FOR CANNON’S MILITARY RECORDS,
_Madeley lith. 3 Wellington S^t Strand._]
HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE THIRTY-FIRST, OR THE HUNTINGDONSHIRE,
REGIMENT OF FOOT.
[Sidenote: 1701]
In the commencement of the eighteenth century, the British Monarch,
King William III., found that the conditions of the Treaty of
Ryswick, concluded in 1697, were violated by the King of France,
Louis XIV., who, on the decease of Charles II. of Spain on the
1st of November, 1700, pursued with unremitting assiduity his
ambitious project of ultimately uniting the crowns of France and
Spain, by procuring the accession of his grandson, Philip, Duke of
Anjou, to the vacant throne; thus excluding the claims of the House
of Austria, and disregarding the existing treaties between the
principal nations of Europe. The seizure of the Spanish Netherlands
by the troops of France,--the detention of the Dutch garrisons in
the barrier towns,--the declaration of Louis XIV. in favour of the
family of James II., and other acts of hostility, justified the
British Government in making preparations for war.
King William had determined on active measures, by sea and land,
against the powers of France and Spain, and had accordingly
directed augmentations to be made in the navy and army. A
division of the army had been appointed, under the command of
Brigadier-General Ingoldsby, (twenty-third regiment,) to embark for
Flanders, and another portion of the army was selected to embark
for the coast of Spain, under the orders of the Duke of Ormond.
[Sidenote: 1702]
The death of King William III. took place on the 8th of March,
1702. His policy was adopted by his successor Queen Anne, who
entered into treaties of alliance with the Emperor of Germany,--the
States-General of the United Provinces,--and other Princes and
Potentates, for preserving the liberty and balance of power in
Europe, and for defeating the ambitious views of France.
The measures for increasing the efficiency of the fleet had
occasioned the suggestion of raising _Corps of Marines_, capable
of acting on land as well as at sea. Several regiments of the
regular army were appointed to serve as Marines, and six additional
regiments were especially raised for that service.[6]
On the 14th of March, 1702, a Royal Warrant was issued, authorising
COLONEL GEORGE VILLIERS to raise a REGIMENT OF MARINES, which was
to consist of twelve companies, of two serjeants, three corporals,
two drummers, and fifty-nine private soldiers each, with an
additional serjeant to the grenadier company. The rendezvous of
the regiment was appointed to be at Taunton and Bridgewater.
For the raising of this regiment the following officers received
commissions, those of the field officers being antedated to the
12th of February, 1702:--
CAPTAINS George Villiers (_Colonel_).
Alexander Lutterell (_Lt.-Colonel_).
Thomas Carew (_Major_).
Francis Blinman.
George Blakeney.
CAPTAIN-LIEUTENANT John Deveroux.
FIRST LIEUTENANTS Saloman Balmier.
Roger Flower.
SECOND LIEUTENANT William Bisset.
CHIRURGEON James Church.
CHIRURGEON’S MATE William Church.
The declaration of hostilities against France and Spain was issued
on the 4th of May, 1702: thus began, “fruitful in great actions and
important results,” _The War of the Spanish Succession_.
Additional forces were sent to Flanders, and the Earl of
Marlborough was appointed to command the confederate troops with
the rank of Captain-General.
The expedition, which had been planned by King William against
Spain, was carried out by the Ministers of Queen Anne. It was
arranged, accordingly, that a combined fleet of English and Dutch
ships, consisting of fifty sail of the line, besides frigates,
under Admiral Sir George Rooke, and a land force amounting to
nearly fourteen thousand men, under the command of the Duke of
Ormond, should proceed to the coast of Spain. The following corps
were employed on this service, namely:--
Officers
and Men.
Lloyd’s Dragoons, now 3rd Light Dragoons (detachment.) 275
Foot Guards, the Grenadier and Coldstream 755
Sir H. Bellasis’s now 2nd Foot 834
Churchill’s 3rd ” 834
Seymour’s 4th ” 834
Columbine’s 6th ” 724
O’Hara’s, 3 companies 7th Royal Fusiliers 313
Erle’s 19th Foot 724
Gustavus Hamilton’s 20th ” 724
Villiers’s Marines, 5 Companies. 31st ” 520
Fox’s Marines 32nd ” 834
Donegal’s 35th ” 724
Charlemont’s 36th ” 724
Shannon’s Marines 834
----
9653
Dutch Regiments commanded by Major-General Baron }
Sparre and Brigadier Pallandt } 3924
------
13,577
Colonel Villiers’s Corps of Marines, now the THIRTY-FIRST regiment,
soon after its formation was thus called upon to supply five
Companies for embarkation for active service on board the fleet
destined against Spain: these Companies embarked in the latter
part of May from Plymouth, and proceeded to join the fleet at
Portsmouth, from whence the expedition sailed to Cadiz in the month
of July, 1702.
The armament appeared off Cadiz on the 12th of August, and the
Duke summoned the place; but his terms being refused, he landed on
the 15th at the Bay of Bulls, between Rota and Fort St. Catherine,
under great disadvantages and a well conducted opposition: he
marched upon Rota, where the horses and stores were disembarked,
and in two days afterwards he advanced to the town of St. Mary.
Rota was retaken by a _coup-de-main_, and the British garrison of
300 men was captured. The attempt on Cadiz failed; the troops were
re-embarked, and sailed from Cadiz on the 30th of September.
In alluding to this expedition, Bishop Burnet remarks,--“It is
certain our Court had false accounts of the state the place was in,
both with relation to the garrison, and to the fortifications; the
garrison was much stronger, and the fortifications were in a better
state, than was represented.”
Conspicuous as the bravery of the troops had been in the expedition
against Cadiz, still the failure of the attempt naturally caused
painful feelings to arise among the British soldiers, who were
disappointed of reaping the well-earned fame of a successful
enterprise, when victory appeared almost within their grasp. The
receipt of information of the arrival of a Spanish fleet from
the West Indies, under a French convoy, at the harbour of Vigo,
speedily dissipated these feelings, and gave renewed hopes to the
troops. The allied fleet immediately bent its course thither,
and arrived before Vigo on the 22nd of October, 1702. The French
admiral Count de Chateaurenaud had placed his shipping and the
galleons within a narrow passage, the entrance to which was
defended by a castle on one side, and by platforms mounted with
cannon on both sides of the inlet; a strong boom was thrown across
the harbour.
To facilitate the attack on this formidable barrier, the Duke of
Ormond landed a portion of his army six miles from Vigo on the
23rd of October, and took, by assault, a battery of forty pieces
of cannon, situated at the entrance of the bay. A British flag,
hoisted on this fort, was the signal for a general attack. The
fleet in full sail approached, broke the boom at the first shock,
and became closely engaged with the enemy’s ships, while the
British troops that had landed, stormed and captured the batteries.
After a vigorous defence, the French and Spaniards, finding they
could not escape, set fire to some of their vessels, and cast their
cargoes into the sea; but the British exerted themselves nobly in
extinguishing the flames, and succeeded in saving six galleons and
seven ships of war. Two thousand of the enemy are stated to have
perished, and the Spaniards sustained a loss in goods and treasure
exceeding eight million dollars, more than one-half of which fell
to the captors, whose loss in this victory was inconsiderable.
Queen Anne, attended by the Lords and Commons, went in state to St.
Paul’s Cathedral to return thanks for this success, and each of the
regiments of infantry received 561_l._ 10_s._ prize-money.
Villiers’s Marines (THIRTY-FIRST regiment) did not land at Vigo,
but served on board the fleet in this gallant enterprise.
The troops under the Duke of Ormond subsequently returned to
England, and on their arrival in November, 1702, were stationed as
follows, namely:--
Lloyd’s 3rd Dragoons (detachment) Portsmouth.
Foot Guards, 1st and Coldstream Gravesend and Chatham.
Sir H. Bellasis’s 2nd Foot Portsmouth.
Churchill’s 3rd ” Chatham.
Seymour’s 4th ” Plymouth.
Columbine’s 6th ” Portsmouth.
Royal Fusiliers 7th ” Tilbury.
VILLIERS’S (Marines) THIRTY-FIRST PLYMOUTH.
Fox’s Marines 32nd Foot Plymouth.
Viscount Shannon’s Marines Chatham.
[Sidenote: 1703]
On the 6th of January, 1703, seven companies of the regiment were
stationed at Plymouth, and on the 27th of that month four companies
were ordered for embarkation on board of the ships Suffolk and
Grafton, which proceeded on service to the coast of Spain, to join
the fleet under Admiral Sir George Rooke, and continued in that
quarter, and in the Mediterranean, during that year.
In December, 1703, Colonel Villiers, who was in command of the
Regiment on board of the fleet, was drowned. He was succeeded
in the Colonelcy of the Regiment by Lieut.-Colonel Alexander
Lutterell, on the 6th of December of that year.
[Sidenote: 1704]
The THIRTY-FIRST regiment, being at this time a Marine Corps,
continued to serve on board the fleet in the Mediterranean, and
in February, 1704, proceeded, under Admiral Sir George Rooke,
to Lisbon, from whence it proceeded to _Barcelona_, where the
troops were landed under the command of Major-General the Prince
of Hesse-Darmstadt, on the 19th of May; but the force, being
inadequate for the purpose intended, was re-embarked on the day
following.
The fleet next proceeded to attack the fortress of _Gibraltar_, and
the Prince of Hesse effected a landing on the afternoon of the 21st
of July, 1704, with eighteen hundred BRITISH AND DUTCH MARINES:
after a bombardment of three days, the governor was forced to
capitulate, and the Prince of Hesse took possession of the garrison
on the evening of Sunday, the 24th of July, 1704. The attack of
the seamen and marines is recorded in history to have been one of
the boldest and most difficult ever performed. The _fortress_ of
_Gibraltar_ was thus taken, and was besieged by the Spaniards and
French in October following, for seven months, during which period
it was successfully defended by the navy and marines, and has since
remained, as a monument of British valour, in possession of the
Crown of Great Britain.
After selecting a sufficient force to garrison Gibraltar, the
Marine Corps were distributed in the several ships of war which
were then collected in the Tagus, in order to co-operate with the
land forces on the coast of Spain.
[Sidenote: 1705]
Towards the end of May, 1705, the British fleet having about five
thousand troops on board, with General the Earl of Peterborough,
proceeded to Lisbon; King Charles embarked on board of the Ranelagh
on the 23rd of July, and the Dutch fleet having joined in the
Tagus, proceeded from thence, and anchored before Barcelona on the
22nd of August.
The Earl of Peterborough commenced operations against _Barcelona_
by an attack on the strong fortress of _Montjuich_, which was taken
by storm on the 17th of September. In this attack the Prince of
Hesse Darmstadt was wounded by a musket-ball which occasioned his
death. The city of Barcelona was invested, and after considerable
efforts on the part of the besiegers and the besieged, the garrison
surrendered on the 6th of October, 1705.
The capture of _Barcelona_ obtained for the allied forces the
applause of the nations of Europe, and in a great degree promoted
the cause of King Charles in his efforts to succeed to the Crown of
Spain.
[Sidenote: 1706]
The decease of Colonel Lutterell having taken place, he was
succeeded by Lieut.-Colonel Josiah Churchill, on the 1st of
February, 1706.
The neglect of King Charles III. and his counsellors to secure
the advantages obtained by the conquests before stated, and the
persevering efforts made in favour of King Philip V. by the French,
and by those persons in other countries who supported his cause,
occasioned great difficulties, as well as serious losses to the
allied forces.
A powerful French and Spanish force by land, aided by a fleet,
attempted the recapture of _Barcelona_, which was besieged in the
beginning of April, 1706; but when the enemy had made preparations
to attack the place by storm, the English and Dutch fleet arrived
with reinforcements for the garrison;--the French relaxed in their
efforts, and the siege was raised on the 11th of May.
The city of Barcelona was thus relieved, and the allied fleet, with
the troops on board, proceeded to the coast of Valencia; after
capturing _Carthagena_, and placing six hundred Marines for its
defence, the expedition proceeded to an attack upon _Alicant_,
which, after a gallant resistance and severe loss, surrendered on
the 25th of August, 1706.
The fleet then proceeded to _Iviça_ and _Majorca_, which
surrendered to King Charles III., and detachments of Marines were
placed as garrisons in those islands.
[Sidenote: 1707]
The defeat of the allied forces under the Earl of Galway by the
Duke of Berwick at _Almanza_, on the 25th of April, 1707, cast a
gloom over the prospects of King Charles in Spain; and in June
following, measures were adopted for co-operating with the Duke of
Savoy and the Prince Eugene, in an attack upon Toulon. The fleet
proceeded for the coast of Italy, and anchored between Nice and
Antibes, when a conference took place with the commanders-in-chief
of the sea and land forces, and it was decided that a joint
attack should be made upon a portion of the enemy’s army which
was entrenched upon the river Var; the enemy having evacuated
his positions, they were immediately occupied by several hundred
British seamen and marines; the passage was thus secured for the
Duke of Savoy to prosecute his designs, and ships were stationed
along different parts of the sea-coast: every aid was afforded
by the fleet; but the enemy, having been reinforced, made a
successful sally, and the allied forces sustained considerable
loss; the siege was consequently raised on the 10th of August
following.
[Sidenote: 1708]
In consequence of King Charles having desired that _Sardinia_
should be reduced, with a view to a passage being opened for his
troops into Naples to attack Sicily, and also to secure the means
of supplying provisions for his armies, it was decided that a body
of _marines_ should be withdrawn from Catalonia to assist in this
enterprise. On the 12th of August, 1708, the armament designed for
this service arrived before _Cagliari_, the capital of Sardinia,
and after receiving a hesitating reply to the summons to surrender,
the bombardment commenced on that evening, and continued until the
following morning, when, at the break of day, Major-General Wills
(Thirtieth regiment), at the head of the Marines, with one Spanish
regiment, landed, and the place surrendered.
It was next decided that an attempt should be made upon the island
of _Minorca_. The fleet accordingly set sail, and arrived before
_Port Mahon_ on the 28th of August, 1708.
At this period the six _marine_ regiments had been much reduced in
numbers by the arduous services on which they had been employed
from the commencement of the war, so that it became necessary
to draft the men of _two_ of these corps into the other four
regiments, in order to render this force effective for the service
for which it was now destined, and which, there was reason to
expect, would be difficult, and would require the most energetic
measures towards effecting the conquest of the island. For this
purpose all the Marines fit for service, were drawn from the ships
about to return home, and were incorporated in the four regiments
which were employed in the reduction of this island. The two
regiments (Holl’s and Shannon’s) returned to England in order to
recruit their numbers.
The fleet proceeded to commence operations, and the first attack
was against _Fort Fornelle_, which was cannonaded, and surrendered
after a contest of four hours; a detachment proceeded to
_Citadella_, the capital, which surrendered; batteries, which had
been erected, were opened on the works defending the town of _Port
Mahon_, on the 17th of September, when, after a short but brisk
fire, a lodgment was effected under the walls of St. _Philip’s
Castle_, and on the following day the place surrendered.
The valuable and important _Island of Minorca_ was thus reduced
to submission to the British Crown by the gallantry of the Navy,
and about two thousand four hundred Marines; the island, which was
ceded to Great Britain at the Treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, continued
in the British possession until the year 1756, when it was
recaptured by a combined Spanish and French force under the command
of Marshal the Duke de Richelieu.[7]
[Sidenote: 1709]
In the early part of the year 1709, an armament was prepared
for the purpose of attacking _Port Royal_ in the province of
_Nova Scotia_, which was then in possession of the French; the
expedition was entrusted to Colonel Nicholson of the Marines, and
to Captain Martin of the Navy. The squadron proceeded to Boston,
where it was reinforced by some ships, and by provincial auxiliary
troops: a council of war was held, and arrangements were made for
disembarking the troops, which took place on the 24th of September.
The fortress surrendered on the 1st of October, and the Marines
took possession. The fortress was named _Anna-polis Royal_, in
honor of Queen Anne, in whose reign the conquest was effected.
The affairs of Spain at this time had materially changed, and
the prospects of King Charles III. in obtaining the monarchy had
become very doubtful. The town of _Alicant_, after sustaining a
powerful siege by the forces of Spain and France, was compelled
to surrender in April; the fleet under Admiral Sir George Byng,
and the troops on board under Lieut.-General Stanhope, which
were destined for its relief, were prevented, by heavy gales and
severe weather, from communicating with the town, and affording the
desired assistance. The garrison consisted of Colonel Sir Charles
Hotham’s and Colonel Frederick Sybourg’s regiments (afterwards
disbanded), together with a large body of Marines, who evinced
the most heroic perseverance in maintaining the place. On the 6th
of April, 1709, the enemy sprung a mine, which split the rock on
which the _Castle of Alicant_ was situated, when Colonel Sybourg
and several other officers were swallowed up in the opening, which
immediately closed. Although they had been permitted to see the
mine, they refused to capitulate; the garrison afterwards continued
to defend the castle, until Lieut.-General Stanhope, being unable
to communicate with the town, proposed terms of surrender, which
being acceded to, the gallant survivors of the siege were conveyed
on board the fleet, and were removed to Minorca, and afterwards to
Barcelona.
[Sidenote: 1710]
In March, 1710, Admiral Sir John Norris, who had arrived at Port
Mahon as commander-in-chief of the Naval forces, proceeded to
Barcelona, in the month of June, in order to concert with King
Charles III. the plan of future operations. It was determined
that an expedition should proceed against the _Isle of Cette_ in
the province of Languedoc. His troops, including the Marines,
landed on the 13th of July, and after a feeble resistance the fort
surrendered: the regiment of Stanhope and three hundred Marines
advanced against _Agde_, and the town surrendered. The _Isle of
Cette_ was shortly afterwards recaptured by the French, but the
British troops had been previously re-embarked.
[Sidenote: 1711]
Colonel Churchill having received Her Majesty’s permission to
sell his commission, Lieut.-Colonel Sir Harry Goring, Bart., was
promoted to the Colonelcy of the THIRTY-FIRST Regiment by purchase,
on the 1st of March, 1711.
The decease of Joseph I., Emperor of Germany, took place on the
17th of April, 1711, and King Charles III. of Spain was elected
Emperor of Germany, by the title of Charles VI., on the 12th of
October of that year: this circumstance rendered unnecessary any
further attempts in the cause of King Charles on the part of the
British Government. His Majesty embarked at Barcelona on board
of the fleet, and proceeded to assume the duties of the Imperial
throne.
[Sidenote: 1712]
[Sidenote: 1713]
In the year 1712 negotiations were entered into between Great
Britain and France, and a Treaty of Peace was concluded at Utrecht,
on the 11th of April, 1713. By this treaty it was settled, that
Great Britain should retain possession of Gibraltar, Minorca,
and Nova Scotia, which had been conquered during the war, and in
acquiring which the _Marine_ Corps had greatly contributed.
From the period of the formation of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, in
the year 1702, as a _Corps of Marines_, to the termination of the
war by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the regiment was employed,
by detachments, on board the fleet, and was engaged on various
services at sea, as well as on land, according to the conditions on
which it was raised.[8]
Among the reductions which were directed to take place in the
establishment of the army consequent on the Peace of Utrecht,
the _Marine Corps_ were included in the list of regiments to be
discontinued.
[Sidenote: 1714]
The decease of Queen Anne took place on the 1st of August, 1714,
and King George I., who was then at Hanover, was immediately
proclaimed as the Sovereign of Great Britain and Ireland. The
partisans of the Pretender, James Francis Edward Stuart, son of the
late King, James II., renewed their exertions in his behalf; and
Jacobite principles had become so prevalent in certain parts of
the kingdom, that it was necessary that the army, which had been
considerably reduced after the Peace of Utrecht, should be again
augmented.
Six additional regiments of cavalry (from the ninth to the
fourteenth dragoons) were raised. The establishments of the
regiments of infantry were increased, and, in consideration of
the services of the Marine Corps during the late war, Wills’s,
now _thirtieth_,--Goring’s, now _thirty-first_,--and Borr’s, now
_thirty-second_, which had been ordered to be disbanded, were
retained on the establishment, and were incorporated with the
regiments of infantry of the line, and authorised to take rank
according to the dates of their original formation in 1702.
[Sidenote: 1715]
The adherents of the Stuart dynasty continued to be numerous,
particularly in Scotland, where active preparations were made
for the elevation of the “_Pretender_” to the throne; and the
_Chevalier de St. George_[9] (so styled in France) repeated the
attempt which he had made in 1708, and effected a landing in
Scotland in December, 1715, where a rebellion had broken out in
September; the Earl of Mar had assembled his vassals, erected the
standard of the Pretender in the Highlands, and had been joined
by several clans, to the number of ten thousand men. King George
I. was supported by his Parliament in adopting energetic measures
for opposing the designs of the Jacobites, and for maintaining the
Protestant Succession.