Marquis de Bay, marched in the direction of Campo Mayor; when the
Portuguese generals, contrary to the Earl of Galway’s advice,
resolved to pass the _Caya_, and attack the enemy. The Portuguese
cavalry and artillery took the lead, and having passed the river
and gained the opposite heights, opened a sharp cannonade; but upon
the advance of their adversaries to charge, the squadrons faced
about and galloped from the field, leaving their cannon behind.
The British division, arriving at the moment, repulsed the enemy;
the leading brigade, consisting of the Thirteenth, Stanwix’s and
Galway’s regiments, commanded by Brigadier-General Thomas Pearce,
charging furiously, recaptured the Portuguese guns; but the
three regiments, pressing forward too far, were surrounded and
made prisoners, and with them Major-General Sankey, the Colonel
of the THIRTY-NINTH; and the Earl of Barrymore, together with
Brigadier-General Thomas Pearce, fell into the hands of the enemy.
At the same time the Fifth, Twentieth, THIRTY-NINTH, and Lord
Paston’s regiments, though deserted by the whole of the cavalry,
made a determined stand, bearing the brunt of the enemy’s
reiterated attacks with admirable firmness, until the Portuguese
infantry had retired; then moving to the rear in firm array, while
the balls flew thickly on every side, and the Earl of Galway’s
horse was shot under him, the enemy advanced in full career,
threatening the destruction of this little band; yet, with ranks
unbroken and steady tread, these undaunted English calmly retraced
their steps, exhibiting one of the noblest spectacles of war,
and occasionally punishing the temerity of their pursuers with a
cool and deliberate resolution, which laid a thousand Spaniards
dead upon the field, and impressed the enemy, and likewise the
Portuguese, with a sense of British courage and magnanimity. Thus
they effected their retreat, with the loss of only one hundred and
fifty men killed and wounded, and passed that night at Arronches.
The THIRTY-NINTH acquired great honour by its gallantry on this
occasion. The regiment was afterwards encamped at Elvas, was
subsequently in position on the banks of the Guadiana, and again
passed the winter in cantonments in the Alemtejo.
[Sidenote: 1710.]
The casualties of the preceding campaign having been replaced by
recruits from England, the regiment again took the field in the
spring of 1710, and was employed in the Alemtejo; but the army
was weak and unequal to any important undertaking, and the French
having obtained some success in the province of Tras os Montes,
occasioned a detachment to be sent thither. In the autumn the army
advanced across the Guadiana, and on the 4th of October arrived
at the rich plains of _Xeres de los Cabaleros_, on the river
Ardilla, in Spanish Estremadura. It was determined to attack this
place by storm on the following day, and the Fifth, Twentieth,
and THIRTY-NINTH regiments, having been selected to perform this
service under the command of Brigadier-General Stanwix, advanced
at four in the afternoon to attack the works near St. Catherine’s
gate by escalade. A few minutes after the regiments had commenced
the assault, the Governor sent proposals to surrender, which were
agreed to, and the garrison, consisting of seven hundred men,
became prisoners of war. The army afterwards retired to Portugal by
the mountains of Orlor, and went into quarters.
During this summer, the army on the other side of Spain gained two
victories--one at _Almanara_, and the other at _Saragossa_,--and
afterwards advanced to Madrid, when the most pressing instances
were made by King Charles III. and General Stanhope to induce
the army of Portugal to advance upon the Spanish capital; but
the Portuguese generals were unwilling to engage in so great an
undertaking.
[Sidenote: 1711.]
The THIRTY-NINTH, during the campaign of 1711, formed part of the
army which assembled at Olivenza in May, and having passed the
Guadiana by a pontoon bridge at Jerumenha, advanced against the
enemy, who took refuge under the cannon of Badajoz. The regiment
was afterwards engaged in the capture of several small towns, and
in levying contributions in Spanish Estremadura; but the summer
passed without any occurrence of importance, excepting a discovery
made by the Earl of Portmore, who commanded the British troops in
Portugal, of a clandestine treaty in progress between the crown of
Portugal and the enemy, in which the former had agreed to separate
from the Allies; to give an excuse for this, a mock battle was to
have been fought, in which the British troops were to have been
sacrificed. This treaty was broken off, but the British Government
soon afterwards entered into negotiations with France.
The claimant of the Spanish throne, Charles III., was in October
1711 elected Emperor of Germany by the title of Charles VI., his
brother Joseph having died at Vienna in the preceding April. This
circumstance materially affected the war, and inclined Great
Britain to agree to peace, for the consolidation of Spain with
the empire of Germany would have perilled the balance of power in
Europe as much as the anticipated union of the crowns of France and
Spain. The course of events had also shown, that a French, and not
an Austrian prince, was the choice of the Spanish nation.
[Sidenote: 1712.]
The regiment remained in Portugal, and during the summer of
1712 was encamped on the pleasant plains of the Tarra. In the
autumn a suspension of hostilities was proclaimed at the camp by
Major-General Pearce, and the regiment went into cantonments.
[Sidenote: 1713.]
On the 11th of April 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht was signed, and
by its provisions the fortress of _Gibraltar_ and the island of
_Minorca_, which had been taken by the English during the war, were
ceded to Great Britain. The THIRTY-NINTH proceeded in the first
instance to Gibraltar; but in the course of the year 1713, the
regiment was selected to form part of the garrison at Minorca.[9]
[Sidenote: 1719.]
Upon the decease of Lieut.-General Nicholas Sankey, in March 1719,
His Majesty King George I. appointed, on the 11th of that month,
Brigadier-General Thomas Ferrers to be Colonel of the THIRTY-NINTH
regiment.
The THIRTY-NINTH regiment remained at Minorca until the year 1719,
when it embarked for Ireland, in which country it was stationed for
some years.
[Sidenote: 1722.]
Colonel William Newton was appointed by King George I. to the
colonelcy of the THIRTY-NINTH regiment on the 28th of September
1722, in succession to Brigadier-General Thomas Ferrers, removed to
the Seventeenth regiment of foot.
[Sidenote: 1726.]
Spain had relinquished its claim on _Gibraltar_ with reluctance;
and that country having resolved to engage in war with Great
Britain, a large army, under the command of the Count de las
Torres, was assembled in Andalusia towards the end of 1726, in
order to commence hostilities with the siege of this important
fortress, for which purpose the Spaniards had made very extensive
preparations.
The British Government resolved to send certain regiments to
reinforce the garrison of Gibraltar, and six men-of-war were also
fitted out at Portsmouth with all possible expedition. Admiral Sir
Charles Wager was appointed to command the fleet, on board of which
three regiments of infantry, Anstruther’s, Disney’s, and Newton’s
(Twenty-sixth, Twenty-ninth, and THIRTY-NINTH regiments), were
embarked. On the 24th of December 1726, Sir Charles Wager arrived
at Portsmouth, and shortly afterwards sailed for Gibraltar, but
was detained for some time at Spithead by the southerly winds. Two
other regiments of infantry, Middleton’s and Hayes’s (Twenty-fifth
and Thirty-fourth), were ordered to embark at Cork, for the purpose
of joining Sir Charles Wager, and of reinforcing the garrison of
Gibraltar.
[Sidenote: 1727.]
Admiral Sir Charles Wager arrived in the Bay of Gibraltar on
the 2nd of February 1727, after a voyage of fourteen days from
Portsmouth. In the previous month the Spanish troops, under
General Count de las Torres, had encamped before the fortress,
and the bringing up of cannon and mortars occupied several weeks.
In February they commenced constructing batteries before any
declaration of war had been made, and persisted in the work,
notwithstanding the remonstrances of the Lieut.-Governor, Colonel
Jasper Clayton.
The garrison opened its fire upon the besiegers towards the end of
February, and the reverberation of the thunder of the cannon and
mortars among the mountains of Andalusia, proclaimed the strenuous
efforts of the enemy, and the gallant defence made by the garrison.
The tremendous fire of the Spaniards produced little effect beyond
the bursting of many of their own cannon, and rendering others
useless. The siege was continued until thousands of the enemy had
perished, while very little loss was sustained by the garrison.[10]
In the early part of June the fire slackened; and shortly
afterwards hostilities ceased, in consequence of preliminary
articles for a treaty of peace having been agreed upon. Thus the
fortress of _Gibraltar_ was a second time preserved, and continued
to form one of the trophies of British prowess.
[Sidenote: 1729.]
Peace having been concluded between Great Britain, France, and
Spain, in November 1729, the regiment was ordered to proceed from
Gibraltar to Jamaica, and it embarked for that island in the
course of the year following.
[Sidenote: 1730.]
Colonel John Cope was appointed to the colonelcy of the
THIRTY-NINTH regiment on the 10th of November 1730, in succession
to Brigadier-General William Newton, deceased.
[Sidenote: 1732.]
In the year 1732 the regiment returned from Jamaica to Ireland.
Colonel Thomas Wentworth was appointed to the colonelcy of the
THIRTY-NINTH regiment on the 15th of December 1732, in succession
to Colonel John Cope, removed to the Fifth fusiliers.
The regiment continued to be stationed in Ireland during 1733 and
ten following years.
[Sidenote: 1737.]
Colonel John Campbell, afterwards Duke of Argyle, was appointed
to the colonelcy of the THIRTY-NINTH regiment on the 27th of June
1737, in succession to Colonel Thomas Wentworth, who was removed to
the Twenty-fourth regiment.
[Sidenote: 1738.]
Upon Colonel Campbell being removed to the Twenty-first Royal
North British Fusiliers on the 1st of November 1738, King George
II. appointed Colonel Richard Onslow to the colonelcy of the
THIRTY-NINTH regiment from that date.
[Sidenote: 1739.]
Colonel Onslow was removed to the Eighth regiment of foot on
the 6th of June 1739, and the colonelcy of the THIRTY-NINTH was
conferred, from the same date, on Lieut.-Colonel Robert Dalway.
While the regiment was stationed in Ireland, war was proclaimed
on the 23rd of October 1739, by Great Britain against Spain, in
consequence of the Spanish depredations in the West Indies.
[Sidenote: 1740.]
Lieut.-Colonel Samuel Walter Whitshed was promoted from the Eighth
dragoons to the colonelcy of the THIRTY-NINTH regiment on the 28th
of December 1740, in succession to Colonel Dalway, removed to the
Thirteenth dragoons.
While the war was being carried on between Great Britain and Spain,
the decease of Charles VI. Emperor of Germany, on the 20th of
October 1740, and the support given by France to Charles Albert,
Elector of Bavaria, in opposition to the claims of the Archduchess
Maria Theresa, the eldest daughter of the late Emperor, to her
father’s hereditary territories, occasioned the contest that is
designated the “War of the _Austrian Succession_.”
[Sidenote: 1742.]
The Elector of Bavaria was chosen Emperor of Germany at Frankfort
on the Maine, and crowned as Charles VII. on the 11th of February
1742; and in the summer of that year the King of England sent an
army of sixteen thousand men, under Field-Marshal the Earl of
Stair, to Flanders, in order to support the Queen of Hungary, Maria
Theresa.
[Sidenote: 1743.]
Colonel Edward Richbell was appointed to the colonelcy of the
THIRTY-NINTH regiment on the 14th of June 1743, in succession to
Colonel Samuel Walter Whitshed, who was removed to the Twelfth
dragoons.
The battle of _Dettingen_ was fought on the 27th of June 1743,
and is remarkable as the last action in which a British monarch
was present; but King George II. at this period did not act as a
principal in the war, his troops having been furnished as allies to
the Austrians.
[Sidenote: 1744.]
On the 9th of March 1744, the THIRTY-NINTH regiment proceeded from
Ireland to Great Britain, and was employed on board the fleet, as
_Marines_, for two years.
War was at last declared by France against Great Britain on the
20th of March 1744, and a counter-declaration was made by the
latter country on the 29th of the same month; thus these two
powers, from auxiliaries, now became principals in the contest.
[Sidenote: 1745.]
In January 1745, the Emperor Charles VII. died at Munich, and
Francis, Grand Duke of Tuscany, consort of Maria Theresa, became
a candidate for the imperial crown; this circumstance changed the
aspect of affairs in Germany, and led to the re-establishment of
the House of Austria in the imperial dignity.
In July Prince Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, arrived
in Scotland, and being joined by several clans, obtained some
advantages; but after advancing as far as Derby, he retreated
towards the north in December following.
[Sidenote: 1746.]
The hopes of the Pretender were annihilated by the battle of
_Culloden_ on the 16th of April 1746, and part of the military
force of the kingdom becoming available for other services, an
expedition proceeded against the coast of Brittany. Sixteen sail
of the line under Admiral Lestock, and eight frigates, conveying
five thousand troops (of which the THIRTY-NINTH formed part),
exclusive of Marines, under Lieut.-General St. Clair, sailed from
Plymouth on the 14th of September, in order to make an attack on
_Port L’Orient_, the principal station for the French East India
Company’s shipping and stores.
The troops landed in Quimperlay Bay on the morning of the 20th of
September, and marched on the following day in two columns against
_Plymeur_, which surrendered, and on the following day advanced to
within a mile of _Port L’Orient_. Some affairs took place between
the 21st and 26th of September, and the town was cannonaded; but
the enemy having assembled a formidable force, it was determined to
withdraw the troops, and they were accordingly re-embarked.
The British troops landed on the peninsula of _Quiberon_ on the
4th of October, and captured a fort mounting eighteen guns; and
after destroying all the forts and guns, together with those on the
islands of Houat and Hedic, the force was re-embarked, sailed for
England, and arrived at Spithead on the 26th of October.
[Sidenote: 1747.]
During the years 1747 and 1748, the regiment again served as
_Marines_ on board the fleet.
[Sidenote: 1748.]
On the 7th of October 1748, the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was
signed, which terminated the war, and the regiment was again
stationed in Ireland, where it remained upwards of five years.
[Sidenote: 1751.]
In the royal warrant, dated the 1st of July 1751, for establishing
and maintaining uniformity in the clothing, standards, and colours
of the army, and regulating the number and rank of regiments, the
facings of the THIRTY-NINTH regiment were directed to be _green_.
The first, or King’s colour, was the Great Union; the second, or
regimental colour, was of _green_ silk, with the Union in the upper
canton; in the centre of the colour the number of the rank of the
regiment, in gold Roman characters, within a wreath of roses and
thistles on the same stalk.
At this period the uniform of the regiment was cocked hats bound
with white lace; scarlet coats faced and turned up with green, and
ornamented with white lace; scarlet waistcoats and breeches; white
gaiters, white cravats, and buff belts.
[Sidenote: 1752.]
Colonel John Adlercron was appointed to the colonelcy of the
THIRTY-NINTH regiment on the 14th of March 1752, in succession to
Brigadier-General Edward Richbell, removed to the Seventeenth foot.
[Sidenote: 1754.]
In the beginning of 1754, the THIRTY-NINTH proceeded from Ireland
to the East Indies, being the _first_ King’s regiment employed in
that country.
[Sidenote: 1756.]
The regiment remained at Madras until 1756, when events transpired
which occasioned a portion of the THIRTY-NINTH to be embarked for
Bengal. Upon the decease of Allaverdy Khan, in April 1756, Surajah
Dowlah was proclaimed Soubah, or Nabob of Bengal. During nearly
half a century the British at Calcutta had pursued a profitable
commerce in peace; but the new ruler soon evinced his hostility
to them, and taking the field shortly afterwards, with a numerous
army, invested Calcutta, which was captured by him on the 20th of
June. Then followed that awful sacrifice of life in the “_Black
Hole_,” a dungeon at Calcutta only eighteen feet square, into which
one hundred and forty-six of the prisoners were thrust, and on the
following morning only twenty-three survived,--their unfortunate
companions having perished from suffocation.
Dark was the cloud which hung over the affairs of the East India
Company at this period; self-preservation made it imperative to
adopt measures of retaliation, and it was a proud epoch in the
career of the THIRTY-NINTH when a portion of the regiment was
selected for service in Bengal, where the subsequent successes,
obtained under Lieut.-Colonel Clive, dispersed the prevailing
gloom, and paved the way for British ascendancy in India.
The intelligence of these events reached Madras in August 1756,
and it was determined to send a force to Bengal, of which
Colonel Adlercron, of the THIRTY-NINTH, claimed the command, but
Lieut.-Colonel Robert (afterwards Lord) Clive, was eventually
appointed to command the troops. The armament consisted of nine
hundred Europeans and fifteen hundred Sepoys: two hundred and fifty
of the Europeans belonged to the THIRTY-NINTH regiment, and the
remainder were the best men of the Company’s troops. The naval
squadron comprised the Kent of 64 guns, Cumberland of 70, Tiger of
60, Salisbury of 50, Bridgewater of 20, and a fire-ship; to which
were added, as transports, three of the Company’s ships, and two
smaller vessels. The fleet under Rear-Admirals Watson and Pocock
having the troops on board, sailed from Madras on the 16th of
October 1756, and anchored in the river Hoogly, off Fulta, twenty
miles from Calcutta, on the 15th of December, with the exception
of the Cumberland, in which Admiral Pocock had hoisted his flag,
which grounded on the sandheads off Saugur, but afterwards bore up
to Vizagapatam. The fleet left Fulta on the 27th of December, and
anchored in the afternoon of the day following at Mayapore, a town
ten miles below the fort of _Budge-Budge_.
It was determined to attack this fort on the following day, and it
was resolved to lay an ambuscade in order to intercept the retreat
of the garrison towards Calcutta. All the men of the THIRTY-NINTH
who had arrived, being one hundred and twenty, remained on board
the ships of war; but five hundred Europeans, with the Sepoys, and
two field-pieces, landed, and marched from Mayapore, at sunset,
under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Clive. Monickchund, the
Governor of Calcutta, attempted to make a stand near the fort of
_Budge-Budge_, but was defeated, and forced to return to Calcutta.
Meanwhile the Kent, having outsailed the other ships, anchored
before Budge-Budge, and alone silenced the cannon of that fort,
which was abandoned by the garrison during the night of the 30th of
December.
[Sidenote: 1757.]
The fleet left Budge-Budge on the 31st of December, and anchored,
on the 1st of January 1757, between the forts of Tanna and Aligur,
which were abandoned by the enemy without firing a shot. On the
following morning Lieut.-Colonel Clive, with the greater portion of
the Europeans and Sepoys, landed, and advanced towards _Calcutta_.
At nine o’clock the Kent and Tiger anchored before the British
fort, which, after a brisk cannonade, was deserted by the enemy,
and also the town shortly afterwards, when a detachment from the
ships under Captain Eyre Coote, of the THIRTY-NINTH, (afterwards
Lieut.-General Sir Eyre Coote, K.B.), hoisted the British colours
in the fort, as the troops under Lieut.-Colonel Clive had not then
arrived.
_Hoogly_, a town about twenty-three miles above Calcutta, was the
next object of attack: one hundred and seventy of the THIRTY-NINTH
regiment, with two hundred Sepoys, were embarked on this service
on the 4th of January, sailed on the following day, and arrived
before the place on the 10th of that month, the delay having been
caused by one of the vessels having struck on a sandbank. The fort
was garrisoned by two thousand men; three thousand more had been
sent from Moorshedabad to guard the town, but these retreated upon
the landing of the British troops, remaining, however, within a few
miles distance. The fort was battered until night, and although the
breach was scarcely practicable, it was resolved to storm it before
dawn. At the main gate a false attack was made, while Captain
Coote, of the THIRTY-NINTH, with the other division, accompanied by
some sailors, mounted the breach undiscovered by the garrison, who
no sooner saw their assailants on the ramparts, than they quitted
their posts and fled. Three Europeans and ten Sepoys were killed in
the attack. The booty taken in the expedition against Hoogly was
estimated at 15,000_l._ sterling.
On the 12th of January Captain Coote, with fifty of the
THIRTY-NINTH regiment, and twice that number of Sepoys, marched to
_Bandell_, a large village three miles off, where they destroyed
several granaries of rice, but on their return were surrounded
by the fugitive garrison and the troops sent from Moorshedabad,
from whom they disengaged themselves without loss. On the 19th of
January the portion of the THIRTY-NINTH employed on this service,
with the smaller vessels, returned to Calcutta.
While this expedition was in progress, the news of the war, which
had been declared between Great Britain and France in May of the
previous year, was received in India. The Nabob, Surajee Dowlah,
exasperated by the attack of Hoogly, commenced his march towards
Calcutta, and the British made every preparation to oppose his
approach. On the 30th of January the Nabob’s forces commenced
their passage of the river about ten miles above Hoogly, and
arrived before Calcutta on the 3rd of February. In the afternoon
of that day, a numerous body of the enemy commenced entrenching
themselves in a large garden, within a mile and a half of the
British camp. Upon this Lieut.-Colonel Clive immediately advanced
with the greater portion of his troops, and six field-pieces. The
attack of so numerous a force appeared extremely hazardous, and
Lieut.-Colonel Clive restrained the action to a cannonade, which
continued only for an hour, in order that the troops might be
enabled to regain the camp before dark. Negotiations for peace
had been proposed by Lieut.-Colonel Clive, and failed; it was
therefore determined to attack the Nabob’s camp in the morning. At
midnight five hundred and sixty-nine sailors, armed with firelocks,
were landed from the ships of war: the Europeans amounted to six
hundred and fifty, the artillerymen to one hundred, and the Sepoys
to eight hundred. Shortly before dawn on the 5th of February,
the British line came upon the advance-guards of the enemy, who
fled after discharging their matchlocks and some rockets: one of
the latter struck the cartouch-box of a Sepoy, set fire to the
charges, which exploded, and communicated the mischief to several
others: the dread of catching this fire threw the division into
confusion, but fortunately none of the enemy were at hand to take
advantage of this accidental circumstance, and Captain Coote, of
the THIRTY-NINTH, who marched at the head of the grenadiers, in the
rear of the Sepoys, rallied them, and restored the line of march.
A desperate contest ensued, during which Ensign Martin Yorke, of
the THIRTY-NINTH, with a platoon of the regiment, rescued one of
the field-pieces which was on the point of being captured by the
enemy. The British sustained a loss in killed of twenty-seven
Europeans, twelve seamen, and eighteen Sepoys: seventy Europeans,
twelve seamen, and thirty-five Sepoys were wounded. The Nabob
lost twenty-two officers of distinction, six hundred men, four
elephants, five hundred horses, some camels, and several bullocks.
A treaty of peace was concluded between the Nabob and the East
India Company on the 9th of February, and hostilities terminated.