adventurer, Sebastian Cabot, who sailed under a commission from
Henry VII., and as the English monarch did not make any use of the
discovery, the French soon attempted to derive advantage from it.
Several small settlements were established, and in the early part
of the seventeenth century the city of _Quebec_ was founded for
the capital of the French possessions in this part of the world.
Although the colony continued in a very depressed state for some
time, and the settlers were often in danger of being exterminated
by the Indians, yet, in the beginning of the eighteenth century,
it had become of such importance, that its capture was considered
one of the best means of weakening the power of the ambitious Louis
XIV. An expedition was placed under the orders of Brigadier-General
Hill, with a naval force under Commodore Sir Hovenden Walker; and
the QUEEN'S regiment was selected to take part in this enterprise.
On arriving at North America the fleet called at Boston for a
supply of provisions, and the troops landed and encamped a short
time on Rhode Island; but on the 20th of July they re-embarked,
and, having been joined by two regiments of provincial troops,
sailed on the intended expedition.
While the brave men who adopt the profession of arms are engaged
in the service of their sovereign and country, they are exposed to
numerous dangers; their hopes of conquest and prospects of fame
are often suddenly terminated by adverse fortune, and such was the
case in the expedition to Quebec. As the fleet was proceeding up
the river St. Lawrence, it became enveloped in a thick fog, and
encountered a severe gale of wind; and the veterans who had fought
the battles of their country found themselves in the dangerous
navigation of this immense river, in a dark and stormy night, with
inexperienced men collected on a sudden to act as pilots. Eight
transports crowded with men were dashed upon the rocks, and a
number of officers and soldiers, who but a few hours before had
meditated scenes of conquest, victory, and glory, were entombed
in the deep. At the head of the list of officers and men lost by
the regiment which forms the subject of this memoir, is MAJOR
FISHER,[20] who is probably the same officer who displayed such
heroism in the defence of Gibraltar. The other officers lost by the
QUEEN'S regiment were,--Brevet Major Walker; Captains Stringer and
Bush; Captain-Lieutenant L'Hulle; Ensigns Hyde, Hawker, Richardson,
and Loggan; Quartermaster Redix; and Surgeon Jones; with ten
serjeants, eighteen corporals, thirteen drummers, one hundred and
sixty-seven private soldiers, and twenty women. This lamentable
disaster occasioned all thoughts of prosecuting the enterprise
to be laid aside. The fleet returned to England, and the QUEEN'S
regiment, having landed at Portsmouth on the 10th of October,
marched into dispersed quarters in Hampshire, and commenced
recruiting its diminished numbers.[21]
[Sidenote: 1712]
In the autumn of 1712 the regiment was removed from country
quarters to garrison duty at Portsmouth and Plymouth, where it
passed the succeeding year.
[Sidenote: 1713]
From Portsmouth the regiment proceeded in September, 1713, to the
islands of Jersey, Guernsey, and Scilly, with two companies at
the town of Pendennis. A treaty of peace having been concluded at
Utrecht, its establishment was reduced to ten companies of three
officers, two serjeants, two corporals, one drummer, and thirty-six
private men, each; but after several of the newly-raised corps had
been disbanded, its numbers were augmented to forty private men per
company.
[Sidenote: 1714]
While the regiment occupied these stations Her Majesty Queen Anne
died, and was succeeded by King George I., on the 1st of August,
1714.
[Sidenote: 1715]
[Sidenote: 1716]
In the autumn of 1715 the regiment was withdrawn from the islands
of Jersey, Guernsey, and Scilly, and proceeded to the town of
Windsor, and the adjacent villages; and for several months it
furnished the guard at Windsor Castle. While on this duty His
Majesty was graciously pleased to confer upon it the title of THE
KING'S OWN, an honorary distinction which it has continued to bear
to the present time. The regiment occupied these quarters during
the rebellion of the Earl of Mar, and in July, 1716, marched into
garrison at Portsmouth.
[Sidenote: 1717]
The regiment remained at Portsmouth until May, 1717, when it
proceeded to Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Wight; with two
companies detached, one to Windsor, and one to Hampton Court. These
companies were, however, relieved from duty at the residence of
their Sovereign in November, by the foot guards, and joined the
head-quarters at Jersey in the same month.
Lieut.-General William Seymour, after commanding the regiment
nearly sixteen years, was succeeded by Colonel the Hon. Henry
Berkeley, third son of Charles second Earl of Berkeley, by a
commission dated the 25th of December, 1717.
[Sidenote: 1718]
[Sidenote: 1719]
The KING'S OWN remained at the islands of Jersey, Guernsey, and
the Isle of Wight during the succeeding year, and in the spring of
1719 they were removed to Plymouth. While at this station, their
Colonel, the Hon. Henry Berkeley, was removed to the second, or
Scots, troop of horse grenadier guards; and was succeeded by the
Hon. Charles Cadogan, afterwards Lord Cadogan, Baron of Oakley, by
commission dated the 21st of April, 1719.
[Sidenote: 1720]
[Sidenote: 1721]
[Sidenote: 1722]
In June of the same year the regiment was removed from garrison
duty at Plymouth, and marched to Exeter; and it occupied various
stations in the south and west of England until the summer of 1722,
when, the government having received information that the friends
of the Stuart dynasty were conspiring to effect the elevation of
the Pretender to the throne, it formed part of a body of troops
encamped on Salisbury Plain, to be in readiness to act on any
emergency. It was reviewed with the other forces encamped on the
plain, by King George I. and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales
(afterwards George II.) on the 30th of August, and in September
struck its tents and marched into quarters at Exeter.
[Sidenote: 1723]
[Sidenote: 1724]
[Sidenote: 1725]
In the following summer the KING'S OWN were encamped near Newbury;
and in 1724 they occupied quarters at Newbury and Reading; from
whence they occasionally furnished detachments for duty at Windsor
Castle and Hampton Court Palace. In the summer of 1725 they marched
to Berwick, and from thence proceeded to Perth, and were placed
under the orders of the commander-in-chief in North Britain.
[Sidenote: 1731]
[Sidenote: 1732]
[Sidenote: 1733]
Returning to England in 1731, the regiment was stationed that year
at Bristol: from whence it marched in July, 1732, to Exeter. In
1733, and the two succeeding years, it furnished detachments on
coast duty in Sussex, and also in Cornwall.
[Sidenote: 1734]
In the summer of 1734 Lord Cadogan was removed from the KING'S
OWN to the sixth or Inniskilling regiment of dragoons, and
was succeeded by Brigadier-General William Barrell from the
twenty-second regiment of foot, by commission dated the 8th of
August, 1734.
[Sidenote: 1736]
[Sidenote: 1737]
Having called in its detachments, the regiment marched to the north
of England in May, 1736; and after halting two months at Newcastle
and Durham, proceeded to Edinburgh; but returned to England in
July, 1737, and was stationed at York.
[Sidenote: 1739]
[Sidenote: 1740]
The regiment continued to be employed on home service: its
establishment in this year was seven hundred and five officers and
men; and in 1739 it was augmented to eight hundred and fifteen
officers and men; at which number it continued until after the
decease of Charles VI., Emperor of Germany, in 1740, when a war
broke out between the Archduchess Maria Theresa and the Elector
of Bavaria, respecting the kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungaria, and
England became involved in the contest. During the summer of that
year the regiment was encamped near Newbury, and in the autumn
marched into quarters in Lancashire and Cheshire.
[Sidenote: 1741]
[Sidenote: 1742]
[Sidenote: 1744]
France took part with the Elector of Bavaria, and Great Britain
with the house of Austria, and in 1742 a British army proceeded
to Flanders; but the KING'S OWN were employed on home service
until June, 1744, when they embarked for Flanders, and joined the
allied army at its camp near the banks of the Scheldt. The regiment
served the campaign of this year under Field-Marshal Wade, and was
employed in several operations; but no general engagement occurred,
and it had no opportunity of distinguishing itself.
[Sidenote: 1745]
In the following year, when the French besieged Tournay, and the
allied army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland
advanced to the relief of the town, the KING'S OWN were left in
garrison at Ghent, and were consequently not at the battle of
Fontenoy. The Duke of Cumberland, having failed in his attempt to
relieve Tournay, retreated; and the KING'S OWN were relieved by one
of the regiments which suffered severely at Fontenoy, and joined
the army at its camp on the plains of Lessines on the 21st of May.
The KING'S OWN remained in Flanders until the rebellion broke out
in Scotland, and Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender,
advanced at the head of several highland clans and captured
Edinburgh. The regiment was then ordered to return to England, and
it formed part of the army under the veteran Field-Marshal Wade,
which was assembled in Yorkshire.
When the young Pretender and his adherents penetrated into
England, this regiment was employed in covering Yorkshire, and,
after the retreat of the rebel army from Derby, the regiment
marched in pursuit of the enemy towards Scotland, and arrived at
Newcastle-on-Tyne on the 26th of December.
[Sidenote: 1746]
The KING'S OWN were afterwards ordered to march to Edinburgh, where
they arrived on the 10th of January, 1746, and the appearance of
the royal forces at that city was hailed with illuminations and
public rejoicings.
The rebels undertook the siege of Stirling Castle, and a detached
party of Highlanders under Lord George Murray advanced to
Linlithgow, from whence they were driven on the 13th of January by
a body of troops under Major-General Huske. On the following day
the Buffs, KING'S OWN, and Pulteney's (now thirteenth) regiment,
advanced to Barrowstownness; and on the 16th, these troops having
pitched their tents near _Falkirk_, were joined by the remainder of
the army under Lieut.-General Hawley.
On the 17th of January, as the King's troops were at dinner in the
camp, the advance of the enemy was discovered; the royal forces
seized their arms, and proceeded along some rugged and difficult
grounds to a large moor, where the rebel army appeared in order of
battle.
Success or failure in the hour of battle has sometimes been found
to depend upon accidental circumstances over which the commanders
of armies have no control. Such was the case at the battle of
_Falkirk_, where a tempest of wind and rain beat so violently in
the faces of the royal forces at the moment when they engaged
their adversaries, that the ammunition was spoiled in the act of
loading; the soldiers could not see their opponents, and several
regiments gave way. The KING'S OWN, however, evinced the same
valour and intrepidity which were so successfully displayed at the
fortress of Gibraltar; they were formed in brigade with Price's
(now fourteenth) regiment under the orders of Brigadier-General
Cholmondeley, and these two corps withstood the fury of the
charging Highland host with a firmness which redounded to their
honour.[22] Having been joined by the Royals, Buffs, and Ligonier's
(now forty-eighth), these five regiments repulsed one wing of the
rebel army, and continued on the field of battle until night, when
they returned to the camp, and subsequently proceeded to Edinburgh.
The KING'S OWN formed part of the army under His Royal Highness the
Duke of Cumberland which advanced from Edinburgh, on the 31st of
January, towards Stirling, when the Highlanders made a precipitate
retreat. The royal forces followed in pursuit, but were delayed in
their advance by severe weather. The KING'S OWN formed part of the
advance-guard under Major-General Bland which proceeded to Inverary
on the 12th of March, and on the 17th advanced towards Strathsbogie
to attack a thousand rebel foot and sixty hussars, posted at that
place under Roy Stewart; but the enemy fled on the approach of the
King's troops, and were pursued for several miles: the Marquis of
Granby, Colonel Conway, Captain Holden, and several other officers,
displayed their zeal for the royal cause by the spirited manner in
which they pursued the Highlanders.
On the 12th of April the army crossed the river Spey, and on the
16th of that month the KING'S OWN were engaged in the action with
the rebels on _Culloden Moor_. The regiment was posted on the
left of the front line of the royal army. After a sharp cannonade
several select clans of mountaineers sprang forward, and with
shouts and dismal yells attacked the King's forces sword in hand.
This regiment had to bear the brunt of the furious onset of
the clans: for a moment it was disordered by the weight of the
attacking column, and the men staggered; but only for a moment: two
battalions advanced to sustain them, and recovering, they rushed
upon their kilted adversaries with a resolution and valour which
proved they were not unworthy of their distinguished title of the
KING'S OWN. A furious conflict ensued; the Highlanders with their
swords and targets were unable to withstand the ruthless charge
of the royal forces; the carnage was dreadful, and the ground was
literally covered with slaughtered rebels.[23] A decisive victory
was gained; and the rebellion was effectually suppressed. When the
news of this event reached England, the nation was transported
with joy; both houses of parliament addressed His Majesty on the
subject, and passed a vote of thanks to the Duke of Cumberland and
the brave troops who had fought under his orders.
The regiment lost in this action Captain Lord Robert Kerr and
seventeen men killed; and had Lieut.-Colonel Rich, Captain Romer,
Lieutenant Edmonds, Ensigns Campbell and Brown, and one hundred and
eight non-commissioned officers and private men, wounded.
[Sidenote: 1747]
After halting a short time at Inverness, the army advanced into the
highlands, and encamped in the gloomy valley surrounded by rugged
precipices near Fort Augustus, from whence detachments were sent
out to search for arms, and for persons who had been engaged in the
rebellion, and also to execute summary punishment on the guilty
clans. This regiment afterwards marched back to Stirling; and it
was employed in home duties for a period of eight years.
[Sidenote: 1749]
Lieut.-General Barrell died on the 9th of August, 1749; and
King George II. conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on the
lieut.-colonel, Robert Rich, who highly distinguished himself at
the battle of Culloden, where he was wounded.
[Sidenote: 1751]
In 1751 a warrant was issued regulating the clothing and colours of
the regiments of the line. In this warrant the regiment is styled
the "FOURTH, OR THE KING'S OWN ROYAL REGIMENT;" and the facing is
directed to be blue; the King's Own are also authorized to bear--
"In the centre of their colours the King's cipher on a red ground
within the garter, and crown over it; in the three corners of their
second colour the LION OF ENGLAND,[24] being their ancient badge.
"On the grenadier caps the King's cypher, as on the colours, and
crown over it; white horse and motto on the flap.
"The drums and bells of arms to have the King's cypher painted on
them, in the same manner, and the rank of the regiment underneath."
[Sidenote: 1754]
The regiment remained in Great Britain until the year 1754, when
it proceeded to the island of Minorca to relieve the thirty-third
regiment, which returned to England.
[Sidenote: 1755]
[Sidenote: 1756]
The island of _Minorca_, at which the KING'S OWN were stationed,
and where they were eventually called upon to perform most arduous
and trying services, is the second of the Balearic islands,
situated in the Mediterranean near the coast of Spain. This island
had fallen successively under the dominion of the Carthaginians,
the Romans, the Vandals, the Moors, the Arragonese, and the
Castilians, and in 1708 it was captured by the British for the
house of Austria; but at the peace of Utrecht, when the Austrian
family was excluded from the throne of Spain, it was ceded to
Great Britain; it had remained a part of the possessions of the
British crown, and was garrisoned by a company of artillery and
four regiments of foot. In this small island, which is diversified
with hills and valleys, and in some parts rich in vegetation and
abounding with the necessaries and many of the luxuries of life,
the KING'S OWN passed two years, during which time a dispute
between the governments of France and England, respecting the
extent of their possessions in North America, had occasioned a war
between the two kingdoms, and in the early part of 1756 the French
made preparations at Toulon and Marseilles for the capture of
Minorca.
At this period the KING'S OWN occupied extensive quarters in the
several towns on the island, and their regimental head-quarters
were at Ciudadella, the capital. The other corps were at
_Port-Mahon_, which is stated to be one of the finest harbours in
the world, and at _Fort St. Philip_; and the brave Lieut.-General
Blakeney was lieut.-governor and commander-in-chief on the
island. The regiments on the island were not discouraged at the
preparations making in France; on the contrary, an officer, in a
letter published at the time, observed,--"Our spirits are so good,
our garrison so hearty, and our supplies so ample, that if our
works do not defend us, and we defend our works until we can be
relieved by a strong hand, we deserve to be buried in their ruins."
The French armament, commanded by Marshal Duke de Richelieu,
arrived at Minorca in the middle of April, and effected a landing
at Ciudadella on the 18th of that month; and as no part of the
island was fortified to resist so powerful a force, excepting _Fort
St. Philip_, situate on a rocky promontory at the entrance to the
harbour of Port Mahon, the KING'S OWN were withdrawn from the
interior, and effected their retreat to the fort with the loss of
one corporal taken prisoner by the enemy.
Preparations were made for a vigorous defence of the fort, and
the French commander encountered so gallant and determined a
resistance, that he was obliged to send for additional forces.
The perseverance and endurance of the garrison became the subject
of much admiration, and the vigilance and bravery of the officers
inspired the troops with confidence. On the 19th of May the British
fleet was descried bearing towards the island, and the men having
become much exhausted by hard duty, looked forward for the expected
relief with anxiety; but were disappointed: Admiral Byng, after
skirmishing with the French squadron, retired, and was afterwards
brought to trial for his conduct and shot. Lieut.-General Thomas
Fowke, then commanding at Gibraltar, was also brought to trial for
not sending a reinforcement from that garrison to Minorca, and was
sentenced to be suspended from his appointment for one year. King
George II. confirmed the sentence, but directed Lieut.-General
Fowke to be dismissed from the service.
Although abandoned to their fate, Lieut.-General Blakeney and
the four regiments under his orders defended their post with
great gallantry; the men were nearly worn out with incessant duty
and watching, so that they frequently fell asleep under a heavy
cannonade; yet they persevered with astonishing resolution. About
midnight on the 27th of June, a general assault was made at several
different points; the garrison met the assailants with great
courage, and repulsed them several times with much slaughter; many
of the sick and wounded men came out of the hospital to join in the
defence. Though repulsed at several points, the enemy, after much
hard fighting, gained three of the out-works. Upon this subject a
military historian observes,--"So many attacks made at one time
against so small a body of men, who had such a variety of works
to defend, it is rather a matter of surprise that the enemy were
repulsed at so many, and succeeded at so few places."[25]
On the following day conditions of capitulation were tendered.
"Thus did four regiments, and one company of artillery, maintain
the fort against such numbers of the enemy by sea and land for
such a length of time as can, perhaps, scarcely be paralleled in
history. The terms on which the fort was at last surrendered by
a handful of men, so distressed, so shattered, and so neglected,
remain a lasting monument to their honour."[26]
The following is an extract from the articles of capitulation.
"The noble and vigorous defence which the English have made,
having deserved all the marks of esteem and veneration which every
military man ought to show to such actions, and Marshal Richelieu,
being desirous also to show to General Blakeney the regard due to
the defence he has made, grants to the garrison all the honours
of war they can enjoy under the circumstances of going out for an
embarkation; to wit, firelock on their shoulders, drums beating,
colours flying, twenty cartridges each man, and also lighted match.
He consents also that General Blakeney and his garrison carry away
all the effects that belong to them."
During the period the KING'S OWN were engaged in the defence of
Fort St. Philip, the colonelcy of the regiment was conferred on
Alexander Duroure from the thirty-eighth regiment, by commission
dated the 12th of May, 1756.
The regiment embarked from Minorca immediately after the surrender
of Fort St. Philip, and proceeded to Gibraltar, where it remained
a few weeks, and subsequently embarked for England. It landed at
Torbay in November, and immediately on its arrival it was augmented
to two battalions.
[Sidenote: 1758]
On the 21st of April, 1758, the SECOND BATTALION of the KING'S OWN
was constituted the SIXTY-SECOND REGIMENT, under the command of
Colonel William Strode.
The war with France being continued, an armament was fitted out
in the autumn of 1758 for the attack of the French settlements
in the West Indies; the KING'S OWN were selected to take part in
this service, and embarked nine hundred strong under the command
of Lieut.-Colonel Crump, an officer of distinguished merit, whose
services proved of great value to his king and country: the land
forces were under the orders of Major-General Hopson, and the navy
under Captain Hughes.
This expedition sailed from England in November, and arrived at
Carlisle bay in the island of Barbadoes in the beginning of the
following year.
[Sidenote: 1759]
In the middle of January, 1759, the fleet arrived off the French
island of _Martinico_, and a landing was effected between the bay
of Cas des Navieres and Point Negro; but numerous difficulties were
experienced; the enemy had ten thousand men, including the militia,
to oppose an invading army of about four thousand five hundred men,
and the nature of the ground facilitated the defence.
On the 17th of January, the grenadiers, under the command of
Colonel Crump of the KING'S OWN, attacked a large body of the
enemy, who retired into a thick wood, from whence the colonel could
not force them. The sixty-first regiment (late second battalion of
the third foot) advanced to support the grenadiers; but the trees
and bushes afforded such excellent cover, that after repeated
attempts, it was found impracticable to dislodge the enemy.