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Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
A carat character is used to denote superscription. A
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HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE TWELFTH, OR THE EAST SUFFOLK,
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 XLVIII.
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 monarchy, 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 Creçy, 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."
HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE TWELFTH, OR THE EAST SUFFOLK,
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 XLVIII.
LONDON: PRINTED BY W. CLOWES & SONS, STAMFORD STREET,
FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE.
THE TWELFTH, OR THE EAST SUFFOLK,
REGIMENT OF FOOT
BEARS ON ITS REGIMENTAL COLOUR
THE WORD _MINDEN_; THE WORD _GIBRALTAR_,
With the _Castle and Key_ and the Motto, _Montis Insignia Calpé_;
AND THE WORDS
"SERINGAPATAM" AND "INDIA;"
IN COMMEMORATION OF ITS DISTINGUISHED SERVICES
AT THE BATTLE OF _MINDEN_
ON THE 1st AUGUST, 1759;
IN THE GLORIOUS DEFENCE OF _GIBRALTAR_
FROM THE YEAR 1779 TO 1782;
AT THE STORMING AND CAPTURE OF _SERINGAPATAM_
ON THE 4th MAY, 1799;
and of its Gallant Conduct on many arduous Duties in INDIA
from the Year 1798 to 1807.
CONTENTS.
Year Page
1685 Formation of the Regiment 1
1686 Station and Establishment 2
---- Arms and Uniform 3
1687 Names of the Officers 4
1688 Assembled on Hounslow-heath -
1689 Inspected at Hull after the Revolution 5
---- Embarked for Ireland 6
---- Engaged at the Siege of Carrickfergus -
---- Advanced to Dundalk -
---- Death of its Colonel, Henry Wharton, and of
many soldiers by disease 7
1690 Engaged at Cavan 8
---- ---- the battle of the Boyne 9
---- ---- the siege of Waterford -
---- ---- the first siege of Limerick -
---- ---- Lanesborough -
1691 Marched to Mullingar 10
---- Engaged with the Rapparees --
---- ---- at the siege of Ballymore 11
---- ---- at the storming of Athlone --
---- ---- at the battle of Aghrim --
---- ---- at the siege of Galway 12
---- Surrender of Limerick, and termination of the
war in Ireland --
---- Embarked from Kinsale for Plymouth 13
1692 ---- for the coast of France --
---- Proceeded to Ostend, and took possession of
Furnes and Dixmude --
---- Returned to England --
1693 Remained in England --
1694 Embarked for Flanders 13
---- Engaged at the siege of Huy 14
1695 ---- ---- ---- attack on Fort Kenoque --
---- ---- ---- ---- defence of Dixmude --
---- Surrender of Dixmude to the French 15
---- Released from Prisoners of War and placed
in garrison at Malines --
1696 Marched to Ostend and Bruges 16
---- Encamped and stationed in and near Bruges --
1697 Marched to Brabant --
---- Encamped before Brussels 17
---- Peace of Ryswick --
---- Returned to England --
1699 Proceeded to Ireland --
1702 War with France and Spain --
1703 Embarked for the West Indies 18
1704 Proceeded to Jamaica --
1705 Returned to England --
1708 Embarked as Marines 19
---- Landed at Ostend --
---- Employed to escort ammunition, &c. to the army
besieging Lisle 20
---- Surrender of Lisle 21
1709 Returned to England --
1710 Reviewed at Portsmouth --
1712 Embarked for Spain --
1713 Peace of Utrecht --
---- Proceeded to Minorca 22
1719 Returned to England from Minorca --
1722 Reviewed by King George I. --
1739 Remained in England twenty years --
1740 Embarked as Marines --
1742 -------- for Flanders 23
1743 Marched to Germany --
---- Engaged at the battle of Dettingen --
1743 Returned to Flanders 24
1744 Engaged in operations on the Scheldt --
1745 Advanced to the relief of Tournay --
---- Engaged at the battle of Fontenoy 25
---- Casualties at the battle of Fontenoy 26
---- Returned to England 27
---- Engaged in suppressing the Rebellion --
1746 Proceeded to Scotland --
1747 Returned to England 28
1748 Embarked for Holland --
---- Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle --
---- Returned to England --
1749 Embarked for Minorca --
1751 Royal Warrant issued for regulating Clothing,
Colours, &c. --
1752 Returned to England 29
1755 Commencement of the Seven years' War with France --
1757 Second Battalion added to establishment --
1758 Second Battalion constituted the 65th Regiment --
---- Embarked for Germany 30
---- Marched into quarters at Munster --
1759 Battle of Minden 31
---- Royal Authority to bear the word "MINDEN" on the
colours and appointments 33
---- Entered cantonments at Osnaburg 34
1760 Arrived at Paderborn --
---- Encamped at Fritzlar 34
---- ----------- Kalle --
---- Marched to engage the French at Warbourg --
---- Went into quarters at Paderborn 35
1761 Advanced into Hesse --
---- Engaged at Kirch Denkern, &c. --
1762 ---------- Groebenstein and Wilhelmsthal 36
---- ---------- Lutterberg --
1762 Engaged at Homburg 37
---- ---------- the siege of Cassel --
1763 Peace of Fontainbleau --
---- Returned to England --
1764 Proceeded to Scotland --
1769 Embarked for Gibraltar 38
1779 Attack of Gibraltar by the Spaniards --
1780} {39
1781} Siege and Defence continued {to
1782} {47
1783 Returned to England 48
---- Styled the East Suffolk Regiment --
1784 Reviewed at Windsor by King George III. --
1788 Proceeded to Jersey and Guernsey 49
1790 Embarked as Marines --
---- Returned to Portsmouth --
1791 Embarked for Ireland --
1793 Flank companies embarked for the West Indies --
1794 --------------- engaged at Martinico 50
---- -------------------------- St. Lucia --
---- -------------------------- Guadaloupe --
---- Battalion companies embarked for Flanders 51
---- Engaged at Werwick, and on the Lys --
---- ------- in the relief of Ypres 52
---- ------- near Boxtel 53
---- Retired beyond the river Maese 54
1795 Returned from Holland 55
---- Flank companies returned from the West Indies --
---- Embarked on an expedition for the coast of France --
1796 Embarked for the East Indies 56
1797 Arrived at Madras --
---- Embarked for Manilla --
---- Returned to Madras 57
1798 Proceeded to Tanjore in the Carnatic 58
1799 Engaged in operations against Tippoo Saib 59
---- Advanced against Seringapatam 60
---- Action near Malleville --
---- Storming and Capture of Seringapatam 65
---- Received the Royal Authority to bear the word
"SERINGAPATAM" on the colours and appointments 70
1800 Proceeded against the tribes of the Wynaad country 71
1801 Returned to Seringapatam --
---- Proceeded to Trichinopoly --
1802 Two companies returned from Java 72
---- Three companies employed against the
Polygans --
1805 Marched to Seringapatam --
1807 Proceeded to Cannanore --
1808 Embarked for the port of Coulan in the Travancore
country 73
---- Serjeant Tilsey and 33 men destroyed
by the Natives 74
---- Operations in the Travancore country 75
---- Returned to Seringapatam 81
---- Proceeded to Trichinopoly --
1810 Flank companies proceeded against the Isle of Bourbon 81
---- Embarked against the Mauritius, or the Isle of France 82
---- Capture of the Mauritius 83
1811 Stationed at the Mauritius 85
1812 Second Battalion added to the Establishment and
embarked for Ireland --
1813 First Battalion proceeded from the Mauritius to the
Isle of Bourbon --
1814 Island of Bourbon restored to France 86
1815 Proceeded to the Island of Mauritius on its being
retained as a Colony of Great Britain --
1815 Second Battalion returned to England, and embarked
for Flanders 86
---- ---------------- advanced to Paris --
1816 ---------------- returned to England, and proceeded
to Ireland 87
---- First Battalion continued at the Mauritius --
1817 --------------- returned to England --
---- --------------- proceeded to Ireland --
1818 Second Battalion reduced, and incorporated with
the First Battalion 88
1820 Embarked for England --
1821 Proceeded to Portsmouth, and thence to Jersey and
Guernsey --
1823 Returned to England 89
---- Embarked for Gibraltar --
1825 Augmented to ten Companies, six Service, and four
Depôt Companies --
1827 Presentation of new colours with the authorised
Inscriptions conferred as Honourable Distinctions --
1828 Casualties from an epidemic disease at Gibraltar 90
1834 Returned to England 91
1835 Embarked for Ireland --
1837 Formed into six Service, and four Depôt Companies,
and embarked for the Mauritius --
1838 Depôt Companies remained in Ireland --
1839 Augmentation of the Establishment --
---- Depôt Companies embarked for Wales --
1840 --------------- proceeded to Scotland --
1841 --------------- returned to South Britain --
1842 Augmentation to two Battalions 92
1843 Reserve Battalion arrived at the Mauritius --
1847 First Battalion Embarked for England --
1848 The Conclusion --
SUCCESSION OF COLONELS.
Year Page
1685 Henry Duke of Norfolk 93
1686 Edward Earl of Lichfield 94
1688 Robert Lord Hunsdon 95
---- Henry Wharton --
1689 Richard Brewer 96
1702 John Livesay --
1712 Richard Phillips 97
1717 Thomas Stanwix --
1725 Thomas Whetham 98
1741 Scipio Duroure 99
1745 Henry Skelton --
1757 Robert Napier --
1766 Henry Clinton 100
1779 William Picton 101
1811 Charles Hastings, Bart. 102
1823 Hon. Robert Meade 103
PLATES.
Costume of the Regiment _to face_ 1
Colours of the Regiment " 28
Attack of Gibraltar in 1782 " 48
Storming and Capture of Seringapatam in 1799 " 70
[Illustration: _Madelay Lith. 3 Wellington S^t Strand._
TWELFTH FOOT.
1848.
_For Cannons Military Records._]
HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE TWELFTH, OR THE EAST SUFFOLK
REGIMENT OF FOOT.
[Sidenote: 1685]
After the Restoration in 1660, when King Charles II. had disbanded
the army of the commonwealth, a number of non-regimented companies
of foot were embodied for garrisoning the fortified towns, and one
company was constantly stationed at Windsor, to furnish a guard at
the castle. This company sent a detachment to Virginia in 1676.
It was commanded by HENRY DUKE OF NORFOLK, Governor and Constable
of Windsor Castle, and was united to several companies raised in
the summer of 1685, and constituted a regiment, of which the DUKE
OF NORFOLK was appointed Colonel, by commission dated the 20th of
June, 1685. This regiment having been retained in the service to
the present time, now bears the title of the TWELFTH, OR THE EAST
SUFFOLK, regiment of foot.
The formation of this regiment was occasioned by the rebellion
of James Duke of Monmouth, who assembled an army in the west of
England to support his pretensions to the throne; and King James
II. found it necessary to make a considerable augmentation to the
regular army. The companies, of which the regiment was composed,
were raised in Norfolk, Suffolk, and the adjoining counties, by
Henry Duke of Norfolk, Captains Henry Wharton, Charles Macartney,
Dominick Trant, Jasper Patson, Charles Howard, Francis Blathwayt,
Sir Alphonso de Mottetts, and George Trapp: the general rendezvous
of the regiment was at Norwich, and as the several companies were
formed, they were quartered at Norwich, Yarmouth, and Lynn.
[Sidenote: 1686]
The formation of the regiment was not completed when the rebel
army was defeated at Sedgemoor, and the Duke of Monmouth was
captured soon afterwards, and beheaded; but King James resolved
to retain the newly raised corps in his service, and the Duke of
Norfolk's regiment was ordered to march to London. It was quartered
a few days, in the beginning of August, in the Tower Hamlets, and
afterwards encamped on Hounslow-heath, where it was reviewed by
the King. In the beginning of September the regiment marched into
garrison at Portsmouth.
On the 1st January, 1686, the establishment was fixed at the
numbers and rates of pay as shown in the next page.
Leaving Portsmouth in May, 1686, the regiment proceeded to
Hounslow, and pitched its tents on the heath, where a numerous army
was assembled; and while at this camp the colonelcy was conferred
on EDWARD EARL OF LICHFIELD, by commission dated the 14th of June,
1686.
At the camp on Hounslow-heath, the Earl of Lichfield's regiment
was stationed in the centre of the line of infantry; it was
distinguished by its _white_ colours bearing the red cross of St.
George; the soldiers wore broad-brimmed hats, with the brim turned
up on one side, and ornamented with white ribands; scarlet coats
lined with white; blue breeches, blue stockings, and high shoes
with square toes; and the pikemen, of whom there were twelve in
each company, wore white sashes round their waists.
+------------------------------------------+--------------+
| THE DUKE OF NORFOLK'S REGIMENT OF FOOT. | Pay per Day. |
+------------------------------------------+--------------+
| STAFF. | £. _s._ _d._ |
| | |
| The Colonel, _as Colonel_ | 0 12 0 |
| Lieut.-Colonel, _as Lieut.-Colonel_ | 0 7 0 |
| Major, _as Major_ | 0 5 0 |
| Chaplain | 0 6 8 |
| Chirurgeon 4_s._ and 1 Mate 2_s._ 6_d._ | 0 6 6 |
| Adjutant | 0 4 0 |
| Quarter-Master and Marshal | 0 4 0 |
| +--------------+
| Total Staff | 2 5 2 |
| +--------------+
| | |
| THE COLONEL'S COMPANY. | |
| | |
| The Colonel, as Captain | 0 8 0 |
| Lieutenant | 0 4 0 |
| Ensign | 0 3 0 |
| Two Sergeants, 1_s._ 6_d._ each | 0 3 0 |
| Three Corporals, 1_s._ each | 0 3 0 |
| One Drummer | 0 1 0 |
| Fifty Soldiers, 8_d._ each | 1 13 4 |
| +--------------+
| Total for one Company | 2 15 4 |
| +--------------+
| Nine Companies more at the same rate | 24 18 0 |
| +--------------+
| Total | 29 18 6 |
| Per Annum £10,922 12_s._ 6_d._ | |
+------------------------------------------+--------------+
After passing in review before the King several times, and
receiving the expressions of His Majesty's approbation, the
regiment struck its tents on the 10th of August, when two companies
proceeded to Windsor, three to Tilbury-fort, and the remainder to
Jersey and Guernsey.
[Sidenote: 1687]
A grenadier company was added to the regiment when it pitched its
tents on Hounslow-heath in the summer of 1687, at which period the
following officers were holding commissions, viz.:--
_Captains._
Edward Earl of Lichfield (col).
Thomas Salisbury (lieut.-col).
George Trapp (major).
Dominick Trant.
Charles Macartney.
Sir A. de Mottetts.
Francis Blathwayt.
Henry Wharton.
John Berners.
Thomas Dowcett.
Thomas Lord Jermyn.
_Lieutenants._
Charles Potts.
Charles Houston.
Edward Rupert.
Robert Doughty.
John Cuthbert.
William Fisher.
Alexander Waugh.
Robert Stourson.
James Seppens.
John Broder.
George Raleigh. }
Elric Le Mountay.} Grenadier company.
_Ensigns._
James Carlisle.
Henry Bows.
John Beverly.
Ferdinand Paris.
Valentine Saunders.
Isaac Foxley.
Daniel Mahony.
Richard Waldegrave.
William Timperly.
Miles Bourk.
William Denny, _Chaplain_.
John Ross, _Chirurgeon_.
John Blakes, _Adjutant_.
James Healy, _Quarter-Master_.
[Sidenote: 1688]
The frequent assembling of a numerous army, admired for its
perfect equipment, discipline, and formidable appearance, on
Hounslow-heath, was calculated to impress the English nation with
a sense of the King's power, and to facilitate the overthrow
of the religion and laws of the kingdom, which His Majesty had
determined to accomplish. His Majesty resolved to make a trial of
the disposition of his soldiers, to gain them over to the support
of his measures; thinking, if one regiment could be induced to give
a promise of implicit obedience, its example would be followed by
the other corps. Accordingly in the summer of 1688, soon after the
Earl of Lichfield's regiment had pitched its tents on the heath,
it was formed on parade in presence of His Majesty; a short speech
was made to the officers and soldiers to induce them to give an
unreserved pledge, and the major was directed to call upon all who
would not support the repeal of the test and penal laws, to lay
down their muskets; when the King was surprised and disappointed at
seeing the whole ground their arms, excepting two officers and a
very few soldiers, who were Roman Catholics. After some pause His
Majesty commanded them to take up their arms, telling them that for
the future he would not do them the honour of asking their opinions.
The conduct of the King occasioned the nobility and gentry to
solicit the Prince of Orange to come to England with a Dutch
army, and when the crisis arrived, His Majesty discovered that
his soldiers had as much aversion to papacy and an arbitrary
government, as his other subjects.
Soon after the Prince of Orange had landed, the Earl of Lichfield
was removed to the first foot guards, and was succeeded in the
colonelcy by Robert Lord Hunsdon, whose commission was dated the
30th of November, 1688.
After the flight of King James to France, Lord Hunsdon refused to
take the required oath to the Prince of Orange, and His Highness
conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on HENRY WHARTON, a gallant
officer and a zealous protestant, who raised one of the companies
of the regiment at its formation, and possessed the confidence and
affection of the officers and soldiers: at the same time Captain
Richard Brewer, from the fourteenth regiment of foot, was promoted
to the lieut-colonelcy.
[Sidenote: 1689]
In the beginning of 1689 the regiment was stationed in Oxfordshire:
it afterwards proceeded to Hull, where it was inspected, on the
28th of May, by the commissioners for remodelling the army.
The elevation of the Prince and Princess of Orange to the throne,
under the title of King William and Queen Mary, was resisted in
Ireland; and King James arrived in that country, with a body of
troops, from France. King William sent an army thither, under
Marshal Duke Schomberg, to rescue that part of his dominions
from the power of the Roman Catholics, and the TWELFTH regiment,
commanded by Colonel HENRY WHARTON, was selected to take part in
this service.
Embarking from England in the early part of August, the regiment
arrived in Ireland in the middle of that month; it landed near
Bangor, in the county of Down, without opposition, and encamped on
the beach. The fortress of Carrickfergus was garrisoned by King
James's troops, who were summoned, but refused to surrender; and
the first service performed by the regiment, in the field, was the
siege of that place.
A practicable breach having been made in the works, the regiment
was under arms at six o'clock on the morning of the 27th of August,
to take part in storming the town. The soldiers had arrived at the
trenches, and Colonel Wharton stood with a pike in his hand ready
to give the signal for the attack, when the Irish displayed a white
flag on the walls, and agreed to surrender. Story states, in his
History of the Wars in Ireland, 'Colonel Wharton lay before the
breach with his regiment, and was ready to enter, when the Duke
sent to command his men to forbear, which, with some difficulty,
they were induced to do, for they had a great mind to enter by
force.'
After the surrender of Carrickfergus, the regiment advanced with
the army to Dundalk, and the Duke Schomberg, believing King
James's forces were more than double his own in numbers, formed
an entrenched camp. The situation of this camp was particularly
unfavourable; the ground was low, and the weather proving wet,
the infantry regiments lost many men from disease. The TWELFTH
sustained a very serious loss in non-commissioned officers
and soldiers; and on the morning of the 28th of October their
commanding officer, the gallant Colonel Henry Wharton, died.
This officer is represented by historians as possessing a noble
disposition, refined understanding, and lofty sentiments of honour,
which, added to a tall graceful person, and a gallant bearing,
occasioned him to be admired and beloved by the officers and
soldiers of his regiment. Story states,--'Colonel Wharton was a
brisk, bold man, and had a regiment that would have followed him
anywhere, for the officers and soldiers loved him, and this made
him ready to push on upon all occasions.... He was of a comely
handsome person, gifted with a rare understanding.' Colonel Sir
Thomas Gower died on the preceding day, and the remains of these
two officers were interred, on the 30th of October, in a vault in
Dundalk church, their regiments attending and firing three volleys.
King William promoted the lieutenant-colonel of the regiment,
RICHARD BREWER, to the colonelcy, by commission dated the 1st of
November, 1689.
On the 7th of November the regiment struck its tents and marched
towards Armagh; and it was employed on various services during the
winter.
[Sidenote: 1690]
In February, 1690, the regiment was stationed at Belturbet, with
the Inniskilling horse and dragoons (now sixth), and the Queen
Dowager's foot (now second); and information having been received
that the enemy was assembling a body of troops at _Cavan_, Colonel
Wolseley left Belturbet on the night of the 10th of February,
with three hundred horse and dragoons, and seven hundred foot of
the second and TWELFTH regiments, to surprise the enemy in his
quarters. Encountering difficulties on the march, the day had
dawned before the Colonel came in sight of Cavan, when he was
surprised at discovering four thousand Irish soldiers, commanded
by the Duke of Berwick, formed on a rising ground to oppose him.
The Colonel had only one thousand tired soldiers[6] to attack
four thousand fresh opponents with, but trusting to the valour of
his men, he sent the cavalry forward to commence the action. The
enemy's cavalry drove back the Inniskilling dragoons; but a volley
from the English musketeers, brought down ten Irish horsemen,
and the survivors fell back. Wolseley's infantry formed line and
advanced: arriving within pistol-shot of their opponents, they
opened a sharp fire with good effect, and after a few volleys, drew
their swords to charge, but on the smoke clearing, they discovered
that their opponents had fled. Pursuing the fugitives, they entered
the town, and finding stores of necessaries and provisions, they
halted to possess themselves of the booty; when the Irish rallied
and resumed the fight, but were repulsed by the reserve. After the
action the troops returned to Belturbet.
A numerous body of recruits from England replaced the losses of
the regiment, and in June it brought five hundred musketeers, one
hundred and sixty pikemen, and sixty grenadiers into the field, to
serve under King William III., who commanded the army in Ireland in
person.
The TWELFTH regiment, commanded by Colonel Brewer, had the honour
of taking part at the forcing of the passage of the _Boyne_ on the
1st of July: it formed part of the main body under King William
III., and after fording the river, engaged King James's army, and
contributed to the gaining of a decisive victory. After the loss
of this battle, King James fled to France; but the Irish Roman
Catholics, aided by the French troops, adhered to his interest.