four companies of the THIRTY-SIXTH, under Captain John Austin, who
had commanded the leading company of the column, the troops under
Major-General Medows moved to the left, intending to fall on the
enemy’s left wing, instead of which they came in view of another
redoubt of equal strength and magnitude with the former, which
it was deemed imprudent to attack. The column then recrossed the
bound-hedge, moved to the left of the British army, which it did
not find until daybreak, when the action was over.
Lord Cornwallis, on joining Major-General Medows at the Pagoda
hill, on the morning of the 7th of February, detached the remaining
six companies of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment and the third battalion
of Bengal sepoys towards the Sultan’s redoubt; but they were
afterwards ordered to proceed to the island, where the enemy had
commenced an attack on the troops, which was gallantly repulsed.
The foregoing details show what an active part the THIRTY-SIXTH
sustained in these operations, and testify the share which the
regiment deserved of the following general commendation bestowed by
the Earl Cornwallis in his orders issued on the evening of the 7th
of February.
“The conduct and valour of the officers and soldiers of this army
have often merited Lord Cornwallis’s encomiums; but the zeal and
gallantry which were so successfully displayed last night in the
attack of the enemy’s whole army, in a position that had cost him
so much time and labour to fortify, can never be sufficiently
praised; and his satisfaction on an occasion, which promises
to be attended with the most substantial advantages, has been
greatly heightened by learning from the commanding officers of
divisions, that this meritorious behaviour was universal through
all ranks, to a degree that has rarely been equalled.
“Lord Cornwallis, therefore, requests that the army in general
will accept of his most cordial thanks for the noble and gallant
manner in which they have executed the plan of the attack. It
covers themselves with honour, and will ever command his warmest
sentiments of admiration.”
In the assault of Tippoo Sultan’s fortified camp and island of
Seringapatam on the 6th and 7th of February 1792, the total loss
of the right division, under Major-General Medows, including
officers, amounted to twenty-seven killed and sixty-five wounded.
Lieutenant Alexander David Robertson, of the Seventy-third, doing
duty with the THIRTY-SIXTH, from which he had been promoted, and
Ensign Pooley Smith, of the THIRTY-SIXTH, were killed. Lieutenants
Thomas Brownrigg, Robert Campbell, and John Campbell,[13] of the
THIRTY-SIXTH, were wounded.
The enemy’s loss was very severe, being estimated at 20,000 _hors
de combat_. Eighty pieces of cannon were taken by the British.
On the 9th of February the army took up its final position for
the siege of _Seringapatam_, and on the 15th Major-General Robert
Abercromby joined with the Bombay force, consisting of the
Seventy-third, Seventy-fifth, and Seventy-seventh regiments, beside
native troops, making a total of about six thousand men.
Preparations were now made for the siege of Seringapatam, and
the approaches were carried on with the greatest activity until
the 24th of February, when the general orders announced that the
preliminary articles of peace had been signed, and in consequence
all hostile measures immediately ceased.
On the 26th of February the two sons of Tippoo Saib, Abdel Kalek
and Mooza-ud-Deen, the former ten years of age, and the latter
eight, were brought to the British camp, as hostages for the due
performance of the preliminary articles.[14]
In consequence of some obstacles which had been opposed by Tippoo
to the arrangement of the definitive Treaty, working parties were
ordered, and the guns replaced in the batteries on the 10th of
March. This state of suspicion and preparation lasted until the
15th of March, when it was discontinued, and on the 18th of that
month, the definitive Treaty being duly executed and signed, was
delivered by the young Abdel Kalek to each of the confederates. On
the 20th the counterpart was sent off to Tippoo Saib.
Thus terminated a war in which the confederates wrested from the
enemy seventy fortresses, eight hundred pieces of cannon, and
destroyed or dispersed at least fifty thousand men. By the articles
of the Treaty Tippoo was bound to pay a large sum of money and to
cede one half of his dominions.
The Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in India granted from
this money a sum equal to six months’ batta for all ranks, and the
Court of Directors afterwards made a similar grant.
On the 26th of March the exchange of the definitive treaty being
completed, the British commenced moving towards Bangalore, from
whence they proceeded to the Pednaigdurgum Pass, where the Bengal
troops were ordered to their own Presidency.
[Sidenote: 1793.]
The French revolution, which had commenced a few years previously,
had at this period assumed a character which called forth
the efforts of other countries to arrest the progress of its
destructive principles; and, on the 1st of February 1793, shortly
after the decapitation of Louis XVI., war was declared by the
National Convention of France against Great Britain and Holland.
News of this event arrived in India in May 1793; in June the
THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was ordered to prepare to take the field;
it marched soon afterwards against the French settlement of
_Pondicherry_, on the Coromandel coast; the troops employed on this
service were commanded by Colonel John Brathwaite.
The siege of _Pondicherry_ was commenced in the early part of
August, the army encamping in a thick wood where tigers were
so numerous that the natives durst not travel in the night. On
the 22d of August a white flag was displayed by the garrison,
with a request to be allowed to surrender. The French soldiers
in the fortress had embraced democratical principles, and were
particularly insubordinate; they insisted that the Governor should
surrender; but after the white flag was displayed, they fired two
shells, which killed several men. During the night they were guilty
of every species of outrage: breaking into houses, and becoming
intoxicated. On the following morning a number of them environed
the house of the Governor-General Charmont, and threatened to hang
him before the door, when application was made to the British for
protection. The English soldiers rushed into the town, overpowered
the insurgents, rescued the Governor, and preserved the inhabitants
from further violence. After this service the regiment returned to
Madras.[15]
[Sidenote: 1794.]
During the year 1794 the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was stationed at
Trichinopoly.
[Sidenote: 1795.]
In 1795 the regiment proceeded to Negapatam.
[Sidenote: 1796.]
During the years 1796 and 1797 the regiment was stationed at
Warriore, near Trichinopoly.
[Sidenote: 1798.]
[Sidenote: 1799.]
In the beginning of 1798 the regiment was stationed at Pondicherry,
and subsequently at Wallahabad. The men fit for service were
afterwards drafted into the Seventy-fourth and Seventy-sixth
regiments, and the remainder of the THIRTY-SIXTH embarked at
Madras for Europe on the 15th of October 1798. Previously to the
regiment returning to England, orders were issued by the Governor
in Council, and by the Commander-in-Chief of Madras, dated 24th of
September and 14th of October 1798, which are highly complimentary
of the regiment, and are inserted at page 121 of the Appendix. The
want of convoy caused the fleet of Indiamen to be detained three
months at St. Helena, and the regiment did not arrive in England
until the 26th of July 1799, when it landed at Greenhithe;--it
subsequently proceeded to Cirencester, and thence to Winchester,
where the corps was completed to its establishment by volunteers
from the militia.
[Sidenote: 1800.]
The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment embarked at Portsmouth, in January 1800,
for Ireland, and disembarked at Tarbert and Cork; it afterwards
proceeded to Fermoy, Clonmel, and thence to Cork, where the
regiment embarked with an expedition under Brigadier-General the
Honorable Sir Thomas Maitland, and landed in the beginning of
June at the Isle de Houat, on the coast of France; on the 4th
of June the light company of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment landed
at _Quiberon_, and destroyed some batteries, after which it
re-embarked for the Mediterranean, and the regiment arrived at
Minorca in July, which island had surrendered to Great Britain in
November 1798.
[Sidenote: 1801.]
During the year 1801 the regiment was stationed at Minorca.
[Sidenote: 1802.]
On the 27th of March 1802 a treaty of peace was signed at Amiens
between the French Republic, Spain, and the Batavian Republic on
the one part, and Great Britain on the other; by this treaty the
Island of Minorca was restored to Spain.
In August 1802 the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment returned to Cork from
Minorca, marched to Galway, and occupied the barracks at that place.
[Sidenote: 1803.]
The conduct of Napoleon Bonaparte had occasioned hostilities to
be renewed in May 1803, when the British army was augmented, and
preparations were made to repel a threatened invasion by the
French. The “_Army of Reserve Act_” was passed in June 1803 for
raising men for home service by ballot; and numerous volunteer and
yeomanry corps were formed in every part of the Kingdom.
The regiment was suddenly ordered to proceed by forced marches from
Galway to Dublin in July 1803, where a serious riot had occurred on
the 23d of that month, when Lord Chief Justice Kilwarden, and his
nephew the Rev. Richard Wolfe, were attacked in his carriage, and
murdered by the rioters.
[Sidenote: 1804.]
On the 18th of May 1804 Napoleon was invested with the dignity of
Emperor of the French; and on the 26th of May of the following year
he was crowned King of Italy, at Milan.
Further measures of defence were adopted by Great Britain, and the
“_Additional Force Act_” was passed on the 29th of June 1804, by
which a second battalion was added to the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment,
to be formed of men raised in the county of Durham for limited
service; the second battalion was placed on the establishment of
the army from the 25th of December following.
On the 12th of December 1804 the Court of Spain issued a
declaration of war against England, in consequence of the capture
of some frigates off Cadiz, which had been intercepted on their way
to France with cargoes of treasure for the use of Napoleon, Spain
having agreed to furnish a powerful aid to that ruler.
During the year 1804 the first battalion of the regiment continued
in garrison at Dublin.
[Sidenote: 1805.]
On the 3d of August 1805 the first battalion of the regiment
marched from Dublin, having been selected to form part of the army
under Lieut.-General Lord Cathcart; it encamped on the Curragh
of Kildare until the 20th of September, marched from thence to
Bandon, and occupied the barracks there; on the 29th of October the
battalion embarked at Cork for Germany.
The second battalion remained in Great Britain during 1805, and
three following years.
[Sidenote: 1806.]
The first battalion of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment arrived in Germany
on the 1st of January 1806, and occupied cantonments in Bramstead
and Bokell until February, when it again marched and embarked for
Great Britain, the British troops having been recalled to England
in consequence of the events which followed Napoleon’s victory
over the Russians and Austrians at Austerlitz in December of the
preceding year;--the battalion landed at Ramsgate early in March.
In the autumn of 1806 the first battalion was directed to proceed
to Portsmouth for the purpose of joining the expedition under
Brigadier-General Robert Craufurd, about to be employed on secret
service; and the battalion embarked at Portsmouth on the 22d of
September.
[Sidenote: 1807.]
The expedition, which consisted of the first battalions of the
Fifth, THIRTY-SIXTH, Forty-fifth, and Eighty-eighth regiments, five
companies of the Rifle corps, two squadrons of the Sixth dragoon
guards, and two companies of Royal Artillery, did not sail from
Falmouth until the 12th of November 1806; and after remaining at
St. Jago, in the Cape de Verde Islands, from the 14th of December
1806 to the 11th of January 1807, arrived in Table Bay, Cape of
Good Hope, on the 22d of March following. Here the troops were
landed for refreshment and exercise under Brigadier-General
Craufurd. From the Cape the expedition sailed again on the 6th
of April; reached St. Helena on the 21st of April, where the
stock of water and provisions was completed; and, quitting
that island on the 26th, arrived on the 14th of June at _Monte
Video_, then occupied by the British troops under Lieut.-General
John Whitelocke, who had arrived there in the preceding May,
and had assumed the command of the whole British force in South
America.[16]
Great preparations were made to effect a landing of the troops,
which took place on the 28th of June at _Ensenada da Baragon_,
about thirty-two miles distant from Buenos Ayres, without
firing a shot. The first battalions of the THIRTY-SIXTH and
Eighty-eighth regiments were brigaded together under the orders
of Brigadier-General the Honourable William Lumley. On the 29th
the troops moved forward; the light brigade, composed of the Rifle
corps and nine light infantry companies, formed the advance, which
was supported by Brigadier-General Lumley’s brigade, and followed
by the other corps in succession. On the 1st of July the army was
concentrated near the village of Reduction, about seven miles from
Buenos Ayres, from whence it again advanced on the following day,
crossed the Chuelo, a rivulet, by a ford called the Chico, and
traversed the low ground on the opposite bank, at the extremity of
which is situated the City of Buenos Ayres.
The light company was at the attack and carrying of the enemy’s
advance field-work on the 2d of July; on the 5th of that month
the right wing of the THIRTY-SIXTH, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel
Robert Burne, and the left wing by Captain William Cross, stormed
and established themselves in Buenos Ayres. Upon this severe
service Captains Alexander, Williamson, and Henry Cole Johnson,
with Lieutenant Robert Whittell, two serjeants, one drummer, and
forty-one rank and file, were killed; Captains William Wright Swain
and Henry Vernon, Lieutenants William Wingfield, William Cotton,
John Chaloner, and John White, seven serjeants, and thirty-six rank
and file, were wounded.
Notwithstanding the intrepidity displayed by the advancing troops,
upon whom a destructive fire was poured from the tops of houses
and every other advantageous position, the enterprise failed. On
the following morning the Governor-General Liniers sent a letter
to Lieut.-General Whitelocke, offering to restore the prisoners
taken in this action, and also those made with Brigadier-General
Beresford, on condition that the whole of the British forces should
be withdrawn from South America, which proposals were accepted. The
Lieut.-General’s conduct subsequently became the subject of inquiry
by a Court-martial, and he was cashiered.
The first battalion of the regiment re-embarked at Buenos Ayres,
and descended the River Plate to _Monte-Video_, whence it embarked
on the 9th of September for Europe, and arrived at Cork on the 17th
of December following.
[Sidenote: 1808.]
The battalion occupied the barracks at Cork until February 1808,
when it proceeded to Fermoy, where it remained until the 5th of
July, when it marched to Cork for embarkation, having been selected
to form part of a force, under the command of Lieut.-General
the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley, destined to proceed to the
Peninsula to aid the Spanish and Portuguese patriots in their
efforts against Napoleon, who had placed his brother Joseph on the
throne of Spain, and was endeavouring to reduce the Peninsula under
his domination.
In May 1808 the second battalion proceeded to Jersey, but returned
to England in July following.
On the 9th of July the first battalion embarked at Cork, and landed
at Figuiera, in Portugal, on the 1st of August. The battalion
under the command of Brevet Colonel Robert Burne, advanced with
the troops under Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley
towards Lisbon. The division, consisting of about four thousand
men, under Major-General Sir Brent Spencer, K.B., having joined
the army from Cadiz, a change was made in the arrangement of the
brigades, and the first battalions of the THIRTY-SIXTH, Fortieth,
and Seventy-first regiments were placed in that commanded by
Major-General Ronald Craufurd Ferguson. After a short halt the
army was again put in motion to occupy a more forward position,
where it remained for some days. On the 17th of August the enemy,
commanded by General Laborde, was encountered near _Roleia_. The
first battalion under the command of Colonel Robert Burne shared
in this action, Captain William Cross being detached in charge of
three companies. The position was attacked and carried, with great
loss to the French, who retreated on Torres Vedras.
The THIRTY-SIXTH subsequently received the Royal Authority to bear
the word “ROLEIA” on the regimental colour and appointments, in
commemoration of this victory.
Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley, after this
battle, did not pursue the enemy by the high roads, but keeping to
the right near the sea marched to _Vimiera_, to cover the landing
of a brigade commanded by Major-General Anstruther, which was
effected on the 20th of August.
The morning of the 21st of August was given up to the troops in
order to prepare and repose themselves. The men were engaged
in washing and cleaning their equipments when the approach of
the enemy, moving to the left, was discovered at eight o’clock
in the morning; and the brigades commanded by Major-General
Ferguson, Brigadier-Generals Nightingall, Acland, and Bowes, were
consequently moved across a valley from the heights on the west to
those on the east of Vimiera.
Marshal Junot, Duke of Abrantes, moved his army to the attack of
the position, and commenced it on the British centre, where the
Fiftieth regiment was posted, moving along the front gradually to
the left, until the whole line became engaged.
[Illustration: THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT.
BATTLE OF VIMIERA, Aug^t 21^{st} 1808.]
The THIRTY-SIXTH had the good fortune to take a distinguished share
in the battle of _Vimiera_ on the 21st of August; and the gallantry
of the battalion was particularly noticed by Lieut.-General the
Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley in the General Orders of that day.
The battalion had nine rank and file killed; Captain Paul Minchin
Hobart; Lieutenants H. S. Hart, Thomas Wright, and Walter Ewart;
Ensign Peter Joseph Bone; Lieutenant and Adjutant John Povah, and
twenty-three rank and file, were wounded.
The conduct of the battalion and of its commanding officer, Colonel
Burne, was thus specially noticed by Lieut.-General the Honorable
Sir Arthur Wellesley in his despatch of the 21st of August;--
“In mentioning Colonel Burne, and the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, to
you upon this occasion, I cannot avoid to add that the regular
and orderly conduct of this corps throughout this service, and
their gallantry and discipline in action have been conspicuous.”
In a letter dated 22d of August 1808 (inserted in the Appendix,
page 122), addressed to Viscount Castlereagh, Secretary of State,
Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley bore further
testimony to the merits of Colonel Burne, and stated, that “_the_
THIRTY-SIXTH _regiment is an example to the army_.”
The thanks of both Houses of Parliament were conferred on the
troops, and the THIRTY-SIXTH subsequently received the Royal
Authority to bear the word “VIMIERA” on the regimental colour and
appointments in commemoration of this battle.[17]
The “_Convention of Cintra_” was the result of this victory, and
it was signed on the 30th of August; by its provisions the French
army evacuated Portugal, which country became freed from its
oppressors.
The British army was ordered to move forward to Lisbon, some of the
reinforcements for it having proceeded by water, and occupied the
forts at the mouth of the Tagus. The French army having by this
convention fallen back on Lisbon, the British proceeded to the
vicinity of Fort St. Julien, and encamped.
All the objects of the expedition being carried into effect,
and the French troops embarked for France, the British army
remained for some time at Lisbon and its vicinity. At this period
(September) Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, having assumed the
command, made dispositions for entering Spain.
The first battalions of the THIRTY-SIXTH, Seventy-first, and
Ninety-second regiments were brigaded under Brigadier-General
Catlin Craufurd, and placed in the division under the command
of Lieut.-General the Honorable John Hope, afterwards the Earl
of Hopetoun. On the 27th of October the division was put in
motion, and after a short stay at Badajoz resumed the march to
Talavera-de-la-Reyna. From this town the column proceeded to the
Escurial, seven leagues to the north-west of Madrid, where it
arrived and halted on the 22d of November.
Intelligence was here received of the enemy’s approach towards
Madrid; the division was in consequence put in motion across
the Guadarama mountains on the 27th of November towards Villa
Castin, at which place Lieut.-General the Honorable John Hope,
in consequence of the information he received of the enemy’s
movements, made a night march to the left, by Avila and Peneranda,
and finally proceeded to Alba-de-Tormes, where a junction was
formed with a detachment from the army under Lieut.-General Sir
John Moore, then at Salamanca. The army under Sir John Moore
was shortly afterwards put in motion towards Valladolid, and
subsequently to the left, to effect a junction with Lieut.-General
Sir David Baird’s division, which had landed at Corunna.
Previously to this period, the Spanish armies under General
Blake, near Bilboa on the left, General Castanos in the centre,
and General Palafox lower down the Ebro on the right, had been
completely defeated; Lieut.-General Sir John Moore consequently
made arrangements for a retreat on Portugal by Ciudad Rodrigo, but
it having been represented to him that Madrid held out against the
French, he was induced to form a junction with Lieut.-General Sir
David Baird, in order to make a diversion in favour of Madrid, by
attacking Marshal Soult on the river Carion.
The British force, twenty-nine thousand strong, joined at Toro on
the 21st of December, and on the 23d of that month Sir John Moore
advanced with the whole army. The cavalry had already met with that
of the enemy, and the infantry were within two hours march of him,
when an intercepted letter informed the British commander that
Napoleon, who had entered Madrid on the 4th of December, was then
in full march for Salamanca and Benevente. A retreat on Corunna,
through Gallicia, was immediately decided on, that through Portugal
being then impracticable.
Accordingly the several divisions marched towards the Esla,
the greater part crossing by the bridge of Benevente on the
26th of December, when, after a day’s halt, the cavalry, under
Lieut.-General Lord Paget and Brigadier-General the Honorable
Charles Stewart, had an engagement with some of the Imperial guards
that had forded the river Esla under General LeFevre, who was made
prisoner with several of his men.