establishment; and the usual augmentation of officers arrived
at the Cape of Good Hope in March, 1825. On the 22nd of March
it embarked at Table Bay on board the Windsor and Vansittart,
Indiamen, and landed on the 31st of May at Bombay. It occupied
the barracks at Fort George, and, Colonel Napier having been
appointed commandant of the fort and garrison, it was commanded
by Lieut.-Colonel Scott. It was inspected on the 9th of June by
Major-General Samuel Wilson, of the Hon. East India Company's
service, who expressed himself much pleased with the steady and
veteran appearance of the men, and particularly commended its
interior economy.
In June, 1825, the establishment was augmented to a thousand and
eight rank and file. During that and the following months the
regiment suffered severely from the cholera morbus, which carried
off many of the finest and strongest men: the mortality was
particularly great among the women and children.
At the close of the rainy season, in September, the regiment
was suddenly ordered from Bombay to form part of a field-force
assembling at Cutch, with a view to the invasion of Scinde, between
the umeers of which country and the Bombay government serious
differences had arisen, in consequence of the incursions of a tribe
of Mayanas on the Cutch frontier. The regiment embarked from Bombay
on the 21st of September, four hundred and sixty-eight strong,
landed at Mandavie, in the gulf of Cutch, between the 10th and
15th of October, and marched towards Bhooj, the capital, beyond
which city it pitched its tents, on the 2nd of November, near the
village of Juruck, where eight thousand men were assembled under
the command of Colonel Mark Napier of the SIXTH. It was formed
in brigade with the Twenty-first regiment of Sipahees and the
flank companies of the second Bombay European regiment, under the
orders of Lieut.-Colonel Scott of the SIXTH; and the command of the
regiment devolved on Major Algeo.
On the 3rd of December the troops moved from Juruck to the
neighbourhood of Raddiapoor, and, Colonel Napier being obliged
to leave the army from indisposition, the command devolved on
Lieut.-Colonel Scott of the SIXTH. While at this camp six officers
and seventy-seven fine recruits, from Yorkshire and Lancashire,
joined the regiment.
[Sidenote: 1826]
In January, 1826, the army removed to Madapoor; in February it
encamped near the fort and city of Bhooj; and, in March, the umeers
of Scinde having yielded to the demands of the Bombay government,
the regiments were ordered back to their different stations. The
SIXTH embarked from Mandavie on the 20th and 21st of March, in
pattimars (small craft with open decks); arrived at the presidency
on the 26th and 30th of that month, and occupied the barracks on
the little island of Colaba. Its loss from sickness, during the
first six months after its arrival in India, was one officer and
sixty-nine men, and forty-one invalided.
Brevet-Major Thompson, Lieutenant Gordon, and one hundred and
forty-six recruits, joined from England in the beginning of May;
and, at the inspection on the 18th of that month, Major-General
Wilson commended the appearance and orderly conduct of the regiment
in quarters, which he repeated at the inspection on the 14th of
December. During the year 1826 the regiment lost four officers and
fifty men.
[Sidenote: 1827]
Lieut.-Colonel Scott, commandant of the fort and garrison of
Bombay, inspected the regiment on the 3rd of May, 1827, and
expressed his satisfaction at its appearance and condition. On
the 8th of that month six officers and one hundred and eighty men
joined from England. The decease of Lieut.-Colonel Scott occurred
in October following, and Major Algeo of the SIXTH assumed the
command of the fort and garrison of Bombay, until the arrival of
Colonel Henry Sullivan in November, when Major Algeo resumed the
command of the regiment. Colonel Sullivan inspected the regiment on
the 15th of December, and every department met with his approval.
During the year 1827 the regiment lost two officers and forty men;
and invalided twenty-three men.
[Sidenote: 1828]
Seven officers and two hundred and eleven men joined from England
in May, 1828. During the heavy rains many men were carried off
by the cholera morbus; in the month of July alone the SIXTH lost
fifty-eight men from this disease. This was a year of general
sickness all over India; but at no station did any regiment
suffer so much as the SIXTH on Colaba island; their loss being
two officers and one hundred and twenty one men, and they sent
sixty-two invalids to England.
[Sidenote: 1829]
The very sickly state of the regiment, from its having been
stationed during four monsoons at Bombay, occasioned it to be
removed to the more healthy station of Poona in the Deccan: it
embarked from Colaba on the 6th of February, 1829, landed at
Panwell on the opposite coast in the evening, and marched for
Poona, where it arrived on the 17th, and was stationed in the lines
then recently occupied by the twentieth regiment. The health of the
men began to improve rapidly, and in a few months the SIXTH were
one of the most healthy and efficient corps in India. In May one
hundred and thirty-five volunteers from the forty-seventh regiment
joined the SIXTH in camp at Poona; and at the inspection, on the
10th of June, Major-General Sir Lionel Smith, K.C.B., expressed
himself much gratified with the appearance and efficiency of the
corps. The loss from disease during this year was thirty-two men.
[Sidenote: 1830]
The condition of the regiment was also much commended by Sir
Lionel Smith at the inspections in January and June, 1830. In July
the flank companies were ordered to be completed to one hundred
rank and file each, under the command of Captain Murphy, with
the second or Queen's royal, and flank companies of the eleventh
and thirteenth native infantry, the whole to be commanded by
Colonel Willshire, to march against Ukkulcote; but this fort
having surrendered to the troops under the President of Sattara
(Lieut.-Colonel A. Robertson, the Resident at the court), the
march was countermanded. In December the strength of the regiment
was increased by the arrival at the camp at Poona of fourteen
volunteers from the first, or the royals, and ninety-two from the
eighty-ninth regiment. Its loss from disease this year was three
officers and twenty-four men.
[Sidenote: 1831]
At the inspections in January and June, 1831, Colonel Henry
Sullivan, commanding the Poona division, expressed his unqualified
approbation of the condition of the regiment. This year it was
particularly healthy, its loss being only one officer and eight
men; and when inspected in November, by Major-General Sir James
Stevenson Barns, K.C.B., commanding the forces in the Bombay
presidency, its appearance, discipline, efficiency, and general
good conduct in quarters, were commended.
[Sidenote: 1832]
The regiment remained at Poona during the year 1832, and on the
24th of May, 1832, His Majesty King William IV. was graciously
pleased to confer upon it the title of SIXTH, OR ROYAL FIRST
WARWICKSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT[38]; at which time its facings were
changed from yellow to blue.
[Sidenote: 1833]
[Sidenote: 1834]
[Sidenote: 1835]
[Sidenote: 1836]
[Sidenote: 1837]
[Sidenote: 1838]
In January, 1833, the regiment was at Panwell, in February it was
encamped near Dungah, and in March at Deesa, where it remained
during that and the two succeeding years, when it proceeded to
Colaba. It was stationed at Colaba during the years 1836 and
1837[39]; and in the beginning of 1838 returned to cantonments
at Poona, where it has remained until the end of the year; which
brings this record to a conclusion.
The formation of the SIXTH, OR ROYAL FIRST WARWICKSHIRE REGIMENT,
in 1674, to support the cause of civil and religious liberty in
Holland against the power of the ambitious Louis XIV. of France,
gives an interesting character to its origin, and also to its
early services in support of the Protestant interests. At the
Revolution, in 1688, it had the honour to compose part of the army
which appeared in England to rescue the country from the dangers by
which it was menaced. It aided in delivering Ireland from the power
of papacy, and afterwards fought under King William III. in the
Netherlands. In the war of the Spanish succession it performed much
sharp fighting and arduous duty in Spain. Its services at home, and
in the West Indies, have been of an important character. It had the
honour to gain laurels under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, and
also under the Duke of Wellington, in Portugal, Spain, and France,
and acquired distinction on the distant shores of Lake Erie in
North America. During the last eighteen years it has been employed
in protecting the British colonial possessions in Africa and Asia,
a service from which important commercial advantages are derived by
the country.
[Illustration: SIXTH (THE ROYAL FIRST WARWICKSHIRE) REGIMENT OF
FOOT, M DCCC XXXIX.]
FOOTNOTES:
[6] Then called the _Holland Regiment_, and now the _Third Foot_,
or the _Buffs_.
[7] A corps of cavalry, and two brigades of infantry, one English,
and one Scots, of which the _First_, or _the Royal Regiment_, is
the only remaining corps.
[8] Boyer's Life of King William III.
[9] Return of officers of the Earl of Ossory's brigade killed and
wounded at the battle of St. Denis, 14th August, 1678.
Killed. | Wounded.
--------+---------
The Earl of Ossory's regiment 3 | 10
Colonel Henry Wisely's ditto (now 5th foot) 2 | 10
Sir Henry Bellasis's ditto (6th) 6 | 6
Sir Alexander Colyear's ditto 2 | 4
Major-General Kirkpatrick's ditto 3 | 6
Colonel Hugh Mackay's ditto 4 | 3
--------+---------
Total 20 | 39
--------+---------
[10] Appendix to Dalrymple's Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland.
[11] Appendix to Dalrymple's Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland.
[12] Bishop Burnet.
[13] Millan.
[14] Appendix to Dalrymple's Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland.
[15] Millan.
[16] The pay of the Regiment _for sixty days_, from the 5th June to
the 3rd August, 1685, amounting to £1014. 8_s._, was charged in the
Accounts of the Army in England.
[17] Appendix to Dalrymple's Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland.
[18] Appendix to Dalrymple's Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland.
[19] The first was an English regiment, commanded by Colonel John
Hales, and contained ten officers and two hundred soldiers of the
Roman Catholic religion; the second was commanded by John Wachop,
and contained twelve Roman Catholic officers and about three
hundred soldiers, who were principally Scots; and the third was
commanded by Roger M'Eligott: it was an Irish corps, and nearly
every officer and man was of the Roman Catholic religion.
[20] In the list of the Prince of Orange's army published by
authority, the regiment, which is now the SIXTH FOOT, is styled
"The regiment which was formerly Bellasis's;" in the ephemeral
publications of that date it is styled "Babington's regiment."
[21] Story's History of the War in Ireland.
[22] The original embarkation return of the regiment is preserved
among the Harleian Manuscripts, No. 7025.
[23] A note acknowledging the receipt of this dish is preserved in
the British Museum.--Bibl. Harl., 7025.
[24] Carleton's Memoirs.
[25] It seems remarkable that the distinguished conduct of
Lieut.-Colonel SOUTHWELL of the SIXTH has not been alluded to
by many historians who have written accounts of the capture of
_Barcelona_: his personal bravery and success were, however,
recorded in the "Annals of Queen Anne;" in the "Present State of
Europe;" and in a few other works published at the time.
[26] Carleton.
[27] Effective strength of the British forces in Spain at the time
of the battle of Almanza, from the weekly return dated 22nd of
April, 1707.
AT THE BATTLE
Men.
Harvey's Horse, now 2nd Dragoon Guards 227
Carpenter's Dragoons, now 3rd Light Dragoons } 292
Essex's ditto, now 4th Light Dragoons }
Killegrew's ditto, now 8th Hussars 51
Pearce's ditto, disbanded 273
Peterborough's ditto, ditto 303
Guiscard's ditto, ditto 228
Foot Guards 400
Portmore's, now 2nd Foot 462
Southwell's, 6th ditto 505
Stewart's, 9th ditto 467
Hill's, 11th ditto 472
Blood's, 17th ditto 461
Mordaunt's, 28th ditto 532
Wade's, 33rd ditto 458
Gore's, 35th ditto 616
Alnutts', 36th ditto 412
Montjoy's, disbanded 508
Macartney's, ditto 494
Bretton's, ditto 428
John Caulfield's, ditto 470
Lord Mark Kerr's, ditto 419
Count Nassau's, ditto 422
----
Total 8910
_In Garrison and Quarters._
Royal Dragoons, at Culera 302
Royal Fusiliers, } at Girone 1200
Two Battalions Marines, }
Hotham's, }
Sybourg's, } at Alicant 1200
Blossett's, }
One Battalion Marines, }
Eliott's, } at Gibraltar 800
Watkin's, }
Detachments at Denia 200
----
Total 3702
[28] State of Europe, for June, 1708.
[29] Journal of the War in Spain, by a Chaplain of the army.
[30] See Lieut.-General Carpenter's letter, published in the Daily
Courant of the 16th of September, 1710.
[31] Tradition has connected the badge of the ANTELOPE, borne on
the colours of the regiment, with its services in Spain; and as the
SIXTH captured several colours at SARAGOSSA, which colours were
taken to England by their Colonel, THOMAS HARRISON, and presented
to Queen Anne, it is not improbable but that an ANTELOPE was on
one of the captured colours, and that Colonel HARRISON obtained
her Majesty's permission for his regiment to bear the badge of an
ANTELOPE in commemoration of the event. No documentary evidence
has, however, been met with to substantiate the tradition.
[32] The Complete History of Europe, vol. 22, pages 111 and 152.
[33] Martial Recorder.
[34] The following return of the strength of the King's forces at
Preston-pans was published in Douglas' History of the Rebellion:
Gardiner's (13th) and Hamilton's (14th) dragoons 567
2 Companies of Guise's (6th) and 8 of Lascelles'(47th) foot 570
5 Companies of Lee's (44th) 291
Murray's (46th) regiment 580
Highlanders 183
----
Total 2191
[35] In the account of this battle, published by the rebels, it is
stated that four companies of the regiment were present.
[36] Tradition affirms that the SIXTH formerly bore the Motto
of "VI _et_ ARMIS," and on no occasion did the regiment more
vigorously support its claim to bear it than at the Heights of
Echalar. A pack, bearing that Motto under the Antelope, was
preserved by the regiment so late as the year 1825.
[37] Now Major-General Sir John Gardiner, K.C.B., Deputy
Adjutant-General of the Forces.
[38] The SIXTH foot, previous to their being styled "ROYAL," bore
on their colours and appointments many "ROYAL" marks of favour,
viz. "The Rose and Crown"--"The King's Crest"--"_Nec aspera
terrent_"--"The Antelope within the Garter," and motto "_Honi soit
qui mal y pense_." See page 68.
[39] On the 15th of June, 1837, authority was given for the badge
of the "ANTELOPE" being resumed on the coats of the drummers of the
SIXTH OR ROYAL FIRST WARWICKSHIRE REGIMENT.
SUCCESSION OF COLONELS
OF THE
SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.
SIR WALTER VANE,
_Appointed 12th December, 1673_.
SIR WALTER VANE, fifth son of the celebrated Sir Henry Vane,
secretary to King Charles I., served in the royal cause during the
rebellion. He afterwards distinguished himself on the continent,
and having acquired the character of a brave and meritorious
officer, was advanced to the rank of marshal of the field in the
Spanish service. On the decease of Colonel Robert Sidney, in 1668,
King Charles II. conferred the colonelcy of the Holland regiment
(now third foot, or the buffs) on Sir Walter Vane; who, in the
winter of 1673-4, was promoted to the rank of major-general in the
English army, and appointed commandant of the British troops in
the pay of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and colonel of
one of the English regiments (now SIXTH foot) ordered to be raised
for the service of the States-General. He joined the army in the
field, commanded by the Prince of Orange, and signalized himself
on the 1st of August, 1674, at the battle of Seneffe, where he
was mortally wounded. He was interred in the great church at the
Hague, and a mural monument was erected in the cloister of the said
church, with the following inscription:--
Hic juxta reponuntur exuviae
WALTERI VANE,
militis,
filii quinti;
Henrici Vane
militis,
Carolo Primo Magnae Britanniae Regi
A sacris conciliis et secretarii Principal.
Qui a serenissimo principe
Auriaco
Campo præfectus,
media inter agmina,
forti manu, sed fortiori animo
in
Prælio Seneffensi
Hostium impetum et rabiem repellens,
Cæco sed inexpugnabili marte percussus,
Montii oppido quod est Hannoniæ
Anno Dom. CIƆ.IƆC.LXXIIII
Ætatis suæ LV.
III Nonas Augusti
Invictam ver vulnera reddidit
Animam Deo[40].
TRANSLATION.
Close to this spot are deposited the remains of
WALTER VANE,
a soldier,
Fifth son of
Henry Vane
soldier,
Privy Councillor and chief secretary to
Charles the first, King of Great Britain.
He was made marshal of the field,
by his serene highness
Auriacus.
And while repelling, in the midst of his troops, with a brave hand,
but with a braver soul, a furious attack of the enemy, at the
battle of Seneffe, was struck with a blind, but inevitable blow,
and in the town of Montium, which is a town of Hannonia,
In the year of our Lord 1674
In the 55th year of his own age
On the 3rd day of August,
He gave up his soul, unconquered by his wounds,
To God.
LUKE LILLINGSTON,
_Appointed in 1674_.
This officer commanded a company in one of the regiments raised by
King Charles II, in 1672; after the peace of London his regiment
was disbanded, when he proceeded to Holland with a number of men of
his company, and entered the Dutch service. He served at the siege
of Grave, and during the following winter he was appointed colonel
of one of the English regiments raised on that occasion, now the
SIXTH foot; but his decease occurred before he attained any higher
rank.
THOMAS ASHLEY,
_Appointed 13th September, 1675_.
THOMAS ASHLEY held a commission in the English army previous to
the treaty of London in 1674; when his regiment was disbanded, and
he entered the Dutch service. He served under the Prince of Orange
(afterwards William III.), and towards the end of the campaign of
1675 he was promoted to the colonelcy of a regiment, now the SIXTH
foot. He distinguished himself at the siege of Maestricht in 1676,
and was at the disastrous battle of Mont-Cassel in the following
year.
SIR HENRY BELLASIS, KNIGHT[41],
_Appointed 3rd April, 1678_.
SIR HENRY BELLASIS was educated in strict principles of loyalty
and attachment to monarchical government, and though but a youth
at the time, he suffered in the royal cause during the usurpations
of Cromwell. Soon after the restoration he was appointed captain
of an independent company of one hundred men, in garrison at Hull,
of which fortress the Lord Bellasis (or Belasyse) was appointed
governor; who resigned, in 1673, in consequence of the Test-act,
he being a Roman Catholic. In the summer of 1674 Sir Henry Bellasis
raised a company of musketeers and pikemen for the service of the
United Provinces of the Netherlands, and was engaged at the siege
of Grave in the autumn of that year. He also served at the siege
of Maestricht in 1676; at the battle of Mont-Cassel in 1677; and
in the following spring he succeeded Colonel Ashley in the command
of the regiment which is now the SIXTH foot. At the battle of
St. Denis, in 1678, he evinced signal valour and ability, vying
in feats of gallantry with his commanders the Prince of Orange
and the celebrated Earl of Ossory, and was wounded. During the
rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth, in 1685, he accompanied his
regiment to England; and in 1687 circumstances occurred which
occasioned him to withdraw from the Dutch service; but he preserved
his attachment to the protestant interest and to the Prince of
Orange. In 1689 he succeeded the Duke of Norfolk in the colonelcy
of a newly-raised regiment (now twenty-second foot), with which
corps he served in Ireland under the veteran Duke Schomberg. He
served as brigadier-general under King William in 1690; was at the
battle of the Boyne; and at the siege of Limerick, where he again
distinguished himself. In 1691 he acquired new honours at the siege
of Athlone; he also displayed bravery and judgment at the battle of
Aghrim; and on the reduction of Galway he was appointed governor
of that fortress, and took possession of the town on the 26th of
July, with his own and two other regiments of foot. The rank of
major-general was conferred on this distinguished officer in April,
1692, and he commanded a brigade under King William in Flanders,
in the autumn of that year. He acquired additional reputation at
the battle of Landen, in 1693; also in the command of a brigade
under King William during the following campaign; and in October,
1694, his Majesty rewarded him with the rank of lieutenant-general.
His meritorious conduct procured him the favour and confidence of
his sovereign, by whom he was employed on important services.
He commanded the camp on the Bruges canal in May, 1695; and a
division of the covering army was placed under his orders during
the siege of Namur. At the close of the campaign he was appointed
president of the general court-martial which tried the officers
who surrendered Dixmude and Deinse to the enemy, and sentenced
Major-General Ellemberg to be shot. He continued to serve in the
Netherlands until the peace of Ryswick. In 1701 he obtained the
colonelcy of the Queen Dowager's regiment (now second foot) in
exchange with Colonel Selwyn. In 1702 he was second in command
of the British troops in the expedition to Cadiz; and having
been charged with participating in the plunder of Port St. Mary,
he was tried by a court-martial and dismissed the service. His
reputation was thus unfortunately tarnished; but his crime does
not appear to have been considered of a heinous nature, as he was
subsequently elected a member of parliament for the city of Durham;
was appointed by Queen Anne, in 1711, one of the commissioners to
inquire into several particulars respecting the accounts of the
army in Spain; and in June, 1713, he was appointed governor of
Berwick. He died on the 14th of December, 1717.
WILLIAM BABINGTON,
_Appointed 28th September, 1689_.
This officer served with distinction under the Prince of Orange
in the Netherlands; he was rewarded with the lieut.-colonelcy of
Sir Henry Bellasis' regiment (now SIXTH foot), and in September,
1689, he was promoted to the colonelcy. He commanded the regiment
in Ireland; but retired in 1691, and his decease appears to have
occurred before he attained any higher rank than that of colonel.
GEORGE PRINCE OF HESSE D'ARMSTADT,
_Appointed 15th April, 1691_.
GEORGE PRINCE OF HESSE D'ARMSTADT descended from an ancient and
illustrious family in Germany, and was brother of the reigning
landgrave of that name. Having entered the service of the emperor
of Germany, he gave early proofs of innate valour in 1685, in
the war with the Turks; he also signalized himself in the three
succeeding campaigns,--particularly at the famous siege of
Negropont; and in 1689 he served against the French with the army
on the Rhine, and was wounded at the siege of Bonn, and also at
the siege of Mentz. In the following year he visited England, and
attending King William during the campaign in Ireland, he was
wounded on the evening preceding the battle of the Boyne, by the
cannon-ball which grazed his Majesty's shoulder. In April, 1691,
the King rewarded him with the colonelcy of the SIXTH foot, and
the appointment of brigadier-general on the staff of the army in
Ireland, where he highly distinguished himself at the head of the
grenadiers at the storming of Athlone; and led his regiment to the
charge with surprising intrepidity at the battle of Aghrim, and
was wounded. He also added to his rising reputation by his conduct
during the siege of Limerick. King William was anxious to reward
such distinguished merit, but the Prince, being a Roman Catholic,
was not eligible for promotion in the British army: his Majesty,
therefore, procured him an appointment in the Spanish service; and
having signalized his valour, zeal for the confederate cause, and
ability to command, during the siege of Barcelona, in 1697, the
King of Spain constituted him viceroy of Catalonia.