France and other continental powers, gave a more determined
character to the war pursuing between England and France.
Napoleon, who by this time had become sensible of his inability
successfully to invade Great Britain, sought the humiliation of
his rival in excluding, by the above treaty, the manufactures of
England from the markets of Europe. As a part of his scheme for
universal empire, he gained the royal family of Spain into his
power by treachery, placed his brother Joseph on the throne of
that kingdom by force, and effected the conquest of Portugal.
Such acts of tyrannical ambition failed not to rouse the just
resentment of England, and led to the bold determination of
rescuing the Peninsula from the rapacious conqueror. Portugal was
destined to receive the advance-guard of a British army, which,
as in Egypt, was to encounter the victorious legions of Napoleon,
and, as in Egypt, also to triumph. On the 1st of August, 1808,
a body of British troops, commanded by Major-General Sir Arthur
Wellesley, landed near Lisbon, and on the 17th of the same month
they defeated a French force at _Roleia_. At this first meeting of
the great rival powers, a severe struggle terminated in favour of
English valour, and was a faithful precursor of the ability of the
commander, and of the successes which were to accompany the gallant
army on their future career.
After a tedious passage from England, Major-General Acland's
brigade arrived in a small bay near Peniché, where it landed in
the night of the 20th of August, and in a few hours joined the
army under Sir Arthur Wellesley, in time to share the honours
and triumphs of the memorable battle of _Vimiera_. The brigade
underwent much fatigue, and suffered some loss; and the General's
dispatches bear evidence that it did its duty. After the convention
of Cintra, by which Portugal was delivered from the power of
France, the QUEEN'S ROYAL crossed to Old Lisbon, and
marched to escort prisoners of war from Fort La Lippe. His Majesty
has graciously permitted the regiment to bear the word _Vimiera_ on
its colours and appointments, in commemoration of its gallantry in
that battle.
In the autumn, when the army under Lieutenant-General Sir John
Moore advanced from Lisbon into Spain, the QUEEN'S formed
part of Sir John Hope's division, which protected the march of the
artillery by the south bank of the Tagus to Talavera de la Reyna,
and from thence by the pass of the Guadarrama mountains, to form a
junction at Salamanca with the Commander-in-Chief, the same being
the only route considered passable for heavy guns.
[Sidenote: 1809]
Before the British troops were concentrated at Salamanca, the
Spanish force which was to have co-operated with them had ceased to
exist; it had been attacked, defeated, and dispersed by the French,
who had 300,000 men in Spain. Sir John Moore, however, advanced
with his army of about 23,000 men, until Bonaparte directed 80,000
veterans with 200 cannon against him: a retreat was immediately
commenced. In all the fatigues, distresses, and privations of this
memorable winter campaign, the QUEEN'S regiment had its
full share, and was brigaded with the 5th, 14th, and 32nd regiments
under command of Major-General (now Lord) Hill. This brigade was
posted in line on the left of Sir John Moore's position, when that
officer fought and defeated the French forces in front of _Corunna_
on the 16th of January, 1809. The glory of the day was clouded by
the loss of many brave soldiers, among whom the British army had to
lament the death of its gallant commander[29].
The withdrawing of the British troops from Spain after the battle
of _Corunna_ was the consequent operation of Sir John Moore's
retreat to the coast: arrangements for this purpose were therefore
hastily concerted, and as speedily acted upon. A great portion of
the army was enabled to embark in the harbour of Corunna during the
night after the battle; at the same time General Hill's brigade
retired to a position near the ramparts of the town, leaving the
piquets of the brigade, under Lieutenant-Colonel Kingsbury, of the
Queen's Regiment, employed as a rear-guard to cover the retreat
of the army, and to keep the enemy in check by fires and other
stratagems, until the embarkation was completed, almost without
molestation; and General Hill's brigade followed from the citadel
on the succeeding day. The troops embarked in such vessels as they
could reach; the ships made the best of their way to England, and,
in consequence of the stormy season, landed the troops at the first
port they could gain. The Queen's Regiment arrived in parties, and
was subsequently re-united at Ipswich.
In consequence of the gallant conduct of the QUEEN'S ROYAL
in the action at Corunna, the regiment has received his Majesty's
permission for the word _Corunna_ being borne on its colours and
appointments[30].
A detachment of the QUEEN'S ROYAL had been left in
Portugal, when the corps advanced from Lisbon to Salamanca, and was
assembled at Elvas under the command of Captain Gordon, who, with
his detachment, joined the army of Sir Arthur Wellesley previous
to its entering Spain. Captain Gordon's party was attached to the
Second Battalion of Detachments, and had the honour of sharing in
the victory at _Talavera de la Reyna_ on the 28th of July, 1809[31].
When the militia regiments were allowed, in 1809, to volunteer
into the line, the QUEEN'S ROYAL was very successful in
recruiting, and its establishment was increased to 1000.
In July of the same year, the regiment formed part of the
expedition under the Earl of Chatham to the Scheldt; was employed
at the siege of Flushing, and, after the surrender of that
fortress, it remained in quarters at Middleburgh, where it suffered
severely from the Walcheren fever. On the evacuation of the island
in December, the regiment embarked at Flushing, and returned to its
old quarters at Ipswich.
[Sidenote: 1810]
During the year 1810, the regiment remained in England, where it
was joined in August by the detachment which had been left in
Portugal; and its numbers were thus increased to 1126 rank and file.
[Sidenote: 1811]
On the 25th of January, 1811, the QUEEN'S ROYAL embarked
at Portsmouth, with the Thirty-sixth, Second Battalion of the
Forty-third, Fifty-first, and Eighty-fifth regiments, to reinforce
the British army in Portugal. The fleet, commanded by Sir Joseph
Yorke, encountered contrary gales, which so prolonged the voyage,
that the convoy did not reach its destination until the 2nd of
March, when the regiment disembarked at Lisbon, and went into
barracks in the castle. It was afterwards attached to the Sixth
Division of the army, and engaged with it in the pursuit of the
French army under Marshal Massena, who evacuated his position at
Santarem, and commenced his retreat into Spain a few days after the
arrival of the above re-inforcements. Many brilliant exploits were
performed by the adverse armies during this retreat, and also in
the subsequent operations on the eastern frontier of Portugal. The
_Sixth_ Division was subsequently employed in the south, under Sir
Thomas Graham, covering the siege of Badajoz, which was menaced by
the French Marshal, but surrendered to the bold and superior tact
of Lord Wellington in April, 1812.
[Sidenote: 1812]
When Lord Wellington advanced into Spain in 1812, and occupied
_Salamanca_, the Sixth Division was quartered in that city, and
charged with the siege of the three fortified convents, in which
the enemy had left garrisons. In the unsuccessful attempt to carry
one of these forts, (that called St. Vincente) by escalade, on
the night of the 23rd of June, in which Major-General Bowes fell,
the light company of the QUEEN'S lost Captain Sir George
Colquhoun, Lieutenant Mathews, one serjeant, and six men killed,
and was otherwise so reduced, that it was found necessary next day
to draft ten men from each battalion company to complete it. After
the reduction of these forts, the _St. Caetano_ and _La Mercea_
by storm, and _St. Vincente_ by capitulation, the Sixth Division
joined the army in the advance to Toro, and took part in the
several movements which preceded and led to the battle of Salamanca.
On this glorious day, the 22nd of July, 1812, the Sixth Division
was originally posted in reserve, to support the Fourth and Fifth
in the intended attack upon the enemy's centre and the heights
of Arapiles. After the crest of the height had been carried by
the Fourth Division, one division of the French made a determined
stand, and after a sharp contest, obliged the British to give way.
Marshal Beresford, who was on the spot, directed General Spry's
brigade of the Fifth Division to change its front, and attack
the flank of the enemy; and Lord Wellington ordered up the Sixth
Division under Sir Henry Clinton, to relieve the Fourth, and the
battle was soon restored to its former success. The French had
now but one hill left, on which they had concentrated all their
remaining forces. The Sixth Division was ordered to advance in line
upon the enemy's position, which it did in a most gallant manner,
under a heavy fire of 21 pieces of cannon and of musketry; and
after a severe contest, the enemy fled through the woods towards
the Tormes, protected by the approaching darkness of the night, by
which many were enabled to escape: the defeat of the French army
was now completed.
The loss of the QUEEN'S on this day amounted to nearly
one-half its number present, the light company being detached.
One lieutenant (Denwoody) and 20 men were killed; its two majors,
Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Kingsbury and Major Graham, (both of whom
afterwards received honorary medals from his Majesty,) severely
wounded; one captain (Scott) and three lieutenants (Gordon,
Williams, and Hudson), and 100 men wounded. In fact, towards the
close of the action, a subaltern officer, Lieutenant Borlase, had
the honour of commanding the regiment. In honour of its gallant
services in this action his Majesty has been graciously pleased to
permit that _Salamanca_ should be added to other distinctions on
the colours of the regiment.
After the above defeat, Marshal Marmont withdrew the army of
Portugal in the direction of Burgos, and Lord Wellington crossed
the Douro and entered Madrid. The allied army made a further
advance to Burgos, the siege of which was undertaken and pushed
with vigour, but was abandoned in October, in consequence of a
junction of the disposable French force in Spain, amounting to
between 80,000 and 90,000 men, and the determination of the British
commander to retire on the Douro, and subsequently to Salamanca
and to Ciudad Rodrigo. When the army halted, the Queen's Regiment
was quartered at Fulgoza de Salvador; and being much reduced
in numbers, the head-quarters, with six skeleton companies,
were sent to England, and the remaining four companies formed
the right wing of the Second Provisional Battalion, commanded
by Lieutenant-Colonel Bingham of the Fifty-third regiment. The
companies of the QUEEN'S were about one hundred effective
rank and file each, and the battalion was posted to the Fourth
Division, under Major-General the Honourable Sir G. Lowry Cole.
[Sidenote: 1813]
In the campaign of 1813, the four companies of the QUEEN'S
were frequently engaged, and showed the same spirit of valour
and discipline for which the regiment had been distinguished on
former occasions. In consideration of the services rendered by this
portion of the regiment at the battle of _Vittoria_ on the 21st of
June of this year, and of its uniform good conduct in the series
of actions which took place in the Pyrenees between the 26th of
July and the 2nd of August following, his Majesty has graciously
approved of the words _Vittoria_ and _Pyrenees_, being borne by the
regiment, in addition to its other honourable badges of merit and
royal favour.
In reporting the above brilliant affairs, in which the army of
the allies, commanded by the Duke of Wellington, was eminently
successful in driving the French force under Marshal Soult from
their strong holds, his Grace observes, 'In the course of this
contest (28th July) the Fourth Division, which has so frequently
been distinguished in this army, surpassed its former good
conduct.' In the action fought two days subsequently, when Marshal
Soult's army was posted in a position so formidable, that the
Duke of Wellington, in his dispatches, characterises it as one of
the strongest, and most difficult of access, he had ever yet seen
occupied by troops, the steep hill, crowned with French soldiers,
was boldly ascended, and the front of the enemy's main position
was fearlessly attacked by a part of Sir Lowry Cole's Division;
on which occasion the Battalion, comprising the Queen's and
Fifty-third Regiments, is mentioned as having been led by Colonel
Bingham.
In conjunction with this operation, the Third Division, under Sir
Thomas Picton, having advanced on the enemy's left, the French fled
in great confusion, leaving 4000 of their infantry unsupported
in the valley, one half of whom were obliged to surrender at
discretion. Thus were the attempts of the French Marshal to relieve
Pampeluna frustrated, and his army doomed to suffer defeat and
severe loss in defiance of extraordinary exertions, which gave them
sanguine expectation of success. In these affairs several men of
the QUEEN'S were killed, and Lieutenant Hutton and a great
number wounded.
On the 2nd of August, the Fourth Division advanced to the
Puerto de Echalar, and afterwards moved to Lezaca to cover the
head-quarters. At the latter place the Duke of Wellington remained
stationary with his army in position to cover the siege of _St.
Sebastian_, at this time pushed with great vigour by a portion of
the allied army under Sir Thomas Graham.
No movement of consequence was made until the 31st of August, when
the French crossed the Bidassoa in considerable force. With great
fury they made repeated attacks on the Spanish position on the
heights of San Marcial. The First and Fourth Divisions were, in
consequence, moved forward to protect the flanks of the Spaniards,
but the latter repulsed the enemy with such spirit, that they
sought protection under their cannon; and giving up all hope of the
relief of St. Sebastian, they re-crossed the Bidassoa, and during
the night retreated from their position on the left bank of that
river. In this operation the Second Provisional Battalion was left
at the pass of the Crown Mountain, to keep up the communication
with the Seventh Division.
On the 31st of August also the fortress of St. Sebastian was
attacked and carried by assault. The British army had the proud
satisfaction of victoriously entering the territory of France,
and was led by its able commander to a position in front of
the Bidassoa, considered one of the strongest in the Pyrenees,
extending from Zugano Mardie by La Rhona to the sea.
In the storming of Marshal Soult's intrenched position on the
river _Nivelle_, on the 10th of November, the attack of the centre
columns was led by the four companies of the QUEEN'S,
supported by their comrades of the Fifty-third. The men carried
bags of fern to fill up the ditch, and small scaling-ladders to
mount the rampart of a redoubt which they were ordered to take.
In this service they were completely successful. The battalion
advanced with a British huzza, and the enemy abandoned the redoubt
and fled. A deep ravine, immediately in the rear of the work,
prevented the further advance of the QUEEN'S, who from the
crest of the hill had opened a sharp fire upon the fugitives. For
the gallant and successful services on this occasion, his Majesty
has graciously sanctioned the addition of the word _Nivelle_ to its
other badges of distinction.
Soon after this action the army went into quarters for a short
time, while preparations were making for crossing the Adour, and
forming the blockade of Bayonne. The QUEEN'S was sent to
St. Jean de Luz for new clothing, and rejoined the division at St.
Severe. The Fourth Division proceeded towards Bourdeaux, to support
the Seventh under Lieutenant-General Lord Dalhousie, and after the
surrender of that city returned to the Plains of Toulouse.
[Sidenote: 1814]
In the night of the 8th of April, 1814, the Fourth Division struck
its tents, and proceeding by forced marches crossed the Garonne
over a pontoon bridge; on the next day the army closed upon
_Toulouse_. On the 10th the Division proceeded along the front
of the enemy's strongly fortified position, exposed to a galling
fire of grape, until it reached the right of their line, when it
advanced up the heights; while the rest of the troops formed in two
lines in its rear. A strong column of French now issued from the
works, and threatened the flank and rear of the Fourth Division;
but the Second Provisional Battalion, being thrown back _en
potence_, opened a heavy fire and charged the enemy, who thereupon
retreated to their trenches; the brigade then pushed up the hill,
and carried the point to which its efforts had been directed. The
city of _Toulouse_ was now enclosed on all sides except that of
the canal of Languedoc, along which a road was left open by the
Duke of Wellington, in order to save the town from the destruction
which must have followed its being taken by storm. Of this road
the French availed themselves, and, retreating during the night,
encamped about three leagues off. Both armies being now apprised
of the abdication of Napoleon, the battle of _Toulouse_ closed at
once the campaign and the war. In addition to the other marks of
distinction granted to the regiment for meritorious services, it
has been authorised by his Majesty to assume the word _Toulouse_.
In commemoration of the meritorious services performed during the
Peninsula war, his Majesty was also graciously pleased to authorise
the word _Peninsula_, to be borne upon the colours and appointments
of the QUEEN'S ROYAL.
The division of the QUEEN'S ROYAL serving on the continent
embarked at Barsac in June, and landing at Cork marched to Fermoy,
where it stayed about a month, after which it proceeded to
Plymouth, and subsequently joined the head-quarters at Chichester.
[Sidenote: 1815]
During the whole of the year 1815 the regiment was stationed at
Gosport; and in January 1816 it was moved to Chatham, and from
thence, on the 11th of April, to Portsmouth, where it embarked
for the West Indies on the 24th of April, 1816, having previously
received 300 general service men from the depôt in the Isle of
Wight. It landed at Barbadoes on the 5th of June, where it was
quartered in barracks at St. Anne's.
Some time before the QUEEN'S arrived in Barbadoes,
martial law had been proclaimed in consequence of an insurrection
among the negroes, which, however, was soon quelled. The sickly
season, which usually sets in about the month of September, was
this year one of the most fatal remembered for a long period,
and the QUEEN'S ROYAL felt all its severity. In October
the yellow fever broke out and raged with unabated fury until
Christmas, during which short space it carried off 11 officers,
upwards of 200 men, and more than half the women and children
of the regiment. The officers who fell victims to its fury were
Major Conolly, Captain Gordon, Lieutenants Clutterbuck, M'Dougall,
Grey, Norman, and Grant; Lieutenant and Adjutant Spencer,
Assistant-Surgeon Pendergrast, and Ensigns Massie and Richmond, to
whose memory their surviving brother-officers erected a handsome
marble monument in the Cathedral Church of Bridgetown.
[Sidenote: 1817]
In 1817, the right wing of the regiment embarked for St. Vincent,
and the left for Grenada; the men continued to suffer from
dysentery, and other complaints which followed the ravages of the
fever, and many were carried off. Amongst the number was Lieutenant
Adams, who died of fever in Grenada.
[Sidenote: 1819]
[Sidenote: 1820]
In April, 1819, the regiment embarked for Demerara and Berbice,
the head-quarters with seven companies being stationed at the
first, and the three other companies at the latter place. The men
were very healthy at the time of their arrival, but the climate
of these colonies (originally settled by the Dutch), the soil of
which lies below the level of the sea, soon, and severely, affected
both officers and privates. They suffered first under intermittent
fever, but the yellow fever afterwards made its appearance, and
carried off great numbers. The detachment stationed at Berbice,
which remained perfectly healthy until the month of November 1820,
was, in a few subsequent weeks, nearly annihilated by that baneful
malady, amongst whose victims were Major Thistlethwaite, the
commandant, and Lieutenant Glasson.
About this time the regiment received a new pair of colours, which
were consecrated, in due form, on the parade ground near Eve Leary
barracks, on the 10th of November, 1820, and presented by Mrs.
Jordan, wife of Lieutenant-Colonel John Jordan, then commanding the
regiment. After the ceremony a splendid entertainment was given by
the officers.
[Sidenote: 1821]
The regiment having completed five years' service on the West
Indian station, was relieved, in 1821, by the Twenty-first
Fusiliers, and ordered home; it embarked on the 10th, sailed on
the 13th of April, and landed at Gosport on the 13th of June.
From Gosport it proceeded to Winchester, and after a short stay
there, to Brighton, where it was reviewed by the Duke of York, when
his Royal Highness was pleased to express his approbation of the
appearance of the corps. On the 24th of August, 1821, the regiment,
still at Brighton, was reduced to eight companies on the following
establishment:--1 colonel, 1 lieutenant-colonel, 2 majors, 8
captains, 10 lieutenants, 6 ensigns, 5 staff, 29 serjeants, 24
corporals, 12 drummers, and 552 privates.
[Sidenote: 1822]
In April, 1822, the regiment received a route to march to Hull in
Yorkshire, where it remained in garrison a few weeks: in June it
was ordered to proceed to Dublin, and arrived there on the 13th of
July following.
General Coates[32], after commanding the regiment nearly
twenty-eight years, died on the 22nd of July, 1822, and was
succeeded in the Colonelcy by Major-General Sir Henry Torrens,
K.C.B., Adjutant-General to the Forces.
[Sidenote: 1824]
The regiment remained at Dublin until May, 1824, when it embarked
for England, and proceeded to Gosport, and in the month of August
following it was moved to Chatham.
[Sidenote: 1825]
[Sidenote: 1826]
[Sidenote: 1827]
In the early part of February, 1825, the regiment, consisting of
thirty-two serjeants, twenty drummers, and seven hundred and forty
rank and file, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel J. Williams[33],
marched from Chatham, and embarked at Gravesend for Bombay, where
it arrived in the beginning of June, 1825. An augmentation of two
companies, with a recruiting company, was made to the regiment
on its embarkation for India service. This reinforcement sailed
shortly after, and the whole corps, after assembling at Bombay,
marched to Poonah, the capital of the Deccan, in which cantonment
it arrived early in 1826. From Poonah four companies of the
QUEEN'S ROYAL were detached in September, 1827, on an
expedition against the Rajah of Koolapore, in the Mahratta country,
south of Bombay. The light company of the QUEEN'S, with
the light companies of the 20th and other regiments, were formed
into a light battalion, under Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Place[34],
of the Queen's, and proceeded for the above destination. The
service terminated the same year by the surrender of the territory
and the capitulation of the Rajah.
[Sidenote: 1828]
Major-General Sir Henry Torrens, K.C.B.[35] (Adjutant-General of
the Forces), died on the 22nd of August, 1828, and was succeeded,
as Colonel of the QUEEN'S ROYAL, by General the Right
Honourable Sir William Keppel, G.C.B., from the Sixty-seventh
Regiment.
[Sidenote: 1831]
In the beginning of 1831, the regiment marched to Bombay, to
take a tour of duty at the Presidency, and occupied its former
cantonments at Calaba. The monsoon of 1831 passed off without any
of the destructive effects which marked that of 1825, when the
regiment lost many valuable men. The casualties in the regiment,
from climate, were little beyond what might be expected in
European countries; and during its service in India, the same
result has attended the good order and regularity maintained in
the QUEEN'S. It is due to the corps to observe, that
drunkenness has so far been kept within bounds as to be considered
an unusual crime, and to be unknown in a company for a month
together. To this happy cause may be attributed the healthy state
of the regiment, and the circumstance of the hospital having at
times been without a single soldier in it. If greater proof of the
efficiency of the regiment were required, such would be perceived
by reference to the reports of the inspecting generals.