removal of the regiment from the Netherlands to England: the Earl
of Argyle, and a number of other political exiles, who were zealous
advocates for civil liberty and the reformed religion, proceeded
in May from the Netherlands to Scotland, where they attempted to
organize a rebellion against the government of King James II., who
was a professed papist. His Majesty, in a letter to the Prince
of Orange, dated Whitehall, the 22nd of May, stated;--"I make
no doubt, by God's help, that the rebels will soon be mastered,
yet there is no harm in providing for the worst; and, therefore,
I have charged Mr. Skelton to propose to you the lending me the
three Scots regiments that are in your service, to be sent over to
Scotland; and if this is a thing you can do, the sooner it is done
the more reason I shall have to take it very kindly of you[10]."
The States acceded to this request: but before the Scots regiments
embarked, the Duke of Monmouth had landed at Lyme, in Dorsetshire,
and having erected his standard in the market-place, summoned the
people to join him in an appeal to arms against the government: the
destination of the three regiments was then changed to England. At
the same time the King made the following application to the Prince
of Orange, in a letter dated Whitehall, the 17th of June, 1685.
"When I wrote to you yesterday, I thought the militia would have
kept the Duke of Monmouth shut up in Lyme; but by the fault of
those of Devonshire, or Somersetshire, he has opened his way
towards Taunton, which is a very factious town, and where he
may increase his numbers; and though, with those troops I have
raised, and am raising, I make no doubt of mastering him in some
small time, yet, to make all sure, I desire you to lend me the
three English regiments that are in your service, and they may be
sent over with all speed[11]." Some of the towns of Holland were,
however, so jealous of King James's predilection to papacy, and
viewing the Duke of Monmouth in the light of a champion for the
reformed religion, their secret wishes for his grace's success
were so strong, that the Prince of Orange found some difficulty in
obtaining the consent of the States for the regiments to proceed
to England[12]; and when their consent had been procured, a new
obstacle arose. The officers and soldiers of SIR HENRY BELLASIS'S
regiment (now SIXTH FOOT) were so devoted to the protestant
interest, and so averse to becoming instruments by which the
ascendency of popish principles should be established, that they
objected to proceed to England[13]. Their scruples were, however,
overcome, and the King expressed the gratification which he
experienced on hearing they were ready for embarkation, in a letter
to the Prince of Orange, in the following terms. "I received on
Wednesday yours of the 6th, by which I see the English regiments
were to be embarked by the beginning of this week, and must again
thank you for them, and if they be but as good as the Scots
regiments, which I saw this morning, I shall be doubly pleased;
for, as to these I have seen, there cannot be, I am sure, better
men than they are, and they do truly look like old regiments; and
one cannot be better pleased with them than I am, and must again
thank you for them[14]." His Majesty, however, declined the Prince
of Orange's proposal to accompany the brigade to England, fearing
that His Highness might acquire too much influence in this country.
The three English regiments arrived in the early part of July;
and the rebel army having been overthrown at Sedgemoor on the
6th of that month, they were not required to draw their swords
in the contest; but the presence of this celebrated body of men,
at this critical juncture, could not fail to strengthen the
interest of the court and overawe the disaffected. The brigade
was encamped at Blackheath, and subsequently on Hounslow-heath,
where the King reviewed it, and expressed his approbation of its
warlike appearance, discipline, and good conduct; but the known
staunch protestant principles of many of the officers and men
gave his Majesty some concern. The three regiments (two of them
now the FIFTH and SIXTH foot) obtained rank in the English army
from the date of their arrival in England, and took precedence
of the regiments raised by King James during the rebellion, in
consequence of the latter not being completely organized when the
brigade arrived. The rank of SIR HENRY BELLASIS'S regiment (now
SIXTH FOOT) was afterwards disputed in consequence of the refusal,
in the first instance, to proceed to England[15]; but a board of
general officers decided this question in its favour in 1694.
The rebellion having been suppressed, the English brigade returned
to the Netherlands in August[16]; and the Scots a short time
afterwards. The King was desirous of procuring the appointment of
the Earl of Pembroke to the command of the six regiments, which was
acceded to; but soon afterwards his Majesty pressed the Prince of
Orange and States of the United Provinces to confer this important
trust on the Earl of Carlingford, who was objected to (as the Earl
of Dunbarton had been in the time of Charles II.), in consequence
of his being a papist: his Majesty was particularly urgent on the
subject; but the States did not acquiesce.
[Sidenote: 1686]
[Sidenote: 1687]
Soon afterwards events transpired which occasioned SIR HENRY
BELLASIS to be removed from his regiment, which was commanded,
_ad interim_, by the Lieut.-Colonel, WILLIAM BABINGTON. Although
this officer was not appointed to the colonelcy, it was usually
styled BABINGTON'S regiment. The prevalence of French councils at
the British court, and the advances made by the king towards the
establishment of papacy and arbitrary government, occasioned the
nation to look to the Prince of Orange as the only source from
whence deliverance could be expected, and on the 27th of May,
1687, Sir Henry Bellasis wrote to the Prince as follows: "I have
presumed by this worthy bearer to give your Highness the assurance
of my devotion to your service in particular. The testimony I have
given to the world of my loyalty and sufferings for the crown,
obliges me in duty to pay the same to those who are so nearly
related to it as the Princess Royal and your Highness. Though my
hand be weak to express it, or enlarge myself upon the subject, my
heart shall supply that defect, in the profession I make[17]."
[Sidenote: 1688]
The King felt some distrust at so efficient a body of British
troops being in the service of a protestant republic at the time
when he was meditating the subversion of the protestant religion
and established laws of the kingdom: he was desirous of recalling
them from Holland, and of transferring so many of them as would
return, particularly the officers and men who were of the Roman
Catholic religion, to the service of France. Louis XIV. had
experienced the inconvenience of having the regiments in his
service suddenly recalled, as the English and Scots corps were in
1678, and he declined the offer; but as the re-uniting of England
in the communion of the church of Rome would further his projects
of personal aggrandisement, he proposed to maintain a body of two
thousand men in England, to be principally of the Roman Catholic
church. This subject being arranged, King James wrote to the Prince
of Orange on the 17th of January, 1688, as follows:
"I have charged my envoy, Mons. d'Abbeville, who will give you
this letter, to give you an account that I think it for my service
to call home the six regiments of my subjects that are under your
command in the States' service; and have written to the States to
the same purpose, and hope you will do your part to further their
being embarked as soon as may be. What else I have to say on this
subject I refer to my envoy; which is all I shall say now, but that
you shall find me as kind to you as you can desire[18]."
The States well knowing the value of these favourite corps, and
anticipating the speedy arrival of a period when they would have
urgent occasion for the services of every regiment, refused to
comply with the King's demand, alleging they were not bound by
the treaty with the Earl of Ossory to send the six regiments to
England, unless the King was engaged in a foreign war, or an
insurrection at home, which was not the case. His Majesty was,
however, determined, if possible, to deprive the States of the
services of this select body of men; and, after some further
correspondence on the subject, the following proclamation appeared
in the London Gazette:--
"JAMES R.
"WHEREAS we think it for our service to call home all our
natural-born subjects who are now in the service of the States
General of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, being either
mariners and seafaring men, or officers and soldiers serving at
land, We do, therefore, by this Our royal proclamation, by and
with the advice of Our privy council, streightly charge, require,
and command all and singular masters of ships, pilots, mariners,
seamen, shipwrights, and other seafaring men whatsoever, and
wheresoever, and also all commanders, officers, and soldiers
serving at land, being our natural-born subjects, who have
betaken themselves unto, and now are in the pay or service of,
the States General of the United Provinces of the Netherlands,
or in the pay or service of any of their subjects,--That upon
their known and bounden duty and allegiance, they, and every of
them, do quit the said respective services by sea or land, and
return home to their native countries, within the times hereby
prescribed,--that is to say, that all officers and commanders
at land, whatsoever, who are now in the service of the said
States General, in any place or part of the Netherlands or Low
Countries, do quit the said service and return home within the
space of two calendar months from the date hereof, and all other
persons hereinbefore mentioned, wherever they are or shall be
hereafter, in as short a time, and with as much speed, as they
shall be able, wherein We do and will expect all due obedience
and conformity. And we do hereby further publish and declare,
that all and every the offenders to the contrary shall not only
incur our high displeasure, but be rigorously proceeded against
for such their offence, by all ways and means, according to the
utmost severities of the law.--And we do hereby also authorize
and command all and every Our captains, masters, and other
officers serving and employed in any of our ships or vessels at
sea, or elsewhere, and all and every other Our subjects whom it
may concern, to seize, take, and bring away all such officers,
mariners, and soldiers, and other persons aforesaid, as shall be
found to be employed, or continue in the service aforesaid, in
contempt of, and contrary to, the true intent and meaning of this
Our proclamation.
"Given at Our Court at Whitehall, 14th March,
"1687-8, in the fourth year of Our reign."
Notwithstanding this proclamation, the States continued stedfast in
their determination not to send the six regiments home; but as some
of the officers were members of the Roman Catholic church, and it
being probable a rupture on the subject of religion would shortly
take place, they gave permission for as many of the officers to
return to England as chose. About forty availed themselves of this
opportunity and quitted the Dutch service. The King sent a frigate
to bring them home. A few soldiers also withdrew from Holland, and
three regiments[19] were formed, of nearly all papists, and taken
into the pay of the King of France, but they remained in England.
The six British regiments in the Dutch service were thus purged
of Roman Catholics, the vacancies were filled with men of staunch
protestant principles, and this distinguished body of men was
considered stedfastly devoted to the protestant interest.
The Prince of Orange having been induced to proceed to England with
a powerful armament for the purpose of rescuing the kingdom from
the power of papacy, the six regiments were selected to form part
of the expedition, and they were considered the most formidable and
efficient portion of his army. They mustered about four thousand
officers and men, were commanded by Major-General Hugh Mackay, and
sailed under a red flag. A declaration was published, setting
forth the reasons which induced the Prince of Orange to engage in
this undertaking; and Captain LANGHAM of BABINGTON'S regiment[20]
(now SIXTH FOOT), arriving privately in England, was seized and
imprisoned, and a number of the declarations were found in his
portmanteau, which were shown to the King. When the expressions
importing that the Prince of Orange was "most earnestly invited
to come to England by divers of the lords, both temporal and
spiritual, and by many gentlemen and others," were read, the King
expressed great indignation, and sent for such noblemen and bishops
as were in London, but none of them would acknowledge that they had
given such an invitation.
[Sidenote: 1689]
The Dutch armament passed Dover and proceeded westward, while
the English fleet, under the Earl of Dartmouth, lay wind-bound
at the mouth of the Thames; but a tender, on board of which were
four companies of the regiment which forms the subject of this
memoir, commanded by Major Ventris Columbine, was separated
from the remainder of the Dutch fleet by a gale of wind, and
captured by Captain Aylmer in His Majesty's ship the Swallow. The
four companies were landed in Devonshire; they were treated as
prisoners, and measures were adopted to constrain them to enter
King James's service. Meanwhile the other eight companies of the
regiment continued their course, and landed on the 5th of November
with the remainder of the Prince's army on the Devonshire coast,
from whence they advanced to Exeter. The result may be told in
a few words. The English army refused to fight against the best
interests of the country. King James and his family fled to France,
and the Prince and Princess of Orange were elevated to the throne.
Thus the SIXTH REGIMENT had the honour of taking a conspicuous part
in the enterprise by which the established religion and laws of
Great Britain were preserved.
After his accession to the throne King William detained this
regiment in the south of England, and kept it upon the Dutch
establishment: consequently, in the lists of the army given by
Story and other historians of this period, it is designated a Dutch
regiment. Major Columbine, and the other officers and men who were
captured by the Swallow, were restored with honour.
In May, 1689, the regiment was quartered in London; in August it
was encamped on Hounslow heath; it afterwards returned to London
and was quartered in the Tower Hamlets.
Sir Henry Bellasis having been appointed to succeed the Duke
of Norfolk in the colonelcy of a newly-raised regiment (now
twenty-second foot), the colonelcy of the SIXTH was conferred on
the lieutenant-colonel, WILLIAM BABINGTON, by commission dated
the 28th of September, 1689; and Major Columbine was appointed
lieutenant-colonel.
[Sidenote: 1690]
Although England was delivered from the power of papacy and
despotism, a great part of Ireland was subject to King James and
his adherents, whose cruel proceedings towards the protestants
awakened the sympathies of the English nation, and King William
resolved to proceed to the rescue of the unoffending sufferers.
Colonel BABINGTON'S regiment was one of the corps selected
to proceed to Ireland: it embarked at Highlake on the 12th of
April, 1690, and immediately on landing marched to the siege of
_Charlemont_--a strong castle situate on the angle formed by the
confluence of the river Canlin with the Blackwater, on the eastern
side of the county of Armagh, and erected in 1602 by Lord Mountjoy,
as a curb on the Earl of Tyrone, whose chief mansion-house, with
a strong fort, was at Dungannon, about five miles north-west of
it. Under the shelter of this fort a town was built, which in 1689
was a corporation, sending members to parliament. It contained a
good garrison under Teague O'Regan, an old soldier and a great
humorist, who made a resolute defence. The garrison being in want
of provision, King James sent a small supply, accompanied by a
detachment of five hundred men under Colonel M'Mahon, who was
permitted to enter the castle, but not to return. On the third
night they attempted to force their way through the besieging
force, but were repulsed with the loss of an officer and eight men;
a second attempt made on the following day was also unsuccessful;
and during the succeeding night they made another attempt, and
were driven back with the loss of sixteen men. O'Regan was so
incensed at their ill success, that he fastened the gates upon
them, and refused to admit them into the castle; and they were
forced to make huts in the dry ditch within the palisadoes and on
the counterscarp. The place being closely invested, the garrison
was forced to surrender in the middle of May for want of provision;
and four companies of the SIXTH, commanded by the major, took
possession of the castle, where they found seventeen pieces of
cannon and a large mortar, also a good supply of ammunition: but
the fortress was found in so filthy a condition, that the officers
and men were forced to encamp until it was thoroughly cleansed.
In the early part of June the regiment pitched its tents on the
undulating grounds near Armagh; and the regiments of Lloyd, Cutts,
Hastings, and Fowkes, eleven regiments of Danish horse and foot,
and a brigade of Dutch cavalry, afterwards joined the camp.
King William arrived in Ireland, and, advancing to the banks of the
_Boyne_, forced the passage of that river on the 1st of July, and
overthrew the army of King James in a general engagement, in which
the SIXTH foot had the honour to take part. The regiment was in Sir
Henry Bellasis's brigade, and shared in the glory of this memorable
victory. The number of killed and wounded has not been ascertained;
but, as the regiment only mustered four hundred and eighteen men at
the general review at Finglass on the 7th and 8th of July, its loss
may be supposed to have been great.
After delivering Dublin from the power of the papists, the regiment
was detached against _Athlone_ with the division commanded by
Lieut.-General Douglas, who was a brave but rough soldier of
fortune, and had served under King William in the Netherlands. On
arriving before Athlone, a drummer was sent to summon the garrison
to surrender. The governor, Colonel Richard Grace, of Moyelly
castle, fired a pistol at the messenger, and said, "These are my
terms; these only will I give or receive; and, after my provisions
shall be consumed, I will defend Athlone until I eat my boots."
The siege was afterwards commenced; and a battery opened its fire
against the works: but the train of artillery proved too weak
to make a practicable breach; and, ammunition becoming scarce,
Lieut.-General Douglas raised the siege and retired. He did not
preserve strict discipline in the division committed to his charge,
which was accused of many outrages on the peasantry. On arriving
at Ballymore, in the county of Westmeath, BABINGTON'S (now SIXTH)
regiment was removed from Lieut.-General Douglas's command, and
ordered to proceed to Dublin to replace the regiments of Trelawny
(now fourth) and Hastings (now thirteenth), which were ordered to
embark for England.
The regiment remained a short time in garrison at Dublin, from
whence it was detached to occupy a line of posts along the
frontiers; and in November Lieut.-Colonel Columbine, advancing
from Roscrea, made an incursion into the enemy's quarters near the
Shannon, and in the neighbourhood of Nenagh, where he destroyed a
quantity of corn and captured two castles.
[Sidenote: 1691]
In April, 1691, Colonel Babington was succeeded in the colonelcy of
the regiment by GEORGE PRINCE OF HESSE D'ARMSTADT--an officer of
distinguished merit, who was appointed to serve on the staff of the
army in Ireland, with the rank of brigadier-general.
The regiment took the field with the army in May. The first
service of importance was the siege of _Ballymore_, which fortress
surrendered in the middle of June. The troops subsequently advanced
against _Athlone_, a large and well-fortified town, divided into
two unequal portions, or towns, by the river Shannon. Here the
regiment was formed in brigade with Lloyd's (now fifth), Cutts',
Nassau's, and three Danish battalions, commanded by Major-General
the Count of Nassau and Brigadier-General the Prince of Hesse
d'Armstadt. It furnished a detachment to attack by storm that part
of Athlone which stood on the side of the river next to the army,
called the English Town, which was captured in gallant style
on the 20th of June. Its grenadier company, and a detachment of
pikemen and musketeers, also formed part of the storming party
selected to attack the opposite side of the town on the 30th of
June. The tolling of the church-bell at six minutes after six
o'clock in the evening gave the signal for the attack, when the
forlorn hope, consisting of three officers and sixty grenadiers
in armour, sprang out of the trenches and plunged into the river,
which was waist deep, and rendered difficult by large stones.
Three thousand men, under Major-General Mackay, seconded their
efforts with signal intrepidity; and the soldiers, scrambling up
the breach in the face of a heavy fire, one helping another up,
soon overpowered all opposition, and in less than half an hour
were masters of the town. This gallant exploit was performed with
the loss of twelve men killed, and five officers and thirty men
wounded: among the latter was the colonel of this regiment--the
Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, and Lieut.-Colonel Columbine. The
regiment remained at Athlone while the works were being put in
repair; and, during a severe thunder-storm on the 9th of July, it
had two men killed and three dangerously injured by lightning[21].
The Irish army, commanded by General St. Ruth, retired and took
up a position near _Aghrim_, where it was attacked on the 12th
of July, and the regiment had another opportunity of signalizing
itself in action. The Prince of HESSE D'ARMSTADT headed his own
corps, and his characteristic intrepidity was so conspicuous on
this occasion, that he has been accused of rashness. He was again
wounded; but had the gratification of witnessing the heroism of
his men, who emulated his example, and the overthrow of the Irish
army, before he quitted the field. Night having put an end to the
pursuit, the regiment halted on the scene of conflict: its loss was
ten men killed, and six officers and forty-five men wounded.
General St. Ruth having been killed in action, the main body of the
Irish army fled in terror and dismay towards Limerick, and King
William's forces followed. On arriving at _Galway_ the garrison
was summoned, and refused to surrender; but the river having
been passed in boats, and a fort captured by storm, the governor
capitulated on the 21st of July. The next service in which the
regiment was engaged was the second siege of _Limerick_: it was
one of the corps which appeared before the town on the 15th of
August, and on the 25th it was detached with the regiments of
Tiffin (twenty-seventh foot) and St. John, seven hundred horse and
dragoons, and five pieces of cannon, under its colonel, the Prince
of Hesse d'Armstadt, against _Castleconnell_, a strong fortress on
the river Shannon, four miles north of Limerick, which surrendered
after a siege of two days. The siege of Limerick was afterwards
prosecuted with vigour, and it was delivered up in the beginning
of October. This event terminated the war in Ireland. The regiment
marched from Limerick to Dublin, where it embarked for England on
the 20th of December, and after its arrival commenced recruiting
its numbers.
[Sidenote: 1692]