time, assembled at Edinburgh: some of these men had escaped from
captivity, others were the remains of the two companies which had
fought at Preston-pans, and they were directed to proceed, by
forced marches, to Inverlochy, and throw themselves into _Fort
William_: a drummer and three men of the regiment, who were
made prisoners at Fort Augustus, also escaped from custody and
took refuge in Fort William. In March, 1746, the enemy besieged
the fort, and the garrison made a most resolute defence. By a
well-directed fire from the works, by sallies and other devices,
with the co-operation of a small naval force, the enemy was forced
to raise the siege and retire. This success was followed by the
overthrow of the rebel army at Culloden, which extinguished the
hopes of the Pretender, and the insurrection was thus finally
suppressed. The officers and men of the SIXTH were liberated
from captivity, the companies in garrison were relieved, and the
regiment proceeded to England to recruit its numbers, where it
remained for six years.
[Sidenote: 1751]
In the warrant of King George II., bearing date the 1st of July,
1751, for regulating the uniform, colours, and distinctions of
regiments, the facing of the SIXTH was directed to be of DEEP
YELLOW. "The first colour to be the great Union; and the second
to be of deep yellow, with the union in the upper canton; in the
centre of the colours the ANTELOPE, being the ancient badge of the
regiment, and in the three corners of the second colour the _rose
and crown_. The front of the grenadier caps to be of deep yellow,
with the antelope, as in the colours; the little flap to be red,
with the white horse, and motto, _Nec aspera terrent_, over it; the
back part of the cap to be red, and the turn-up deep yellow. The
same badge of the antelope to be painted on the drums and bells of
arms, with the rank of the regiment underneath."
[Sidenote: 1753]
[Sidenote: 1755]
[Sidenote: 1756]
The SIXTH were employed on home duty until the winter of 1753, when
they embarked for Gibraltar to relieve the thirty-second regiment;
and they were employed on garrison duty at that important fortress
during the whole of the Seven years' war. Hostilities commenced
in America in 1755, and in 1756 a French armament, commanded by
Marshal Duke of Richelieu, invaded the island of Minorca, in the
capture of which the SIXTH took so distinguished a part in 1708;
and a detachment of the regiment was held in readiness to proceed
to Port Mahon to reinforce the garrison. This service was, however,
delayed; and Lieut.-General Fowke, who commanded the forces at
Gibraltar, was dismissed the service for neglecting to strengthen
the troops in Minorca by a battalion from his garrison.
[Sidenote: 1763]
After the peace of Fontainebleau the SIXTH were relieved from duty
at Gibraltar, and returned to England, where they arrived in the
summer of 1763. Two years afterwards they proceeded to Scotland.
[Sidenote: 1765]
On the 14th of June, 1765, the colonelcy was conferred by King
George III. on Major-General William Rufane, from the half-pay of
the seventy-sixth foot (a corps raised in 1756, and disbanded after
the peace in 1763), in succession to General Guise, deceased.
[Sidenote: 1769]
[Sidenote: 1772]
The regiment left Scotland in 1769, and was stationed in England
during the three succeeding years: in October, 1772, it embarked
for the West Indies, to assist in reducing to submission to the
British government the refractory Charibbees in St. Vincent. This
island was ceded to Great Britain by the treaty of 1763, and
was found to contain two tribes of natives, called the red and
black Charibbees; the former being the aborigines, and the latter
having sprung from a cargo of African slaves who escaped from a
vessel which was wrecked on the island. The Charibbees were found
devoted to the French interest, and were dangerous and troublesome
neighbours to the English planters. A resolution was taken to
restrain their ambulations to a smaller range in the island, and
to enforce obedience to several necessary regulations: and if this
was found impracticable, to remove them to some other island, or
to the continent of Africa. The Charibbees were, however, of a
resolute spirit: they possessed many thickly-wooded fastnesses,
and they resisted the attempt to restrict the indulgence of their
roving propensities and mode of life so powerfully, that it was
found necessary to augment the military force on the island.
[Sidenote: 1773]
Soon after arriving at St. Vincent the SIXTH lost their colonel,
Lieut.-General RUFANE, who died on the 14th of February, 1773, and
was succeeded by Lieut.-General JOHN GORE from the sixty-first
regiment: this officer died in November following, when his Majesty
conferred the colonelcy of the SIXTH on Lieut.-General Sir WILLIAM
BOOTHBY, Baronet, from the fiftieth foot.
[Sidenote: 1774]
The regiment was employed in operations against the Charibbees of
St. Vincent; several skirmishes occurred among the thickly-wooded
parts of the country, and a few men were killed and wounded in
the bush-fighting which took place daily. At length the natives
were reduced to submission, and an agreement was concluded with
their chiefs in February, 1774, by which further hostilities were
prevented.
Having reduced the two refractory tribes to submission, the SIXTH
and forty-eighth regiments were stationed at the Charibbee islands
until after the breaking out of the war of independence in North
America.
[Sidenote: 1775]
[Sidenote: 1776]
[Sidenote: 1777]
Hostilities commenced in 1775, when the establishment of the SIXTH
was augmented from ten companies of thirty-eight private men each,
to twelve companies of fifty-six private men each. In the following
year they were withdrawn from the West Indies, and joined the
army commanded by Lieut.-General Sir William Howe at New York.
The health of the soldiers had, however, been impaired by their
residence in a tropical climate, and after transferring a few men
to other corps, they returned to England, where they arrived in
March, 1777.
[Sidenote: 1778]
[Sidenote: 1779]
[Sidenote: 1780]
During the summer of 1778, the regiment was encamped, with the
twenty-fifth, sixty-ninth, seventy-ninth, and ten militia corps,
at Warley, under the orders of Lieut.-General Pierson. In the
following year the regiment was encamped at Coxheath, with the
fourteenth, fiftieth, sixty-fifth, sixty-ninth, and sixteen corps
of militia; and in 1780 it was encamped at Rye, under Major-General
Sloper.
[Sidenote: 1782]
In 1782 county titles were given to regiments, in order to
facilitate the procuring of recruits; and the SIXTH were designated
the FIRST WARWICKSHIRE regiment: at the same time the officers
were directed to cultivate a connection with that division of the
county, so as to create a mutual attachment between the inhabitants
of Warwickshire and the regiment.
[Sidenote: 1783]
The SIXTH had previously proceeded to the islands of Jersey and
Guernsey, from whence they were removed to Ireland in the autumn of
1783.
[Sidenote: 1786]
On the 5th of May, 1786, the regiment embarked from Ireland for
North America, to relieve the seventeenth at Nova Scotia, and was
stationed in that island for several years.
[Sidenote: 1787]
[Sidenote: 1792]
General Sir William Boothby, Baronet, died at Bath on the 15th of
April, 1787, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the SIXTH by
Lieut.-General LANCELOT BAUGH, from the fifty-eighth regiment;
after whose decease in 1792, Sir RALPH ABERCROMBY was appointed
colonel of the SIXTH, from the sixty-ninth regiment.
[Sidenote: 1793]
While the regiment was stationed in Nova Scotia a revolution took
place in France, and in 1793 the King and Queen were beheaded. The
dangerous doctrines of liberty and equality extended to the French
West India islands, and the SIXTH were withdrawn from Nova Scotia
and employed in delivering these valuable possessions from the
power of the republican government.
[Sidenote: 1794]
The forces engaged in this enterprise rendezvoused at Barbadoes in
January, 1794, under the orders of General Sir Charles Grey, K.B.
(afterwards Earl Grey), and the battalion companies of the SIXTH
constituted part of the third brigade, the flank companies being
formed in grenadier and light infantry battalions. A landing was
effected at three different points on the island of _Martinico_
in the early part of February, and after some sharp fighting, in
which the SIXTH had about half a dozen men killed and wounded, this
valuable possession was delivered from the power of republicanism.
Sir Charles Grey observed in his public despatch:--"The spirit,
unanimity, and perseverance of the navy and army never were more
conspicuous; nor has more cordial co-operation ever been manifested
between his Majesty's naval and land forces. In a word, the
general, and field-officers, and the commanding officers of corps,
have set such an example of zeal, activity, and animation in this
service, which has been so laudably imitated by all the officers
and soldiers of this little army, that they merit the greatest
praise."
From Martinico the grenadiers under Prince Edward (afterwards Duke
of Kent), the light infantry under Major-General Thomas Dundas,
with the SIXTH, ninth, and forty-third regiments, commanded by
Colonel Sir Charles Gordon, re-embarked on the 30th of March, and
arriving at _St. Lucia_ on the 1st of April, completed the conquest
of that fine island in three days. A detachment of the regiment
was next employed in the reduction of the island of _Guadaloupe_:
a determined resistance was made by the enemy, but the island was
captured before the end of April, and Sir Charles Grey declared in
his public despatch, that he "could not find words to convey an
adequate idea, or to express the high sense he entertained, of the
extraordinary merit evinced by the officers and soldiers in this
service."
Although the extension of revolutionary power in Europe engaged
the attention of the regicide government of France, yet the loss
of these valuable colonial possessions was not regarded with
indifference, and an expedition was fitted out at Brest for the
recovery of the conquered islands. In June a body of French troops
arrived at Guadaloupe, and the doctrines of liberty and equality
were so successfully disseminated among the mulattoes and blacks,
that they quickly flocked to the republican standard. The posts
occupied by the British were attacked, and in October the whole
island, except Fort Matilda, was re-captured by the French. This
fort was defended by the troops under Major-General Prescott until
December, when it was evacuated. The SIXTH had several men killed
and wounded in the defence of Guadaloupe, and had also Lieutenant
Ekins wounded.
[Sidenote: 1795]
The regiment having sustained considerable loss from the effects
of climate, transferred its service-men to the ninth foot, and
embarked for England, where it arrived in July, 1795, and landed
at Portsmouth, from whence it proceeded into Warwickshire to
recruit. In this service it was not, however, very successful, in
consequence of having transferred a number of Warwickshire men to
the ninth regiment in the West Indies.
The regiment marched to Southampton in September, for the purpose
of embarking for Gibraltar; but the order was subsequently
countermanded, and it returned to Warwickshire to re-commence
recruiting.
In November of the same year Sir Ralph Abercromby was removed
to the seventh dragoon guards, and the colonelcy of the SIXTH
was conferred on Prince WILLIAM FREDERICK, afterwards Duke of
Gloucester.
[Sidenote: 1796]
Ireland being, at this period, in a state bordering on rebellion,
the SIXTH, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Colin Campbell, were ordered
to proceed to that country. They embarked at Bristol in February,
1796, landed at Waterford, and in May proceeded to Kilkenny. The
French directory cherished a decided antipathy to the British
government, and sent a body of troops to Ireland to aid the
malcontents in an appeal to arms. In December, when the French
armament appeared in Bantry Bay, the SIXTH marched to oppose the
enemy, who returned to France without effecting a landing.
[Sidenote: 1797]
[Sidenote: 1798]
The regiment returned to Kilkenny in January, 1797, from whence
it marched in April to Loughlinstown, near Dublin, where a
considerable force was assembled in huts: it was subsequently
encamped in Phœnix Park, Dublin, and being very weak in numbers,
it was united to the first light infantry battalion in October it
returned to its huts at Loughlinstown; and in the early part of
1798, marched to Nenagh, and subsequently to Galway.
The long-suppressed rebellion broke out in May, 1798, and Ireland
became the scene of conflagration, rapine, and bloodshed, the
conduct of the insurgents being of the most cruel and inhuman
character. The SIXTH, and light battalion attached to them,
commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Colin Campbell, were employed in
suppressing this unnatural warfare. Scarcely was this accomplished,
when the French directory endeavoured to revive the contest by
sending General Humbert with about a thousand men to Ireland;
and Major Macbean, with eighty men of the SIXTH (who were not
attached to the light battalion) formed part of the force sent
against the French. In the action at _Castlebar_, on the 27th of
August, the eighty men of the SIXTH were the last that quitted
their ground; their commanding officer, Major Macbean, was taken
prisoner by the French and very cruelly treated; but he escaped a
few days afterwards and joined the regiment at Tuam. The French
having been surrounded and made prisoners, the rebellion was
finally suppressed, and the regiment passed the winter at Moate and
Athlone, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Bowes.
[Sidenote: 1799]
Tranquillity having been restored in Ireland, the regiment embarked
at Cork in June, 1799, for Canada, and landed on the 14th of
October at Quebec, where its ranks were completed by a draft from
the third battalion of the sixtieth regiment.
[Sidenote: 1803]
The SIXTH remained at Quebec until 1803, when they proceeded, under
the command of Lieut.-Colonel Bowes, up the country to Montreal,
Kingston, and St. John's.
[Sidenote: 1804]
[Sidenote: 1806]
In 1804 a second battalion was added to the regiment, and was
embodied at Liverpool, under the superintendence of the colonel,
His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester. It was formed of men
raised in the county of Lancaster for limited service, under the
additional force act, passed on the 29th of June, 1804; and was
placed on the establishment of the army from the 25th of December,
1804. In the same year the first battalion returned to Quebec, from
whence it embarked, in 1806, for England: it landed at Portsmouth
on the 7th of September, and marched to Deal barracks, where it was
joined by the second battalion.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester was removed in May,
1806, to the third foot-guards; and the colonelcy of the Sixth was
conferred on Major-General Sir GEORGE NUGENT, Baronet, from the
sixty-second regiment.
[Sidenote: 1807]
The first battalion having been completed to the war-establishment
by drafts from the second, marched, in October, to Dover Castle;
and in January, 1807, returned to Deal. In April following it
embarked for Gibraltar, where it arrived on the 2nd of June, in a
very complete and efficient state, and it passed the succeeding
twelve months at that important fortress.
[Sidenote: 1808]
While the SIXTH were in garrison at Gibraltar, the tyrannical
proceedings of Bonaparte in Portugal and Spain, and the resistance
which he met with in those countries, induced the British
Government to aid the patriots in their endeavours to shake off the
French yoke; and in June, 1808, this regiment, mustering upwards of
eleven hundred men, was placed under the orders of Major-General
Brent Spencer, with the view of being employed in this service. For
some time, however, the point at which a landing should take place
was not decided, and the troops appeared first off Ceuta, then
proceeded to Cadiz, subsequently to Lisbon, and back to Cadiz. At
length circumstances occurred which induced Major-General Spencer
once more to proceed to the vicinity of Lisbon, where he learnt
that Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley had arrived, with eight
thousand men from Ireland, in the Mondego river, and immediately
proceeded thither to join him.
Having landed on the shores of Portugal, the SIXTH were formed in
brigade with the thirty-second regiment, under Brigadier-General
Bowes; the advanced guard quitted the banks of the Mondego river,
on the 9th of August, and on the 17th attacked the French under
General Laborde in their position at _Roleia_.
On the morning of this day, which is memorable for being the
first of a series of victories gained by the British troops
in the Peninsula, the SIXTH issued from Obidos, a town with a
Moorish castle, built on a gentle eminence in the middle of a
valley, and, directing their march to the left, gained the ridge
of heights on the enemy's right. They formed part of the left
column of attack under Major-General Ferguson, destined to turn
all the enemy's posts on the left of the valley, and the right
of his post at Roleia; also to oppose the efforts of a body of
French troops under General Loison, should they arrive from Rio
Major during the action. The heights were cleared, the column
descended from the higher grounds in the rear of the centre, and
joining Brigadier-General Fane's brigade, were directed through the
mountains to outflank the French right. Meanwhile the troops which
attacked the enemy's centre were triumphant; the SIXTH and other
corps in the left column turned his right flank, and he fell back
fighting to the Quinta de Bugaliera, and soon after four o'clock
the action had ceased. The SIXTH were not seriously engaged: their
only loss was Captain John Currey and two men wounded, and one man
missing; but their gallant bearing, and eagerness to engage their
adversaries were conspicuous, and they were rewarded with the
honour of bearing the word "ROLEIA" inscribed on their colours.
On the 19th of August the SIXTH marched into position at _Vimiera_,
a village near the sea-coast, and situate in a valley through
which runs the little river Maceira; and the regiment was one of
the corps posted on a large mountain which commenced at the coast.
At seven o'clock on the morning of the 21st of August a cloud of
dust was observed beyond the nearest hills, and soon afterwards
the French army, commanded by Marshal Junot, was seen advancing in
order of battle.
The SIXTH, and several other corps, were directed to cross the
valley behind the village, and to take post on another height,
which overtopped the hill in front of the village; and, before the
regiment reached the summit, the battle had commenced. A sternly
contested action among rugged rocks and broken grounds ended in
an entire defeat of the French army; and the SIXTH were rewarded
with the honour of bearing the word "_Vimiera_" inscribed on their
colours.
These successes were followed by the convention of Cintra, and
the British soldiers saw their gallant efforts succeeded by the
deliverance of Portugal from the power of the enemy. On the
departure of the French, the SIXTH marched up the country to the
strong fortress of Almeida, situate on the river Coa, in the
province of Beira, where they remained in garrison four months.
[Sidenote: 1809]
In the mean time reports were circulated of the insurrection
against the French, and it was affirmed that enthusiastic
multitudes of Spaniards were pressing forward from every quarter
to complete the destruction of the legions of Napoleon, which were
stated to be baffled, dispirited, and on the eve of quitting Spain.
Although the accounts given by the Spaniards of their own strength
and power were absurdly exaggerated, yet the British government,
placing some confidence in the immense numbers of the patriots, and
in the goodness of their cause, sent Lieut.-General Sir John Moore
with an army into Spain to aid them in their laudable exertions
to effect their emancipation; and the SIXTH were withdrawn from
Almeida to take part in this hazardous enterprise. After passing
the frontiers of Portugal and pushing forward boldly into Spain,
the British troops met with disappointment and disaster. Bonaparte
had passed the Pyrenees with a powerful army, and rushing like a
tempest upon the undisciplined multitudes of patriots, he quickly
broke, destroyed, and dispersed them; then bending his course to
Madrid, entered the capital in triumph. Little remained to be
done to complete the conquest of Spain, but the destruction of
the army of Britons, who, by long and toilsome marches through a
difficult country, had ventured to menace his lines, and were the
only troops in Spain capable of resisting his veteran legions.
Quitting Madrid, he advanced with an immense army capable of
enveloping and of swallowing up the handful of British troops; but
Sir John Moore, with his characteristic energy and skill, withdrew
towards the coast, and escaped the toils of his adversary. The
SIXTH were nearly eight hundred strong; they were commanded by
Major Gordon, and were brigaded with the ninth, twenty-third, and
forty-third regiments, under Major-General Beresford: they suffered
most severely in the long and harassing retreat over mountains
and rivers, through narrow defiles, and along roads covered with
snow; but on arriving at _Corunna_, the men obtained shelter in
the neighbouring villages and recruited their wasted strength.
While the troops were waiting the arrival of transports, the French
army approached, and, on the 16th of January, 1809, was fought
the hard-contested battle of _Corunna_, in which British valour
and endurance were conspicuously displayed, and this disastrous
expedition was terminated by a glorious victory, which reflected
lustre on the British arms; but the officers and soldiers had to
lament the loss of their gallant leader, Lieut.-General Sir John
Moore, who was mortally wounded during the heat of the action.
After this victory the troops embarked for England: the SIXTH
were one of the last corps which went on board the transports,
having lined the walls of Corunna during the embarkation; and, on
arriving in England, it was ascertained that they had lost about
four hundred men in this arduous enterprise, in which they earned
the honorary distinction of bearing the word "CORUNNA" inscribed on
their colours.
The regiment remained in England until the middle of July, when
the first battalion, having been completed to its establishment
by drafts from the second, embarked with the expedition against
Holland commanded by Lieut.-General the Earl of Chatham. In the
siege and capture of Flushing and the reduction of the island of
Walcheren, the regiment had only Ensign Addison and a few men
wounded; but when the Walcheren fever broke out among the troops,
its ranks were thinned by the ravages of that pestilential disease.
The object of the expedition having been frustrated by delays,
the island was evacuated; and in December the SIXTH returned to
England so reduced in numbers, and the sick men so numerous, as to
be unable to furnish the usual reliefs of the ordinary regimental
guard.
[Sidenote: 1810]
[Sidenote: 1811]
[Sidenote: 1812]
In August, 1810, the first battalion embarked at Dover, for
Ireland, and was stationed at Cork and Kinsale until October, 1812,
when it embarked for the Peninsula. Previous to going on board the
transports it was inspected by Lieut.-General Sir John Hope, the
Commander of the Forces in Ireland, who was pleased to express
himself much gratified at witnessing the high state of discipline,
and the general appearance and efficiency of the corps.
The SIXTH, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Archibald Campbell, arrived
at Corunna on the 28th of October; but as the allied army,
commanded by Field-Marshal the Marquis of Wellington, had evacuated
Madrid, and was retiring from Burgos upon Salamanca, the transports
again put to sea, and proceeded to Lisbon, where the regiment
landed on the 15th of November, on which day it was joined by four
hundred men from the second battalion at Jersey.
[Sidenote: 1813]