in the summer of this year; and on the evening of the 23rd of
July an immense number of persons assembled with fire-arms and
pikes, dragged the Lord Chief-Justice, Viscount Kilwarden, out
of his carriage, and murdered him; also wounded his nephew, the
Rev. Richard Wolfe, and committed numerous other acts of outrage
and violence. At this period the regiment was quartered in Cork
Street, Thomas Street, and Coombe Barracks, and it quickly
assembled to suppress the riots. Lieut.-Colonel Brown was murdered
by the insurgents as he was proceeding from his quarters to head
the regiment. The command devolved on Major Robertson, under
whose orders the regiment was actively employed in restoring
tranquillity, in which service it had twelve men killed and
wounded. The regiment received the thanks and approbation of the
Commander-in-chief in Ireland, Lieut.-General the Honorable H. E.
Fox, for its conduct on this occasion. Also the thanks of the city
of Dublin. Lieutenant Douglas, who commanded the light company,
and Adjutant Brady, particularly distinguished themselves, and
were each presented with a piece of plate by the city of Dublin,
accompanied with the expression of the gratitude and admiration of
the citizens, for their gallant exertions.
On the decease of General Hamilton, in this year, he was succeeded
in the colonelcy by General the Honorable William Gordon, from the
Seventy-first regiment.
[Sidenote: 1804]
Leaving Dublin in July, 1804, the regiment proceeded to Loughrea.
Napoleon Bonaparte, whom the French had elevated to the dignity of
Emperor, having made preparations for the invasion of England, his
menace was met by a meritorious display of loyalty and patriotism
by the British people, who armed to repel the threatened invasion.
Among the precautionary measures adopted at this period, an
"Additional Force Act" received the Royal Assent in July, 1804. The
men raised for limited service, under the provisions of this Act,
in the counties of Ayr and Renfrew, were added to the ROYAL NORTH
BRITISH FUSILIERS, and were formed into a _second battalion_, which
was embodied at Ayr, and placed on the establishment of the army on
the 25th of December, 1804.
[Sidenote: 1805]
On the 30th of April, 1805, the first battalion embarked
from Monkstown for England; it landed at Portsmouth, and was
subsequently encamped at Weymouth, where several corps were
assembled, and were repeatedly reviewed by the King, and other
members of the Royal Family, who expressed their high approbation
of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS on every occasion on which the
corps appeared before them. In the autumn the battalion marched to
Lewes.
[Sidenote: 1806]
From Lewes the first battalion marched to London, in January, 1806,
to attend the funeral of Vice Admiral LORD VISCOUNT NELSON, who was
killed at the battle of Trafalgar, where the British navy gained a
decisive victory over the combined fleets of France and Spain. The
remains of this highly distinguished naval commander were honored
with a public funeral, which was conducted with great state.
The interment took place on the 9th of January, in St. Paul's
Cathedral: the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS afterwards marched to
Colchester.
At this period the French arms were triumphant in Germany; and
the Court of Naples having displeased the Emperor Napoleon, the
Neapolitan territory was seized by the armies of France, and Joseph
Bonaparte was proclaimed King of Naples. The British preserved the
island of Sicily in the interest of the dethroned family: and in
April the first battalion of the TWENTY-FIRST embarked from Tilbury
for Sicily, and landed at Messina on the 26th of July.
On the 15th of August the second battalion embarked from
Portpatrick for Ireland, where it was stationed during the
following five years.
[Sidenote: 1807]
The Court of the Grand Seignior having become involved in
hostilities with Great Britain, the first battalion embarked from
Sicily on the 17th of May, 1807, and joined the expedition to Egypt
under Major-General Alexander Mackenzie Fraser. The battalion
landed at Alexandria, and marched to the camp at Aboukir. Peace
having been concluded with the Turks, the battalion returned to
Sicily, where it arrived in October.
[Sidenote: 1808]
The first battalion occupied quarters in Sicily during the year
1808.
[Sidenote: 1809]
In June, 1809, Lieut.-General Sir John Stuart, commanding in chief
in the Mediterranean, resolved to menace the capital and kingdom
of Naples, as a diversion in favour of the Austrians, who were
contending against numerous difficulties in their war with France.
The flank companies of the TWENTY-FIRST were employed on this
service; and after menacing a considerable extent of coast, which
produced much alarm, the romantic and fruitful island of _Ischia_,
celebrated for the beauty of its scenery, and situate in the Bay of
Naples, about six miles from the coast, was attacked. A landing was
effected in the face of a formidable line of batteries, from which
the enemy was speedily driven; Lieut. Cameron of the TWENTY-FIRST,
who was attached to the British flotilla, attacked the enemy's
gun-boats with great gallantry, and captured twenty-four of their
number; but was mortally wounded at the moment of victory. The
siege of the castle was undertaken, and in a few days the garrison
was forced to surrender. The island of _Procida_ surrendered on
being summoned. Two valuable islands were thus rescued from the
power of General Murat, whom the Emperor Napoleon had nominated
King of Naples, in succession to Joseph Bonaparte, upon whom the
Emperor had conferred the crown of Spain; and one thousand five
hundred regular troops, with one hundred pieces of ordnance, were
captured.
An attempt was, at this period, made to reduce the castle of
_Scylla_; but the large force, which the enemy possessed in
Calabria, rendered this impracticable. The battalion companies of
the regiment were employed in this service, and had Captain Hunter
killed, eight rank and file killed and wounded.
A detachment of the regiment was sent, at the request of the
inhabitants, to the town of Valmi, for the protection of the place;
but was intercepted by the enemy, and Captains Mackay and Conran,
Lieutenants M'Nab and Mackay, four serjeants, two drummers, and
seventy-six rank and file, were made prisoners.
[Sidenote: 1810]
In the summer of 1810, General Murat assembled upwards of one
hundred heavy gun-boats, a number of others more lightly armed, and
about four hundred transport-boats, and brought thirty thousand
troops to the coast of Calabria for the purpose of invading Sicily.
The ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were employed on the coast
watching the approach of the enemy, and were at the alarm-post,
under arms, every morning, two hours before daylight, for several
months. During a dark night between the 17th and 18th of September,
four thousand men, under General Cavaignac, made good their
passage, and commenced landing about seven miles to the southward
of Messina. The alarm being given, the TWENTY-FIRST regiment,
commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Adam (now General the Right Honorable
Sir Frederick Adam, G.C.B., Colonel of the TWENTY-FIRST ROYAL
NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS), hurried to the spot, accompanied by two
field-pieces which were attached to the regiment, and prevented
several of the boats from reaching the shore: as the boats were
retiring, a few of them were sunk by the fire of the field-pieces.
The regiment next turned towards that portion of the enemy which
had landed, and had taken post on two hills. The flankers were
thrown out, and a fire of musketry was kept up until daylight, when
the enemy, being cut off from the boats and surrounded, surrendered
prisoners of war, delivering up one stand of colours. The
prisoners, amounting to about one thousand officers and soldiers,
were marched to Messina. This repulse, with the destruction of many
of the enemy's gun-boats, by the British and Sicilian flotillas,
disconcerted the plans of Murat, and no further attempts were made
against Sicily.
[Sidenote: 1811]
In September, 1811, the second battalion embarked from Belfast for
Scotland; and in this year it sent a strong detachment, with a
number of volunteers from the militia, to Sicily, which increased
the strength of the first battalion to twelve hundred rank and file.
[Sidenote: 1812]
Meanwhile the British army, commanded by Lord Wellington, now
Field-Marshal the DUKE OF WELLINGTON, was fighting the battle
of Spanish and Portuguese independence in the Peninsula; and in
November, 1812, the grenadier company of the TWENTY-FIRST FUSILIERS
proceeded, with the grenadier battalion, to the eastern coast of
Spain, to take part in the war. It arrived at Alicant, on the 2nd
of December; but circumstances occurred soon afterwards, which
occasioned its return to Sicily, where it arrived in the spring of
1813.
[Sidenote: 1813]
Two companies proceeded, in 1813, to the island of Ponza; and in
the same year, a strong detachment, commanded by Captain Renny,
joined from the second battalion.
[Sidenote: 1814]
The brilliant success of the British troops in the Peninsula, and
of the armies of the Allied Sovereigns on the Continent of Europe,
was followed by the embarkation of a body of troops for Italy,
under Lieut.-General Lord William Bentinck and Major-General H. T.
Montresor. The TWENTY-FIRST regiment embarked for this service, in
February, 1814, under Major Whitaker (Colonel Paterson commanding
a brigade), and landed at Leghorn on the 13th of March; on the
23rd it marched to Pisa, and on the 25th to Lucca. In April, the
battalion advanced upon _Genoa_; on the 12th of that month, the
enemy was driven from Mount Facia and Nervi, and the British took
post at Sturla. On the 17th of April, at daybreak, the French
position in front of Genoa was attacked, the enemy was driven from
the strong position he occupied, and afterwards evacuated the
town, which was taken possession of on the 19th of April, by the
TWENTY-FIRST, and other corps. The regiment had Lieutenant Sabine
wounded; one serjeant and fourteen rank and file killed and wounded.
In the meantime the second battalion had been withdrawn from
Scotland, to take part in the war on the Continent; it embarked
from Fort George, on the 30th of December, 1813, landed in Holland
on the 10th of January, 1814, and was employed in the attack of
_Bergen-op-Zoom_, on the night of the 8th of March. One portion of
the battalion formed part of the third column, under the command of
Lieut.-Colonel ROBERT HENRY, of the TWENTY-FIRST, who was directed
to draw the enemy's attention by an attack near Steenbergen
gate; the flank companies were attached to the fourth column,
under Brigadier-General Gore. Some severe fighting took place,
and advantages were gained in the first instance; but the attack
failed, and a number of officers and men, who had penetrated the
works, were forced to surrender prisoners of war. The battalion had
a number of men killed and wounded on this occasion; Lieutenant
John Bulteel died of his wounds; Lieut.-Colonel Henry, Captains
Durrah and Donald Mackenzie, Lieutenants the Honorable F. Morris,
H. Pigou, D. Moody, D. Rankin, and Sir William Crosby, were
wounded. Hostilities were soon afterwards terminated; Napoleon
Bonaparte abdicated the throne of France; and in September the
second battalion embarked from Ostend for England; it landed at
Deal, and in October embarked from Gravesend for Scotland, where
it arrived in the beginning of November, and landed at Leith.
The war in Europe having terminated, the first battalion of the
ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS was selected to proceed to America,
in consequence of Great Britain having become involved in war with
the United States; it embarked from Genoa on the 12th of May,
and arrived at Gibraltar on the 7th of June; and on the 11th,
sailed with the Twenty-ninth and Sixty-second regiments, for the
West Indies, where it joined the corps under Major-General Robert
Ross. The fleet, with the troops on board, sailed from Bermuda on
the 3rd of August, and proceeded to the Bay of Chesapeake, when
the American flotilla fled for refuge up the Patuxent river. To
ensure the capture or destruction of this flotilla, the troops
landed at the village of St. Benedict, from whence they advanced
to the delightful village of Upper Marlborough, when the Americans
destroyed their flotilla to prevent its falling into the hands
of the British. The object of the expedition had thus been
accomplished; but the army had advanced within sixteen miles of
_Washington_, and the enemy's force was ascertained to be such
as would authorise an attempt to carry the capital. The troops
accordingly advanced on the 23rd of August; routed some detachments
on the road, and encountering the American army under General
Winder, at the village of _Bladensburg_, gained a decisive victory
over a force more than twice their own numbers, and occupying a
position deliberately chosen. The light company of the regiment
distinguished itself on this occasion; it had two men killed;
Captain Robert Rennie, Lieutenant James Grace, and eleven rank and
file wounded.
Advancing from the field of battle, the regiment moved towards
_Washington_, and was the first corps which entered that city; it
was fired upon by the Americans, and had sixty-eight men killed and
wounded; but all resistance was soon overcome: the arsenal, docks,
and other public property were set on fire, and the conflagration
of burning buildings illuminated the sky during the night, while
the exploding magazines shook the city, and threw down houses in
their vicinity. Having completed this service, the British troops
marched back to St. Benedict, and re-embarked on board of the fleet.
Early on the morning of the 12th of September, the troops landed
at North Point, and advancing towards Baltimore, a division
of Americans fled from an entrenched position which they were
preparing across a neck of land. Continuing to advance, the troops
entered a closely wooded country, where they encountered a party
of Americans, and Major-General Robert Ross, mixing among the
skirmishers, was mortally wounded,[8] when the command of the army
devolved on Colonel Brooke.
Six thousand Americans, with six pieces of artillery and a corps
of cavalry, were discovered in position in _Godly wood_. The
light brigade extended and drove in the American skirmishers; the
Forty-fourth, a party of Marines, and a body of seamen from the
fleet, formed line behind the light infantry; the TWENTY-FIRST,
commanded by Major Whitaker, (Colonel Paterson commanding a
brigade,) and the second battalion of Marines, formed column in
reserve, and the Fourth regiment made a flank movement to turn the
enemy's left. The signal was given, the British troops rushed to
the attack, and in fifteen minutes the American army was driven
from the field with severe loss.
The regiment had Lieutenant James Gracie and fifteen rank and file
killed; Major Robert Kenny, Lieutenant John Leavock, two serjeants,
and seventy-seven rank and file wounded.
Colonel Paterson was commended in the public despatch, for the
steady manner in which he brought the brigade into action.
At two o'clock on the following morning the march was resumed, and
in the evening the troops arrived at the foot of the range of hills
in front of _Baltimore_, where fifteen thousand Americans occupied
a chain of palisaded redoubts, connected by breastworks, and
defended by a numerous artillery. Trusting to the innate valour of
his little army, which did not amount to one-third of the numbers
of the enemy, Colonel Brooke made preparations for storming the
hills after dark; but having received intimation from the fleet,
that the entrance of the harbour was closed up by vessels sunk for
that purpose, and that a naval co-operation against the town and
camp was impracticable, the enterprise was abandoned. The troops
retreated three miles on the following day, and then halted to see
if the Americans would venture to descend from the hills; but,
though so superior in numbers, they had no disposition to quit
their works; and the British returned on board the fleet.
The season for active operations having passed, the fleet quitted
the American coast, and the TWENTY-FIRST proceeded to Jamaica,
where they were joined by a strong detachment from the second
battalion, commanded by Major Alexander James Ross.
An attempt on _New Orleans_ was afterwards resolved upon. The
fleet again put to sea, and on the 10th of December anchored off
the coast of Louisiana, opposite the Chandeleur Islands, from
whence the troops were removed in boats to Pine Island, in Lake
Borgne, where they were stationed, exposed to heavy rain by day
and frosts by night, until the 22nd of December, when the first
division proceeded in open boats to a desert spot about eight miles
from New Orleans, where the regiments landed, and marched to a
field on the banks of the Mississippi. The TWENTY-FIRST followed,
and arrived in time to take part in repulsing a night attack of a
very superior force of Americans, when the regiment had Captain
William Conran and two rank and file killed; one serjeant, two
drummers, and eight rank and file wounded; two men missing.
The army afterwards moved forward, but encountered many local
difficulties. The Americans assembled a numerous force, in
extensive fortified lines and batteries, with armed vessels on the
river: the advance was checked, and some loss sustained. The ROYAL
NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS had Lieutenant John Leavock wounded; also
several men killed and wounded.
[Sidenote: 1815]
Arrangements were made for attacking the enemy's fortified lines
on the 8th of January, 1815, and the TWENTY-FIRST were appointed
to take part in this service: several circumstances occurred to
delay the attack, which was made under numerous disadvantages.
The troops, however, rushed forward with great gallantry, and a
detachment of the Fourth, TWENTY-FIRST, and Ninety-fifth (now
Rifle-Brigade), captured a battery; but the troops were exposed to
a dreadful fire, which brought them down by hundreds. Major-General
the Honorable Sir Edward Pakenham was killed; Major-Generals Gibbs
and Keane were dangerously wounded; and success being found
impracticable, the surviving officers and men withdrew from the
unequal contest. Many officers and soldiers, who had been foremost
in the attack, were made prisoners.
Major J. A. Whitaker, Captain Robert Renny (Lieut.-Colonel),
Lieutenant Donald M^cDonald, two serjeants, and sixty-five rank and
file of the TWENTY-FIRST, were killed; Colonel William Paterson,
Major Alexander James Ross, Lieutenants John Waters and Alexander
Geddes, six serjeants, and one hundred and forty-four rank and
file wounded; Lieutenants James Brady, Ralph Carr, and Peter
Quin wounded and taken prisoners; Major James M^cHaffie, Captain
Archibald Kidd, Lieutenants James Stewart, Alexander Armstrong,
John Leavock, and J. S. M. Fonblanque, eight serjeants, two
drummers, and two hundred and seventeen rank and file, prisoners:
total loss, 451 officers and soldiers.
The capture of New Orleans appearing to be impracticable, the
troops returned on board of the fleet. Fort Bowyer was afterwards
captured, but hostilities were terminated by a treaty of peace, and
the regiment returned to the West Indies, from whence Major Pringle
sailed for England, on leave of absence, and the command devolved
on Major Quin.
After a short stay at Bermuda, the regiment sailed for Europe; it
arrived at Portsmouth in May, and afterwards sailed to Cork, where
it landed in June.
In the spring of this year Bonaparte had returned to France and
gained temporary possession of that kingdom: but his numerous
veteran legions were overpowered by British valour at Waterloo
on the 18th of June. The British army had, however, sustained
severe loss, and the first battalion was selected to proceed to
the Continent. It embarked from Monkstown on the 5th of July,
landed at Ostend on the 17th, and proceeding up the country under
Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell, joined the army, commanded by Field-Marshal
the Duke of Wellington, at Paris.
[Sidenote: 1816]
Having been appointed to remain on the Continent, and to form
part of the Army of Occupation in France, the regiment marched to
Compiègne, and occupied several villages in the neighbourhood of
that place, where it was joined, on the 9th of January, 1816, by a
detachment from the second battalion.
On the 13th of January, 1816, the second battalion was disbanded at
Stirling; transferring the men fit for duty to the first battalion.
Towards the end of January, the regiment was removed to
Valenciennes, and in October was reviewed, with the Army of
Occupation, by Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington.
On the death of General the Honorable William Gordon,
Lieut.-General James Lord Forbes was appointed Colonel of the
regiment, from the Fifty-fourth foot, by commission dated the 1st
of June, 1816.
[Sidenote: 1817]
A considerable reduction being made in the British contingent of
the Army of Occupation, the regiment proceeded to Calais, where it
embarked for England, and landed at Harwich on the 2nd of April,
1817.
[Sidenote: 1818]
In May, 1818, the regiment marched to Portsmouth.
In June, the officers were authorised to wear a long coat, of a
pattern approved of by His Royal Highness the Duke of York.
[Sidenote: 1819]
The regiment embarked from Portsmouth, in March, 1819, for the West
Indies, when Lieut.-Colonel Nooth, C.B., received the following
communication from Major-General Lord Howard of Effingham, then
commanding at Portsmouth, and Lieutenant-Governor of that
fortress: "I am not in the habit of giving out orders of thanks to
regiments on quitting my district, because these things are apt
to degenerate so much into words of course, that they lose any
value they might otherwise possess; my orders likewise to corps
on their half-yearly inspections enable me to convey to them my
opinion on their state of discipline, &c.; but I cannot, however,
allow the TWENTY-FIRST regiment, under your command, to embark
without expressing the sense I have of the good conduct of the
regiment since it has been under my orders, and that its interior
discipline, mode of doing duty, and external appearance, have been
such as to merit my perfect approbation, and amply testify the
strict attention paid by you to those under your command,--that
you are properly supported by the officers and non-commissioned
officers, in their respective stations, in carrying into effect
the regulations of the service." His Lordship was also pleased to
express his admiration of the conduct of the corps on the day of
embarkation, adding,--"The regiment is more like one parading for
inspection or review, than for embarkation for the West Indies."
The regiment landed at Barbadoes in April, without a single
casualty, and was inspected by Lieut.-General Lord Combermere,
who requested Major Meyrick to return the officers his lordship's
thanks, for the very great attention they must have paid to those
under their orders, to have brought them to the very high state of
discipline in which his lordship found them.
[Sidenote: 1820]
[Sidenote: 1821]
In September, 1820, a detachment of one hundred rank and file
proceeded to Tobago, where it remained until January, 1821, during
which period it lost four officers and thirty-seven men by an
epidemic disease.
The regiment left Barbadoes in March, 1821, when seven companies
proceeded to Demerara, under Major Leahy, and three to Berbice,
under Major Champion. Previous to its quitting Barbadoes,
Major-General Mainwaring expressed in orders, "the high sense he
entertained of the zeal and ability of Major Leahy, of the steady
conduct of the officers and non-commissioned officers, and of the
good and orderly behaviour of the men."
In August, the regiment sustained a severe loss in the death of
Lieut.-Colonel John M. Nooth, C.B.: he was succeeded in the command
by Lieut.-Colonel John Thomas Leahy.
[Sidenote: 1823]