marching along the bank of the river Maine, the French under
Marshal Noailles crossed the stream and took post near _Dettingen_,
to intercept the march. The allied army formed for battle and
a severe engagement took place, in which the TWELFTH had an
opportunity of distinguishing themselves under the eye of their
Sovereign. On one occasion they repulsed a charge of the French
cavalry, and afterwards engaged the enemy's infantry with signal
intrepidity and determination. The opposing army was forced to give
way before the steady valour of the infantry of the allied army,
and the charges of the British cavalry completed the overthrow
of the French host, which was driven across the river Maine with
severe loss.
The TWELFTH regiment had Captain Phillips, Lieutenant Monro, and
twenty-seven rank and file killed; Captain Campbell, Lieutenant
Williams, Ensign Townshend, three serjeants, two drummers, and
sixty rank and file wounded, on this occasion.
After passing the night on the field of battle, the regiment
marched to Hanau; it was encamped several weeks on the banks of
the Kinzig, and in August marched towards the Rhine. It crossed
that river above Mentz, and was employed in various services until
October, when the army marched in divisions back to Flanders. The
TWELFTH formed part of the fifth division, under Major-General the
Earl of Rothes, and arrived on the 22nd of November, at Brussels,
from whence they proceeded to Ostend for winter quarters.
[Sidenote: 1744]
The TWELFTH regiment served the campaign of 1744 under
Field-Marshal Wade: it was encamped some time on the banks of
the Scheldt, and took part in several operations, but no general
engagement occurred: in the autumn it was again stationed in
Flanders.
[Sidenote: 1745]
In the spring of 1745, a very powerful French army appeared in the
Austrian provinces of the Netherlands, and commenced the siege of
Tournay. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland assumed the
command of the allied army, and advanced to the relief of the
besieged fortress; and the TWELFTH regiment of foot was withdrawn
from garrison to take part in the enterprise. The French army took
up a position at the village of _Fontenoy_; and the allies, though
much inferior to the enemy in numbers, resolved to hazard a general
engagement.
At two o'clock on the morning of the 11th of May, the allied
army advanced to attack the formidable position occupied by the
enemy, and the TWELFTH regiment, commanded by Colonel Duroure,
was detached with several other corps, under Brigadier-General
Ingoldsby, to attack a large fort, mounted with cannon, in the wood
of Barri. Against this post the regiment advanced, but the fort
was found too formidable to be attacked without artillery, and
some delay occurred. Brigadier-General Ingoldsby did not clearly
understand his orders, and the regiment was detained a long time
in a state of inactivity exposed to a heavy cannonade; during
which time the British infantry had forced the enemy's centre,
but were obliged to retire in consequence of the Dutch having
failed on Fontenoy, and Brigadier-General Ingoldsby having lost
the opportunity of attacking the batteries in the wood of Barri.
A second attack was, however, determined on, in the hope that
the Dutch would make a more determined effort, and the TWELFTH
were brought into action; Brigadier-General Ingoldsby was wounded
at the head of the regiment, and removed to the rear. Impatient
of the state of inactivity in which they had been detained, the
soldiers of the TWELFTH rushed into action with distinguished
ardour, and were conspicuous for their gallant bearing throughout
the remainder of the contest. They were exposed to a heavy fire,
and had to contend against very superior numbers. Their commanding
officer, Colonel Duroure, fell mortally wounded; Lieut.-Colonel
Whitmore was killed; Major Cosseley was wounded, and the command
devolved on Captain Rainsford, who was also wounded: but the
regiment preserved its firm array, and when more than half the
non-commissioned officers and soldiers had fallen, the survivors
continued the fight, advancing over the killed and wounded of both
armies. The Dutch, however, failed a second time; the British who
had penetrated the enemy's line became insulated, and constantly
exposed to the attack of fresh troops, and a retreat was ordered;
the army withdrawing from the field of battle to Aeth.
The conduct of the TWELFTH regiment was commended in the Duke of
Cumberland's public despatch; its loss was greater than any other
corps in the army, and amounted to _three hundred and twenty-one_
officers and soldiers: viz., Lieut.-Colonel Whitmore, Captain
Campbell, Lieutenants Bockland and Lane, Ensigns Cannon and
Clifton, five serjeants, and one hundred and forty-eight rank and
file killed; Colonel Duroure, Major Cosseley, Captains Rainsford
and Robinson, Lieutenants Murray, Townshend, Millington, and
Delgaire, Ensigns Dagers and Pearce, seven serjeants, and one
hundred and forty-two private soldiers wounded; Captain de Cosne,
Captain-Lieut. Goulston, and Lieut. Salt, missing.
Colonel Duroure died of his wounds, and was succeeded by
Brigadier-General Henry Skelton, from the thirty-second regiment of
foot. Major Cosseley recovered of his wounds, and was promoted to
the lieut.-colonelcy, and Captain Rainsford was appointed Major.
The regiment was encamped with the army on the plain of Lessines,
and afterwards near Brussels; and the French, by their superior
numbers, were enabled to capture several fortified towns.
In the meantime a rebellion had broken out in Scotland, headed
by Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender. This adventurer,
being guided by desperate and designing men,--urged on by the wily
politics of France,--personally sanguine in his disposition, and
disposed to listen to every representation that flattered his
views, embarked on his expedition in a style little adequate to the
extent of his designs, which were to dethrone the reigning monarch,
and to overturn the constitution of a brave and free people.
Arriving in Scotland, he was joined by several of the Highland
clans, and the King's troops being in Flanders, success attended
his efforts for a short period.
The TWELFTH regiment was one of the corps ordered to return to
England on this occasion: it arrived at Gravesend on the 4th of
November, afterwards formed part of the army assembled under the
Duke of Cumberland, when the clans penetrated England as far as
Derby.
Being little accustomed to hear the sound of war at their own
gates, the British were at first alarmed at the novelty; but soon
recovering, they evinced loyalty and union in sustaining the fixed
rights of their sovereign, and in defending their own liberties.
Addresses, backed by associations, were daily made to the King; the
army arrived from Flanders, and the Pretender made a precipitate
retreat back to Scotland.
The TWELFTH regiment pursued the Highlanders as far as _Carlisle_,
and was before that town when the rebel garrison surrendered.
[Sidenote: 1746]
In the early part of 1746 the regiment was withdrawn from the north
of England; but after the loss of the battle of Falkirk by the
troops under Lieut.-General Hawley, it was ordered to proceed to
Scotland. Various circumstances occurred to prevent its proceeding
thither immediately; but it embarked from Plymouth towards the end
of March, and sailed for Scotland in the early part of April.
Before the regiment joined the army under the Duke of Cumberland,
the battle of Culloden had decided the fate of the young Pretender,
who was transformed, by the events of that day, from an imaginary
monarch to an humble fugitive, and after concealing himself some
time in the Highlands and Hebrides, he escaped to the continent.
The regiment was stationed several months at Perth.
[Sidenote: 1747]
During the summer of 1747 the TWELFTH were encamped in a rugged
valley, surrounded by gloomy precipices, near Fort Augustus, in the
Highlands of Scotland; in the autumn the regiment was withdrawn
from North Britain and stationed in England.
[Sidenote: 1748]
In the meantime, the war on the Continent had been continued, and
in the beginning of the year 1748, the regiment embarked at Shields
for Holland, to join the allied army in that country.
In the spring, the regiment took the field, and was engaged in
several services: hostilities were afterwards terminated by a
treaty of peace concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle, and during the winter
the TWELFTH foot returned to England.
[Sidenote: 1749]
Immediately after its arrival from Holland, the regiment embarked
for the island of Minorca, where it was stationed three years.
[Sidenote: 1751]
On the 1st of July, 1751, a royal warrant was issued regulating
the standards, colours, and clothing of the several regiments. At
this period the costume of the TWELFTH foot was--cocked hats, bound
with white lace, _scarlet_ coats faced and lined with _yellow_, and
ornamented with white lace; scarlet waistcoats and breeches, and
white gaiters. The first, or Kings colour, was the great union; the
second, or regimental colour, was of yellow silk, in the centre
XII. in gold characters, within a wreath of roses and thistles
on the same stalk, and the union in the upper canton.
[Illustration: MONTIS INSIGNIA CALPE.
TWELFTH
REGIMENT OF FOOT.]
[Sidenote: 1752]
Towards the end of the year 1751 the TWELFTH were relieved from
duty at Minorca by the fifty-first regiment, and returned to
England, where they arrived in the beginning of 1752.
[Sidenote: 1755]
[Sidenote: 1756]
[Sidenote: 1757]
The progress of colonization in North America involved Great
Britain in disputes with the French government respecting the
country near the river Ohio, which occasioned the commencement of
the Seven Years' War, in 1756. The establishment of the TWELFTH
regiment was augmented on this occasion; and in 1757 it consisted
of two battalions.
General Skelton died on the 9th of April, 1757, and King George II.
conferred the colonelcy of the TWELFTH foot on Major-General Robert
Napier, from the fifty-first regiment.
[Sidenote: 1758]
In 1758 the second battalion of the TWELFTH foot was constituted
the sixty-fifth regiment, under the command of Colonel Armiger,
from captain and lieut.-colonel of the first foot guards.[9]
Meanwhile the war, which commenced in America, had extended to
Hanover, and the electorate was overrun by the armies of France. A
body of Hanoverian, Hessian, and Brunswick troops, commanded by
Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, opposed the forces of the enemy,
and in the summer of 1758, the TWELFTH regiment, after encamping a
short time in the Isle of Wight, was ordered to proceed to Germany
to join the allied army. The regiment arrived at Embden on the 1st
of August, landed a few miles above the town on the 3rd, and on the
5th commenced its march to join the army, which it accomplished in
twelve days, and was reviewed on the 20th of that month by Prince
Ferdinand.
During the remainder of the campaign, the regiment was actively
employed, and performed many fatiguing services. Towards the end of
November it marched into quarters in Munster, a city situate in a
fruitful and agreeable country on the river Aa.
[Sidenote: 1759]
Operations were commenced early in the spring of 1759, and the
allies gained some advantage; but when the French forces were
assembled, they possessed so great a superiority in numbers, that
Prince Ferdinand was obliged to fall back as the enemy advanced.
A series of retrograde movements brought the allied army to the
vicinity of _Minden_, situate on the bank of the river Weser, in
Westphalia.
The French army, commanded by Marshal de Contades, took possession
of Minden, and occupied a strong position near that city.
Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick manœuvred: he detached one body of
troops under his nephew, the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick, and
appeared to leave another exposed to the attack of the whole of
the opposing army. The destruction of this corps was resolved upon
by the French commander, and he put his army in motion for that
purpose, during the night between the 31st of July and the 1st
of August. While the French were on the march, Prince Ferdinand
advanced with the allied army, and early on the morning of the 1st
of August, as the leading column of the enemy attained the summit
of an eminence, it was surprised at discovering, instead of a few
weak corps, the allied army formed in order of battle. Thus the
French marshal suddenly found himself committed, and under the
necessity of fighting upon unfavourable ground. After some delay he
formed line, and the battle commenced.
The TWELFTH, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel William Robinson, with
the twenty-third and thirty-seventh British regiments, followed by
the twentieth, twenty-fifth, and fifty-first, under Major-General
Waldegrave and Major-General Kingsley, flanked by two battalions of
Hanoverian foot guards, and the Hanoverian regiment of Hardenberg,
and supported by three regiments of Hanoverians and a battalion of
Hessian foot guards, advanced to attack the left wing of the French
army, where Marshal de Contades had posted the _élite_ of his
cavalry, the carabineers and gendarmes. The TWELFTH, twenty-third,
and thirty-seventh, led the attack with signal intrepidity: as
they moved forward in firm array, the enemy's artillery opened a
tremendous fire, which rent chasms in the ranks, and the French
carabineers advanced to charge them; but a rolling volley from the
three British regiments smote the hostile squadrons, when many men
fell, and the survivors reined up their horses, wheeled about,
and galloped to the rear; their artillery recommencing its fire
as the repulsed squadrons withdrew. The Hanoverian brigade came
up on the left of the TWELFTH, twenty-third, and thirty-seventh,
and the other three British regiments on the right. Soon, another
line of French cavaliers, gay in splendid uniforms, and formidable
in numbers, came forward, the soldiers shouting and waving their
swords; but they were struck in mid-onset by a tempest of bullets
from the British regiments, broken, and driven back with severe
loss. Still pressing forward with a conquering violence, the three
brigades became exposed to the fire of the enemy's infantry on
their flanks; but nothing could stop them: encouraged by success,
and confident in their own prowess, they followed up their
advantage, routed the whole of the French cavalry, and drove it
from the field.[10] Two brigades of French infantry endeavoured
to stem the torrent of battle; but they were quickly broken and
dispersed.[11] A body of Saxon troops made a show of coming down
upon the conquering British regiments, but they were soon put to
flight, and the triumphant English continued their splendid career,
overpowering all opposition.
The action commenced between six and seven o'clock in the morning;
about nine the enemy began to give way; a general confusion
followed; and at ten o'clock the whole French army fled in
disorder, with the loss of forty-three pieces of cannon, ten stand
of colours, and seven standards.
The TWELFTH regiment had Lieutenants William Falkingham, Henry
Probyn, and George Townsend, four serjeants, one drummer, and
seventy-seven rank and file killed; Lieut.-Colonel William
Robinson, Captains Mathias Murray, William Cloudesley, and Peter
Campbell, Captain-Lieutenant Peter Dunbar; Lieutenants Thomas
Fletcher, William Barlow, Thomas Lawless, Edward Freeman, John
Campbell, and George Rose; Ensigns John Forbes, David Parkill, and
John Kay, eleven serjeants, four drummers, and one hundred and
seventy-five rank and file wounded; Captains Peter Chalbert, and
Robert Ackland, and eleven rank and file missing.
The TWELFTH regiment was thanked in orders, in common with
the other British regiments, on the following day; and its
distinguished conduct on this occasion was afterwards honoured with
the King's authority to bear the word "_Minden_" on its colours and
appointments in commemoration of its gallantry.[12]
Minden was taken possession of on the following day, and the
French army was forced to make a precipitate retreat to a distance
of about two hundred miles. The allies followed the retiring
enemy with great energy, ascending precipices, passing morasses,
overcoming numerous difficulties, and pressing upon and attacking
the retreating army, with so much resolution, that several French
corps were nearly annihilated, and many prisoners, with a great
quantity of baggage, were captured. The TWELFTH foot shared in
the hazards, toils and conflicts of this brilliant success, and
when the weather became too severe for the troops to remain in
the field, the regiment went into cantonments in the bishopric of
Osnaburg in Westphalia.
[Sidenote: 1760]
The regiment left its quarters on the 5th of May, 1760, to take the
field, and on the 12th of that month it arrived in the vicinity
of Paderborn; it was joined by a numerous body of recruits from
England, to replace the losses of the preceding campaign.
A hundred thousand French troops took the field under the Duke of
Broglio, with a separate corps under the Count de St. Germain, and
so far outnumbered the allied army, that the latter was obliged to
act on the defensive. The TWELFTH took part in numerous operations.
Towards the end of May they were encamped on the heights near
Fritzlar; in July they proceeded to the vicinity of Saxenhausen,
from whence they retreated towards Cassel, and encamped near Kalle.
Upwards of thirty thousand French troops crossed the river Dymel,
and took post near _Warbourg_, to cut off the communication of the
allies with Westphalia, when Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick quitted
the camp at Kalle, and crossed the river to attack this portion of
the French army. The battle commenced on the morning of the 31st of
July, at which time the TWELFTH, and other British infantry corps,
were several miles from the scene of conflict. The soldiers hurried
forward to share in the action with extraordinary zeal: it was a
hot summer's day; they had a rugged country to traverse, morasses
to pass, and numerous difficulties to overcome, and they exerted
themselves with so much energy, that several men dropped on the
road;[13] but before they arrived at Warbourg, the French troops
had retreated across the river.
During the remainder of the campaign, the regiment was employed
upon the Dymel; and the allied army, by secret and expeditious
movements, by daring and rapid advances, and by sudden and
unexpected attacks, kept the enemy in constant alarm. In the
winter, the regiment went into quarters in the bishopric of
Paderborn.
[Sidenote: 1761]
The enemy having amassed immense magazines in the country of Hesse,
and on the Lower Rhine, the allied army made a sudden advance into
the enemy's cantonments, in February, 1761, captured several strong
towns, and seized on numerous stores of provision. The TWELFTH
shared in this enterprise, advancing through a deep snow, and
taking part in several important captures: when this service was
performed, they retired to their former quarters.
In June, 1761, the regiment again took the field, and was employed
in several operations; it was formed in brigade with the fifth,
twenty-fourth, and thirty-seventh regiments, under the command
of Brigadier-General Sandford, and was posted in the Marquis of
Granby's division. After several harassing marches, the regiment
was stationed in front of the village of _Kirch Denkern_, and
near to Vellinghausen, in the bishopric of Paderborn. The French,
commanded by Marshals Soubise and the Duke of Broglio, attacked
this post on the 15th of July; but the ground was maintained with
firmness and resolution by the British infantry, and the enemy
was repulsed with loss. The fire of the skirmishers was continued
during the night, and on the following day the attack was repeated
with fresh troops, when the TWELFTH evinced great gallantry in the
defence of the position. After five hours' sharp fighting, some
disorder appeared in the enemy's ranks, when the brigade charged
and routed the opposing battalions with great slaughter. The loss
of the regiment, on this occasion, was limited to three private
soldiers killed, and nine wounded.
The TWELFTH were stationed near Kirch Denkern until the 27th of
July: they were subsequently employed in manœuvring and skirmishing
in various parts of the bishopric of Paderborn and on the river
Weser, and in September they were employed in the country of
Hesse. They were engaged in several skirmishes in the electorate
of Hanover in the early part of November; and were subsequently
quartered for several months in the bishopric of Osnaburg.
[Sidenote: 1762]
The regiment left its cantonments in Osnaburg in the spring of
1762, and was formed in brigade with the same regiments as in
the preceding year. It was engaged, on the 24th of June, in the
surprise of the French army encamped at _Groebenstein_: on the
morning of that day it was in motion at an early hour, crossed the
river Dymel at Liebenau at four o'clock, and advancing several
miles through a woody country, arrived in front of the enemy's
camp. The French were surprised and confounded; they abandoned
their camp, leaving their tents standing, and retreated towards
Cassel; one division, under General Stainville, throwing itself
into the woods of _Wilhelmsthal_, to cover the movement. This
division was attacked, and nearly annihilated; and after the loss
of many men killed and wounded, the remainder surrendered to the
fifth foot, which was the leading regiment of the brigade to which
the TWELFTH belonged.
After the action, the regiment encamped on the heights of
Wilhelmsthal; it was subsequently employed in various operations;
and on the 23rd of July its grenadier company took part in driving
the Saxons, under Prince Xavier, from their post at _Lutterberg_,
and in the capture of thirteen pieces of cannon.
On the 24th of July a hundred men of the TWELFTH foot were engaged
in dislodging a detachment of the enemy from the heights of
_Homburg_. The regiment was afterwards employed in operations on
the rivers Ohm and Lahn, and in covering the siege of _Cassel_,
which fortress surrendered in the beginning of November.
A suspension of hostilities took place soon after the surrender
of Cassel, which was followed by a treaty of peace, concluded
at Fontainbleau: the regiment was quartered in the bishopric of
Munster about ten weeks.
[Sidenote: 1763]
In the beginning of 1763, the thanks of Parliament were
communicated to the army for its conduct during the war. In
February, the regiment marched through Holland to Williamstadt,
where it embarked for England: its effective strength, according to
the embarkation return, was twenty-seven officers, six hundred and
eighty-nine non-commissioned officers and soldiers.
[Sidenote: 1764]
[Sidenote: 1765]
[Sidenote: 1766]
On arriving in England, from Germany, the TWELFTH were ordered to
proceed to Scotland, where they were stationed during the following
three years.
Lieut.-General Napier died in November, 1766, when King George III.
conferred the command of the regiment on Colonel Henry Clinton,
from captain and lieut.-colonel in the first foot guards.
[Sidenote: 1767]
[Sidenote: 1769]
In 1767, the TWELFTH were stationed in England; and in 1769, they
proceeded to Gibraltar, to relieve the twentieth regiment on
garrison duty at that fortress.
[Sidenote: 1775]
[Sidenote: 1778]
[Sidenote: 1779]
The American war commenced in 1775, and the colonel of the
regiment, Lieut.-General Sir Henry Clinton, distinguished himself
in that country: in December, 1778, he was appointed colonel of the
eighty-fourth regiment, or Royal Highland emigrants, then first
embodied for service in North America, and afterwards disbanded.
The Colonelcy of the TWELFTH foot remained vacant until the 21st
of April, 1779, when it was conferred on Colonel William Picton,
from the seventy-fifth regiment; a newly-raised corps, which was
disbanded at the peace in 1782-3.