in
which part of France the regiment was cantoned in several villages,
having its head-quarters at Norrent Fonte, a village on the high
road from Calais to Douay.
On the 21st of June 1816, the regiment assembled upon the _bruyère_
of Rombly, between the villages of Lingham and Rombly on the one
side, and Viterness and Leitre on the other, for the purpose of
receiving the medals which had been granted by His Royal Highness
the Prince Regent to the officers, non-commissioned officers,
buglers, and privates, for their services at the battle of Waterloo.
A hollow square upon the centre was formed on this occasion; the
ranks were opened, and the boxes containing the medals were placed
within the square. Colonel Reynell then addressed the regiment in
the following manner:
“SEVENTY-FIRST!!
“The deep interest, which you will all give me credit for
feeling, in everything that affects the corps cannot fail to be
awakened upon an occasion such as the present, when holding in
my hands, to transfer to yours, these honorable rewards bestowed
by your Sovereign for your share in the great and glorious
exertions of the army of His Grace the Duke of Wellington upon
the field of Waterloo, when the utmost efforts of the army of
France, directed by Napoleon, reputed to be the first captain
of the age, were not only paralyzed at the moment, but blasted
beyond the power of even a second struggle.
“To have participated in a contest crowned with victory so
decisive, and productive of consequences that have diffused
peace, security, and happiness throughout Europe, may be to each
of you a source of honorable pride, as well as of gratitude to
the Omnipotent Arbiter of all human contests, who preserved you
in such peril, and without whose protecting hand the battle
belongs not to the strong, nor the race to the swift.
“I acknowledge to feel an honest, and, I trust, an excusable,
exultation, in having had the honor to command you on that day;
and in dispensing these medals, destined to record in your
families the share you had in the ever memorable battle of
WATERLOO, it is a peculiar satisfaction to me that I can present
them to those by whom they have been fairly and honorably earned,
and that I can here solemnly declare, that in the course of that
eventful day I did not observe a soldier of this good regiment
whose conduct was not only creditable to the English nation, but
such as his dearest friends could desire.
“Under such agreeable reflections, I request you to accept
these medals, and to wear them with becoming pride, as they are
incontestable proofs of a faithful discharge of your duty to your
King and your Country. I trust that they will act as powerful
talismans, to keep you, in your future lives, in the paths of
honor, sobriety, and virtue.”
At the conclusion of the above address the arms were presented,
“God save the King” was played, and the battalion, by signal, gave
three cheers. Colonel Reynell then, from the lists of companies in
succession, called over the names of those entitled to receive a
medal, and with his own hand placed it in that of the soldier.
[Sidenote: 1817.]
New colours were presented to the regiment on the 13th of January
1817, by Major-General Sir Denis Pack, K.C.B., who made the
following address on the occasion:--
“SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT!
“Officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, it affords
me the greatest satisfaction, at the request of your commanding
officer, Colonel Reynell, to have the honor of presenting these
colours to you.
“There are many who could perform the office with a better grace,
but there is no one, believe me, who is more sensible of the
merit of the corps, or who is more anxious for its honor and
welfare.