THE NINTH BATTALION.
This Battalion of the Royal Artillery was formed in an eventful year.
Whether we regard it from a political or a purely military point of
view, the year 1806 had an important influence on those which followed
it.
The previous year, the year of Austerlitz, had witnessed the collapse of
Pitt’s coalition against Napoleon, and the consequent isolation of
England. But it was also the year of Trafalgar; and left England still
mistress of the seas.
With 1806 came the Battle of Jena, Napoleon’s triumphal entry into
Berlin, and the issue of his famous declaration against English
commerce, which, if obeyed to the letter, would have put England
virtually in a state of blockade. It was a critical year for a country
whose commerce was her very life-blood; and in this very year, those who
had so long steered the ship of the State, William Pitt and Charles
James Fox, were removed by death. But the country took up the gauntlet
thrown down by Napoleon, and from this year conducted with sternness and
determination a war which, from being one of _resistance_, became one
for _existence_ as well.
It was a year, too, which should be remembered fondly in the annals of
the British Army--the year of the Battle of Maida, described in the last
chapter, where the gallantry of the British troops against Napoleon’s
tried legions obtained a victory, which had a moral influence both in
England and on the Continent, which is perhaps rarely realised now.
Grasping the importance of the situation, and greatly assisted by the
ease of obtaining recruits, the Board of Ordnance resolved on an
augmentation of the Royal Artillery to the extent of yet another
battalion. The strength of the Regiment, and its periodical increase
and decrease, are ascertainable from a return which used to be furnished
annually to the Board, called the “Wear and Tear of the Regiment for the
year ending,” &c. From this return it would appear that during the year
1805, the number of gunner-recruits who joined the Horse Artillery and
Marching Battalions was no less than 2574. But the _wear and tear_ by
death, transfer, desertion, &c., during the same period was 1017, so
that the net increase was 1557; the Regiment rising from 10,203, at
which it stood on 1st January, 1805, to 11,760, its strength on the 31st
December in the same year. During the same period the Corps of Royal
Artillery Drivers, and Drivers attached to the Horse Brigade, had
received 489 recruits, and, allowing for the wear and tear during the
year, had increased from 4897 to 4986 of all ranks, excluding officers.
It is hardly possible that this large increase to the establishment had
been allowed by the Board without a motive; and it may indeed be assumed
with tolerable certainty that the formation of the 9th Battalion had
been to some extent contemplated during Napoleon’s successes in 1805.
This impression is confirmed by reference to the returns for the year
1806, which show that the increase to the Regiment during that year was
only half what had taken place during the year preceding.
The increase which had been permitted during the year 1805 proved to be
greater than was necessary for the wants of the new Battalion; and the
establishment of the Regiment was found on the 1st May, 1806, to have
been exceeded by over 400 men. This excess, however, was soon swallowed
up by the year’s wear and tear, which in 1806 amounted to 874 men.
The promotions consequent on the formation of the new Battalion were
gazetted on 22nd May, 1806, and Major-General Thomas Blomefield was
appointed Colonel-Commandant. The record-book of the Battalion, like
that of the 8th, has been lost since the introduction of the Brigade
system. It was permitted to accompany the head-quarters of the 9th
Brigade, and during their frequent changes of station it has been
mislaid--offering another argument, if one were needed, in favour of the
centralization of all military records. As in the case of the 8th
Battalion, so in [Sidenote: Lieut. J. Ritchie, Staff-Officer Coast
Brigade, R.A.] the present instance the Regiment is indebted to an
officer at Head-quarters for the following facts connected with the
companies prior to 1850. Their present designations, and the stations in
which they served, have been given, and the succession of Captains down
to a certain date. The war services of some companies will be found
mentioned in the succeeding narrative, and the tables will be completed,
should the compilation of the separate work on the Crimea be at some
future time accomplished.
No. 1 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION,
Now “G” BATTERY, 9th BRIGADE, R.A.
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List of Captains down to 1850. |Stations on which the Company has served.
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1806 Captain J. S. Robison |1806 Woolwich.
1808 ” J. T. Cowper. |1807 Ireland.
1819 ” W. D. Nicolls. |1816 Jamaica.
1833 ” G. Durnford. |1825 Woolwich.
1842 ” R. B. Rawnsley. |1827 Ireland.
1845 ” H. G. Teesdale. |1833 Woolwich.
1846 ” R. M. Poulden. |1833 Gibraltar.
1846 ” A. J. Taylor. |1842 Woolwich.
1850 ” T. Elwyn. |1843 Ireland.
|1846 Woolwich.
|1847 Barbadoes.
No. 2 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION,
Now “E” BATTERY, 8th BRIGADE, R.A.
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List of Captains who have commanded|List of Stations where the Company has
down to 1846. | served down to 1850.
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1806 Captain J. Smith. |1806 Woolwich.
1807 ” J. W. Tobin. |1807 Ireland.
1814 ” S. Bolton. |1815 Holland and France.
1815 ” W. Clibborn. |1816 Woolwich.
1819 ” C. Wilkinson. |1822 Barbadoes.
1825 ” T. Dyneley. |1828 Woolwich.
1825 ” J. Darby. |1831 Scotland.
1827 ” C. Cruttenden. |1835 Woolwich.
1827 ” P. W. Walker. |1836 Gibraltar.
1840 ” R. Clarke. |1845 Woolwich.
1846 ” C. V. Cockburn. |1847 Guernsey.
|1849 Woolwich.
|1850 Jamaica.
No. 3 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION,
Afterwards “8” Battery, 11th Brigade; then “7” Battery, 14th Brigade;
then “G” Battery, 14th Brigade;
Now “B” BATTERY, 14th BRIGADE, R.A.
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Names of Captains down to 1843. |Stations on which the Company served
| down to 1847.
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1806 Captain J. M. Close. |1806 Woolwich.
1819 ” H. Pierce. |1807 Plymouth.
1824 ” H. A. Scott. |1810 Ireland.
1836 ” T. G. Higgins. |1816 Jamaica.
1842 ” F. Holcombe. |1825 Woolwich.
1843 ” J. Tylden. |1828 Ireland.
|1833 Gibraltar.
|1842 Woolwich.
|1844 Ireland.
|1847 Woolwich.
|1847 Barbadoes.
No. 4 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION,
Now “6” BATTERY, 12th BRIGADE, R.A.
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Captains who have commanded the Company|Stations on which the Company has served
to 1846. | to 1848.
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1806 Captain H. Crawford. |1806 Woolwich.
1807 ” W. Lloyd. |1808 Canterbury.
1808 ” N. W. Oliver. |1809 Walcheren.
1810 ” S. Maxwell. |1809 Canterbury.
1812 ” J. Hawker. |1813 Holland.
1814 ” C. G. Alms. |1815 France.
1819 ” P. J. Hughes. |1816 Woolwich.
1825 ” W. B. Dundas. |1819 Ireland.
1833 ” C. Cruttenden. |1825 Jamaica.
1838 ” G. T. Rowland. |1830 Woolwich.
1846 ” G. Innes. |1833 Newcastle, Leeds, &c.
|1838 Woolwich.
|1840 Jamaica.
|1846 Woolwich.
|1848 Ireland.
No. 5 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION,
Now “2” BATTERY, 3rd BRIGADE, R.A.
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Captains who have commanded the Company|Stations on which the Company has served
to 1846. | to 1849.
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1806 Captain J. May. |1806 Woolwich.
1807 ” J. W. Tobin. |1809 Chatham.
1807 ” J. W. Smith. |1809 Chatham.
1809 ” H. Stone. |1809 Walcheren.
1813 ” J. Michell. |1809 Chatham.
1830 ” M. Louis. |1811 Portsmouth.
1837 ” C. Otway. |1812 Peninsula and France.
1837 ” R. Palmer. |1814 America.
1846 ” W. H. Forbes. |1815 Holland and France.
|1816 Woolwich.
|1819 Weedon.
|1824 Woolwich.
|1824 Jamaica.
|1830 Woolwich.
|1834 Ireland.
|1840 Woolwich.
|1841 Mauritius.
|1849 Woolwich.
No. 6 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION,
_Reduced 28th February, 1819._
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Names of Captains. |Stations on which the Company served.
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1806 Captain F. Griffiths. |1806 Woolwich.
1808 ” P. J. Hughes. |1808 Battle.
|1810 Cadiz.
|1814 Woolwich.
|1816 Plymouth.
No. 7 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION.
This Company became No. 6 Company on March 1st, 1819; was called No. 8
Battery, 14th Brigade, on July 1st, 1859; its designation was again
altered on January 1st, 1860, to No. 8 Battery, 13th Brigade; and on the
1st October, 1862, it became, what it now is,
“C” BATTERY, 14th BRIGADE, R.A.
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Names of Captains who commanded it|Stations on which the Battery has served
down to 1848. | down to 1849.
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1806 Captain B. Macdonald. |1806 Woolwich.
1806 ” H. F. Holcombe. |1808 Chatham.
1807 ” G. Massey. |1809 Walcheren.
1812 ” J. E. Jones. |1809 Canterbury.
1828 ” J. E. G. Parker. |1810 Dover.
1833 ” R. Heron. |1814 Halifax, N.S.
1841 ” R. L. Garstin. |1826 Woolwich.
1848 ” C. R. Wynne. |1829 Ireland.
|1834 Gibraltar.
|1843 Woolwich.
|1845 Devonport.
|1848 Woolwich.
|1849 Corfu.
No. 8 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION.
_Reduced on 28th February, 1819._
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Name of Captain who commanded it. |Names of Stations on which the Company
| served down to 1819.
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1806 Captain A. Munro. |1806 Woolwich.
|1807 Chatham.
|1808 Canterbury.
|1809 Walcheren.
|1809 Canterbury.
|1812 Shorncliffe.
|1814 Portsmouth.
|1814 America.
|1815 Brussels.
|1816 Canterbury.
|1816 Shorncliffe.
|1816 Dover.
|1819 Woolwich.
No. 9 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION.
This Company became No 7 Company on 1st March, 1819; and No. 8 Battery,
10th Brigade, on the 1st July, 1859. It was reduced on 1st February,
1871.
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Names of Captains who commanded it|Stations on which the Company served
down to 1850. | down to 1846.
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1806 Captain J. P. Cockburn. |1806 Woolwich.
1806 ” J. F. Ogilvie. |1808 Chatham.
1807 ” J. S. Sinclair. |1809 Portsmouth.
1808 ” T. J. Forbes. |1810 Ireland.
1823 ” C. Mosse. |1817 Barbadoes.
1831 ” W. Greene. |1827 Woolwich.
1834 ” C. Dalton. |1829 Devonport.
1834 ” J. C. Petley. |1833 Woolwich.
1837 ” A. Wright. |1834 Jamaica.
1840 ” F. Warde. |1841 Woolwich.
1842 ” B. Cuppage. |1843 Devonport.
1849 ” T. de Winton. |1845 Woolwich.
1850 ” A. T. Phillpotts. |1846 Gibraltar.
No. 10 COMPANY, 9th BATTALION.
This Company became No. 8 Company, 9th Battalion, on 1st March, 1819;
and on the introduction of the Brigade system, in 1859, it became No. 5
Battery, 9th Brigade, or, as now called,
“E” BATTERY, 9th BRIGADE, R.A.
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Names of Captains who commanded it|Names of Stations on which it served
down to 1842. | down to 1842.
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1806 Captain J. Chamberlayne. |1806 Woolwich.
1810 ” R. Douglas. |1808 Chatham.
1814 ” G. Turner. |1809 Walcheren.
1820 ” A. Bredin. |1809 Chatham.
1823 ” W. Clibborn. |1810 Woolwich.
1834 ” A. B. Rawnsley. |1810 Exeter.
1837 ” A. O. W. Schalch. |1811 Plymouth.
1841 ” R. R. Drew. |1812 Peninsula and France.
1842 ” W. L. Kaye. |1814 Canada.
|1824 Woolwich.
|1827 Ireland.
|1831 West Indies.
|1837 Woolwich.
|1842 Ireland.