should report the conduct of the regiment in the warmest manner
to your lordship, and I feel it but justice to a few individuals,
who from accidental causes had opportunities of doing more than
others, to mention their names. Captain Williamson commanded the
regiment, and was twice wounded after he had reached the top of
the breach. Captain Jones succeeded, not only to the command of
the regiment, but on my being obliged to quit the field, to that
of the brigade, and acquitted himself most admirably. My acting
aide-de-camp, Captain Wood, left me at my request, and by his
judgment and example contributed materially to the success of the
daring attempt. The three are excellent officers, and will ere
long, I hope, prove themselves equal to the duties of a higher
station.
"I have, &c.
"F. P. ROBINSON,
"_Major-general, commanding second brigade,_
_fifth division_.
"_To General the Earl of Chatham, &c._"
This brilliant display of British valour and heroism by the second
brigade, was attended with the loss of two majors, eight captains,
twenty-six lieutenants, twelve ensigns, forty-seven serjeants, six
drummers, and five hundred and eighty-nine rank and file killed
and wounded; among whom were the following officers of the KING'S
OWN:--Lieutenants Francis Maguire, Jonas Fawson, W. S. A. Carrol,
J. P. Jameson, and Ensign Charles Montford killed; with Brevet
Lieut.-Colonel John Piper, Captains John Williamson, John Wynne
Fletcher, Lieutenants Francis Le Blanc, George Heywood, William
Clarke, and Frederick Hyde, wounded.
By their gallantry on this occasion the KING'S OWN acquired the
honour of bearing the word ST. SEBASTIAN inscribed on their colours.
The regiment advanced from St. Sebastian to the frontiers of
France; and on the 7th of October forded the _Bidassoa_ at low
water for the purpose of driving the enemy from the mountain of
La Rhune. A body of Spaniards and Portuguese co-operated on this
occasion with the first and fifth divisions; and the French had
scarcely formed in line before they were driven from their works,
with the loss of several guns.
Thus, after chasing the boasted invincible legions of Bonaparte
from the gates of Lisbon to the utmost limits of the Spanish
boundary; after rescuing millions from the grasp of the oppressor,
and after restoring the affrighted inhabitants of the Peninsula to
their homes in peace and safety, the British soldiers had burst the
barriers of the Pyrenees and planted their triumphant ensigns in
France; where additional laurels awaited them.
On the 10th of November the battle of the _Nivelle_ was fought;
the fifth division being on the left, was not seriously engaged,
and the KING'S OWN had no opportunity of signalizing themselves in
action: they had Lieutenant Salvin and several men wounded.
After its retreat from Nivelle, the French army occupied an
entrenched position in front of Bayonne; the allies passed the
_Nive_ on the 9th of December, and the enemy having been dislodged
from a post at Ville Franque, withdrew his out-posts to Bayonne.
But issuing from thence on the following day, he attacked a
Portuguese brigade stationed on the high road from Bayonne to St.
Jean de Luz. The KING'S OWN, and other regiments of the second
brigade of the fifth division, advancing to the assistance of the
Portuguese, were sharply engaged, and evinced great bravery and
steadiness in action. Major-General Robinson was wounded, and the
French gained some advantage; but they were eventually driven back
and suffered severely. The attempt was renewed, but the attacking
columns were repulsed, and night closed on the combatants.
The enemy again attacked the division on the 11th of December, but
was repulsed; in the afternoon of the 12th there was also some
sharp skirmishing; and the KING'S OWN acquired, by their intrepid
bearing and gallantry in action, the honour of bearing the word
NIVE on their colours.
At the passage of the Nive, on the 9th of December, the regiment
had one man killed; Brevet Major Robert Anwyl, Lieutenant Fraser,
and nine rank and file wounded: Lieutenant Fraser died of his
wounds. On the 10th of December one serjeant and five rank and
file were killed; Brevet Major Timothy Jones, Lieutenants Edward
Guichard and Frederick Hyde, with five serjeants, one drummer, and
thirty-nine rank and file wounded; and twenty-two rank and file
missing. On the 11th of December the KING'S OWN had six rank and
file killed; Brevet Lieut.-Colonel John Piper, Lieutenants John
Staveley, C. H. Farrington, William Clarke, Edward Rawlins, John
Sutherland, James Marshal, and Ensign James Gardner, with eight
serjeants, and ninety rank and file wounded.
During the winter additional honours were conferred on the officers
who had commanded regiments in the late actions; and Lieut.-Colonel
BROOKE, of the KING'S OWN, obtained a cross inscribed BADAJOZ,
SALAMANCA, VITTORIA, and ST. SEBASTIAN. Brevet Lieut.-Colonel
PIPER, two clasps inscribed ST. SEBASTIAN and NIVE. Captain
KEPPING, who succeeded to the command of the regiment after
Lieut.-Colonel Piper was wounded, on the 11th of December, received
the brevet rank of MAJOR, and a medal inscribed NIVE.
[Sidenote: 1814]
Severe weather obliged the allied army to keep in its cantonments
during the month of January and part of February, 1814; and
operations having recommenced in the middle of February, after
several movements the KING'S OWN were employed in the blockade of
_Bayonne_, in which service they were engaged upwards of six weeks.
Meanwhile important events had taken place in other parts of
Europe, and the officers and soldiers of the British army, who had
received the blessings of the unoffending nations whom they had
delivered from the power of their enemies, and had transferred
to France the calamities of domestic war, had the delight of
witnessing the conflicts, toils, and sufferings they had endured
for the good of Europe, followed by the enjoyments of peace.
The KING'S OWN were afterwards rewarded with the word PENINSULA, as
an additional honorary inscription for their colours; but, although
tranquillity was restored to Europe, they were allowed only a few
days of repose before they were called upon to transfer their
services to another scene of conflict, and were destined to fight
the battles of their country beyond the Atlantic ocean.
During the Peninsular War, the decrees of Bonaparte to destroy the
commerce of Great Britain were followed by regulations designed to
counteract the enemy's plans. These regulations, with the pressing
of British seamen on board of American ships, brought on a war
between Great Britain and the United States. When the KING'S OWN
were separated from the second brigade of the fifth division, in
order to embark for America, Major-General Robinson addressed the
following letter to Major Faunce, who then commanded the regiment:--
"_Lower Anglet, near Bayonne, 14th May, 1814._
"SIR,
"The event of the KING'S OWN being about to be separated from the
second brigade, brings strongly to my recollection the many and
great obligations I am under to the officers, non-commissioned
officers, and privates, for repeated instances of such gallant
conduct in the field, as never failed to draw forth the
unqualified approbation of the higher ranks of this army.
"The excellent system of discipline maintained in the regiment,
and the attention paid by each individual to its reputation, is
also a source of real satisfaction.
"Impressed deeply with these sentiments, let me request you
will do me the honour to make my most sincere thanks acceptable
to all, with assurances of my warmest wishes for their future
welfare and prosperity; and may I add, I shall feel myself
peculiarly fortunate if I should ever again be united with them
on service.
(Signed) "F. P. ROBINSON,
"Major-General commanding second brigade
"fifth division.
"_To Major Faunce_,
"_Fourth, or King's Own Regiment_."
Marching through Bayonne on the 15th of May, the regiment proceeded
to Bourdeaux, embarked on the 29th at Pauillac on the river
Garonne, under the command of Major Alured D. Faunce, and quitted
the coast of France in the early part of June. The expedition
consisted of the fourth and forty-fourth, about eight hundred
bayonets each; the eighty-fifth, about six hundred bayonets; with
a brigade of artillery and a detachment of sappers and miners:
the whole under the command of that very gallant and experienced
leader, Major-General Patrick Ross: the navy, consisting of one
seventy-four, two sixty-fours, five frigates, and two bomb-vessels,
was under the orders of Rear-Admiral Malcomb.
After twenty days' sailing, the fleet approached the Azores,
and the high land of St. Michael's appeared like a blue cloud
rising out of the water: as the shipping drew near, the troops
were delighted with the view of the numerous villages, seats,
and convents which ornamented the beach, and the lofty mountains
adorned with groves of orange trees and green pasturage rising
behind. After remaining a short time at this pleasant island to
take in provisions, the fleet again put to sea, and anchored on the
evening of the 24th of July opposite the tanks in the island of
Bermuda in the West Indies, where the expedition was joined by the
twenty-first fusiliers, mustering nine hundred bayonets.
The fleet remained at Bermuda, taking in stores, and establishing
a magazine for the future supply of the expedition, until the
3d of August, when it once more put to sea, and directing its
course towards North America, entered the bay of Chesapeake, where
reinforcements joined, and Rear-Admiral Cockburn took charge of the
navy. On the arrival of this squadron, a powerful American flotilla
fled for refuge up the Patuxent river, and was followed by the
British fleet. In order to insure the destruction of the enemy's
vessels, the troops were directed to land: on the 19th of August
the stream was suddenly covered with boats crowded with soldiers,
and by three o'clock in the afternoon the army was in position
about two miles above the village of St. Benedict, on the right
bank of the Patuxent. The troops were divided into three brigades;
the first, consisting of the eighty-fifth regiment, with the light
companies of the FOURTH, twenty-first, and forty-fourth, a company
of marines, and a party of disciplined negroes, was commanded
by Colonel Thornton; the second, consisting of the FOURTH and
forty-fourth regiments, was commanded by Colonel Brooke; and the
third, consisting of the twenty-first fusiliers, and a battalion
of marines, was commanded by Colonel Patterson; for want of horses
only one six-pounder, and two small three-pounders were brought on
shore.
The army remained in position near St. Benedict until four
o'clock on the afternoon of the following day, when the bugles
sounded, the regiments turned out in marching order, and proceeded
in the direction of Nottingham, a town on the banks of the
Patuxent, which was found deserted, while the appearance of the
furniture, and in some places the bread left in the ovens, showed
it had been abandoned in haste. On the 22d the army proceeded
to the delightful village of Upper Marlborough, situate in a
well-cultivated valley about two miles broad; and during the march
loud explosions were heard, which proved to be the enemy destroying
his flotilla to prevent its falling into the hands of British
seamen.
The object of the expedition had thus been accomplished; but, as
the army had advanced within sixteen miles of Washington, and
the enemy's force was ascertained to be such as would authorize
an attempt to carry the capital, the troops moved forward on
the 23d of August. They had scarcely proceeded three miles when
the advance-guard encountered a party of American riflemen, who
maintained a sharp contest before they gave way; and arriving
at a point where two roads meet, the one leading to Washington
and the other to Alexandria, twelve hundred Americans and some
artillery appeared on the slope of a height opposite. The army
turned along the road leading towards Alexandria, and the Americans
fled before the detachment sent against them. Having deceived the
enemy respecting the real design of the expedition, the route was
changed, and the troops proceeded in the direction of Washington.
About noon on the 24th a heavy cloud of dust was seen to arise
at a distance, and the British troops turning a sudden angle in
the road and passing a small cluster of trees, discovered above
eight thousand American infantry, with a numerous artillery and
three hundred dragoons, commanded by General Winder, occupying a
formidable position beyond the village of _Bladensburg_, where they
were awaiting the advance of their opponents.
The British, though not half so numerous as their adversaries,
advanced boldly to the attack; on entering the village the enemy's
artillery opened a tremendous fire, and as the light brigade
traversed the bridge across the eastern branch of the Potomac
river, from whence a strait road ran through the enemy's position
to the capital, numbers fell before a heavy fire of musketry and
artillery. The survivors having gained the opposite side of the
stream, carried a fortified house which commanded the bridge, then
dashed into the thickets on the right and left of the road, and
drove back the American riflemen, who fled with such precipitation
that they threw their first line into disorder, and it fell back
in confusion, leaving two guns on the road. The British light
infantry, throwing off their knapsacks, pushed forward in extended
order to attack the enemy's second line; but a heavy fire of
musketry and artillery checked the assailants, and the Americans
advancing in force to recover the lost ground, drove the first
brigade back to the thickets on the brink of the river, where an
obstinate fight was maintained. Meanwhile the second brigade passed
the river; the forty-fourth moving to the right, turned the enemy's
left flank; and the FOURTH, emulating their gallant companions,
advanced in firm array, preceded by a flight of rockets, to charge
the enemy's right, which was broken and driven from the field: many
of the American sailors who acted as gunners were bayoneted, and
eight guns were captured. The American infantry fled in dismay, and
diving into the recesses of the forests, were quickly beyond the
reach of their pursuers; and their cavalry turned their horses'
heads and galloped off: thus in one hour the battle was won, and
the third brigade, which had formed the reserve, pushed forward at
a rapid rate for _Washington_.
The three British regiments which had thus defeated about nine
thousand adversaries (three times their own number) halted a short
time on the field of battle to reform their ranks. The loss of the
KING'S OWN was Lieutenant Thomas Woodward, killed; Lieutenants
E. P. Hopkins, J. K. Mackenzie, John Staveley, Peter Bowlby, and
Frederick Field, with Ensigns J. A. Buchanan, and William Reddock,
wounded; also seventy-nine serjeants and rank and file killed and
wounded.
After a short halt, the KING'S OWN, with the remainder of the
first and second brigades, moved towards Washington, where the
third brigade had already arrived and had commenced destroying the
arsenal, docks, magazines, and other public property. The sun had
set, and as the two brigades approached the American capital, the
conflagration of buildings, ships, and stores illuminated the sky,
while the exploding of magazines shook the city, and threw down
houses in their vicinity, and the scene exhibited the awful reality
of the horrors of war, from which Great Britain has happily been
preserved by the enterprise and gallantry of her army and navy.
As it was not the intention of the British government to attempt
permanent conquests in this part of America, and as it was
impossible for this small body of troops to establish themselves
in the enemy's capital, the destruction of the public property,
which by the customs of war is the just spoil of the conqueror,
was completed; and the army marched back to St. Benedict, where it
re-embarked without molestation. The conduct of the KING'S OWN was
commended by Major-General Ross in his public despatches, and they
were rewarded with the honour of displaying the word BLADENSBURG on
their colours.
After remaining a few days in the Patuxent river, the fleet weighed
anchor; the coast was menaced at several points, and the shipping
approached so near the shore at Annapolis, that the inhabitants
were discovered flying from their houses, waggons loaded with
furniture were seen hurrying along the roads, alarm guns were
fired, beacons were blazing, and the people were apparently
oppressed with all the horrors of doubt and apprehension.
_Baltimore_ was, however, selected as the point of attack, and
towards the river upon which that town is built the fleet hastened
under a heavy press of sail. During the night of the 11th of
September the troops cooked three days' provision, and each man
received eighty rounds of ammunition; at three o'clock on the
following morning the boats were lowered; a landing was effected
at North Point, thirteen miles from Baltimore, and the army moving
forward, a division of Americans fled from an entrenched position
they were preparing across a neck of land towards which the troops
were advancing. About two miles beyond this post the country was
closely wooded, and the enemy's riflemen opening a sharp fire from
behind the trees, Major-General Ross rode forward to ascertain the
disposition and numbers of the opposing force, and mingling with
the skirmishers, he was mortally wounded. "Thus fell at an early
age one of the brightest ornaments of his profession; one who,
whether at the head of a regiment, a brigade, or a corps, had alike
displayed the talents of command; who was not less beloved in his
private, than enthusiastically admired in his public character;
and whose only fault, if it may be so deemed, was an excess of
gallantry, enterprise, and devotion to the service."
The command devolved on Colonel Brooke; and the army moving
forward, found itself in a few moments in front of a strong
position, near Nip Church in _Godly wood_, occupied by six
thousand adversaries, with six pieces of artillery and a corps of
cavalry. The light brigade immediately extended, and driving in
the American skirmishers, menaced the whole front of their army;
the forty-fourth, a party of seamen, and the marines of the fleet
formed line behind the light infantry; the twenty-first, and the
second battalion of marines formed column in reserve; and the
soldiers rested themselves on the ground, while the KING'S OWN,
led by Major Faunce, moved to the right along some hollow ways
and woodlands, and gained, unperceived, a thicket on the enemy's
left flank. Meanwhile the deep tones of the artillery echoed in
the woods; and the instant the FOURTH gained the thicket, the
charge was sounded and repeated by every bugle in the army; the
soldiers started from the ground, and moving forward with a firm
and resolute tread, in the face of a shower of grape and canister
shot, approached their adversaries, who raised a loud shout, and
afterwards opened a heavy fire of musketry. This was answered
with a British huzza,--a volley of small arms, and a rush forward
at double-quick time with the bayonet; and when the Americans
saw the ranks of gleaming steel draw near, they faced about and
fled in dismay into the thick woods, leaving two pieces of cannon
behind them. Fifteen minutes had sufficed to decide the fortune of
the day; several hundreds of killed and wounded adversaries lay
scattered over the field, a number of fugitives was intercepted and
made prisoners, and many of the American riflemen being discovered
in the trees, which they had climbed, to be enabled to take sure
aim and escape danger, the British soldiers called this _unfair_,
and shot them on their perches. The KING'S OWN had twenty-one men
killed and wounded in this action.
Halting on the field of battle, the bivouac fires were lighted,
and the victorious army reposed a short time under the canopy of
heaven. Two hours after midnight the soldiers were again under
arms; as the first glimmering of dawn appeared, they resumed their
march, and arrived in the evening at the foot of the range of hills
in front of Baltimore, where the grand American army of upwards
of fifteen thousand men appeared occupying a chain of pallisaded
redoubts connected by a breast-work, and defended by a numerous
train of artillery. Trusting to the innate valour and excellent
discipline of his little army, which did not amount to one-third of
the number of the opposing host, Colonel Brooke made arrangements
for storming the hills after dark; but having received intimation
from the commander of the naval forces that the entrance of the
harbour was closed up by vessels sunk for that purpose, and that
a naval co-operation against the town and camp was impracticable,
the enterprise was abandoned. The troops retreated three miles on
the 14th of September, and then halted to see if the Americans
would venture to descend from the hills; but though so superior
in numbers, they had no disposition to quit their entrenchments,
and the British forces retired leisurely to their shipping and
re-embarked.
The KING'S OWN were commended in the public despatches for their
excellent conduct and discipline; and their commanding officer.
Major Faunce, was included among the officers who distinguished
themselves.
The armament remained a short time on the American coast, and
information having been received of the formation of an American
camp a few miles from the Potomac river, the KING'S OWN, with the
remainder of the second and third brigades, landed on the night of
the 4th of October, and pushed forward to attack the enemy, who,
however, had notice of the movement and fled. The regiment returned
on the 5th, and the season having arrived when active operations
could no longer be continued in the Chesapeake, the fleet sailed
for the West Indies, and anchored in Port Royal harbour, Jamaica,
on the 31st of October, the troops remaining on board, while the
vessels took in a supply of provisions, &c.
While in the West Indies, reinforcements arrived; Major-General
John Keane joined and took the command of the expedition; and
Lieut.-Colonel Brooke of the KING'S OWN arrived from England, where
he had been absent on account of ill health.
The next enterprise undertaken was of a most difficult character,
namely, an attempt on _New Orleans_, a town of some note, standing
on the eastern bank of the great river Mississippi, one hundred
and ten miles from the gulph of Mexico, and so situated that the
approach of an hostile force was almost impossible. The fleet
having put to sea, anchored on the 10th of December off the coast
of Louisiana, opposite the Chandeleur Islands, where the troops
were removed into light vessels, and entering Lake Borgne on the
13th, five of the enemy's large cutters, mounting eleven guns
each, were captured by a flotilla of launches and ships' barges.
Having proceeded a short distance along the lake, all the vessels
ran aground; the soldiers were then conveyed twenty miles in open
boats, during a heavy rain, to a barren spot called Pine Island,
which consisted of a swamp with a piece of firm ground at one
end. Here the regiments remained without tents or huts, exposed
to heavy rains by day, and to frost by night, until the 22d of
December, when the KING'S OWN, eighty-fifth, and five companies of
the ninety-fifth, embarked in open boats, and proceeding up the
lake a distance of more than fifty miles, were so cramped up in
the boats, drenched with a heavy rain during the day, and exposed
to a sharp frost in the night, that the men were almost deprived
of the use of their limbs. On the following morning they landed,
unobserved by the enemy, on a desert spot on the verge of a large
morass about eight miles from New Orleans, and when the men had
regained the use of their benumbed limbs, they advanced along an
indistinct path on the bank of a ditch or canal, their movements
being concealed by the tall reeds of the morass. After passing
several streams by bridges constructed at the moment, the troops
entered a cultivated region where the fields were found covered
with the stubble of the sugar-cane, and groves of orange trees were
numerous. About noon the regiments entered a green field on the
banks of the Mississippi, where they halted to await the arrival of
the remainder of the army.