cantonments at Leomel, and joined in the general advance of the army
into Spain, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Macpherson.
In the course of the march an accident occurred both annoying and
prejudicial to the regiment. In order to facilitate the movements
of the army, to render the column of march less encumbered, and to
lessen the fatigue of the troops, it was customary, when not in
the presence of the enemy, to proceed either by brigades or single
corps: Major-General Sir Thomas Brisbane’s brigade, of which the
EIGHTY-EIGHTH formed part, moved by regiments. The EIGHTY-EIGHTH,
on the route from Leomel to St. Jean de Pasquera, arrived at a spot
where the road branched off in different directions, one leading to
its proper point of destination, the other descending into the steep
and precipitous country which forms the left bank of the Douro. By
some unaccountable ignorance or misconception on the part of its
guide, the regiment took the wrong road, and after struggling for
some time through a series of rugged defiles, found itself at a
late hour in the evening embedded in the mountains, and as distant
from St. Jean de Pasquera as it had been when starting from its
cantonments at Leomel. Some men died of the heat and fatigue, but the
_esprit de corps_ sustained the regiment through the long and severe
forced march, across a country deeply intersected with ravines,
thickly covered with gum cistus, and traversable only by goat-paths,
by which it rejoined its division.
On the 27th of May the regiment entered Spain, and on the 20th of
June, it was posted near the river Bayas, when dispositions were
made for attacking the enemy in his position in front of Vittoria.
The troops were under arms an hour before daylight on the 21st,
and the third and seventh divisions were destined to attack the
enemy’s centre; but the French, having weakened their centre to
support their flanks, which were first attacked, the centre column
of the allied army did not meet with serious opposition. In front
of the EIGHTY-EIGHTH the enemy occupied a hill of considerable
elevation, from which he was forced by that regiment, while the
Forty-Fifth and Seventy-Fourth made flank movements round its
base, the French retiring to a second hill in the rear of their
former position. The EIGHTY-EIGHTH, which had hitherto been in
column, now deployed into line, and notwithstanding a heavy fire
of musketry and artillery, continued to advance, till the enemy
having rallied and brought up fresh troops, there was momentary
halt by order of Sir Thomas Brisbane, who commanded the brigade. At
this instant Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton coming up, and
feeling displeased at the halt, made use of some harsh expressions
to the EIGHTY-EIGHTH as the leading corps, which led to an immediate
explanation from Sir Thomas Brisbane, when the regiment again moved
forward and headed the brigade in the attack upon the town of
Vittoria. During the day the EIGHTY-EIGHTH charged several times, but
the enemy never waited to receive them, and it was generally observed
among the soldiers, that so far as this regiment was concerned, King
Joseph’s army at Vittoria proved decidedly the worst fighting army
they had encountered.
The loss of the regiment at Vittoria was one officer, Ensign
Saunders, and thirty rank and file killed; four officers, Captain
M‘Dermott, and Lieutenants Flood, Fitzpatrick, and Faris; two
serjeants, and one hundred and ninety-five rank and file wounded; in
all, two hundred and thirty-two.
The expressions used by Sir Thomas Picton became afterwards the
subject of remonstrance, and even of a memorial to the Duke of
Wellington. The result was that, after due explanations, a letter
satisfactory to the regiment was addressed by Sir Thomas Picton
to Sir Thomas Brisbane, as Commander of the brigade, declaring
that, after the many instances of gallantry he had witnessed in
the EIGHTY-EIGHTH, it could never have been his intention to cast
any reflections on that corps, by words uttered in a moment of
irritation, and adding, that his divisional order after the battle
should be received as a sufficient proof of this. The following is an
extract of that order:—
“_Division Orders, 23rd June, 1813._
“Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton congratulates Major-General
the Honourable Sir C. Colville, Major-General Brisbane, and
Major-General Power, upon the conspicuous services rendered by the
brigades under their several commands towards the brilliant success
of the 21st of June instant. He requests to assure the commanding
officers, officers, non-commissioned officers and men of their
corps and regiments, that their conduct did not fail to excite his
warm admiration, and to increase the confidence he has always felt
in the command of the third division,” &c.
On the 28th of July, two companies of the EIGHTY-EIGHTH had an
opportunity of earning distinction for themselves and their corps
under the immediate eye of the whole third division, as well as of a
strong and select body of the French. The attempt of Marshal Soult
to raise the siege of Pampeluna, which had been invested by the Duke
of Wellington’s army shortly after the battle of Vittoria, and the
series of actions which took place between the covering army and that
of Soult in the passes of the Pyrenees between the 25th and 30th of
July, which ended in the complete repulse of the French, gave rise
to the display of British valour with a splendour never exceeded in
the annals of war. The allied army was posted immediately in front
of Pampeluna, the right in front of the village of Huarte, the
third division being to the right, and those of Lieutenant-General
Cole, and Major-General the Honourable E. Pakenham, together with
the Spaniards, to the left. The main efforts of Soult during the
day were directed against the allied left, but about five in the
afternoon, some of his tirailleurs were pushed forward as if to
feel the countenance of the third division, and ascertain whether
its position would be seriously defended or not. The light company
of the EIGHTY-EIGHTH, commanded by Captain Robert Nickle (late
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Thirty-Sixth Foot) was ordered to drive
them back, which it speedily accomplished: a select body of French,
headed by an officer of the staff, who had volunteered for that
service, now advanced to support the repulsed tirailleurs, and two
battalion companies of the EIGHTY-EIGHTH hurried to the assistance
of their comrades. The skirmish, fought in sight of the two armies,
took almost the type of a national trial of skill and courage; the
French rushed forward with their characteristic impetuosity, shouting
“Vive l’Empereur;” the CONNAUGHT RANGERS, accompanied by the cheers
of their division, met them with the bayonet, and overthrew them
at the first onset. The French commanding officer was left on the
field mortally wounded; Captain Nickle, as soon as the conflict was
decided, went up to render any assistance in his power to his fallen
antagonist, and, finding him already dead, tied his handkerchief on
the point of his sabre, and waving it towards the retreating French,
beckoned to them to return for the body of their officer, which they
did, and carried him off to render the last honours to his remains.
During the movements of the succeeding day, when the allied army
resumed the offensive, a heavy column of French infantry was routed
by Major-General Brisbane’s brigade, and the greater part made
prisoners by the Forty-Fifth, Seventy-Fourth, and EIGHTY-EIGHTH.
After this the third division re-occupied the pass of Roncesvalles,
where it remained till the 8th of August, when Major-General
Brisbane’s brigade was relieved by Colonel Downie’s brigade of
Spaniards, and proceeded by the valley of Los Alduides to the pass of
Maya.
On the 31st of August the whole of the third division crossed the
frontiers of France, and Major-General Brisbane’s brigade occupied
the pass of Echalar, replacing there the Seventh division, which had
proceeded to reinforce the troops before St. Sebastian; on the 4th,
however, it returned to the pass of Maya, and on the 15th resumed
its old position near the village of Erisoun, and remained in the
valley of Bastan till the 7th of October, when, in consequence of the
left of the army having crossed the Bidassoa and entered France, the
EIGHTY-EIGHTH and the rest of the division moved to the village of
Zagarramundi to the right and in front of the pass of Echalar.
During this interval (9th of September, 1813) Lieutenant-Colonel
Taylor joined the regiment, and superseded Lieutenant-Colonel
Macpherson in the command.
The colours of the EIGHTY-EIGHTH bear testimony that it had its share
on the 10th of November, in the storming of the formidable lines
which the French had erected on the river _Nivelle_, and in the
various actions which took place on the banks of the _Nive_, between
the 9th and 13th of December; but on neither of these occasions had
it the good fortune to come into actual contact with the enemy. On
the 17th of December it went into cantonments in the village of
Urcuray, situated on the high road leading from Bayonne to St. Jean
Pied de Port, and the adjacent hamlets, where it remained till the
army again moved forward in February following.
[Sidenote: 1814]
In the battle of _Orthes_, 28th of February 1814, the third division
was directed to attack the heights on which the enemy’s centre and
left stood, and the EIGHTY-EIGHTH had once more an opportunity of
distinguishing itself, when its loss was more severe than on any
other occasion, except the siege of Badajoz. The Fifty-Second led the
attack; the EIGHTY-EIGHTH advanced on the right; the heights were
carried, and the regiment advancing in pursuit, its left flank was
charged by a body of French cavalry, which it entirely overthrew,
killing, wounding, or taking prisoners the whole detachment, which
was hemmed in in a narrow road, and precluded from all retreat. In
this battle, Captain Oates’s conduct was particularly noticed, and
procured for him the Brevet rank of Major in the army. The loss of
the battalion was three officers, Captain M‘Dermott, Lieutenant
Moriarty, and Ensign Reynolds, five Serjeants and thirty-six Rank and
File killed; and eleven Officers, Lieutenant-Colonel Taylor, Captains
Oates and Bunworth, Lieutenants Fitzpatrick, Davern, Faris, Creswell,
Holland, and Stewart, Ensign M‘Intosh, Ensign and Adjutant Mitchell,
thirteen Serjeants, and two hundred and one Rank and File wounded.
Total, two hundred and seventy-seven.
After this severe action the regiment was placed in cantonments until
the 13th of March, when it again took the field, and was present on
the 4th of April, at the battle of _Toulouse_. Although only three
companies of the regiment were engaged on this occasion, they had
the good fortune to perform a critical and important service, in
supporting the Forty-Fifth and Seventy-Fourth when engaged with
very unequal numbers of the enemy. The Light Infantry Company, in
particular, suffered, and its Captain, R. Nickle, was severely
wounded: the loss of the three companies in killed, was equal to
that of the whole battalion at Vittoria, amounting to one Serjeant
and twenty-nine Men; the wounded were Captain Nickle and Lieutenant
Poole, one Serjeant, and fifty-three Rank and File.
The Serjeant who fell at Toulouse, was much regretted by the whole
corps; his name was Thorpe, and he was Serjeant-Major of the
battalion. He had been originally Drum-Major, in which capacity he
was present at the battle of Busaco: on that occasion, when ordered
with the band and drummers, to the rear, he entreated his commanding
officer to allow him to join his company, and having obtained
permission he fell into the ranks, behaving with the utmost gallantry
throughout that memorable day. This, and other instances of his
courage, induced Lieutenant-Colonel Wallace to consider him qualified
for a higher situation, and to remove him from the band into the
line. He had for some time been recommended for a commission, to
which the Gazette which arrived from England a few days after his
death, contained his appointment.
The peace of Paris in 1814, having put an end to the war on the
Continent, the EIGHTY-EIGHTH Regiment was among the corps ordered
to proceed to America, where hostilities were still raging. It
embarked in the Gironde on the 15th of June, under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel Macpherson, and, without returning to England,
sailed direct to Quebec, where it arrived on the 3rd of August
following. The unfortunate failure of the combined military and naval
operations on Lake Champlain and at Plattsburgh put a stop to active
hostilities in Canada, and the EIGHTY-EIGHTH had only one opportunity
of coming into contact with the enemy, viz., at the passage of
the Savannah, where the light company, under Captain Nickle,
distinguished itself.
If, however, the period of its stay in Canada was barren of laurels
to the EIGHTY-EIGHTH, it gave the regiment an opportunity of
displaying qualities which, if not so dazzling and brilliant, are
equally valuable in, and honourable to the soldier, namely, firm
discipline and unshakeable fidelity to his king, his country, and his
colours. The extent to which desertion prevailed amongst the British
troops in America, is unhappily but too well known; but although the
EIGHTY-EIGHTH was stationed on the banks of the river Richelieu,
within a few hours’ sail of the province of Vermont; although the
men were considerably in debt to their officers, and under stoppages
to pay off an incumbrance, of which desertion would at once have
relieved them; although tempting rewards awaited such as should reach
the American territory, which could be done without the slightest
risk; although American ships were daily arriving and departing, and
the facilities were such that, if so disposed, the whole battalion
might have deserted in a night, the EIGHTY-EIGHTH _did not lose one
man by desertion_, during the whole eleven months that it remained
in Canada!!
[Sidenote: 1815]
This honourable conduct of the men of the EIGHTY-EIGHTH did not go
unnoticed or unrewarded; their reward was exemption from the painful
duty of being present when the extreme sentence of martial law was
executed upon deserters from other regiments. The following is a copy
of the brigade order on one occasion of the kind, more than nine
months after the arrival of the regiment in America.
“_St. John’s, May 19, 1815._
“No men having deserted from Major Green’s artillery, or from the
EIGHTY-EIGHTH regiment, they will not be required to attend at
Chambly for the purpose of witnessing the execution of the sentence
of a General Court Martial on several deserters.”
The subject was again honourably adverted to by Major-General
Brisbane, in a letter addressed to the regiment in Brigade Orders,
when, in consequence of the escape of Napoleon from Elba, and the
prospect of renewed and active warfare in Europe, it had been ordered
to return to England.
“B. O.
“Major-General Sir Thomas Brisbane was much pleased this day with
the general appearance and movements of the EIGHTY-EIGHTH Regiment.
He cannot refrain from expressing how much, and how sincerely he
regrets losing a regiment with which he has so long served, and
which has conducted itself so creditably since its arrival in this
country; but he confidently looks forward to have it again in his
brigade. The circumstance of the regiment _never having lost a
man by desertion_ is highly honourable to it, and can never be
forgotten by the Major-General.
(Signed) “J. CAMPBELL,
“Brigade-Major.
“_St. John’s, May 26, 1815._”
On the 29th of May the regiment marched from St. John’s, reached
William Henry on the 1st of June, where it embarked in small craft,
and arrived at Trois Rivieres on the 4th. At Trois Rivieres it was
shifted into transports, reached Quebec on the 8th, sailed again on
the 10th, and arrived at Spithead on the 15th of July.
The battle of Waterloo had decided the contest in Europe before the
arrival of the EIGHTY-EIGHTH; nevertheless the regiment was ordered
to proceed, without disembarking, to Flanders. After two days’ stay,
therefore, at Spithead, it sailed again on the 17th, and landed at
Ostend on the 21st of July. From thence it proceeded towards Paris,
and on the 12th of August took up its quarters at St. Denis, and was
once more attached to Sir Thomas Brisbane’s brigade. In December
following it was removed to that of Sir John Keane, on which occasion
Major-General Brisbane caused the following letter to be addressed to
Colonel Wallace, who had again taken command of the regiment.
“_Paris, Dec. 17, 1815._
“SIR,
“I am directed by Major-General Sir T. Brisbane to express to
you, and to request that you will communicate to the regiment
under your command, the very sincere regret he feels in losing the
EIGHTY-EIGHTH regiment from his brigade: but he begs to assure
them that his best wishes accompany them, and he will always be
happy to have again under his command a regiment that was surpassed
by none, either for gallantry in the field, or orderly conduct in
quarters, during the seven years they have been with him.
“I have, &c.
“J. CAMPBELL,
“Brigade-Major.
“_To_ COLONEL WALLACE,
_Commanding the Eighty-Eighth Regiment_.”
[Sidenote: 1816]
[Sidenote: 1817]
From January, 1816, to the end of the spring, 1817, the EIGHTY-EIGHTH
was in garrison at Valenciennes, when it returned to Great Britain,
and was quartered in Edinburgh about two years. Some time after its
arrival in Scotland, a letter was received from Lieutenant-General
the Honourable Sir Charles Colville, who had frequently had it
under his command, as part of the third division, in the Peninsula,
and more recently during its stay at Valenciennes, “expressing
his hearty wish for the honour and well-being of the regiment in
whatever situation it may be placed, and requesting the Officers,
Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates, to accept his thanks for the
ready attention paid to his orders during the period the regiment was
under his command.”
* * * * *
[Sidenote: 1818]
During the period of repose at Edinburgh, it occurred to Colonel
Wallace to establish an _Order of Merit_ in the regiment, by
conferring some honorary mark of distinction on the non-commissioned
officers and privates, proportioned to their regimental character,
length of service, and the number of general engagements in which
they had been present. This was, however, a design which could not
be carried into execution without the consent and approbation of
the Commander-in-Chief, which Colonel Wallace applied for in the
following letter:—
“_Edinburgh Castle, June 4, 1818._
“SIR,
“I have the honour to state, that some of the non-commissioned
officers and soldiers of the EIGHTY-EIGHTH Regiment have served in
twelve different general actions, and have been two, three, and
four times wounded, have been a long time in the regiment, and
always conducted themselves well in the field and in quarters. I am
anxious to bestow upon them some mark of distinction for their good
conduct, as an encouragement to them and others in future.
“I shall be much obliged to you if you will obtain His Royal
Highness the Commander-in-Chief’s permission for me to give such
men medals as a testimony of their merit.
“I have, &c.,
“J. A. WALLACE,
“Colonel Commanding.
“_To the Adjutant-General._”
The answer of the Commander-in-Chief, communicated in a letter
from Sir Henry Torrens, dated 28th of the same month, sanctioned
Colonel Wallace’s plan, leaving it to his “discretion to grant such
testimonials in the case alluded to, as he might deem essential
to the good of the regiment.” The proper authority thus obtained,
Colonel Wallace’s intentions were carried into effect without delay.
Silver medals of three distinct classes were struck at the expense
of the officers of the regiment. The first class was bestowed on men
who had been present in twelve general actions, and consisted of a
Maltese cross on which the names of the twelve actions were stamped.
The second class was given to those who had served in from six to
eleven general actions, and the third to such as had served in any
number less than six. The name of the man to whom it was given was
engraved on each medal. The total number distributed was,—
Serjeants, Corporals, Drummers, Privates.
First Class, 13 6 6 45
Second Class, 7 9 3 126
Third Class, 19 10 3 185
—— —— —— ———
39 25 12 356
[Sidenote: 1819]
On the 11th of March, 1819, Lieutenant-General Sir Gordon Drummond,
G.C.B., was appointed Colonel of the Regiment, in succession to
Lieut.-Gen. Viscount Beresford, who was removed to the Sixty-Ninth
Regiment.
In the summer of 1819, the EIGHTY-EIGHTH moved from Edinburgh to
Hull, sending detachments to Manchester and Stockport. In August
of the same year, Colonel Wallace, after more than fourteen years’
service with the regiment, was promoted to the rank of Major-General,
and was succeeded in the command by Lieutenant-Colonel James Ferguson.
During the time the regiment was quartered at Hull, the manufacturing
districts of England were in a high state of discontent, and
attempts were made to circulate inflammatory publications amongst
the military. Private James Tracy, of the EIGHTY-EIGHTH, being
tampered with for this purpose, received the papers, but, instead of
distributing them amongst his comrades, instantly gave them up to his
commanding officer, Major Nickle, furnishing, at the same time, such
information as led to the apprehension and conviction of the man from
whom he had received them. For this conduct Tracy received a liberal
reward, as well as the approbation of Lieutenant-General Sir John
Byng, commanding the district, which was conveyed to him through a
letter to Colonel Ferguson.
[Sidenote: 1821]
[Sidenote: 1822]
[Sidenote: 1823]
From Hull the EIGHTY-EIGHTH removed to Chester, and from thence, in
the summer of 1821, to Liverpool, where it embarked for Ireland,
landed at Dublin, and proceeded to Enniskillen, where it took up its
head-quarters, furnishing sixteen officers’ detachments. In July,
1822, it moved from Enniskillen to Castlebar in Connaught, where
it remained, again furnishing fifteen officers’ detachments, till
December, 1823, when it marched to barracks at Naas. On quitting
Castlebar it received a very flattering address from the magistrates
and resident gentlemen of the town and neighbourhood.
[Sidenote: 1824]
On the 16th of January, 1824, Lieutenant-General Sir Gordon Drummond
was removed to the Seventy-First regiment, and the Colonelcy of
the EIGHTY-EIGHTH was conferred upon Lieutenant-General Sir Henry
Frederick Campbell, K.C.B., G.C.H.
[Sidenote: 1825]
It was February, 1825, before the last detachment joined from
Connaught, when the regiment, once more united, removed to Dublin,
occupying first the Richmond, and subsequently the Royal barracks.
While the EIGHTY-EIGHTH remained in Dublin, orders were issued
for increasing the establishments of regiments from eight to ten
companies. The zealous exertions of Lieutenant-Colonel Ferguson,
aided by the high popularity the corps enjoyed, enabled the
EIGHTY-EIGHTH to complete its numbers in little more than six
weeks, and to be the first regiment reported as complete to the
Commander-in-Chief, a circumstance honourably noticed in a letter
from the Adjutant-General of the Forces to Major-General Sir
Colquhoun Grant, then commanding the garrison of Dublin, under date
of 20th of June, 1825. “I have it in command,” says the letter of
the Adjutant-General, “to express His Royal Highness’s approbation of
the zeal manifested by Lieutenant-Colonel Ferguson, the commanding
officer, in thus rapidly raising the augmentation, and which being
the first instance of completion yet reported, is most creditable to
that officer, and the corps under his command.”
In the latter part of the summer of 1825, the regiment removed
to Templemore, furnishing fourteen detachments in the counties
of Tipperary and Limerick. Here Lieutenant-Colonel O’Malley
joined on the 10th of August, and took the command in place of
Lieutenant-Colonel Ferguson, who had been removed to the Fifty-Second
Regiment. In September it received orders for the Mediterranean,
embarked by divisions at Cork on the 7th and 21st of October and 12th
of December, 1825, and proceeded to Corfu, where the last division
arrived on the 27th of January, 1826.
[Sidenote: 1828]