TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
A superscript is denoted by ^x or ^{xx}, for example S^t or 3^{RD}.
Some minor changes are noted at the end of the book.
HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE TENTH, OR THE NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE,
REGIMENT OF FOOT,
CONTAINING
AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT
IN 1685,
AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
TO 1847.
COMPILED BY
RICHARD CANNON, ESQ.
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, HORSE GUARDS.
ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES.
LONDON:
PARKER, FURNIVALL, & PARKER,
30 CHARING CROSS.
M DCCC XLVII.
LONDON: PRINTED BY W. CLOWES & SONS, STAMFORD STREET,
FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE.
GENERAL ORDERS.
_HORSE-GUARDS_,
_1st January, 1836_.
His Majesty has been pleased to command that, with a view of doing
the fullest justice to Regiments, as well as to Individuals who
have distinguished themselves by their Bravery in Action with the
Enemy, an Account of the Services of every Regiment in the British
Army shall be published under the superintendence and direction
of the Adjutant-General; and that this Account shall contain the
following particulars, viz.:--
---- The Period and Circumstances of the Original Formation of
the Regiment; The Stations at which it has been from time to time
employed; The Battles, Sieges, and other Military Operations
in which it has been engaged, particularly specifying any
Achievement it may have performed, and the Colours, Trophies,
&c., it may have captured from the Enemy.
---- The Names of the Officers and the number of Non-Commissioned
Officers and Privates Killed or Wounded by the Enemy, specifying
the Place and Date of the Action.
---- The Names of those Officers who, in consideration of their
Gallant Services and Meritorious Conduct in Engagements with the
Enemy, have been distinguished with Titles, Medals, or other
Marks of His Majesty's gracious favour.
---- The Names of all such Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers,
and Privates, as may have specially signalized themselves in
Action.
And,
---- The Badges and Devices which the Regiment may have been
permitted to bear, and the Causes on account of which such Badges
or Devices, or any other Marks of Distinction, have been granted.
By Command of the Right Honourable
GENERAL LORD HILL,
_Commanding-in-Chief_.
JOHN MACDONALD,
_Adjutant-General_.
PREFACE.
The character and credit of the British Army must chiefly depend
upon the zeal and ardour by which all who enter into its service
are animated, and consequently it is of the highest importance that
any measure calculated to excite the spirit of emulation, by which
alone great and gallant actions are achieved, should be adopted.
Nothing can more fully tend to the accomplishment of this desirable
object than a full display of the noble deeds with which the
Military History of our country abounds. To hold forth these bright
examples to the imitation of the youthful soldier, and thus to
incite him to emulate the meritorious conduct of those who have
preceded him in their honourable career, are among the motives that
have given rise to the present publication.
The operations of the British Troops are, indeed, announced in the
"London Gazette," from whence they are transferred into the public
prints: the achievements of our armies are thus made known at the
time of their occurrence, and receive the tribute of praise and
admiration to which they are entitled. On extraordinary occasions,
the Houses of Parliament have been in the habit of conferring on
the Commanders, and the Officers and Troops acting under their
orders, expressions of approbation and of thanks for their skill
and bravery; and these testimonials, confirmed by the high honour
of their Sovereign's approbation, constitute the reward which the
soldier most highly prizes.
It has not, however, until late years been the practice (which
appears to have long prevailed in some of the Continental armies)
for British Regiments to keep regular records of their services
and achievements. Hence some difficulty has been experienced in
obtaining, particularly from the old Regiments, an authentic
account of their origin and subsequent services.
This defect will now be remedied, in consequence of His Majesty
having been pleased to command that every Regiment shall in future
keep a full and ample record of its services at home and abroad.
From the materials thus collected, the country will henceforth
derive information as to the difficulties and privations which
chequer the career of those who embrace the military profession. In
Great Britain, where so large a number of persons are devoted to
the active concerns of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and
where these pursuits have, for so long a period, been undisturbed
by the _presence of war_, which few other countries have escaped,
comparatively little is known of the vicissitudes of active
service, and of the casualties of climate, to which, even during
peace, the British Troops are exposed in every part of the globe,
with little or no interval of repose.
In their tranquil enjoyment of the blessings which the country
derives from the industry and the enterprise of the agriculturist
and the trader, its happy inhabitants may be supposed not often to
reflect on the perilous duties of the soldier and the sailor,--on
their sufferings,--and on the sacrifice of valuable life, by which
so many national benefits are obtained and preserved.
The conduct of the British Troops, their valour, and endurance,
have shone conspicuously under great and trying difficulties; and
their character has been established in Continental warfare by the
irresistible spirit with which they have effected debarkations in
spite of the most formidable opposition, and by the gallantry and
steadiness with which they have maintained their advantages against
superior numbers.
In the official Reports made by the respective Commanders, ample
justice has generally been done to the gallant exertions of the
Corps employed; but the details of their services, and of acts of
individual bravery, can only be fully given in the Annals of the
various Regiments.
These Records are now preparing for publication, under His
Majesty's special authority, by Mr. RICHARD CANNON, Principal Clerk
of the Adjutant General's Office; and while the perusal of them
cannot fail to be useful and interesting to military men of every
rank, it is considered that they will also afford entertainment and
information to the general reader, particularly to those who may
have served in the Army, or who have relatives in the Service.
There exists in the breasts of most of those who have served, or
are serving, in the Army, an _Esprit de Corps_--an attachment
to everything belonging to their Regiment; to such persons a
narrative of the services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove
interesting. Authentic accounts of the actions of the great, the
valiant, the loyal, have always been of paramount interest with
a brave and civilized people. Great Britain has produced a race
of heroes who, in moments of danger and terror, have stood "firm
as the rocks of their native shore;" and when half the World has
been arrayed against them, they have fought the battles of their
Country with unshaken fortitude. It is presumed that a record of
achievements in war,--victories so complete and surprising, gained
by our countrymen, our brothers, our fellow-citizens in arms,--a
record which revives the memory of the brave, and brings their
gallant deeds before us, will certainly prove acceptable to the
public.
Biographical memoirs of the Colonels and other distinguished
Officers will be introduced in the Records of their respective
Regiments, and the Honorary Distinctions which have, from time to
time, been conferred upon each Regiment as testifying the value and
importance of its services, will be faithfully set forth.
As a convenient mode of Publication, the Record of each Regiment
will be printed in a distinct number, so that when the whole shall
be completed, the Parts may be bound up in numerical succession.
INTRODUCTION
TO
THE INFANTRY.
The natives of Britain have, at all periods, been celebrated for
innate courage and unshaken firmness, and the national superiority
of the British troops over those of other countries has been
evinced in the midst of the most imminent perils. History contains
so many proofs of extraordinary acts of bravery, that no doubts can
be raised upon the facts which are recorded. It must therefore be
admitted, that the distinguishing feature of the British soldier is
INTREPIDITY. This quality was evinced by the inhabitants of England
when their country was invaded by Julius Cæsar with a Roman army,
on which occasion the undaunted Britons rushed into the sea to
attack the Roman soldiers as they descended from their ships; and,
although their discipline and arms were inferior to those of their
adversaries, yet their fierce and dauntless bearing intimidated
the flower of the Roman troops, including Cæsar's favourite tenth
legion. Their arms consisted of spears, short swords, and other
weapons of rude construction. They had chariots, to the axles of
which were fastened sharp pieces of iron resembling scythe-blades,
and infantry in long chariots resembling waggons, who alighted and
fought on foot, and for change of ground, pursuit, or retreat,
sprang into the chariot and drove off with the speed of cavalry.
These inventions were, however, unavailing against Cæsar's
legions: in the course of time a military system, with discipline
and subordination, was introduced, and British courage, being
thus regulated, was exerted to the greatest advantage; a full
development of the national character followed, and it shone forth
in all its native brilliancy.
The military force of the Anglo-Saxons consisted principally of
infantry: Thanes, and other men of property, however, fought on
horseback. The infantry were of two classes, heavy and light. The
former carried large shields armed with spikes, long broad swords
and spears; and the latter were armed with swords or spears only.
They had also men armed with clubs, others with battle-axes and
javelins.
The feudal troops established by William the Conqueror consisted
(as already stated in the Introduction to the Cavalry) almost
entirely of horse; but when the warlike barons and knights, with
their trains of tenants and vassals, took the field, a proportion
of men appeared on foot, and, although these were of inferior
degree, they proved stout-hearted Britons of stanch fidelity. When
stipendiary troops were employed, infantry always constituted a
considerable portion of the military force; and this _arme_ has
since acquired, in every quarter of the globe, a celebrity never
exceeded by the armies of any nation at any period.
The weapons carried by the infantry, during the several reigns
succeeding the Conquest, were bows and arrows, half-pikes, lances,
halberds, various kinds of battle-axes, swords, and daggers. Armour
was worn on the head and body, and in course of time the practice
became general for military men to be so completely cased in steel,
that it was almost impossible to slay them.
The introduction of the use of gunpowder in the destructive
purposes of war, in the early part of the fourteenth
century, produced a change in the arms and equipment of the
infantry-soldier. Bows and arrows gave place to various kinds of
fire-arms, but British archers continued formidable adversaries;
and owing to the inconvenient construction and imperfect bore of
the fire-arms when first introduced, a body of men, well trained
in the use of the bow from their youth, was considered a valuable
acquisition to every army, even as late as the sixteenth century.
During a great part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth each company
of infantry usually consisted of men armed five different ways; in
every hundred men forty were "_men-at-arms_," and sixty "_shot_;"
the "men-at-arms" were ten halberdiers, or battle-axe men, and
thirty pikemen; and the "shot" were twenty archers, twenty
musketeers, and twenty harquebusiers, and each man carried, besides
his principal weapon, a sword and dagger.
Companies of infantry varied at this period in numbers from 150
to 300 men; each company had a colour or ensign, and the mode of
formation recommended by an English military writer (Sir John
Smithe) in 1590 was:--the colour in the centre of the company
guarded by the halberdiers; the pikemen in equal proportions, on
each flank of the halberdiers; half the musketeers on each flank
of the pikes; half the archers on each flank of the musketeers;
and the harquebusiers (whose arms were much lighter than the
muskets then in use) in equal proportions on each flank of the
company for skirmishing.[1] It was customary to unite a number
of companies into one body, called a REGIMENT, which frequently
amounted to three thousand men; but each company continued to carry
a colour. Numerous improvements were eventually introduced in the
construction of fire-arms, and, it having been found impossible to
make armour proof against the muskets then in use (which carried
a very heavy ball) without its being too weighty for the soldier,
armour was gradually laid aside by the infantry in the seventeenth
century: bows and arrows also fell into disuse, and the infantry
were reduced to two classes, viz.: _musketeers_, armed with
matchlock muskets, swords, and daggers; and _pikemen_, armed with
pikes from fourteen to eighteen feet long, and swords.
In the early part of the seventeenth century Gustavus Adolphus,
King of Sweden, reduced the strength of regiments to 1000 men; he
caused the gunpowder, which had heretofore been carried in flasks,
or in small wooden bandoliers, each containing a charge, to be
made up into cartridges, and carried in pouches; and he formed
each regiment into two wings of musketeers, and a centre division
of pikemen. He also adopted the practice of forming four regiments
into a brigade; and the number of colours was afterwards reduced to
three in each regiment. He formed his columns so compactly that his
infantry could resist the charge of the celebrated Polish horsemen
and Austrian cuirassiers; and his armies became the admiration of
other nations. His mode of formation was copied by the English,
French, and other European states; but so great was the prejudice
in favour of ancient customs, that all his improvements were not
adopted until near a century afterwards.
In 1664 King Charles II. raised a corps for sea-service, styled
the Admiral's regiment. In 1678 each company of 100 men usually
consisted of 30 pikemen, 60 musketeers, and 10 men armed with light
firelocks. In this year the king added a company of men armed with
hand-grenades to each of the old British regiments, which was
designated the "grenadier company." Daggers were so contrived as to
fit in the muzzles of the muskets, and bayonets similar to those
at present in use were adopted about twenty years afterwards.
An Ordnance regiment was raised in 1685, by order of King James
II., to guard the artillery, and was designated the Royal Fusiliers
(now 7th Foot). This corps, and the companies of grenadiers, did
not carry pikes.
King William III. incorporated the Admiral's regiment in the Second
Foot Guards, and raised two Marine regiments for sea-service.
During the war in this reign, each company of infantry (excepting
the fusiliers and grenadiers) consisted of 14 pikemen and 46
musketeers; the captains carried pikes; lieutenants, partisans;
ensigns, half-pikes; and serjeants, halberds. After the peace in
1697 the Marine regiments were disbanded, but were again formed on
the breaking out of the war in 1702.[2]
During the reign of Queen Anne the pikes were laid aside, and every
infantry soldier was armed with a musket, bayonet, and sword; the
grenadiers ceased, about the same period, to carry hand-grenades;
and the regiments were directed to lay aside their third colour:
the corps of Royal Artillery was first added to the army in this
reign.
About the year 1745, the men of the battalion companies of infantry
ceased to carry swords; during the reign of George II. light
companies were added to infantry regiments; and in 1764 a Board of
General Officers recommended that the grenadiers should lay aside
their swords, as that weapon had never been used during the seven
years' war. Since that period the arms of the infantry soldier have
been limited to the musket and bayonet.
The arms and equipment of the British troops have seldom differed
materially, since the Conquest, from those of other European
states; and in some respects the arming has, at certain periods,
been allowed to be inferior to that of the nations with whom they
have had to contend; yet, under this disadvantage, the bravery and
superiority of the British infantry have been evinced on very many
and most trying occasions, and splendid victories have been gained
over very superior numbers.
Great Britain has produced a race of lion-like champions who have
dared to confront a host of foes, and have proved themselves
valiant with any arms. At _Creçy_, King Edward III., at the head
of about 30,000 men, defeated, on the 26th of August, 1346, Philip
King of France, whose army is said to have amounted to 100,000
men; here British valour encountered veterans of renown:--the
King of Bohemia, the King of Majorca, and many princes and nobles
were slain, and the French army was routed and cut to pieces. Ten
years afterwards, Edward Prince of Wales, who was designated the
Black Prince, defeated, at _Poictiers_, with 14,000 men, a French
army of 60,000 horse, besides infantry, and took John I., King of
France, and his son Philip, prisoners. On the 25th of October,
1415, King Henry V., with an army of about 13,000 men, although
greatly exhausted by marches, privations, and sickness, defeated,
at _Agincourt_, the Constable of France, at the head of the flower
of the French nobility and an army said to amount to 60,000 men,
and gained a complete victory.
During the seventy years' war between the United Provinces of the
Netherlands and the Spanish monarch, which commenced in 1578 and
terminated in 1648, the British infantry in the service of the
States-General were celebrated for their unconquerable spirit and
firmness;[3] and in the thirty years' war between the Protestant
Princes and the Emperor of Germany, the British troops in the
service of Sweden and other states were celebrated for deeds of
heroism.[4] In the wars of Queen Anne, the fame of the British
army under the great MARLBOROUGH was spread throughout the world;
and if we glance at the achievements performed within the memory
of persons now living, there is abundant proof that the Britons
of the present age are not inferior to their ancestors in the
qualities which constitute good soldiers. Witness the deeds of
the brave men, of whom there are many now surviving, who fought in
Egypt in 1801, under the brave Abercromby, and compelled the French
army, which had been vainly styled _Invincible_, to evacuate that
country; also the services of the gallant Troops during the arduous
campaigns in the Peninsula, under the immortal WELLINGTON; and
the determined stand made by the British Army at Waterloo, where
Napoleon Bonaparte, who had long been the inveterate enemy of Great
Britain, and had sought and planned her destruction by every means
he could devise, was compelled to leave his vanquished legions to
their fate, and to place himself at the disposal of the British
Government. These achievements, with others of recent dates, in the
distant climes of India, prove that the same valour and constancy
which glowed in the breasts of the heroes of Crecy, Poictiers,
Agincourt, Blenheim, and Ramilies, continue to animate the Britons
of the nineteenth century.
The British Soldier is distinguished for a robust and muscular
frame,--intrepidity which no danger can appal,--unconquerable
spirit and resolution,--patience in fatigue and privation, and
cheerful obedience to his superiors. These qualities, united with
an excellent system of order and discipline to regulate and give
a skilful direction to the energies and adventurous spirit of
the hero, and a wise selection of officers of superior talent to
command, whose presence inspires confidence,--have been the leading
causes of the splendid victories gained by the British arms.[5]
The fame of the deeds of the past and present generations in the
various battle-fields where the robust sons of Albion have fought
and conquered, surrounds the British arms with a halo of glory;
these achievements will live in the page of history to the end of
time.
The records of the several regiments will be found to contain a
detail of facts of an interesting character, connected with the
hardships, sufferings, and gallant exploits of British soldiers in
the various parts of the world where the calls of their Country
and the commands of their Sovereign have required them to proceed
in the execution of their duty, whether in active continental
operations, or in maintaining colonial territories in distant and
unfavourable climes.
The superiority of the British infantry has been pre-eminently set
forth in the wars of six centuries, and admitted by the greatest
commanders which Europe has produced. The formations and movements
of this _arme_, as at present practised, while they are adapted
to every species of warfare, and to all probable situations
and circumstances of service, are calculated to show forth the
brilliancy of military tactics calculated upon mathematical and
scientific principles. Although the movements and evolutions have
been copied from the continental armies, yet various improvements
have from time to time been introduced, to insure that simplicity
and celerity by which the superiority of the national military
character is maintained. The rank and influence which Great Britain
has attained among the nations of the world, have in a great
measure been purchased by the valour of the Army, and to persons
who have the welfare of their country at heart, the records of the
several regiments cannot fail to prove interesting.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] A company of 200 men would appear thus:--
__|
| |
|__|
|
20 20 20 30 2|0 30 20 20 20
Harquebuses. Muskets. Halberds. Muskets. Harquebuses.
Archers. Pikes. Pikes. Archers.
The musket carried a ball which weighed 1/10 of a pound; and the
harquebus a ball which weighed 1/25 of a pound.
[2] The 30th, 31st, and 32nd Regiments were formed as Marine corps
in 1702, and were employed as such during the wars in the reign
of Queen Anne. The Marine corps were embarked in the Fleet under
Admiral Sir George Rooke, and were at the taking of Gibraltar, and
in its subsequent defence in 1704; they were afterwards employed at
the siege of Barcelona in 1705.
[3] The brave Sir Roger Williams, in his Discourse on War, printed
in 1590, observes:--"I persuade myself ten thousand of our nation
would beat thirty thousand of theirs (the Spaniards) out of the
field, let them be chosen where they list." Yet at this time the
Spanish infantry was allowed to be the best disciplined in Europe.
For instances of valour displayed by the British Infantry during
the Seventy Years' War, see the Historical Record of the Third
Foot, or Buffs.
[4] Vide the Historical Record of the First, or Royal Regiment of
Foot.
[5] "Under the blessing of Divine Providence, His Majesty ascribes
the successes which have attended the exertions of his troops in
Egypt to that determined bravery which is inherent in Britons; but
His Majesty desires it may be most solemnly and forcibly impressed
on the consideration of every part of the army, that it has been a
strict observance of order, discipline, and military system, which
has given the full energy to the native valour of the troops, and
has enabled them proudly to assert the superiority of the national
military character, in situations uncommonly arduous, and under
circumstances of peculiar difficulty."--_General Orders in 1801._
In the General Orders issued by Lieut.-General Sir John Hope
(afterwards Lord Hopetoun), congratulating the army upon the
successful result of the Battle of Corunna, on the 16th of January,
1809, it is stated:--"On no occasion has the undaunted valour of
British troops ever been more manifest. At the termination of a
severe and harassing march, rendered necessary by the superiority
which the enemy had acquired, and which had materially impaired
the efficiency of the troops, many disadvantages were to be
encountered. These have all been surmounted by the conduct of the
troops themselves: and the enemy has been taught, that whatever
advantages of position or of numbers he may possess, there is
inherent in the British officers and soldiers a bravery that knows
not how to yield,--that no circumstances can appal,--and that will
ensure victory, when it is to be obtained by the exertion of any
human means."
THE TENTH,
OR
THE NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE,
REGIMENT OF FOOT,
BEARS ON ITS REGIMENTAL COLOUR
THE _SPHINX_, WITH THE WORD _EGYPT_;
AND THE WORDS
"PENINSULA" and "SOBRAON;"
IN COMMEMORATION OF ITS DISTINGUISHED SERVICES
IN _EGYPT_ IN THE YEAR 1801;
IN THE _PENINSULA_ FROM 1812 TO 1814;
AND
AT THE BATTLE OF _SOBRAON_ IN 1846.
CONTENTS.
YEAR PAGE
1685 Formation of the Regiment 1
---- Arms and Uniform 2
---- Station and Establishment 3
---- Earl of Bath, and other Officers appointed to
Commissions 4
1688 Declaration of the Regiment, and of the garrison
of Plymouth, in favour of King William III.
and the Protestant cause 5
1689 Six companies detached to Jersey and Guernsey 6
1690 Embarked for Flanders -
1691 Encamped at Anderlecht -
1692 Encamped at Halle 7
---- Battle of Steenkirk -
---- Engaged at Furnes and Dixmude 8
1693 The French lines at D'Otignies forced 9
---- Battle of Landen 10
1694 Encamped at Ghent --
1695 Attack on Fort Kenoque 11
---- Siege of Namur --
1696 Returned to England and occupied quarters in
London; afterwards in Suffolk and Essex 12
1697 Re-embarked for the Netherlands, and joined the
army at Brussels --
---- Treaty of Ryswick --
---- Returned to England --
1698 Proceeded to Ireland 13
1701 War renewed 13
---- Embarked for Holland, and reviewed at Breda by
King William III. --
---- Encamped at Rosendael --
1702 Decease of King William III., and accession of
Queen Anne --
---- March to Duchy of Cleves --
---- Arrival at Nimeguen 14
---- War declared against France --
---- Siege of Venloo --
---- -------- Ruremonde --
---- -------- Stevenswart --
---- -------- the Citadel of Liege --
1703 Proceeded to Maestricht 15
---- ------------ Tongres --
---- Siege of Huy --
---- -------- Limburg 16
---- Spanish Guelderland wrested from France --
---- Marched back to Holland --
1704 Proceeded from Holland to the Danube --
---- Joined the Imperial Army --
---- Battle of Schellenberg --
---- Crossed the Danube 17
---- Joined the Imperial Army under Prince Eugene
of Savoy 18
---- Battle of Blenheim --
---- Marshal Tallard and many officers and soldiers
made prisoners 19
---- Marched to Holland with prisoners --
1705 Attacks on Helixem, Neer-Winden, and Neer-Hespen 20
1706 Encamped at Tongres 22
---- Battle of Ramilies --
---- Surrender of Brussels, Ghent, and principal towns
of Brabant --
1706 Surrender of Ostend 23
---- Siege of Menin, on the River Lys --
---- Capture of Dendermond and Aeth --
1707 Encampment near the village of Waterloo 24
1708 Re-embarked for England to repel invasion by
the Pretender --
---- Returned to Flanders, landed at Ostend, and
proceeded to Ghent --
---- Re-taking of Ghent and Bruges by the French --
---- Battle of Oudenarde 25
---- Siege of Lisle --
---- Town of Ghent re-captured 26
1709 Siege and capture of Tournay 27
---- Battle of Malplaquet 28
---- Siege and surrender of Mons 29
---- Marched into winter-quarters at Ghent --
1710 Forcing the French lines at Pont-à-Vendin --
---- Siege and surrender of Douay 30
---- Attack and surrender of Bethune --
---- -------------------- of Aire and St. Venant 31
---- Proceeded to Courtray --
---- Winter-quarters at Courtray --
1711 Encamped at Warde and on the plains of Lens --
---- Forcing the lines at Arleux --
---- Siege of Bouchain 32
1712 Negociations for peace --
---- Duke of Ormond assumed the command of the army --
---- Surrender of Quesnoy --
---- British troops withdrawn to Ghent, and thence
to Dunkirk --
1713 Removed to Ghent 33
1714 ---------- Nieuport --
1715 Returned to England --
1722 Encamped on Salisbury Plain 34
---- Reviewed by King George I. and the Prince of Wales --
1723 Proceeded to Scotland --
1724 Returned to England --
1730 Embarked for Gibraltar --
1749 Returned to Ireland 35
1751 Colours and costume regulated by Royal Warrant --
1767 Embarked for North America 36
1768 Proceeded to Boston --
1775 Advanced to Concord and Lexington;--commencement
of American War 36
---- Returned to Boston --
---- Victory at Bunkers-Hill 38
1776 Evacuation of Boston 39
---- Returned to Nova Scotia 40
---- Attack and capture of Long Island --
---- Capture of New York --
---- ---------- White Plains --
---- ---------- Forts Washington and Lee 41
---- ---------- Rhode Island --
1777 Embarked for Philadelphia --
---- Attack at Brandywine Creek 42
---- March to Germantown --
---- Capture of Philadelphia --
---- ---------- Billing's-Point 43
---- Fight at Germantown --
---- Returned to Philadelphia --
---- Attack at Whitemarsh --
1778 Concentrated at New York --
---- Evacuation of Philadelphia --
---- Attack at Freehold in New Jersey 44
---- Returned to England 45
1783 Establishment reduced on termination of the
American War 45
---- Embarked for Ireland --
1786 ------------ Jamaica --
1795 Returned to England --
---- Embarked for West Indies 46
---- Disembarked on account of a storm, and casualties
at Sea --
1797 Proceeded to Portsmouth --
1798 Embarked for Madras --
1799 Removal to Bengal --
1800 Embarked for Egypt 47
1801 Landed at Cosseir --
---- Crossed the Desert of Arabia 48
---- Arrived at Kenna and Girgee in Upper Egypt --
---- Proceeded down the Nile to Rosetta, and El-Hamed 49
---- Surrender of Alexandria --
---- French Army evacuate Egypt --
---- Authorized to bear the _Sphinx_ with the word
"EGYPT" 50
1802 Encamped at Alexandria --
1803 Arrived at Malta --
1804 Removed to Gibraltar 51
---- Second Battalion added to the establishment, and
formed in Essex --
1806 Battle of Maida 53
1807 Embarked for Sicily --
1809 Proceeded on an expedition to Naples 54
---- Returned to Sicily 55
---- Second Battalion embarked for Walcheren --
---- Returned to England --
1810 Embarked for Gibraltar --
---- Proceeded to Malta 56
1811 Embarked for Sicily --
1812 First Battalion embarked for Spain 56
1813 Second Battalion proceeded against the Island
of _Ponzo_ 57
---- Returned to Sicily --
---- First Battalion--Battle of Castalla 58
---- Siege of Tarragona --
---- Proceeded to Balaguer 60
---- Accidental and destructive Fire --
---- Marched to Valls and thence to Vendrills 61
---- Blockade of Barcelona --
1814 Cessation of hostilities --
---- Arrived at Palermo 62
---- Second Battalion embarked from Sicily for Malta --
1815 Return of Napoleon Buonaparte to France --
---- First Battalion embarked for Naples --
---- Proceeded to Malta --
1816 Peace restored; the First and Second Battalions
incorporated 63
---- Authorised to bear the word "PENINSULA," on
the Colours and Appointments --
1817 Embarked for the Ionian Islands --
1819 Re-embarked for Malta --
1821 Embarked for England --
1823 Embarked for Ireland 64
1826 Embarked for Portugal 65
1828 Embarked for Corfu --
1837 Returned to Ireland 66
1839 Embarked for England --
1841 Proceeded to Scotland --
1842 Removed from Scotland --
---- Embarked for India 67
1845 Proceeded to Meerut --
1846 Joined the army on the Sutlej --
---- Battle of Sobraon 68
1846 Authorised to bear the word "SOBRAON," on
the Colours and Appointments 71
---- Occupation of Lahore 72
SUCCESSION OF COLONELS.
1685 John Earl of Bath 73
1688 Sir Charles Carney 74
---- Earl of Bath (_re-appointed_) --
1693 Sir Beville Granville 75
1703 Lord North and Grey --
1715 Henry Grove 76
1737 Francis Columbine 77
1746 James Lord Tyrawley --
1749 Edward Pole 78
1763 Edward Sandford 79
1781 Sir Robert Murray Keith, K.B. --
1795 Hon. Henry Edward Fox --
1811 Hon. Thomas Maitland 80
1824 Sir John Lambert, G.C.B. 81
1847 Sir Thomas McMahon, Bt. and K.C.B. 82
PLATES.
Original Costume of the Regiment _to face_ 1
At the Battle of Steenkirk " 7
Colours of the Regiment " 36
Costume of the Regiment 1848 " 72
APPENDIX.
Battles, Sieges, &c., from 1689 to 1697 83
--------------------- from 1702 to 1713 84
[Illustration:
TENTH FOOT
1685
For Cannon's Military Records.
]
HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE TENTH,
OR
THE NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE
REGIMENT OF FOOT.
[Sidenote: 1661 to 1684]
After the Restoration, when King Charles II. had disbanded the
army of the commonwealth, a small military force was embodied
under the title of "guards and garrisons;" one of the independent
companies of infantry incorporated for garrison duty was commanded
by that distinguished nobleman, JOHN, EARL OF BATH, who had evinced
fidelity and attachment to the royal cause in the rebellion in the
reign of King Charles I., and during the usurpations of Cromwell;
this company was stationed in the fortress of Plymouth, of which
the EARL OF BATH was governor, and it was the nucleus of the
regiment which forms the subject of this memoir.
[Sidenote: 1685]
In June, 1685, when JAMES, DUKE OF MONMOUTH, had landed in the West
of England, with a band of armed followers from the Netherlands,
and erected the standard of rebellion, commissions were issued,
by King James II., for raising eleven companies of foot, of one
hundred private soldiers each, which companies were united to the
Plymouth independent garrison company, and constituted a regiment,
of which the EARL OF BATH was appointed colonel, by commission
dated the 20th of June, 1685, and the corps thus formed now bears
the title of "THE TENTH REGIMENT OF FOOT."
These eleven companies were raised in Derbyshire and
Nottinghamshire; the town of Derby being the general rendezvous
of the corps; and they were raised under the authority of royal
warrants, bearing date the 20th of June, by the following
gentlemen, who evinced their loyalty by coming forward to the
support of the crown at that important crisis:--viz., Colonel,
JOHN, EARL OF BATH; Lieut.-Colonel, SIR NICHOLAS STANNINGS; Major,
SIR CHARLES CARNEY; Captains, MICHAEL BOURK, CHARLES POWELL, SIR
THOMAS WINDHAM, EDWARD SCOTT, BERNARD STRODE, JOHN SYDENHAM,
FRANCIS VIVIAN, and SYDNEY GODOLPHIN.
After the suppression of this rebellion, many newly raised corps
were disbanded, and the EARL OF BATH's regiment was reduced to ten
companies of fifty private soldiers each.
The regiment was armed with muskets and pikes; the uniform was
_blue_, coats lined with _red_, red waistcoats, breeches, and
stockings; round hats with broad brims, the brim turned up on one
side and ornamented with red ribands; the pikemen wore red worsted
sashes. This was the only infantry regiment clothed in blue coats;
the other corps wore red coats; red had been generally worn by the
English soldiers from the time of Queen Elizabeth; but several of
Cromwell's regiments were clothed in blue, and King Charles II.
clothed the royal regiment of horse guards in blue, and a regiment
of marines, raised in his reign, in yellow. A few years after the
revolution in 1688, the TENTH were clothed in red.
In August, 1685, the EARL OF BATH'S regiment marched from Derby to
Hounslow, and encamped upon the heath, where it was reviewed by
the King, and afterwards marched to Plymouth, to relieve the Queen
Dowager's regiment, now second foot.
[Sidenote: 1686]
The following statement of the numbers and rates of pay is copied
from the establishment of the army, under the sign manual, dated
the 1st of January, 1686.
+----------------------------------------------+---------------+
| The Earl of Bath's Regiment. | Pay per day. |
+----------------------------------------------+---------------+
| Staff. | £. _s. d._ |
| | |
| 1 Colonel, _as Colonel_ | 0 12 0 |
| 1 Lieut.-Colonel, _as Lieut.-Colonel_ | 0 7 0 |
| 1 Major, _as Major_ | 0 5 0 |
| 1 Chaplain | 0 6 8 |
| 1 Chirurgeon, iv_s._ 1 Mate, ii_s._ v_id._ | 0 6 6 |
| 1 Adjutant | 0 4 0 |
| 1 Quarter-Master and Marshal | 0 4 0 |
| +---------------+
| Total for Staff | 2 5 2 |
| +===============+
| The Colonel's Company. | |
| | |
| The Colonel, as Captain | 0 8 0 |
| 1 Lieutenant | 0 4 0 |
| 1 Ensign | 0 3 0 |
| 2 Serjeants, xviii_d._ each | 0 3 0 |
| 3 Corporals, i_s._ each | 0 3 0 |
| 1 Drummer | 0 1 0 |
| 50 Private Soldiers, at viii_d._ each | 1 13 4 |
| +---------------+
| Total for one Company | 2 15 4 |
| +---------------+
| Nine Companies more | 24 18 0 |
| +---------------+
| Total | 29 18 6 |
| | |
| Per Annum, £10,922 12_s._ 6_d._ | |
+----------------------------------------------+---------------+
Leaving Plymouth in March, 1686, the regiment occupied quarters at
Guildford and Godalming until the 24th of May, when it pitched
its tents on Hounslow-heath, where a numerous body of troops was
assembled for exercise and review. At this camp the regiment had
an independent company of grenadiers attached to it, and after the
reviews it marched into garrison at Portsmouth.
[Sidenote: 1687]
In 1687, the following officers were holding commissions in the
regiment:--
_Captains._ _Lieutenants._ _Ensigns._
Earl of Bath, (col.) Maurice Roch. James Mohun.
Sir Cha. Carney, (lt.-col.) John Prideaux. Richd. Nagle.
Sir Bev. Granville, (major) D. Bradshaw. Jas. Granville.
Sir Thomas Windham. Cha. Harbine. Jacob Breams.
Edward Scott. Richard Scott. James Steukly.
Sydney Godolphin. Wm. Morgan. Jno. Granville.
John, Lord Arundel. Thos. Trevanion. Edw. Chard.
Bernard Strode. Thos. Lamb. Thos. Cary.
Ranald Graham. John Long. Hercules Low.
John Sydenham. Hy. Hook. John Jacob.
John Granville. { Roger Elliott } Grenadier Co.
{ Roger Evans }
_Chaplain_, Thos. Nixon. _Adjutant_, R. Elliott.
_Chirurgeon_, James Yong. _Quarter-Master_, Jno. Freeman.
The regiment left Portsmouth, in April, 1687, for Winchester and
Taunton; in June, it once more pitched its tents on Hounslow-heath,
and in August marched into quarters in London. It did not remain
long in the metropolis: and after several changes of quarters it
was placed in garrison at Plymouth.
[Sidenote: 1688]
When King James II., who was a zealous Roman Catholic, pursued the
interests of papacy so far as to occasion much alarm among his
Protestant subjects, the EARL OF BATH stood aloof from the measures
of the Court, and he was one of the noblemen who communicated
privately with the PRINCE OF ORANGE, to whom the nation looked for
aid to oppose the arbitrary proceedings of the King. In November,
1688, when the Prince of Orange arrived with a Dutch armament, the
TENTH and Thirteenth regiments were in garrison at Plymouth,--the
TENTH occupying the citadel, and the two colonels were with their
regiments. The Earl of Bath was in the interest of the Prince of
Orange; but the Earl of Huntingdon adhered to King James: the
lieut.-colonel of the TENTH, Sir Charles Carney, was a steadfast
supporter of the Court, and the lieut.-colonel of the Thirteenth,
Ferdinando Hastings, was a warm advocate for the Prince of Orange;
thus the interest of the superior officers of the two regiments
was equally divided. It appeared doubtful, for some time, to which
party the garrison of Plymouth would devote itself; but eventually,
the Earl of Bath, being the senior officer and governor of the
fortress, ordered the Earl of Huntingdon to be arrested: he also
ordered four Roman Catholic officers of the Thirteenth,--viz.,
Captain Owen Macarty, Lieutenants William Rhodesby, Talbot
Lascelles, and Ensign Ambrose Jones, to be arrested; he then
declared for the Prince of Orange, and induced the two regiments to
engage in the same interest. The garrison having been settled in
the name of the Prince of Orange, the Earl of Huntingdon and the
Roman Catholic officers of his regiment were released.
The news of the loss of Plymouth, and of the two regiments having
declared for the Prince of Orange, together with similar events
taking place in other parts of the kingdom, proved to King James
that his soldiers would not fight against the Protestant religion
and the laws of the realm. His Majesty deprived the Earl of Bath
of his commissions, and appointed Lieut.-Colonel Sir Charles Carney
to the colonelcy of the TENTH foot by commission dated the 8th of
December. The regiment had, however, engaged in the interest of
the Prince of Orange, and this change in the colonel produced no
alteration in the sentiments of the regiment. King James fled to
France, and on the 31st of December the Prince restored the Earl of
Bath to the colonelcy.
[Sidenote: 1689]
The accession of the Prince and Princess of Orange to the throne
was followed by a civil war in Scotland and Ireland; but the TENTH
were intrusted with the charge of the citadel of Plymouth, and they
were not employed in the field in 1689 or 1690; they, however,
detached six companies to the islands of Jersey and Guernsey.
[Sidenote: 1690]
[Sidenote: 1691]
In 1690, the powerful efforts of the French monarch to reduce
the Spanish provinces in the Netherlands under his dominion,
occasioned the regiment to be called into active service. Embarking
from Jersey, Guernsey, and Plymouth, the TENTH foot, commanded
by Lieut.-Colonel Sir Beville Granville, nephew of the Earl of
Bath, sailed to Ostend, and landing at that port marched up the
country, and joined the army commanded by King William III. The
regiment enjoyed the confidence of the King to a great extent, and
on joining the army, it was ordered to pitch its tents near His
Majesty's quarters at Anderlecht. It was formed in brigade with
the seventh, sixteenth, and Fitzpatrick's (afterwards disbanded),
under Brigadier-General Churchill, and after taking part in several
movements, went into winter-quarters.
[Illustration:
_J. M. Jopling del^t._ _Madeley lith. 3 Wellington S^t. Strand._
TENTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.
AT THE BATTLE OF STEENKIRK, 3^{RD} AUG^T. 1692.
_For Cannon's Military Records._
]
[Sidenote: 1692]
Quitting its cantonments among the Flemish peasantry, in May, 1692,
the regiment again took the field, and was employed in several
operations. In the beginning of August it was encamped at Halle,
and, early on the morning of the 3rd of that month, it advanced
at the head of the main body of the confederate army to attack
the French in position at _Steenkirk_. After passing through some
narrow defiles among trees, the Third and TENTH foot halted at the
extremity of a wood, at the moment when the brigades forming the
van of the army were severely engaged with very superior numbers.
A short distance in front of the TENTH, and near the skirt of the
wood a little to the left, a regiment of Lunenburgers, commanded by
the Baron of Pibrack, was contending with two French battalions,
and was nearly overpowered; it was falling back, fighting, and in
some disorder; the French were gaining ground; and its colonel,
the Baron of Pibrack, lay dangerously wounded a few yards in front
of the muzzles of the enemy's muskets. Prince Casimir of Nassau
galloped up to the TENTH, and requested them to advance to the aid
of the Lunenburgers; when the regiment formed line, the pikemen
in the centre, and the musketeers and grenadiers on each flank,
and Lieut.-Colonel Sir Beville Granville led it forward with great
gallantry. At that moment the Lunenburgers were overpowered, and
the French were hurrying forward with shouts, and a heavy fire of
musketry, when suddenly the TENTH, conspicuous by their blue coats,
scarlet breeches and stockings, and three stand of scarlet colours
floating in the breeze, were seen issuing from among the trees in
firm array. So noble a line of combatants, separating itself from
the broken sections of the retreating Lunenburgers, startled the
enemy; the French artillery thundered against its flanks,--their
musketry smote it in front,--yet the regiment bore sternly forward
to close on its numerous enemies, when the French fell back. Two
serjeants of the TENTH sprang forward and rescued the Baron of
Pibrack, bearing him from among his enemies to the rear, and the
regiment pressed forward, without firing a shot, until it gained a
hollow way beyond the skirts of the wood, where it halted, and the
musketeers, taking sure aim over the bank, soon cleared the ground
in their front of opponents. Numerous narrow defiles and other
obstructions prevented the main body of the British infantry from
arriving in time to support the brigades in advance; King William
ordered a retreat, and Prince Casimir of Nassau arrived with orders
for the TENTH to withdraw from their post. The Prince highly
commended the conduct of the regiment on that, the first occasion
of its being engaged, and its bearing proved a presage of future
renown.
The regiment had a number of private soldiers killed and wounded;
also Captain Elliott, Lieutenants Thomas Granville and John
Granville, wounded.
Towards the end of August, the TENTH were detached from the main
army, and having joined a number of troops which had arrived
from England under Lieut.-General the Duke of Leinster, they
were employed in seizing and fortifying the towns of Furnes and
Dixmude. On the 22nd of September, as working parties of the
seventh and TENTH foot were enlarging the ditch of a bastion, they
found a quantity of hidden treasure, consisting of old French
coins, amounting to nearly five hundred pounds sterling, supposed
(according to D'Auvergne's history of the campaign of 1692) to have
been concealed there during the civil war in Flanders towards the
close of the preceding century.
In the middle of October, the regiment marched to Damme, a little
strong town, situated between Bruges and Sluys, where it passed the
winter.
[Sidenote: 1693]
The TENTH regiment of foot appears in the list of troops under
King William III., at Parck camp near Louvain, in June, 1693, and
they were ordered to pitch their tents in the fields adjoining
the defiles of Berbeck, to guard that avenue to the camp. While
the army was at this place, several skirmishes occurred; but the
only loss sustained by the TENTH was on the 25th of June, when
an outpost of a serjeant's party, covering a number of horses at
grass, was attacked, and three men were severely wounded.