long-continued good behaviour was introduced into this regiment,
which was found to stimulate the indifferent to good conduct,
and those already worthy, to perseverance in well-doing, and it
produced such a body of non-commissioned officers as few corps
could boast of. These distinctions consisted of three classes of
medals[29] to be worn, suspended by a ribbon, at a button-hole of
the left lappel; the first, or lowest class, which was bestowed
on such as had served irreproachably for seven years, was of gilt
metal, bearing on one side the badge of the regiment, _St. George
and the Dragon_[30], with the motto "_Quo fata vocant_;" and on
the reverse, "Vth Foot, MERIT." The second was of silver, bearing
on one side the badge and motto, and on the other, "Reward of
fourteen years' military merit." The third was similar to the
second, but was inscribed with the name of the individual whose
conduct had earned it: "A. B., for twenty-one years' good and
faithful service as a soldier, had received from his commanding
officers this honourable testimony of his merit." These medals
were bestowed only upon soldiers who, for the respective periods
of seven, fourteen, or twenty-one years, had never incurred the
censure of a court-martial: they were given by the commanding
officer at the head of the assembled battalion; and if, which
rarely happened, the owner of a medal subsequently forfeited his
pretensions to enrolment among the men of merit, his medal was
cut from his breast by the drum-major as publicly as he had been
invested with it. Those who obtained the third, or twenty-one
years' medal, had also an oval badge of the colour of the facings
on the right breast, embroidered round with gold and silver
wreaths, and inscribed in the centre with the word "MERIT" in
letters of gold.
[Sidenote: 1768]
On the 7th of November, 1768, Lieutenant-General Hodgson was
succeeded in the Colonelcy of the FIFTH by Hugh, Earl Percy,
afterwards Duke of Northumberland. Earl Percy, when Colonel, duly
estimating the good effects produced by this Regimental "Order of
Merit," kept it up with all the liberality and dignity it deserved;
and the following order, issued by him on the subject, is referred
to in Adye's Essay on Rewards and Punishments, viz.: "Earl Percy
having perceived, with great pleasure, the happy effects of the
regimental Medals of Merit, influencing the non-commissioned
officers and soldiers of the FIFTH to deserve the favour of their
officers, and being anxious, as far as may be in his power, to
encourage them to persevere in such sentiments of honour, is
determined, for the future, to give them out every year, a short
time before the review, instead of the usual day, as it often has
happened that the regiment has been separated, which prevented the
men, who were entitled to that mark of honour, from receiving it in
so public a manner as his Lordship could wish."
[Sidenote: 1771]
[Sidenote: 1772]
During the stay of the FIFTH in Ireland it was frequently
engaged in the service of the revenue; and also in suppressing
the outrageous proceedings of bands of armed peasantry called
Whiteboys, Hearts of Steel, and Hearts of Oak, and particularly
against the latter in 1772, at and near Guildford in the north,
where the house of Richard Johnson, Esquire, was attacked and
reduced to ashes, and a clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Meroll, was
barbarously murdered by these misguided insurgents.
[Sidenote: 1774]
The regiment remained in Ireland until the unfortunate
misunderstanding between Great Britain and her North American
Colonies assumed an aspect so formidable, that it was deemed
necessary to send additional forces to that country. The FIFTH was
one of the corps selected to proceed on this service; and, having
embarked at Monkstown near Cork on the 7th of May, 1774, it landed
in the beginning of July at Boston, the capital of the state of
Massachusetts, which had recently been the scene of violence and
outrage, particularly of the destruction of an immense consignment
of Tea by the provincials. After landing, the regiment was encamped
near the town for some time; a body of troops was assembled at this
place under the Governor of the province, General Gage, and several
fortifications were constructed.
[Sidenote: 1775]
During the winter a determination to proceed to open resistance
became general in the American States; they embodied a militia
force, and in April 1775, a circumstance occurred which occasioned
the display of these hostile designs. The occasion was the
collection of some military stores at _Concord_, in Middlesex
county, about eighteen miles from Boston; when General Gage sent
the grenadiers and light infantry, including the companies of
the FIFTH, under the orders of Colonel Smith, to destroy those
stores. This detachment embarked in boats on the evening of the
18th of April, and, having proceeded a short distance up Charles
river, landed on the marshes of Cambridge and proceeded to the
village of _Lexington_, where it arrived at day-break and found a
company of the militia formed up near the entrance of the town.
These men were ordered to lay down their arms, but they did not
comply; some desultory firing immediately occurred, which was
followed by a volley from the troops which laid ten of the militia
dead upon the spot, wounded several others, and dispersed the
remainder: thus was the first blood drawn in this unhappy contest.
After this skirmish, the troops continued their march to Concord,
detaching six Light Infantry companies to take possession of the
bridges beyond the town, while the remainder of the detachment
effected the destruction of the military stores. In the mean
time the country had been alarmed by the firing of guns and the
ringing of bells: and a division of provincial militia was seen
advancing towards the bridges, but they avoided committing any
hostile act until the light infantry companies had killed two men,
when the Americans instantly opened a sharp fire, and by their
superior numbers forced the King's troops to retire. The country
now appeared swarming with armed men, who fired on the troops on
all sides, while numbers followed in their rear, and during the
six miles' march from Concord to Lexington, skirmish succeeded
skirmish, and a continued but irregular fire was sustained until
the detachment had expended nearly all its ammunition. Fortunately
it was met at Lexington by Earl Percy (Colonel of the FIFTH), who
had been sent forward to support the detachment with his brigade
and two pieces of artillery, and his lordship after a short halt
made dispositions for continuing the march to Boston[31]. But the
moment the troops were in motion the attacks became more frequent
and more violent than before, the Americans hovering in hundreds
upon the rear and keeping up a sharp fire from houses, from behind
walls, trees, and other coverts, on both sides of the road; yet
the troops, displaying a steady and noble bearing, united with a
high state of discipline and undaunted spirit, marched under all
these difficulties, in perfect order, a distance of fifteen miles
to Charlestown, where they arrived at sunset, quite exhausted from
a march of about thirty-five miles, on a hot day, and experiencing
the extraordinary fatigues already mentioned. From Charlestown the
troops crossed the river by the ferry to Boston, under cover of
the fire of the men-of-war. The loss of the FIFTH, in this day's
skirmishes, was five men killed; with Lieutenant Thomas Baker,
Lieutenant William Cox, Lieutenant Thomas Hawkshaw, and fifteen men
wounded; also one man taken prisoner[32].
This affair was followed by the appearance of the whole province
in arms;--an immense number of men invested Boston, where the
King's troops were stationed, on the land side; and on the morning
of the 17th of June, it was ascertained that they had constructed
works on _Bunker's Hill_--a high ground beyond the river. A body
of troops, of which the FIFTH formed a part, was ordered to attack
the heights; and this force, having embarked about noon, landed
without opposition and formed up on some high ground near the
shore. The enemy appearing resolved to defend this post, the ships
of war opened their fire upon the works, while the King's troops,
advancing under cover of the guns, went boldly to the attack; and
commenced one of the most sanguinary actions on record. The FIFTH,
ever emulous of glory, was seen ascending the hill on the side next
Charlestown with signal intrepidity, and bravely sustaining its
ancient reputation. Captain Harris (afterwards the conqueror of
the Mysore) while leading on the grenadier company, was severely
wounded, and obliged to quit the field, but he had in Lieutenant
Lord Rawdon (afterwards Marquis of Hastings) a successor in
command, who emulated and equalled the intrepidity of his disabled
captain. Eventually the troops were staggered by the resolute
tenacity of the defence, and the superior numbers of the enemy;
yet, recovering, they appeared in a moment fired by a new ardour,
and with fixed bayonets they went cheering forward with determined
bravery and resolution,--encountering the Americans in close combat
and driving them, after a sharp contest, out of the works. The
King's troops were now established on _Bunker's Hill_, which they
afterwards fortified and occupied in force. The loss of the FIFTH
was 22 men killed; Captain Harris, Captain Jackson, Captain Downes,
Captain Marsden, Lieutenant M'Clintock, Lieutenant Croker, Ensign
Charleton, Ensign Ballaguire, 10 Serjeants, 2 Drummers, and 116
rank and file wounded[33]. General Burgoyne, in a letter written
at the time to Lord Derby and subsequently published, says, in
reference to Bunker's Hill, "The FIFTH has behaved the best, and
suffered the most[34]."
Notwithstanding this success, the army at Boston remained in a
state of blockade, and the troops were eventually so distressed
for fresh provisions and other necessaries, that live cattle,
vegetables, and even fuel, were sent for their use from England.
The shipping with these supplies were, however, many of them
wrecked, or fell into the hands of the Americans, and, the
distress of the troops increasing, much sickness and loss of life
occurred.
[Sidenote: 1776]
In the midst of this calamity, the provincial troops, being better
supplied with necessaries, began to act offensively with vigour,
and the appearance of new batteries with the opening of a heavy
cannonade, occasioned the King's troops to evacuate the place.
Accordingly, in the middle of March, 1776, the army embarked from
Boston, and proceeded to Halifax in Nova Scotia, but after their
arrival at that place the greater part of the troops remained on
ship board, the town not being capable of providing quarters, nor
of affording a sufficient supply of provisions.
The FIFTH remained at Halifax about two months, and leaving that
place early in June to engage in an extensive plan of operations,
formed part of the force which effected a landing on Staten
Island near New York on the 3rd of July. In the following month a
reinforcement of British and Hessian troops arrived, and on the
22nd of August a descent was made on the south-west end of _Long
Island_, when the enemy's detachments along the coast withdrew to
the range of woody hills which intersect the country from east to
west. In the manœuvres by which these hills were passed, and in the
defeat of the provincial corps on the 27th of August, the FIFTH
took an active and spirited part, but did not sustain any loss.
After this success, preparations were made to attack the enemy's
lines at _Brooklyn_; but the Americans, impressed with a sense of
the superiority of the King's troops, quitted their post during the
night of the 28th, and passed the troops in boats across the East
River to New York.
The reduction of Long Island having thus been effected with
trifling loss, the FIFTH was again embarked, and a landing was
made on the 15th of September, on New York Island, within a few
miles of the city; which General Washington immediately abandoned,
and retired towards the northern end of the island, designing to
remain on the defensive, and to avoid a general engagement. The
FIFTH was subsequently employed in several operations, and on the
28th of October, being on the march towards the American camp
at _White Plains_, it was engaged, with the 28th 35th and 49th
regiments, commanded by Brigadier-General Leslie, in forcing the
passage of the Brunx's rivulet under a sharp fire, and having
ascended the hill with admirable intrepidity, attacked and routed
a division of Americans, chasing them from behind walls and other
coverts, and driving them behind their entrenchments at the
entrance of White Plains: from whence they subsequently retreated.
The regiment only lost two men on this occasion, and had its
commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Walcott, wounded.
[Sidenote: 1777]
At length, it being found impossible to bring on a general
engagement, the army retired by the North River, to the heights
of Fordham; and on the 16th of November, the FIFTH supported
the storming party in the capture of _Fort Washington_. A few
days afterwards the regiment was detached across the North River
against _Fort Lee_, and on the flight of the American troops,
it was stationed a short time at English Neighbourhood: but was
soon called upon to take an active part in the reduction of _New
Jersey_; and in the early part of January, 1777, it was quartered
at Maidenhead.
The FIFTH passed the remainder of the winter in the island of
Jersey. "The weather was particularly severe; the duty unremitting
and hard; the enemy watchful; and provisions and forage were not
obtained without repeated skirmishes. Nevertheless the soldiers
endured these hardships with a fortitude and a perseverance that
acquired them infinite honour[35]." The campaign being opened in
the early part of June, 1777, the regiment took part in several
manœuvres, designed to bring on a general engagement, but the enemy
kept in the mountain fastnesses, by which he succeeded in defeating
the designs of the British commander; and on the 30th of June the
troops embarked from the Jerseys and proceeded to Staten Island.
An expedition to Pennsylvania having been resolved on, the FIFTH
formed part of the force ordered for this service, and, having
embarked at Sandy Hook on the 5th July, sailed to Chesapeak Bay,
thence proceeding up the Elk River, landed at Elk Ferry on the 25th
of August, and afterwards advanced on Philadelphia: at the same
time the enemy took up a position at _Brandywine Creek_, to oppose
the advance. But on the 11th of September the enemy's out-posts
were driven in and the position attacked. The FIFTH formed part
of the force, which advanced to Chad's Ford in the centre of the
enemy's line, forced the passage in gallant style, carried the
batteries and intrenchments with fixed bayonets, and captured five
pieces of cannon and a howitzer. The regiment encamped during the
night on the scene of conflict; its only casualties being Ensign
Andrews, 1 serjeant, and 12 men wounded.
This success was followed by the capture of Philadelphia: at the
same time the army occupied a position near _Germantown_, and the
FIFTH had its post in the right wing of the line. The troops at the
head of the town were attacked by the enemy in force at daybreak
on the morning of the 4th of October, when the FIFTH was ordered
forward to their aid. The enemy had already gained some advantage,
and the Fortieth regiment, which had thrown itself into a stone
building, was surrounded by an American brigade, when the FIFTH and
Fifty-fifth regiments, advancing from the right, opened their fire
with good effect, and being seconded by several other corps from
the centre and left, drove back the enemy and pursued them through
some woody grounds and strong enclosures with signal bravery. The
FIFTH lost on this occasion, 1 drummer and 9 men killed; also
Lieutenant-Colonel Walcott, Captain Charlton, Ensign Thomas, Ensign
Stuart, 5 serjeants, and 37 men wounded: Lieutenant-Colonel Walcott
died of his wounds six weeks afterwards.
On the 18th of October the army quitted Germantown and encamped in
the immediate vicinity of Philadelphia, until after the capture of
two forts on the river. In the mean time the enemy formed a strong
camp at White Marsh, fourteen miles from Philadelphia; and in the
early part of December the FIFTH took part in several operations
and skirmishes designed to bring on a general engagement; but the
enemy remaining behind his trenches and _abbatis de bois_, the
regiment returned to Philadelphia on the 8th of that month. After
the retreat of the King's troops, the enemy removed to Valley
Forge, where he built huts and passed the winter in the woods,
while the British lay in comfortable quarters in the capital of
Pennsylvania, where the want of strict discipline during the
period of a temporary repose produced several evil consequences,
particularly the estrangement of many persons previously in the
interest of the royal cause.
[Sidenote: 1778]
Before the commencement of active operations in 1778, the King
of France had concluded a treaty with, and agreed to aid, the
Americans, which so completely changed the nature of the contest,
that the evacuation of Philadelphia was resolved upon, and the
FIFTH had to take part in the difficult service of retreating
through a wild and woody country intersected by rivers, and
abounding in narrow and ragged passes. The army accordingly crossed
the Delawar on the 18th of June, and directing its march along
the eastern bank of that river, afterwards proceeded through the
Jerseys, while the enemy hovered near the rear and menaced an
attack in force. No action of importance, however, occurred until
the 28th of June, when, as the last division descended from the
heights above _Freehold_ in New Jersey, the enemy appeared in the
rear, and on both flanks, and some sharp fighting took place. At
this time the FIFTH was in advance, but it was recalled to take
part in the action, and the enemy was eventually repulsed. The
regiment had Captain Gore of the grenadier company and several men
killed on this occasion.
After the action the army continued its march, and having crossed
the channel to Sandy Hook, in the beginning of July, embarked from
thence for New York; from whence the FIFTH advanced to a post
beyond the town.
In September, part of the regiment was detached on an expedition
to _Little Egg Harbour_ in New Jersey--a noted rendezvous for
privateers. This detachment, consisting of 300 men of the FIFTH
and New Jersey Volunteers, commanded by Captain Ferguson, embarked
in transports towards the end of September, and, on arriving at
the harbour, went on board small vessels which, with several
row-galleys, proceeded twenty miles up the river, to Chesnut Neck,
where the troops landed under cover of the fire from the galleys,
and by a spirited attack, routed the enemy's force assembled to
oppose the descent, and chased them into the woods. After returning
from the pursuit, the troops destroyed the village, with several
storehouses, and armed vessels:--having only sustained the trifling
loss of one man of the FIFTH, wounded. A night excursion was
afterwards made ten miles farther up the river, when the troops,
surprising some companies of the enemy in their quarters, made a
dreadful slaughter with the bayonet, and reduced the houses to
ashes, with the loss of only two men of the FIFTH killed, and
two wounded. "It is but justice to inform you," observes the
commanding officer in his despatch, "that the officers and men,
both British and Provincials, behaved on this occasion in a manner
to do themselves honour. To the conduct and spirit of Captain Cox,
Lieutenant Littleton, and Ensign Cotter, of the FIFTH regiment,
and of Captain Peter Campbell of the Third Jersey Volunteers, this
little enterprise owes much of its success[36]."
Immediately after the return of this detachment, the regiment was
ordered to form part of an expedition against the French West India
Islands, and embarking on this service under the command of its
Lieutenant-Colonel (afterwards Sir William) Medows, sailed from
Sandy Hook on the 3rd of November.
After stopping two days at Barbadoes, during which time the land
and sea commanders, General James Grant and Admiral Barrington
arranged their plans of attack, the expedition arrived at _St.
Lucie_ on the 13th of December, and the reserve, consisting of the
FIFTH regiment, the grenadiers and light infantry being immediately
landed under the command of Brigadier-General Medows, forced
some heights occupied by a French force under the governor, the
Chevalier de Micoud, and took a field-piece and a four-gun battery.
On the following morning, the rest of the army being landed, the
FIFTH advanced and took possession of the town of Morne Fortuné,
the governor's house, hospital and barracks; and from thence,
after a short halt, proceeded to occupy an important post, called
La Vigie, situated on a tongue of land commanding the north side
of the Carenage harbour, and separated by that harbour from the
rest of the army. In the mean time, the French fleet under Count
D'Estaing arrived off the island, and disembarked a force of nine
thousand men, by the whole of which General Medows' little band
was attacked on the 18th. The enemy, commanded by MM. de Bouillé
and Lavendahl, advanced in three columns; their first two attacks
were made, to use the words of General Grant's despatch, "with the
impetuosity of Frenchmen, and repulsed with the determined bravery
of Britons." They made a third attempt, but were soon broken, and
they retired in confusion.
The conduct of the FIFTH regiment and its Lieutenant-Colonel
on this occasion, was of the most distinguished description.
Brigadier-General Medows, though severely wounded in the right arm
early in the day, would not quit his post, but continued in the
field, riding about and giving orders, till the attack was over.
At one moment, finding his ammunition nearly expended, he drew up
his little phalanx in front of their colours, and waving his sword
in his hand, emphatically exclaimed, "Soldiers, as long as you
have a bayonet to point against an enemy's breast, defend these
colours." They did so, and secured the conquest of St. Lucie. It
was in this action that the FIFTH by its gallant conduct acquired
the privilege of wearing a _White Plume_ in the cap instead of the
red and white tuft worn by the other regiments of the line; having
taken from the bodies of the slain French grenadiers, the advance
and élite of the enemy's force, as many white feathers as sufficed
to equip every man in the regiment with the new decoration. The
loss of the French amounted to about four hundred killed and eleven
hundred wounded, while the killed on the side of the British was
only ten, and one hundred and thirty wounded; amongst whom were
Lieutenants Pratt and Harris. The sense General Grant entertained
of the services of Brigadier-General Medows and the detachment
under his command, was expressed in the following letter, dated
from Morne Fortuné, the 19th of December, 1778:
"Sir,
"I cannot express how much I feel obliged to you, and the troops
under your command, for repulsing, with so much spirit and
bravery, so great a body of the enemy, and own it was just what
I expected from you and them; and I am sure, under your command,
they will always behave in such a manner as to do honour to you,
themselves, their king, and their country; and I must beg of you
to express my gratitude."
[Sidenote: 1779]
[Sidenote: 1780]
During the year 1779, the regiment was sometimes embarked on board
ship, and at others employed on shore at St. Lucie and Antigua,
and was engaged with the enemy on the 19th of June, 6th of July,
and 7th and 8th of September. From January to July, 1780, it was
occasionally in Gros Isle Bay, St. Lucie, at Martinique, St.
Kitt's, and Carlisle Bay, Barbadoes, and was engaged on the 17th
of April, and on the 15th of May. It was then ordered home, and
after a boisterous passage, landed on the 16th of September at
Portsmouth, from whence it embarked again for Ireland in December,
and arrived at Cork in January, 1781.
[Sidenote: 1781]