someone or some society has been trying to encourage better design and
better manufacture; but the majority of the people have sought for a
livelihood by meeting the demand for cheap and shoddy articles—that
dreadful bane of modern times. Good patterns, good thread, good work,
have been thrown aside, the workers and small dealers recking little of
the fact that they themselves were ruining the trade as much as
machinery; tarnishing the fair name of Honiton throughout the world
among those able to appreciate a beautiful art. Fortunately there were
some able to lead in the right path, and all honour must be given to
Lady Trevelyan, who, at Seaton and Beer, about 1850–70, designed and
superintended the working of naturalistic flowers and sprays; also to
Mrs. Treadwin at Exeter, who started reproducing old laces, and with her
workers turned out excellent copies of old Venetian rose-point,
Valenciennes, or Flemish. Mrs. Treadwin was a woman of culture and taste
who had the best interests of the trade at heart.
In the present work there is a straining after novelty with no capable
designers at the helm. We ought, as a national duty, to encourage to our
utmost any industry that can be worked in the rural districts. Let the
Education Authorities frankly acknowledge that our Art Schools cannot
turn out lace designers, and import one of our clever French neighbours
to help the Devonian workers. It would, after all, only be a case of
_L’histoire se répète toujours_ since the days of Benedict Biscop, who
imported vestments which gave the English their first lesson in
embroidery.
ALICE DRYDEN.
“THE BLOODY ELEVENTH”;
WITH NOTES ON COUNTY DEFENCE.
BY LIEUT.-COL. P. F. S. AMERY.
The Devonshire Regiment, of which the Haytors now form a battalion, was
raised so far back as 1685, has seen a vast amount of service, and has
ever served with distinction before the enemy in the two centuries of
its history. During the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth, in 1685, many
new corps were raised, and among them a regiment of musketeers and
pikemen by the Duke of Beaufort. It was composed of loyal men of Devon,
Somerset, and Dorset, and was known as “The Duke of Beaufort’s
Musketeers.” In the same year, after the rebellion had been crushed at
Sedgemoor, the Duke resigned the colonelcy to his son, the Marquis of
Worcester. At that time regiments were named after their colonels. The
corps was distinguished by tawny-coloured ribbons in their hats, scarlet
coats lined with tawny-coloured shalloon, tawny-coloured breeches,
stockings, and sashes. Lord Worcester was succeeded in 1687 by Lord
Montgomery, who was devoted to the interests of James II. In 1688 the
regiment was in garrison at Hull, when the Prince of Orange landed at
Torbay. The Governor of Hull was also a supporter of James. The
regiment, however, led by its Lieutenant-Colonel, Sir John Hanmer,
declared with the inhabitants of Hull for the Prince of Orange and the
Protestant party. Sir John Hanmer was made Colonel, and in 1689 took
part with his regiment in the famous relief of Londonderry. In 1690 it
served under the eye of William III. at the Battle of the Boyne, where
it repulsed three cavalry charges and materially assisted to secure the
Protestant succession. In 1707, under Colonel Hill, it was present at
the terrible battle of Almanza, in Portugal, where, after performing
deeds of valour, it was overpowered and cut to pieces. Twenty-six
officers and nearly all the men were killed, wounded, or taken. In 1709
it served under Marlborough in the Netherlands, took part in the siege
of Mons, where it greatly distinguished itself in repulsing a sortie, in
which ten officers and 150 men were lost. In 1715, under Colonel
Montague, it took part against the rebellion under the Earl of Mar in
Scotland, and at the battle of Dunblane lost eight officers and 108 men.
In 1738, Colonel Cornwallis was appointed, and as Cornwallis’ regiment
took part in the war of Austrian succession. It was present at the
battle of Dettingen, in 1743, where George II. in person commanded the
army, and received a French cavalry charge in line. Cornwallis’ and
another battalion executed a difficult manœuvre, which brought the
enemy’s cavalry under fire. The name of Dettingen is borne on the
colours. In 1745, at Fontenoy, it again broke through the French lines,
and almost secured victory; its losses were seven officers and 212 men.
It was re-called to England during the Pretender’s rebellion in
Scotland, and sent again into the Low Countries in 1746, where, as
Graham’s regiment, it took a prominent and honourable part in the
desperate battle of Roucoux against the renowned Marshal Saxe, where it
lost twelve officers and 206 men.
1st July, 1751.—A royal warrant was issued, regulating the clothing and
colours of every regiment. It was now numbered as 11th Regiment of Foot,
and the “facings spoken of as being green,” but when they were changed
from tawny is not known. The drummers were clothed in green, faced with
red. 1756.—The strength was increased to twenty companies, which were
divided into two battalions. 1758.—The second battalion was constituted
the Sixty-fourth Regiment, illustrating the birth of new regiments. The
11th took part in the Seven Years’ War, 1760 to 1763, under the Prince
of Brunswick. In 1782 county titles were given to regiments in order to
facilitate recruiting, and the 11th was designated the “North Devon
Regiment,” and the officers were enjoined to cultivate an intercourse
with that part of the county, so as to create a mutual attachment
between the inhabitants and the regiment. Exactly a century afterwards
similar orders and changes took place for a like purpose. In 1793, when
England was threatened with invasion by the French Republic, and
volunteers were being drilled, the 11th was defending Toulon against
Napoleon. It was evacuated after a gallant defence by twelve thousand
men of five different nations, over a line of outposts extending fifteen
miles in circumference, against an army of between thirty and forty
thousand men. The 11th formed part of the garrison under Lord Mulgrave,
and distinguished itself in several sorties, especially that on 30th
November, 1793, when the French were driven from their batteries and
guns spiked. In this affair, Napoleon Bonaparte, then an artillery
officer, received a bayonet wound in his thigh. Thus the first contact
the future Emperor made with a British battalion was with our Devon
Regiment; and he did not again come face to face with us until the
Battle of Waterloo, although he is said to have watched some of the
battles in the Pyrenees from a distance. In 1798, it was sent to Ostend
on a very hazardous expedition to cut the Great Canal; it did its work,
but was unable to re-embark owing to a storm, and 24 officers and 456
men were captured. In 1800, the 11th was sent to the West Indies, took
part in the capture of St. Bartholomew, St. Martin’s, St. Thomas, St.
John, and Santa Cruz; in 1807 to Madeira. In 1808, a second battalion
was again added, which formed a part of the Walcheren expedition in
1809. At the taking of Flushing they took a set of brass drums belonging
to the 11th French Regiment, and enlisted the musicians of a Prussian
band serving in the French army, when all the men joined with their
instruments. In 1810 and 1811, they took part in the Peninsula War. On
22nd July, 1812, the regiment won glory at the decisive battle of
Salamanca, which led to the French being driven out of Spain. The 11th,
53rd, and 61st Regiments formed a brigade in the Sixth Division,
commanded by Major-General Clinton. Lord Wellington had noticed that in
manœuvring his troops the French marshal had so extended his forces as
to be unable to support each other. To take advantage of this mistake,
the 11th, as leading its brigade, was pushed forward under a heavy fire,
and was soon engaged in a desperate struggle, and drove the French from
their ground. At the close of the action a French division made a very
determined stand to recover the retreat. The 6th British Division again
attacked, led by the 11th, and as the darkness came on overpowered the
French, who fled in confusion. They lost 16 officers, 325 men; only 4
officers and 67 men came out unwounded. The 11th captured a battery of
guns and a green standard without an eagle. The 122nd French Regiment,
which was opposed to the 11th with two battalions, numbering 2,200
strong, the next day only mustered 200 men; they were mostly taken
prisoners. Captain Lord Clinton, uncle of our late Lord Lieutenant, was
despatched with the news direct from the field, and carried with him the
green standard. He landed at Plymouth, and in a chaise and four rattled
up the road to London. As he passed through the towns on the way he
exhibited the standard, and persons now living in Ashburton remember
seeing him pass through; he was at that time Lord of the Borough of
Ashburton. The 11th earned the nickname of “The Bloody Eleventh” from
the part it had taken in that terrible day. It suffered severely in the
battles in the Pyrenees and following movements, which resulted in
driving the French across the frontier. It was not present at Waterloo,
and in 1816 the Second Battalion was disbanded at Gibraltar, the men
being incorporated in the First Battalion. In 1825, new colours were
presented to the regiment whilst at Cork, on which were added the names
of the Peninsula battles. During the years of peace it moved from
station to station, and was not in the Crimea. During the Indian Mutiny
a Second Battalion was again raised, but did not take part. In
1879–1880, the 11th took part in the Afghan War; in 1881, the regiment
ceased to be the 11th and became the “Devonshire Regiment,” but the
green facings were changed to white, in common with other line
regiments, and are alone borne by the junior battalion, viz., the Haytor
Volunteer Battalion. The Devonshire Territorial Regiment now consists of
two line battalions for foreign service, two militia battalions, five
volunteer battalions, of which the 1st and 2nd are rifles, total nine.
The reformation and development of the volunteer force in the middle and
latter half of the nineteenth century, with its embodiment into the
territorial line regiments, has tended to increase the local _esprit de
corps_ throughout the kingdom, and especially in Devon, where the
movement had its birth. A short sketch of the formation and growth of
the volunteers in Devon will, therefore, not only be of local interest,
but will be an illustration of the steps taken in times of danger for
the defence of our shores in the times of our grandfathers, and
continued through the years of peace under our late imperial Sovereign,
Queen Victoria.
Plymouth and its immediate neighbourhood is the cradle in which the
spirit of volunteer defence has been nurtured; frequently before the
sixteenth century have French and Spaniards made or attempted landings
there for pillage or destruction, but in each case they suffered
severely from the resolute resistance of the townspeople. In the Civil
War the inhabitants formed themselves into trained bands and resisted
the Royalist siege. In 1745, when Prince Charlie, the young Pretender,
landed in Scotland and gained the battle of Prestonpans, Plymouth again
raised a body of volunteers; and in 1759, when France determined on a
descent on England and had 18,000 men ready to embark on board the
French fleet, Plymouth again raised two companies of volunteers to
strengthen the militia, one of which undertook to clothe and feed
itself. The destruction of the French fleet by Admiral Hawke, at the
mouth of Quiberon Bay, and the decisive battle of Minden, where the
20th, or East Devon Regiment, learned its celebrated “Minden Yell,”
removed for a time the fear of French invasion. When, therefore, in
1779, the combined fleets of France and Spain held for a time the
possession of the English Channel, and the gallant Elliot was holding
the rock of Gibraltar against famine and bombardment, and most of our
army was fighting in America, the Spanish and French fleets suddenly
appeared off Plymouth, causing great alarm for the safety of the
dockyard and the numerous French prisoners in the port, the inhabitants
were again ready to enroll themselves. Mr. William Bastard, of Kitley,
the great grandfather of the present Mr. B. J. B. Bastard, the first
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Haytor Volunteer battalion, offered to raise a
force of 500 men as a corps of Fencibles, and in two days had 1,500
young men to select from, who wished for the honour of serving under
him. On 23rd August, 1779, he escorted 1,300 war prisoners to Exeter for
safety, and on the 25th delivered them to the commanding officer there,
and at once returned with his regiment to Plymouth. I have been unable
to find any traditions of this march preserved in the towns through
which they must have passed, but we may be sure at the time it caused
much excitement along the road and at the places they rested the two
nights. The whole of this eventful period at Plymouth is well described
by Miss Peard in her charming little book, _Mother Molly_. The example
of Plymouth was followed by the citizens of Exeter, who also raised a
Volunteer corps. For these services the King, on the 24th September,
signed a warrant for a baronetcy for Mr. Bastard, who, however, modestly
declined the honour. The supremacy in the Channel was soon restored by
the return of the fleet, and the victories of Admiral Rodney rendered
our shores safe for a time.
In 1794, the effects of the French Revolution had made themselves felt
in England, and several elaborate plots were formed to supersede
Parliament by a National Convention after the French model, and to
abolish the Monarchy. Great distress prevailed in the country, which
always forms the best weapon of revolutionists. The rate of interest
rose to seventeen per cent.; the Bank of England only saved itself by
the suspension of cash payment. Monge, the French Minister of Marine,
threatened to land in England with 50,000 red caps of liberty, and to
overthrow the Government of the country.
It was at this crisis that the Government called on the different
counties to take steps for the defence of the kingdom, and a meeting of
magistrates was called by Lord Fortescue, the Lord Lieutenant, and
presided over by the High Sheriff, J. S. Pode, Esq., on the 22nd April,
1794. 1795, 7th January, returns showed two troops of cavalry and
twenty-three companies of infantry to have been raised and equipped by
subscription. March 23rd, the Lord Lieutenant, Earl Fortescue, ordered
monthly returns from each corps. 7th April, 1795, the twelve corps in
the eastern part of the county were formed into a battalion, under Col.
Mackenzie. 2nd June, Colonel Orchard, of Hartland Abbey, reported that
he had inspected his own regiment, viz., corps at Fremington, Westleigh,
Northam, Hartland, and two companies at Bideford. This appears to be the
six western companies of the north battalion. 1796 returns showed two
troops of cavalry, twenty-two companies of infantry—1,651 men. In this
year an attempt was made by the French to land in Bantry Bay, which,
however, failed, and the expedition was glad to get back to Brest, with
the loss of four ships of the line and eight frigates. Early in 1797,
another expedition, under Tate, appeared in the Bristol Channel, off
Ilfracombe, with the intention of burning Bristol. The North Devon
Volunteers turned out with great zeal, and were prepared to dispute the
landing on their coast. The French, however, turned northward and landed
in Wales, where they soon surrendered to a far inferior force of
militia, yeomanry, and volunteers, commanded by Lord Cawdor, and
supported by a reserve of Welsh women in red cloaks. 1798 saw the nation
in the most serious crisis of its history. The French Directory having
made terms with the European powers, were able to turn all their
attention to the invasion and conquest of the British Isles. Former
expeditions were designed to stir up the disloyal and assist them to
overthrow the Government, but now a French army was to land on our
shores. The Spanish and Dutch fleets had been pressed into the French
service, but British courage and seamanship had effectually disposed of
them in the great naval battles of St. Vincent and Camperdown.
Nevertheless, an army was organized, named the Army of England, and
distributed along the French coast in readiness for embarkation.
Flat-bottomed boats were prepared for landing troops and for service on
our rivers. The bankers of Paris were called upon to advance a loan on
the security of English property. The greatest calamity, however, was a
general mutiny in the Channel Fleet at the Nore, which expelled their
officers, elected their own admiral and captains, hoisted the red flag,
and blockaded the mouth of the Thames; they seriously discussed the
expediency of making the whole over to the French. If England could not
depend on her fleet she must fall. Had not prompt measures been taken
and the mutiny quelled, invasion on a large scale would certainly have
taken place. To add to these troubles a formidable rebellion broke out
in Ireland, and its leaders arranged for the support of the French army,
under Hocke, a general of great experience. A brigade of 1,000 men
actually landed in Ireland, under General Humbert, beat the local
troops, and advanced into the country, but were compelled to surrender
to Lord Cornwallis; and Admiral Warren caught a French fleet with 3,000
troops on their way to support them, and only one of the nine ships
returned to France. Such being the state of public affairs, it cannot be
denied that our great grandparents had good grounds for alarm. There is
hardly a district or family in Devon but has some tradition of that
period. Nervous people were afraid to take off their clothes at night.
Old gentlemen provided themselves with hollow walking-sticks filled with
guineas to carry with them in their flight. At Totnes my
great-grandfather’s family permanently engaged a post-chaise in which
the women and children might escape to Bristol; the family plate was
packed ready to be taken off, and a belt of guineas provided. The
schoolboys enjoyed it, for there was no school, as the seniors were too
much engaged in obtaining and discussing news to attend to them. The
saying still exists at Totnes, “Going to Paignton to meet the French,”
for “meeting trouble half-way.” Beacon fires were prepared to spread the
news of any landing. A story is told of a tramp at Dawlish who, in
lighting his pipe, set a hay rick on fire; the watchers at the nearest
beacon took it for a signal of an invasion, and lighted their fires,
which were answered in every direction, and the people sprang to arms
until “That time of slumber was as bright and busy as the day.” One old
sailor, however, had his wits about him, when his daughter shook him out
of a deep sleep with the news that the French had landed. Rubbing his
eyes, he told her to go and look at the weather-cock. She came back
saying the wind was from the north. “I thought so,” said he, “and so it
was yesterday. The French can’t land with this wind.” And so the ancient
mariner turned round and went to sleep again.
The next place in the history of volunteers was the extension of the
area of their service. Up to this date the condition of service was
confined to the county of Devon, and in the case of the early Exeter
corps to the defence of the city only. The military authorities saw the
impossibility of mobilising the volunteers, even to a small extent, who
had enlisted under these conditions. The County Committee were,
therefore, instructed to accept no offers except for service throughout
the military district. It was, however, ultimately arranged for all
volunteers to accept the new conditions, but cities or large towns
should be allowed to maintain a local corps composed of respectable
householders only, to aid the civil power to protect property. Most of
the corps appear to have been willing to extend their services to the
military district. In January, 1799, it was resolved that no further
offers should be accepted. Each parish was required to appoint a man and
horse to act as guide. The battle of the Nile and the extinction of the
Irish rebellion seem to have quieted men’s minds for a time. But in
April Devonshire was again astir, for the Committee of Secrecy of the
House of Commons reported that undoubted intelligence had been received
that plans of an invasion and insurrection in Ireland were being made in
France. That the utmost diligence was being observed in the ports of
France in preparing another expedition to co-operate with the rebels in
Ireland, that it was intended at the same time to land a French force at
different parts of the coast. That the instructions to Tate, who was
taken prisoner in Wales in 1797, and those of General Humbert, who
landed in Ireland, and who had been destined to command an expedition
against Cornwall, had fallen into the hands of the Government, and were
as follows:—The legion was to land in Cornwall and to cross the Tamar as
quickly as possible, and to establish itself in the district between it
and the Exe, or, as we should say, in the South Hams. The “passes and
mountains” (Dartmoor) would afford an easy and safe retreat from the
pursuit of the enemy. Thus Dartmoor was selected both by the French
Directory and by the English officers for a place of refuge. There,
indeed, in the Dartmoor prisons, many French soldiers and sailors were
destined to find a safe retreat.
But as time went on, and no invasion took place, things became quieter;
the Defence Committee seldom met; the volunteers, however, continued to
drill and to hold reviews.
In 1801, the separate corps were consolidated into battalions and
regiments. The two 1st Devon troops of cavalry, with those at Bicton,
Tiverton, and Cullompton, united in the “Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry
Cavalry,” under Lord Rolle as Colonel, Sir Stafford Northcote as
Lieutenant-Colonel. The North Devon Corps of Infantry became the 3rd
North Devon Regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Fortescue. The Loyal
Exminster Hundred Regiment of Volunteers, under Lord Courtenay, was
similarly formed. In 1802 came the “Peace of Amiens,” or, as it is
frequently called, the “Cloamen Peace.” It was a fragile, patched up
affair, by which Bonaparte gained breathing time. “It was a peace
everyone was glad of and nobody proud of.” Volunteer affairs became
quiet, many corps were disbanded, among them the Ashburton Sergebacks.
Old soldiers were discharged from the line regiments, and militiamen
sent to their homes.