Helena, the second battalion of the regiment was disbanded in the
island of Guernsey, on the 25th of January, 1816; the men fit for
service embarking to join the first battalion at Barbadoes.
On the 15th of April, the regiment marched from garrison at St.
Anne's, to quell an insurrection among the negroes in the interior
of the island of Barbadoes, where strong detachments remained until
June, when the regiment was removed to Martinique.
In August, the French eighty-eighth regiment, or Martinique Legion,
arrived to garrison the island, and the FIFTEENTH, being relieved,
proceeded to Grenada, where they landed on the 5th of September,
and marched into garrison at Richmond-hill.
[Sidenote: 1817]
[Sidenote: 1818]
From Grenada the regiment embarked, in the spring of 1817, in two
divisions, under Lieut.-Colonel Davidson and Major Maxwell, for
Halifax in Nova Scotia, where it was stationed two years.
[Sidenote: 1819]
The right wing, under Major Maxwell, embarked for Bermuda in June,
1819, and relieved the left wing of the sixty-second regiment at
Fort George barracks, where the FIFTEENTH lost between sixty and
seventy men of the yellow fever, in August and September.
[Sidenote: 1820]
[Sidenote: 1821]
During the year 1820, the regiment was stationed at Bermuda and
Nova Scotia. In the summer of 1821, it was relieved at the former
station by a wing of the second battalion of the sixtieth, and at
the latter by the eighty-first regiment; and embarking for England,
landed at Portsmouth in July and August, and was stationed at Fort
Cumberland until November, when it embarked for Plymouth.
[Sidenote: 1822]
In the summer of 1822, the regiment was removed to Hull; in October
it embarked at Liverpool for Ireland, and landing at Dublin,
occupied Richmond barracks a few weeks, and afterwards proceeded to
Naas.
[Sidenote: 1823]
[Sidenote: 1824]
The regiment was removed in the summer of 1823 to Waterford, and
in the autumn to Cork, with a detachment at Spike Island; and it
occupied this station during the year 1824.
[Sidenote: 1825]
Leaving Cork in July, 1825, the regiment proceeded to Buttevant,
with detachments to the towns in the neighbourhood.
[Sidenote: 1826]
A division of the regiment marched to Templemore in February, 1826,
and sent out numerous detachments. One party stationed at Thurles,
under Captain Temple, evinced great patience and forbearance,
united with a proper degree of firmness, in suppressing a riot at
that place, when several persons had been killed by the police.
Captain Temple received an address of thanks and approbation from
the magistrates and principal inhabitants of the town, for his cool
and judicious conduct on this occasion. In the autumn the regiment
marched to Galway, sending out eleven detachments.
[Sidenote: 1827]
In April, 1827, the regiment was divided into six _service_ and
four _reserve_ companies, and marched to Fermoy, where it was
inspected by Major-General Sir George Bingham, who expressed his
unqualified approbation of its appearance, discipline, and interior
economy. In May, the service companies embarked from the Cove of
Cork, under Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh, for Canada, and arrived
at Quebec on the 29th of June and 6th of July; they immediately
proceeded up the river St. Lawrence, to Kingston in Upper Canada,
where they remained ten months.
[Sidenote: 1828]
Retiring down the River St. Lawrence, in boats, in May and June,
1828, the service companies proceeded to Montreal, from whence
the first division continued its journey, in a steam vessel, to
Quebec, and was followed by the second division in August.
[Sidenote: 1830]
The regiment was stationed at Quebec during the years 1829 and
1830; in October of the latter year, a strong detachment proceeded
to the Isle aux Noix, on Lake Champlain.
The regiment continued in garrison at Quebec, detaching 100 rank
and file to the Isle aux Noix and St. John's, with a proportion of
officers and non-commissioned officers.
[Sidenote: 1831]
The regiment moved to Montreal on the 3rd of May of this year,
continuing its detachments.
[Sidenote: 1832]
On the 21st of May, 1832, Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh, commanding the
regiment, and Commandant of the Garrison of Montreal, was called
upon by the magistrates of that place to be prepared to assist
the civil power in the event of a riot occurring at a contested
election for the west ward of the city, which was to terminate
on that day. Captain Temple was the captain of the piquet on the
occasion, but when it was turned out, Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh took
command of it in person. At the close of the poll, several acts
of violence were perpetrated both on persons and property, when
it became necessary to require the co-operation of the piquet in
restoring order. The Riot Act having been read, the Lieut.-Colonel
was authorised by the Magistrates to take such steps as might
appear to him necessary. The piquet was immediately marched in the
direction of the rioters, who assailed the party with stones and
other missiles, when the order to "fire" was given, not, however,
until every effort had been exerted to cause them to disperse. The
front rank alone, consisting of about sixteen men, discharged their
pieces in quick succession, the consequences of which proved fatal
on the spot to three of the rioters; several others were severely
wounded, but the disturbance was effectually checked. The regiment
remained under arms in different parts of the town during the night.
A company of the Royal Artillery stationed at the Island of St.
Helen's, under the command of Captain W. C. Anderson, brought over
two nine-pounders in the short space of twelve minutes from the
time the signal was given for their services, and remained on duty
with the regiment until the next day. This was remarkable, as the
river is nearly a mile broad, with a very rapid current, and the
guns had to be shipped in bateaux after the signal was made, and
re-limbered on landing at the Montreal side.
The conduct of the troops, particularly that portion under the
immediate orders of Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh, was marked by great
steadiness and forbearance, notwithstanding that they had been
harassed by continual alarms for some days previous to the riot. On
the day of the 21st the rain fell in torrents, whilst the men were
exposed to it for hours before the riot commenced.
The following documents are deemed worthy of a place in these
Records; the conduct and discipline of the corps, on the occasion
referred to, being highly estimated by the civil and military
authorities.
_Presentment of Grand Jury._
'The grand jury humbly represent to the court, that, in the
investigation of the occurrence upon which were founded the
bills for murder against William Robertson and Pierre Lukin,
esquires, Colonel Macintosh and Captain Temple, they have fully
and impartially examined into all the circumstances of the case,
and the result of their proceedings is the conviction, that no
ground exists for any criminal charge against those individuals.
In such an instance as the present, where violent agitation has
convulsed society, the grand jury are compelled by a sense of
duty, beyond the mere rejection of the bills, to endeavour at
allaying excitement, by an expression of the knowledge at which
they have arrived after a severe inquiry into the transaction.
'However much the grand jury may deplore the fatal consequences
which flowed from the introduction of an armed force on that
occasion, they feel persuaded that it was fully justified by
the conjuncture; and its timely interposition, in their belief,
averted the calamities which must have ensued if the rioters had
been suffered to pursue their impetuous and destructive course.
'With this view of the case, the grand jury cannot withhold the
public declaration of their opinion, that the conduct observed,
as well by the magistrates as by the military authorities, during
those events, is worthy of commendation at the hands of those
who love peace and respect the laws; while the inhabitants of
the city of Montreal, in particular, are deeply indebted to the
firm discharge by those gentlemen of their respective duties,
for restoration to a state of security and for the protection of
their lives and property.'
GENERAL ORDER.
'_Head Quarters_,
'_Quebec, 2nd September, 1832_.
'On the 21st of May last, a detachment of the FIFTEENTH regiment,
commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh, having under his orders
Captain Temple of the same regiment, was called out by the
magistrates of Montreal, for the purpose of aiding the civil
power in the suppression of a riot in that city, by which the
lives and property of the inhabitants were endangered; and the
magistrates having failed in their efforts to restore order by
other means, the troops were required to make use of their arms,
on which occasion three individuals were unfortunately killed,
and others wounded.
'The loss of life caused by the fire of the troops is an event
deeply to be deplored, and the Commander of the Forces is
persuaded that throughout the colony there are not to be found
any individuals who more sincerely and more sensibly lament that
event than Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh, Captain Temple, and those
very soldiers whose painful duty it was to make use of their arms
on the 21st of May. It is, however, consoling to reflect that
the riot was suppressed without a further sacrifice of human
life, which there was every reason to apprehend; and perhaps very
many of the peaceable inhabitants of the city of Montreal are
at this moment indebted for the preservation of their lives and
property, to the timely interference of the troops acting under
the direction of the magistrates.
'Although the Commander of the Forces was disposed to place
the greatest reliance on the discretion and judgment of
Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh, and upon the steadiness and discipline
of the regiment under his command, his Lordship, nevertheless,
considered it to be incumbent upon him to suspend the judgment
in regard to the events of the 21st of May, until the whole
of the circumstances connected with those events should have
undergone the fullest investigation before the proper tribunals
of the country, whose duty it is to take cognizance of criminal
offences.
'This duty has now been performed, and Lieut.-Colonel
Macintosh, Captain Temple, and the troops under their command,
in suppressing the riot at Montreal on the 21st of May last,
having been absolved from all blame, the Commander of the
Forces hastens to embrace the opportunity thus afforded him,
to convey to Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh, Captain Temple, and the
non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the FIFTEENTH regiment,
employed in the suppression of a riot at Montreal on the 21st
of May last, his approbation of the judgment, steadiness, and
discipline, displayed by them in their respective stations on
that occasion.'
An address was likewise presented to Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh
and Captain Temple, by the citizens of Montreal, from which the
following extracts are made:--
'Gentlemen--We, the subscribers, citizens of Montreal, feel it a
duty that we owe to you, to express our thanks for your conduct
and that of the troops under your command, on the occasion of
your being called upon to restore and preserve the public peace,
so unhappily broken, at the close of the poll for the election of
a member for the west ward of this city on the 21st of May last.
'So strong was our conviction of the importance of the services
rendered by you and the magistrates on that occasion, that our
desire was to have expressed our testimony of them immediately
upon their occurrence; but considerations arising from the
interposition of judicial authority prompted us to defer it.
'These considerations having now been removed in a manner
the most satisfactory to you and to ourselves, we beg most
respectfully to convey to you this expression of the obligation
we feel we are under to you for the safety, that we then, and
have since, enjoyed in our persons and property through your
means; for that it is to the military, and to the magistrates,
that we owe our preservation, has been manifestly brought to
light before the grand jury, by their finding and presentments
lately returned into the Court of King's Bench.
'We have only further to express a regret that the performance of
a necessary but painful duty, should have subjected any one of
you to unpleasant and unmerited restraint.'
The following letter from the Military Secretary of the General
Commanding in Chief, addressed to Lieut.-General Lord Aylmer,
_K.C.B._, Commander of the Forces in Canada, was published in the
General Orders of the Colony:--
'_Horse Guards, Oct. 23rd, 1832._
'MY LORD,
'I have had the honor to receive and submit to the General
Commanding in Chief, your Lordship's despatches of the 30th July
and 7th September last, conveying, for Lord Hill's information,
reports of what had taken place in consequence of a detachment
of the FIFTEENTH Regiment of Foot, under the command of
Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh and Captain Temple, called out in aid
of the civil power at Montreal on the 21st of May last, having
been compelled to resort to the use of their arms, by which,
unfortunately, three persons were killed, and several wounded.
The General Commanding in Chief, equally with your Lordship,
laments the loss of life upon the occasion adverted to; but, in
justice to Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh and Captain Temple, feels
bound to say, after an attentive perusal of all the papers
bearing upon the case, that he knows no instance in which troops
have been employed in the suppression of riots, where greater
judgment, discretion, or humanity, has been displayed; and
if these officers have since been annoyed by accusations of
murder, and by every proceeding which could tend to keep alive
anxiety, they have at least the consolation of feeling that they
have discharged a painful but imperative duty, with temper and
moderation, and that by so doing they put an end to disorders,
which would probably have led to consequences most disastrous to
the city of Montreal.
(Signed) 'FITZROY SOMERSET.'
In the month of June of this year, the colony was visited by that
afflicting scourge, the Asiatic cholera. One of the very first
individuals attacked was a sentry on the regimental guard; he was
relieved from his post, complaining of the usual symptoms, and
despite the most prompt attention, he expired in a few hours.
From this time the utmost consternation prevailed in the city,
the disease making rapid progress: the deaths were one in ten of
the whole population, without distinction of age or rank. Several
men were hourly admitted into hospital, where death very shortly
ended their sufferings. The hospital serjeant and all the orderlies
(several of whom had volunteered to assist their unfortunate
comrades) fell sacrifices to their zeal, when the disease was
on the decline. One man only, who was in the worst stage of the
disease, finally survived. It is worthy of remark that none of the
officers were in the least affected, although their duties exposed
them constantly, by day and night, to an infected atmosphere.
In order to give increased ventilation in the barracks, as well
as to relieve the attention of the soldiers, a large detachment,
chiefly of married men, was sent to La Prairie to occupy an old
cavalry barrack there; but this step proved fatal to many of them.
It was shortly after determined to remove the whole regiment to
the Island of St. Helen's, opposite to the city, where the men
were encamped. Thirty-seven men died of this scourge between the
12th and 24th of June, 1832, but not a single case occurred after
the regiment was placed under canvass. Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh
proceeded to England, and did not again rejoin the regiment, having
exchanged to half-pay with Lieut.-Colonel G. W. Horton.
[Sidenote: 1833]
The regiment was moved to Kingston, Upper Canada, in the spring of
this year, where it had been stationed on first arriving in the
colony, detaching one company to Brockville in aid of the civil
power, and a company to Cornwall, where some public works were in
course of construction.
[Sidenote: 1834]
The FIFTEENTH moved this year to Toronto, the seat of Government in
Upper Canada, detaching one company to Fort George and another to
Amherstburg, frontier posts; and a subaltern's party proceeded to
Penetanquishene, the most advanced military post on Lake Huron. The
Canadas were again visited this year by the Asiatic cholera; the
regiment, however, did not suffer in the least.
[Sidenote: 1835]
Lieut.-Colonel G. W. Horton, from the half-pay, _vice_ Macintosh,
assumed the command of the regiment.
[Sidenote: 1836]
During the year 1836 the detachments at Fort George and
Amherstburg, were relieved by companies from head quarters.
[Sidenote: 1837]
In the year 1837 all the detachments were withdrawn, and the
regiment moved to Quebec, in expectation of returning to England:
the unsettled state of the Canadas, however, called for an
increased force, and the regiment remained in that garrison during
the autumn and winter of 1837.
The importance of the citadel at a time when a rebellion had
actually broken out, and the population of the place hostile to
the government, caused the duty of the garrison to bear heavily
upon the regiment, which, with two companies of the sixty-sixth
regiment, two companies of artillery, and a battalion of volunteer
militia, raised on the emergency, formed the whole force for the
protection of this important place.
[Sidenote: 1838]
On the 9th May, several ships of war were announced by telegraph;
and they shortly after anchored opposite the citadel, having on
board the Governor-General, the Earl of Durham, and suite, and
a brigade of guards, consisting of upwards of 1600 men, under
Major-General Sir James Macdonnell.
The regiment immediately vacated its quarters and proceeded to
Chambly, on the river Richelieu, an important post, as being
situated in the centre of a populous and disaffected country.
Two drafts consisting of 226 men joined from the depôt companies,
nearly 100 of them volunteers from the nineteenth regiment. New
accoutrements were supplied, and all unserviceable arms were
likewise replaced.
Lieut.-Colonel Horton resigned the command of the regiment, and
proceeded to England in the month of June, at which time two troops
of the seventh hussars were added to the garrison of Chambly.
Lieut.-Colonel Lord Charles Wellesley, who exchanged from half-pay
with Lieut.-Colonel Horton, arrived in Canada, and assumed the
command of the regiment in October, 1838.
On the 18th of October the head-quarter division of the first (or
King's) dragoon guards, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel the
Honorable George Cathcart, replaced the squadron of the seventh
hussars. About midnight, a fire was discovered in the centre of the
officers' quarters, which consisted of a long range of buildings of
one story only, but being very old, and entirely of wood, they were
consumed in less than half an hour. The regiment had to deplore the
loss of the two senior Ensigns (Walter Carey and William Dering
Adair Roe), the fire having originated in the particular porch in
which their quarters were situated. Ensign Carey had got clear of
all danger, but incautiously attempted to secure a favourite object
of value, when he sank in the midst of the burning mass. Ensign Roe
was rescued from the flames, apparently not much burnt; he walked
nearly half a mile to the hospital without assistance, but died in
the course of the day, mortification having rapidly taken place:
the unfortunate sufferers were committed to the same tomb, and a
tablet was erected to their memory in the parish church, by their
brother officers, as a mark of their regard, and of deep regret at
their untimely fate. The cause of the fire could not be ascertained.
Although the revolt of 1837 had been put down, another attempt to
wrest the colony from the control of the Supreme Government was
known to be in agitation; and, as the line of the Richelieu was
the most disaffected, several parties of the military forces were
employed in searching for arms, and apprehending suspected persons.
About mid-day of the 8th November, an unexpected order was received
to move the chief part of the regiment to St. John's, (where a
detachment of 100 men had been stationed for some time,) and
although the weather was most inclement, the regiment reached its
destination shortly after dark.
His Excellency Lieut.-General Sir John Colborne, now Lord Seaton,
Commander of the Forces and Governor-in-Chief, was there in person,
with the whole of his staff. The seventy-third regiment had also
been brought from Montreal.
A large body of insurgents having taken possession of a village
near the frontier, their sympathizing friends in the United States
endeavoured to open a communication with them and join them; that,
being united, they might act with more effect against the isolated
positions occupied by the troops: in this object they were,
however, frustrated by the timely approach of the Commander of the
Forces in person.
As the troops advanced, the country was deserted by the misguided
inhabitants, who did not anticipate the immediate consequences
of their disaffection, and on arriving near the village of
Napierville, where the rebels were said to be in force, it was
discovered that they had dispersed; nor could they afterwards be
brought to face the troops in any single instance. A small party,
however, of volunteers, signalized themselves by attacking a
superior force of the disaffected, who in their turn became the
aggressors, but they were repulsed, and dispersed with great loss.
The troops were cantoned for a few days in the immediate
neighbourhood of Napierville, during which the misguided habitans
sheltered themselves in the woods, submitting their property to the
pillage of the soldiery, who were living at free quarters during
the time.
An irruption being threatened by the sympathizers, at a place
called Hemingford, a short distance from the frontier, but on the
opposite side of the Richelieu, the Commander of the Forces moved
there, accompanied by a division of the FIFTEENTH and seventy-third
regiments, some artillery, and two troops of the first (or King's)
dragoon guards.
The loyal portion of the inhabitants were speedily formed, and
prepared to assist the troops in acting as circumstances might
require. But the activity of the Commander of the Forces checked
the ardour of the marauders, who never fairly made their appearance.
During the remainder of the month of November, the regiment was
employed in searching for arms, throughout the counties bordering
on the Richelieu, and succeeded in securing large quantities of
them, after which service the corps returned to Chambly.
[Sidenote: 1839]
The head-quarters were again moved in December to St. John's, and
from thence to the Isle aux Noix, sending two companies to take
post at Napierville, thus occupying the frontier line. But one
occasion offered for proving the alacrity and discipline of the
regiment. An order was received about eleven o'clock, A.M., on the
5th January, to move two hundred and fifty to Henryville, a small
hamlet to the east of the Richelieu, with all possible despatch;
and the division, in complete marching order, arrived at its
destination before sunset; although the distance was only seven
miles, the march had to be performed through uncleared woods, and
over roads in many places breast-deep in snow, where the men were
obliged to file in single rank. The sixty-sixth regiment, and some
companies of the grenadier guards, together with a half battery
of artillery, were already concentrated there, under the command
of Major-General Sir James Macdonnell. The promptness of this
forward movement, however, deterred the marauders from effecting
their nefarious designs; and the troops shortly returned to their
several stations.