General Jansens was pursued up the country; and on the 16th of
September, the FOURTEENTH were engaged in storming the fortified
position at _Jattoo_, when the remainder of the Gallo-Batavian
force was routed; General Jansens was afterwards forced to
surrender, and this valuable island was annexed to the dominions of
the British Crown. It was restored to Holland, at the termination
of the war, by the Treaty of Vienna in 1814.
The loss of the FOURTEENTH Foot at the storming of Fort Cornelis
was Captain Marinus Kennedy, two serjeants, and nine rank and file,
killed; Major George Miller, Captain Trevor Stannus, Lieutenants W.
H. Coghlan and Kenneth McKenzie, seven serjeants, and eighty-three
rank and file, wounded; one rank and file missing.
Lieutenant-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty stated in his public
despatch, "The superior discipline and invincible courage which
have so highly distinguished the British army, were never more
fully displayed, and I have the heartfelt pleasure to add, that
they have not been clouded by any acts of insubordination."
The commanding officer of the FOURTEENTH, Lieutenant-Colonel
Watson, (now Lieutenant-General SIR JAMES WATSON, K.C.B., colonel
of the regiment,) was rewarded with a gold medal; and the word
"JAVA" was placed, by royal authority, on the colours of the
regiment to commemorate its distinguished services at the capture
of that island, which was the most splendid acquisition made by
the British arms in 1811. The strength of the first battalion at
the capture of Java was forty-eight officers, and one thousand one
hundred and forty-five non-commissioned officers and soldiers.
[Sidenote: 1812]
After the capture of Java the FOURTEENTH remained on the island
for some time. The Sultan of Mataram, who governed a portion of
the interior, trusting to his power, and the strength of his
fortified palace, at _Djoojocarta_, meditated the expulsion of
all Europeans from the island, and committed aggressions of which
it became necessary to stop the progress. To effect this, his
palace was captured by storm on the morning of the 20th of June,
1812; on which occasion the FOURTEENTH had another occasion of
distinguishing themselves. Lieutenant-Colonel Watson commanded the
main attack, and the grenadiers of the regiment headed the assault
in their usual gallant style[15]. Colonel Gillespie, commanding the
forces in Java, stated in orders,
"To Lieutenant-Colonel Watson, who commanded the leading column,
the commander of the forces cannot convey the sense he entertains
of his distinguished bravery, and of the quickness and celerity
with which he conceived and executed the attack.
"The animated style in which Captain Johnstone and Lieutenant
Hunter crossed the ditch, at the head of the FOURTEENTH grenadiers,
and escaladed the ramparts, under the fire of the east bastion,
could only be equalled by the order and zeal of their followers."
The conduct of Lieutenant Hill, and of Lieutenant McLean, of the
regiment was also commended.
Eight rank and file of the regiment were killed. Lieutenant McLean
died of his wounds, and thirty rank and file were wounded.
[Sidenote: 1813]
An expedition was fitted out, in 1813, consisting of a detachment
of the FOURTEENTH Regiment, and of the troops in the service of the
Honourable the East India Company; and placed under the orders of
Lieutenant-Colonel Watson of the FOURTEENTH, for the attack of the
piratical state of _Sambas_, on the western coast of the island
of Borneo, which terminated in the surrender of the town, after a
sharp conflict in which Captain Watson and Lieutenant Jennings were
wounded; the capture of all the batteries, fortified posts, and
defences of the Sultan, and the complete discomfiture of Pangerang
Anom and his adherents. The first battalion proceeded to Bengal in
October, 1813.
In the mean time the war in Europe was prosecuted with great
vigour; the British troops were victorious in the Peninsula, and
every effort was made to bring a powerful army into the field.
At this period a _third battalion_ was added to the FOURTEENTH
Regiment of Foot; it was raised by volunteers from the Militia and
assembled at Weedon under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel the
Honorable James Stewart, and was soon in a condition fit for active
service.
[Sidenote: 1814]
After a contest of twenty years, the period of the downfall of that
gigantic power, which had sprung out of the French revolution,
arrived; the snow storms of the winter of 1812-13, had annihilated
the French army in Russia; the British army, which had delivered
Portugal and Spain from the tyrannical rule of Napoleon, was
following up its career of victory in the heart of France; at
the same time the forces of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and other
continental states, were invading France. Thus a favourable
opportunity presented itself; one powerful effort appeared likely
to overthrow Napoleon and his adherents, and at this important
juncture, (the spring of 1814,) the third battalion of the
FOURTEENTH Regiment received orders to hold itself in readiness
for foreign service, and commenced its march for the coast; at
the same time the second battalion was withdrawn from the island
of Malta, to join the expedition, under Lieutenant-General Lord
William Bentinck, against the north-west coast of Italy. This
expedition captured several places, including the maritime city of
_Genoa_, once a celebrated republic, now the capital of a province
in the Sardinian States. The progress of the British arms in Italy
was suddenly arrested by the termination of the war: Napoleon
Bonaparte abdicated; Louis XVIII. ascended the throne of France;
and the nations of Europe hailed the event as the great jubilee
of Christendom. The embarkation of the third battalion of the
FOURTEENTH Regiment was countermanded, and after some delay, the
second battalion was placed in quarters at the city of Genoa, where
it remained twelve months.
Towards the end of the year the third battalion was held in
readiness to embark for North America; circumstances connected with
the trade of neutral nations, during the war with France, having
involved Great Britain in hostilities with the United States.
Before the battalion quitted England, peace was concluded with
the United States, when the order for its proceeding abroad was
countermanded, and directions were given for its being disbanded on
the 24th of March, 1815.
[Sidenote: 1815]
In the spring of 1815, while the Congress at Vienna was deciding
on the boundaries of kingdoms, and the people of all countries
were looking forward to a period of peace, Bonaparte suddenly
violated his engagements, re-appeared in France, and the French
army declaring in his favour, he reascended the throne he had
abdicated. War was immediately declared against the usurper; the
order for disbanding the third battalion of the FOURTEENTH Regiment
was consequently rescinded, and on the 21st of March, (three days
before the date fixed upon for its being disbanded,) the battalion
received directions to embark for Flanders: it landed at Ostend on
the 31st of March, and formed part of the army commanded by His
Royal Highness the Prince of Orange.
Additional forces were sent to Flanders, Field Marshal his Grace
the Duke of Wellington assumed the command, and the third battalion
of the FOURTEENTH Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel FRANCIS
S. TIDY, (Major of the regiment,) was formed in brigade with the
Twenty-third Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and Fifty-first Light Infantry
under Colonel Mitchel, and constituted part of the fourth division,
commanded by Lieutenant-General the Honorable Sir Charles Colville,
K.C.B.
Bonaparte attempted, by one of those rapid advances for which he
had always been celebrated, to interpose between the British and
Prussian armies, and on the 16th of June the battles of Ligny and
Quatre Bras were fought: the British were victorious; but the
Prussians were defeated; and the Duke of Wellington retreated,
on the 17th of June, to the position in front of the village of
Waterloo, to preserve his communication with Prince Blucher.
On the 18th of June the third battalion of the FOURTEENTH Regiment
had the honour to take part in the memorable battle of _Waterloo_,
the character and importance of which engagement, distinguish it
as the greatest event of the age, and mark it as the brightest era
in the history of the British army. The battalion was composed of
young soldiers, who had never before been under fire, but their
bearing reflected honour on the corps to which they belonged.
During the heat of the conflict, when the thunder of cannon and
musketry, the occasional explosion of caissons, the hissing of
balls, shells, and grape shot, the clash of arms, the impetuous
noise and shouts of the soldiery, produced a scene of carnage
and confusion impossible to describe, a staff officer rode up to
Lieutenant-Colonel Tidy, and directed him to form square; this
was scarcely completed when the glittering arms of a regiment of
cuirassiers were seen issuing from the smoke. The French horsemen
paused for a moment at the sight of the scarlet uniforms of the
FOURTEENTH, and then turned to the right to attack a regiment of
Brunswickers; but a volley from the Brunswick square repulsed
the enemy, and Lieutenant-Colonel Tidy, with the view of giving
confidence to the young soldiers of the FOURTEENTH, drew their
attention to the facility with which infantry could repulse
cavalry. The French cuirassiers rallied, and appeared inclined
to charge the FOURTEENTH, but were intimidated by the steady and
determined bearing of the battalion.
The cavalry attacks on the British line were particularly severe,
and were supported by large bodies of troops of all arms; the
infantry pressing forward, while dragoons, lancers, carabineers,
and cuirassiers advanced in overwhelming numbers, threatening
to bear down all opposition; masking at times the advance of
infantry; charging the British squares, and when repulsed, quickly
re-forming; while individuals, spurred on by an ardent but
unavailing intrepidity, were observed searching for an opening in
the British battalions by which to penetrate, and usually perishing
in the vain attempt. Repulsed at all points, Bonaparte resolved
to make a last desperate effort, and brought forward his reserve,
consisting of the old imperial guards; but these chosen bands were
overthrown and annihilated; and the whole British army rushing
forward upon the enemy, completed the overthrow of the legions of
Bonaparte, which were driven from the field of battle with the loss
of all their cannon, baggage, and the _materiel_ of their army.
Thus was a victory, the most complete and decisive, achieved by
the army under the Duke of Wellington: the British soldiers halted
on the field of battle surrounded by their ensanguined trophies:
they had decided the political destiny of the world, and ensured
national independence to the kingdoms of Europe!
In congratulating the regiments of the fourth brigade, in the
share they had in achieving the glorious victory at Waterloo,
Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Colville observed,--"the
Twenty-third and Fifty-first Regiments fully maintained their
former high character, whilst the very young THIRD BATTALION OF THE
FOURTEENTH, in this its first trial, displayed a steadiness and
gallantry becoming of veteran troops." The loss of the battalion
was seven rank and file killed; Ensign Alfred Cooper, four
serjeants, and sixteen rank and file, wounded.
The royal authority was afterwards given for the regiment to bear
the word "WATERLOO" on its colors, to commemorate the share it
had in gaining this splendid victory. Lieutenant-Colonel Tidy was
rewarded with the dignity of Companion of the Bath; and every
officer and soldier received a silver medal, with the privilege of
reckoning two years' service for that day.
The names of the officers of the FOURTEENTH Regiment of Foot, who
received medals, for the battle of Waterloo, on the 18th of June,
1815, are contained in the following list:
Major FRANCIS S. TIDY, (_Lieut.-Colonel_,) commanding the battalion.
Major KEIGHTLEY.
_Captains._
Wm. Turnor.
George Marlay.
Richard Adams.
Wm. Ross.
Thomas Ramsay.
J. L. White.
Christian Wilson.
_Lieutenants._
Wm. Akenside.
Wm. Buckle.
L. Westwood.
Ch. M. Brannan.
Geo. Baldwin.
Jas. C. Hartley.
Samuel Beachcroft.
John Nicholson.
_Ensigns._
Geo. Mackenzie.
Jas. Ramsay Smith.
Richard J. Stacpoole.
Robert B. Newenham.
Alfred Cooper.
Richard B. Holmes.
Wm. Keowen.
Joseph Bowlby.
Hon. G. T. Keppel.
John Manley Wood.
John P. Matthews.
Montague Burrows.
Arthur Ormsby.
_Adjutant._--William Buckle.
_Assistant-Surgeons._--Alexander Shannon; Henry Terry.
On the morning of the 19th of June, the British troops advanced
in pursuit of the wreck of the French army; and on entering
France, the Duke of Wellington invited Louis XVIII. to repair
to Cateau Cambresis. Being desirous of not exposing the King's
person, the British commander directed _Cambray_ to be summoned;
but this fortress refused to surrender, and repulsed the troops
which approached the town on the 23rd of June. On the following
day orders for attacking the place by escalade were issued, and
the third battalion of the FOURTEENTH, with the Twenty-third and
Fifty-first Regiments, were directed to make a feint attack on the
Paris gate; but the gallantry of the officers and soldiers turned
the feint into a real attack, and they were in possession of the
town before the other brigades of the fourth division could force
an entrance. The citadel of Cambray surrendered on the 25th of June.
The army continued its advance upon Paris, which city surrendered
in the early part of July, and the war was terminated with the
restoration of Louis XVIII. to the throne of France.
During this period, the second battalion had remained at the
city of Genoa, on the north-west coast of Italy, from whence
it was ordered to Marseilles, in France, under the command of
Major-General Lowe, and it landed at that port on the 12th of
July. At this period Bonaparte was at Rochefort, endeavouring to
effect his escape to North America; but being prevented by the
British cruizers, he surrendered to Captain Maitland, commanding
the "Bellerophon" man of war, thus closing his political career.
On the conclusion of the treaties of peace which followed these
events, the battalion embarked from Marseilles for the island of
Malta, where it arrived in January, 1816.
The third battalion remained in the vicinity of Paris several
months; it was present at the reviews of the army, in the plain
of St. Denis and Champs Elysees, by the Emperors of Russia and
Austria, and the Kings of Prussia and France, and on the formation
of the army of occupation, it returned to England: it was disbanded
at Deal, on the 17th of February, 1816; the non-commissioned
officers and soldiers fit for duty being transferred to the first
and second battalions.
The first battalion of the FOURTEENTH Regiment was stationed at
the military cantonment of Berhampore, from whence it marched,
in the beginning of 1815, and joined the army assembled under
Major-General George Wood, in consequence of the war with the
kingdom of _Nepaul_. The Nepaulese were soon reduced to submission,
and in April, the FOURTEENTH proceeded to the military cantonment
of Dinapore, situated on the south bank of the river Ganges, in
the province of Bahar, where they remained until October, when
they embarked in boats, and proceeded to the cantonments near the
ancient Hindoo town of Cawnpore, on the west bank of the Ganges, in
the province of Allahabad.
[Sidenote: 1816]
On the 26th of April, 1816, the second battalion embarked from
Malta, for the Ionian Islands, where it was stationed during the
following seventeen months.
The first battalion remained at Cawnpore during the whole of this
year.
[Sidenote: 1817]
In the mean time the resistance made by a powerful Hindoo Zemindar,
or landholder, who possessed the town and fort of _Hatrass_, in
the province of Agra, occasioned the regiment once more to take
the field in India, in the beginning of 1817. This Zemindar was
named Dyaram; during the troubles in the province of Agra, he
only paid his rents when threatened with a large military force,
and in the year 1803, when the country between the rivers Jumna
and Ganges, called the Dooab, was taken possession of by the
British, he expressed himself willing to pay his assessment, but
objected to any interference in what he called his territory. This
was not agreed to, but he was not then molested. His refusing to
acknowledge the authority of the civil law, afterwards rendered
it necessary to bring him to obedience by force of arms, and
he had the presumption to defy the British power. To reduce
this refractory Zemindar, a body of troops was placed under
Major-General Sir Dyson Marshall, and the first battalion of the
FOURTEENTH Regiment took part in the enterprise. The fortified
town of Hatrass was reputed of great strength, and when the
troops arrived before it, in February, 1817, some inquiry was
made respecting the depth of the ditch, which a soldier of the
FOURTEENTH, volunteered to ascertain, and fastening a large stone
to the end of a cord, he proceeded alone after dark, and gained the
necessary information, with a cool intrepidity, exposed to such
great danger, as created great surprise. The fire of the batteries
soon forced the town to submit, when it was taken possession of
by Lieutenant-Colonel Watson, and the FOURTEENTH; but the castle
held out several days; at length the principal magazine exploded,
and during the following night the refractory Dyaram escaped at
the head of a hundred horsemen all in complete armour. The castle
was afterwards taken possession of without opposition; and this
was followed by the submission of all the zemindars of the Dooab.
After the performance of this service the FOURTEENTH returned to
Cawnpore, where they remained several months.
The second battalion embarked from Cephalonia in the autumn of
this year, and proceeded to Malta, where it remained a few days.
The peace of Europe appearing to be established upon a firm basis,
a reduction in the army took place, which occasioned the second
battalion to receive orders to return to England for the purpose of
being disbanded; it landed at Portsmouth on the 24th and 25th of
November, and was reduced at Chichester on the 23rd of December,
transferring four hundred and twenty rank and file to the first
battalion.
[Sidenote: 1818]
The aggressions of the bands of _Pindarees_, who made incursions
into the territory subject to Great Britain, and committed great
depredations, occasioned the regiment to be again called into the
field in October of this year. Colonel Watson having received the
appointment of Brigadier-General, and been nominated to a command
under Major-General Sir Dyson Marshall, the command of the regiment
devolved on Major Johnstone. The Pindarees were a community of
professed marauders, and they were encouraged to make ravages in
the British dominions in India, by the Mahratta states. Being all
horsemen subsisting by plunder, the services of the corps employed
against them were of an arduous and trying character:--traversing
extensive districts by forced marches, passing rivers and thickets,
and attempting to surprise these bands of plunderers, were duties
calculated to exhaust the strength of European soldiers, when
performed under an Indian sun. The regiment continued actively
employed on these services until April, 1818, when it proceeded to
the military cantonment of Meerut.
[Sidenote: 1819]
[Sidenote: 1825]
At the pleasant quarters of Meerut, situated on an extensive grass
plain, the regiment was stationed during the seven following years,
and it preserved a high reputation for good conduct in quarters,
while employed in this part of India. Events, however, occurred in
1825, which occasioned it to take the field, when it had another
opportunity of gaining laurels in combat with the enemies of Great
Britain, under the following circumstances:
The Rajah of _Bhurtpore_, Baldeo Singh, had become attached to the
English government, with which he formed an alliance, offensive
and defensive, and procured a guarantee for the succession of his
youthful son, Bhulwunt Singh, to the throne; but amongst many of
the rajah's subjects, a strong feeling of hostility to the British
existed, particularly in the army, and his nephew, Doorjun Sal,
was at the head of the party opposed to the British alliance.
After the rajah's decease his nephew excited a rebellion, gained
possession of the capital, and assumed the sovereign power. To
fulfil the engagements made with the deceased rajah, by removing
the usurper, and placing the youthful prince on the throne, a
British army was assembled under General Viscount Combermere, and
in November, 1825, the FOURTEENTH Foot, mustering upwards of nine
hundred officers and soldiers, were withdrawn from Meerut, to join
the division assembling at Muttra, for the purpose of engaging in
this enterprise. The most important part of this war, it was well
known, would consist in the siege of the capital, the fortified
city of Bhurtpore; and great confidence being placed by the natives
in the strength of this place, from which a British army under
Lord Lake had been forced to retire in 1805, after a short siege,
a body of troops was assembled, and a train of artillery brought
forward, such as have seldom taken the field in Indian warfare. The
FOURTEENTH, commanded by Major Matthias Everard, were formed in
brigade with the Twenty-third and Sixty-third Regiments of Native
Infantry, under Lieutenant-Colonel John M'Combe, of the FOURTEENTH,
who had the rank of brigadier-general; Lieutenant-Colonel W. T.
Edwards, of the FOURTEENTH Regiment, also commanded a brigade, with
the rank of brigadier-general.
On the 10th and 11th of December the British army appeared before
the celebrated city and fortress of BHURTPORE, which contained
a garrison nearly equal in numbers to the besieging force. The
Bhurtporees had cut a sluice into the embankment of a lake near
the town, to fill the ditch round the works with water, but they
were speedily driven from the spot; the sluice was stopped, the
embankment was turned into a military post, which was intrusted to
a company of the FOURTEENTH Foot, and some Sepoys: about eighteen
inches of water, only, had flowed into the ditch, and this sudden
seizure of the embankment facilitated the progress of the siege by
keeping the ditch nearly empty. The several corps took up their
ground; the investment became complete, several reconnoisances
were made, and working parties cut down orange and date trees
from the groves, and converted them into fascines and gabions. At
an early hour on the morning of the 24th of December the fires
of two batteries were opened on the town; additional works were
constructed, the batteries became more numerous, and the siege was
prosecuted with vigour; each successive day giving birth to fresh
undertakings, and the progress, though tardy, becoming hourly more
and more perceptible. It was, however, found particularly difficult
to effect practicable breaches in the singularly constructed walls
of Bhurtpore, which were thickly studded, in many places, with
large trees of a peculiarly tough description of timber, which
resisted shot with remarkable pertinacity. The process of mining
was adopted, several explosions took place, and the result soon
rendered it evident to every one present that the horrors of an
assault were drawing near. The Bhurtporees, however, evinced great
bravery and perseverance, exposing themselves to the fire of the
besieging force with singular resolution; they built up in the
night the works which were knocked down during the day, labouring
under a ceaseless fire, and evincing a firm determination to
persevere in the defence. The roar of cannon and musketry continued
day and night like a ceaseless peal of thunder; and the explosions
of the mines deafened, for an instant, all who were near the place.
[Sidenote: 1826]