grenadiers, supported by a large body of Spaniards, ascended the
hill with great silence in the night, and concealed themselves
until daybreak on the morning of the 7th of February; and when
the night-guard had been withdrawn from the breach near the round
tower, they made a sudden rush, and drove the ordinary guard from
its post with a shower of hand-grenades: at the same time, two
hundred grenadiers attacked the round tower. The troops in garrison
were soon alarmed, and Captain Fisher, of the Queen’s marines (now
fourth foot), charged the enemy at the head of seventeen men; but
his party was soon over-powered and himself taken prisoner. Major
MONCALL of the THIRTEENTH foot, a most gallant officer, collected
between four and five hundred men, principally of his own regiment,
and charged the enemy, sword in hand, so vigorously, that he soon
drove them back, recaptured the round tower, after it had been in
the possession of the enemy about an hour, and liberated Captain
Fisher and several other prisoners. The soldiers of the THIRTEENTH
regiment were aided, in this gallant effort, by Colonel Rivett of
the foot guards, who climbed the rock on the right of the covered
way with twenty grenadiers, and favoured Major Moncall’s success.
Additional men were brought forward, and the French and Walloon
grenadiers were driven from the works with severe loss. On the
following day, the brave Major Moncall of the THIRTEENTH lost his
leg by a cannon-shot.
The French and Spaniards continued their unavailing attempts
on Gibraltar, and the siege became a subject of great interest
throughout Europe; but towards the end of March, they withdrew the
shattered remains of their formidable army from before the place,
and left the English in quiet possession of the fortress they had
so gallantly defended, and which they have preserved to the present
period.
In a few weeks after the siege of Gibraltar was raised, an
expedition sailed from England, under Charles Earl of Peterborough,
either to aid the Duke of Savoy in driving the French out of Italy,
to make an attempt on Sicily and Naples, or to further the progress
of Archduke Charles in Spain, as should appear most advantageous
for Her Majesty’s service; and the latter course was adopted. The
expedition arrived at Gibraltar in the beginning of August; and
the THIRTEENTH foot were relieved from duty in that garrison by
a newly-raised regiment from England, and embarked on board the
fleet, which put to sea in a few days afterwards.
The expedition appeared off the coast of Valencia: a thousand
Catalonians and Valencians threw off their allegiance to King
Philip, acknowledged Archduke Charles as sovereign of Spain,
and seized on Denia, while others made demonstrations of giving
effectual aid to the expedition. Thus encouraged, the Earl
of Peterborough undertook the daring enterprise of besieging
_Barcelona_, the capital of Catalonia, which assumed a romantic
character, in consequence of his being unable to bring more than
seven thousand men into the lines, the garrison consisting of
nearly six thousand men, and of this fortress having resisted a
French army of thirty thousand men, eight weeks, in 1697, and cost
the French monarch twelve thousand men to take it. The troops
landed on the 23rd and 24th of August, and the THIRTEENTH regiment
took part in the siege. On the 13th of September, the grenadier
company of the regiment left the camp, and after a night march
among the mountains, appeared before the detached fortress of
_Montjuich_, at daylight on the following morning, and took part in
storming the outworks of that place, in which it had several men
killed and wounded. Three days afterwards, the strong castle and
citadel of Montjuich surrendered, which greatly facilitated the
progress of the siege of Barcelona.
The besieging army was so very weak in numbers that extraordinary
efforts were necessary: the soldiers and seamen were incessant
in their exertions; cannon and mortars were dragged up steep
precipices by men, and a practicable breach having been made, a
detachment of the THIRTEENTH foot was in readiness to take part in
storming the works, when the governor surrendered.
The capture of so important a fortress, by so small a body of
men, produced a great sensation throughout Europe, and this
splendid achievement was followed by the submission of nearly all
Catalonia, the largest and richest province of Spain.
Elated by this success, the Earl of Peterborough resolved to
undertake another enterprise of a more romantic character than the
former, namely the invasion of Valencia, with a body of troops not
sufficiently numerous to form the advance guard of the opposing
army. The THIRTEENTH regiment being conspicuous for its efficiency,
and for the gallant bearing of the officers and soldiers, was
selected to form part of his Lordship’s force.
From Barcelona the regiment marched under the command of
Lieut.-Col. EDWARD PEARCE, to Tortosa, on the river Ebro. In the
meantime the Conde de las Torres having been sent by King Philip,
with a numerous force, to retake the towns which had declared for
Archduke Charles, he had besieged the fortress of _St. Matheo_, and
the THIRTEENTH were ordered to march to the relief of this town.
The troops employed in this service were very inferior in numbers
to the besieging army; but by night marches among the woods and
mountains, and circulating exaggerated reports of his numbers, the
British general succeeded in surprising his opponents, and the
Spanish commander, being deceived by spies, made a precipitate
retreat.
After this service was performed, the officers and men were so
exhausted by long marches, day and night over the mountains, that
the regiment was ordered into quarters of refreshment at Vinaros,
where it remained a short period, while the Earl of Peterborough
was making preparations for the expedition to Valencia.
[Sidenote: 1706]
Early in the year 1706, Lieut.-Col. Pearce received orders to
march with the THIRTEENTH regiment from Vinaros to Oropeso, where
an extraordinary alteration took place in the character of the
corps, which is without parallel in the history of the British
army. The Earl of Peterborough was much in want of cavalry for
his expedition to Valencia, and he procured, with great zeal and
industry, about eight hundred Spanish horses; about two hundred of
these horses were given to the Royal Dragoons, and other corps,
to remount the men whose horses had died, and with the other six
hundred he resolved to form a corps of cavalry. He had been much
pleased with the conduct of the THIRTEENTH foot on all occasions,
and he determined to constitute them a _Regiment of Dragoons_. This
was, however, not communicated to the officers and soldiers until
every preparation was made, and as the regiment approached Oropeso,
it was met by the Earl of Peterborough, and reviewed on a small
plain near the town. After the review the horses were produced, and
the regiment was constituted a corps of dragoons of eight troops,
of which Lieut.-Col. Edward Pearce was appointed colonel. The
following account of this circumstance is copied from Dr. Freind’s
account of the Earl of Peterborough’s campaign in Valencia:--‘No
surprise, I believe, was equal to that of the officers and soldiers
of Colonel Pearce’s regiment, who had orders to march from Vinaros,
to a place called Oropeso, four leagues from Castillon de la Plana:
at this place, by ten in the morning, they were met by the Earl of
Peterborough, on a plain just bordering on the town. His Lordship
having made a review, was complimenting the regiment, and wishing
he had horses and accoutrements, to try whether a corps of so good
a character would maintain the like reputation upon such a change.
They, no doubt, concurred very heartily with his Lordship in his
wishes, little expecting the execution of them in a moment: but
his Lordship having ordered his secretary to give the commissions
already prepared, the officers at last believed the general in
earnest; when, turning to the edge of a hill, they saw eight bodies
of horses, drawn up separately, and found them all ready accoutred.
Among these there were three good horses for each captain, two
for each lieutenant, and one for each cornet. My Lord left to the
field officers the choice of their troops; the other captains drew
lots: and immediately they all mounted and marched to the quarters
appointed for them.’
In the ‘Annals of Queen Anne,’ it is stated:--‘He (the Earl of
Peterborough) collected above six hundred horses, with which he
recruited his horse, and formed a regiment of dragoons of the LORD
BARRYMORE’S regiment of foot, the command of which new regiment he
gave to Lieut.-Col. Pearce, ordering the remaining officers of the
old corps to return to England to recruit the same.’
Similar statements to the above are contained in Carleton’s
Memoirs, Tindal’s History of England, and other historical works.
In the official records, it is stated, that twenty-seven officers
and six hundred and sixty non-commissioned officers and soldiers of
the THIRTEENTH foot, then called the Earl of Barrymore’s regiment,
were formed into a corps of dragoons in Spain; that Lieut.-Col.
Pearce of the THIRTEENTH was appointed colonel of the new regiment
of dragoons, which obtained rank in the army from the 25th of
February, 1706; and that 900_l._ levy money was paid for recruiting
the THIRTEENTH to its establishment in England.
The regiment of dragoons thus formed proved a valuable corps, and
distinguished itself on several occasions. It formed part of the
force engaged in the Earl of Peterborough’s splendid campaign
in Valencia, and evinced great gallantry in the capturing of the
Spanish battering train near the city of Valencia. After the siege
of Barcelona was raised, this regiment advanced upon Madrid,
and joined the army of Portugal, under the Earl of Galway, at
Guadalaxara, on the 8th of August, 1706. It subsequently took part
in covering the march of the army to Valencia, and was so reduced
in numbers by continual service, and the losses it sustained in
numerous skirmishes, that in the spring of 1707, it only mustered
two hundred and seventy three men. It was one of the corps which
displayed great intrepidity and bravery at the battle of Almanza,
on the 25th of April, 1707, when it had Lieut.-Col. Deloches,
Cornets Cundy and Holmes, and Quarter-Master Sturges killed; Lieut.
Fitzgerald and Cornet Barry wounded and taken prisoners: it also
sustained a severe loss in killed and wounded. It was disbanded
after the treaty of Utrecht in 1713.
The remaining officers and soldiers of the THIRTEENTH, who were not
constituted dragoons, returned to England in 1706, and had so great
success in recruiting the regiment, that in less than two years it
was fit for service.
[Sidenote: 1707]
While the regiment was recruiting in England, the allied army
was defeated at Almanza, and a French and Spanish force invaded
Portuguese Estremadura and the Alemtejo, when four regiments
(the fifth, twentieth, thirty-ninth, and Stanwix’s, afterwards
disbanded) embarked from Ireland for Portugal; and during the
winter the THIRTEENTH regiment, being again fit for duty, proceeded
to the same destination: it was placed on the strength of the army
in Portugal on the 24th of December, 1707.
[Sidenote: 1708]
After landing at Lisbon, the regiment marched under the orders of
its colonel, the Earl of Barrymore, to the Alemtejo; in the spring
of 1708 it was encamped at Fuentes de Sapatores, between Elvas and
Campo Mayor, with the army commanded by the Marquis de Fronteira,
and was formed in brigade with the regiments of Stanwix and Galway
(newly-raised corps, afterwards disbanded) under Brigadier-General
Thomas Pearce (of the fifth foot); but the services of the
THIRTEENTH were limited to operations of a defensive character.
[Sidenote: 1709]
In April, 1709, the regiment was encamped near Estremos, from
whence it was removed to Elvas, and subsequently to the banks of
the Caya. On the 7th of May, the French and Spaniards under the
Marquis de Bay marched in the direction of Campo Mayor, when the
Portuguese generals resolved to pass the _Caya_ and attack the
enemy, contrary to the advice of the Earl of Galway. The Portuguese
cavalry of the right wing crossed the river, and opened a sharp
cannonade; but when the opposing horsemen advanced to charge,
the Portuguese squadron galloped out of the field, leaving their
cannon behind. The infantry of the allied army stood its ground,
repulsed the charges of the Spanish cavalry three times, and
afterwards commenced its retreat, when the Earl of Galway led
forward the THIRTEENTH, Stanwix’s, and his own regiment, to favour
the retrograde movement. The THIRTEENTH were in front, and charged
the Spaniards with distinguished gallantry; the other two regiments
of the brigade also evinced great bravery, and the three corps
overthrew the leading columns of the opposing army, and recaptured
the Portuguese guns. Animated and encouraged by this success, the
three regiments pressed forward until they became exposed to the
attack of superior numbers, when the Portuguese cavalry of the
left wing were ordered to support them, but instead of obeying
these orders, the Portuguese squadrons galloped to the rear.
Thus forsaken, the three regiments were cut off from the allied
army, surrounded by opponents, and only a few officers and men
were able to cut their passage through the host of adversaries
which environed them; the remainder were forced to surrender
prisoners of war. Among the prisoners were Major-General Sankey and
Brigadier-General Thomas Pearce.
The THIRTEENTH foot sustained a severe loss on this occasion;
besides the killed and wounded, it had Colonel the Earl of
Barrymore, four captains, eight lieutenants, eight ensigns, three
volunteers, and between two and three hundred non-commissioned
officers and soldiers taken prisoners.
[Sidenote: 1710]
The captured officers and soldiers were exchanged; and the regiment
served the campaign of 1710 on the frontiers of Portugal, but had
no opportunity of distinguishing itself.
[Sidenote: 1711]
[Sidenote: 1713]
In 1711 the THIRTEENTH foot were withdrawn from Portugal, and
proceeded to Gibraltar, where they were stationed until the peace
of Utrecht, 1713, when that fortress was ceded to Great Britain.
At the conclusion of the peace, 1713, the regiment received drafts
of non-commissioned officers and soldiers from several corps which
were ordered to be disbanded, and the protection of the important
fortress of Gibraltar was confided to the fifth, THIRTEENTH, and
twentieth regiments.
[Sidenote: 1715]
On the 8th July, 1715, the Earl of Barrymore was succeeded in the
command of the regiment by Colonel Stanhope Cotton, who had served
in Brigadier-General Bowles’s regiment, which was disbanded in
1713.
Colonel Cotton was honoured with the appointment of Lieut.-Governor
of Gibraltar, and the THIRTEENTH regiment, under his command, was
as much distinguished for its excellent conduct in garrison in time
of peace, as it had been for its gallantry in action during the war.
[Sidenote: 1725]
After commanding the regiment upwards of twelve years, Colonel
Cotton died on the 7th of December, 1725, when King George I.
conferred the colonelcy of the THIRTEENTH foot on Brigadier-General
Lord Mark Kerr, from the twenty-ninth regiment.
[Sidenote: 1726]
The importance of _Gibraltar_ had rendered the loss of that
fortress a subject of deep regret to the crown of Spain, and on
the prospect of England being involved in a continental war, in
1726, the Spanish monarch resolved to commence hostilities with
Great Britain, by a determined effort to recover possession of this
desirable entrepôt to the Mediterranean, which gave the THIRTEENTH
regiment another opportunity of adding to its honours, that of a
second successful defence of Gibraltar.
[Sidenote: 1727]
The Spaniards made preparations for the siege upon an extensive
scale: their troops encamped before the fortress in January, 1727,
under General Count de las Torres, and the bringing up of cannon
and mortars occupied several weeks. In February they commenced
constructing batteries, before any declaration of war had been
made, and persisted in the work, notwithstanding the remonstrances
of the Lieut.-Governor, Colonel Jasper Clayton.
On the 21st of February, the garrison opened its fire upon the
besiegers, and from that day the thunder of cannon and mortars
reverberated among the mountains of Andalusia, proclaiming the
strenuous efforts of the besieging army, and the gallant defence
made by the garrison, which was encouraged by the arrival of
additional corps from England. The siege was continued until
thousands of Spaniards had perished in the attempt; but very little
loss had been sustained by the garrison. In the early part of June
the fire slackened, and on the 18th of that month hostilities
ceased, in consequence of preliminary articles for a treaty of
peace having been agreed upon.
[Sidenote: 1728]
The regiment was relieved from duty at Gibraltar in the spring of
1728, and returning to England, after an absence of upwards of
twenty years, landed at Portsmouth on the 1st of May.
[Sidenote: 1730]
On the 18th of July, 1730, King George II. reviewed the regiment,
in brigade with the twelfth foot, on Winkfield plain. His Majesty
was accompanied by the Queen, and a number of distinguished
persons, and the appearance and movements of the two regiments
excited great admiration.
[Sidenote: 1732]
[Sidenote: 1739]
In May, 1732, Lord Mark Kerr was removed to the eleventh dragoons,
and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the THIRTEENTH foot, by
Colonel John Middleton, from the twenty-fifth regiment. This
officer commanded the regiment seven years, and died on the 4th
of May, 1739: the colonelcy remained vacant two months, and was
conferred, on the 5th of July, on Colonel Henry Pulteney from major
of the second foot guards.
On the 23rd of October of this year war was proclaimed against
Spain, and the establishment of the regiment was augmented to eight
hundred, and fifteen officers and soldiers.
[Sidenote: 1740]
In the summer of 1740 the THIRTEENTH foot pitched their tents
in Windsor forest, where an encampment of two regiments of
horse, three of dragoons, and three of foot, was formed, under
Lieut.-General Honeywood. In the autumn of this year, Charles VI.
Emperor of Germany died, when the succession of the Archduchess
Maria Theresa, as Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, was disputed by the
Elector of Bavaria, who was supported by the arms of France.
[Sidenote: 1741]
On the prospect of Great Britain being involved in the war on the
Continent, the regiment was held in readiness to embark for foreign
service, and in July, 1741, it pitched its tents on Lexden-heath,
in the county of Essex, where three regiments of horse, four of
dragoons, and seven of foot, were encamped, and held in readiness
to proceed abroad.
[Sidenote: 1742]
[Sidenote: 1743]
In the summer of 1742, sixteen thousand men proceeded to Flanders,
under the Earl of Stair, to support the house of Austria: the
THIRTEENTH regiment was one of the corps which proceeded to
Flanders, where it remained in quarters until the early part of
the following year. On the 31st March, 1743, war was declared
against France, and the troops which the King of Great Britain had
assembled in the Netherlands began their march for Germany. The
THIRTEENTH was engaged in operations in the territory bordering
on the Rhine, and after several movements it was encamped at
Aschaffenburg, where King George II. and His Royal Highness the
Duke of Cumberland joined the army.
On the 27th of June, the troops commenced their march for Hanau,
when a body of French crossed the river Maine, and formed for
battle in a strong position near the village of _Dettingen_. The
allied army formed for action under a heavy cannonade, and about
midday the contest commenced. The THIRTEENTH were sharply engaged,
and had the honour to signalize themselves under the eye of their
sovereign, who evinced great personal bravery, and stimulated
the soldiers to deeds of heroism by his presence and animating
language. The French army was defeated and driven across the river
Maine with severe loss, and the allied army stood triumphant on the
field of battle, having in its possession many colours, standards,
prisoners, and other trophies indicating a complete victory.
Twenty-one rank and file of the THIRTEENTH foot were killed on
this occasion; and Ensigns Ogilbie and Gray, one drummer, and
twenty-nine rank and file, wounded.
From the field of battle, the army continued its march, on the
following day, to Hanau, where the regiment was encamped several
weeks: it afterwards crossed the Rhine, and was engaged in
operations in West Germany; but repassed the Rhine in October, and
returned to Flanders for winter quarters.
[Sidenote: 1744]
In May, 1744, the regiment again took the field, and served the
campaign of that year under Field-Marshal Wade: it was encamped
between Asche and Alost, and afterwards on the banks of the
Scheldt. Towards the end of the campaign it penetrated the
territory subject to France as far as Lisle, but returned to Ghent
for winter quarters.
[Sidenote: 1745]
In April, 1745, the regiment pitched its tents near Brussels, and
in the beginning of May marched to the village of Soignies, from
whence it advanced, with the army commanded by His Royal Highness
the Duke of Cumberland, to the relief of _Tournay_, which fortress
was besieged by a numerous French force. This movement brought on
a general engagement, near the village of _Fontenoy_, on the 11th
of May, when the regiment had another opportunity of distinguishing
itself in conflict with the enemy.
On this occasion the regiment entered the plain in front of the
French position, formed line under a heavy fire of artillery from
the enemy’s batteries, and advanced to attack the formidable array
of infantry and artillery posted on the right of the village of
Fontenoy. The British infantry, advancing to the attack, exhibited
a splendid spectacle of war, and the heroic resolution with which
they precipitated themselves, with the bayonet, upon the opposing
ranks, proved the innate bravery of the men; but owing to the
failure of the Dutch in their attack on the village, the British
were forced to retire. The attack was repeated, British prowess was
again triumphant, and the French lines were forced; but the Dutch
failed a second time, and the British were compelled to withdraw:
the army retreated from the field of battle to Aeth.
Captain Queenchant, two serjeants, and thirty-five private soldiers
of the THIRTEENTH foot, were killed; Captain Lieutenant Daniel
Nicholas, Lieutenants William Jones and Samuel Edhouse, two
serjeants, and thirty-nine private men were wounded.
Leaving Aeth on the 16th of May, the regiment encamped on the
plains of Lessines, and was afterwards employed in defensive
operations; but the allied army was not sufficiently numerous to
prevent the enemy obtaining possession of several fortified towns.