G.C.B., brother of the Earl of Longford, was appointed Captain in
May, 1794, in the ninety-second regiment, a corps raised on the
breaking out of the French Revolutionary War in 1793, and disbanded
soon afterwards. In December, 1794, he was appointed major in the
thirty-third light dragoons, and when this corps was disbanded,
he obtained the majority of the twenty-third light dragoons,
from which he was promoted, in 1799, to the lieutenant-colonelcy
of the sixty-fourth foot: in May, 1804, he was appointed
lieutenant-colonel in the ROYAL FUSILIERS. He assumed the command
of the first battalion of the SEVENTH at Weymouth in 1806, and by
his amiable deportment and attention to the welfare of his corps,
he soon won the affection and esteem of the officers and soldiers.
He commanded the regiment in the expedition to Copenhagen in 1807,
and at the capture of Martinique in 1809, when he gave presage of
that noble ardour and contempt of danger which were afterwards most
signally displayed under the great Duke of Wellington in Portugal
and Spain. While in Nova Scotia, he established a book of merit in
the SEVENTH; and when, on leaving the regiment to serve under Lord
Wellington, the officers presented him with a valuable sword, he
sent the following answer to their address.
"I received your letter, caused by my proposed departure, with
warmth equal to its tenor, with satisfaction few men have had a
right to experience.
"Friendship formed at ease, confirmed in danger, becomes too sacred
to need professions.
"Your cordial zeal, however, anticipated my wishes towards the
prosperity of the corps, which your generosity has too much
attributed to my exertions. Let my actions speak a continuance of
attachment.
"Your gift, and desire of recollection hereafter, to me will serve
as professional impellants.
"In leaving the FUSILIERS, I separate from the best comrades, from
the chief source of my soldier's pride; yet it is for the object of
duty:--here draw the line.
"Do you, by usual energy, continue ripe for service; it is for me
to improve to become the more honourable to lead you."
From this period (1809) he served at nearly every action fought by
the British troops in the Peninsula; and was rewarded with honorary
distinctions for the battles of Busaco and Fuentes d'Onor. In
October, 1811, he was promoted to the local rank of major-general
in Spain and Portugal, and in 1812 to the rank of major-general in
the army.
At the battle of Salamanca he commanded the third division, and
acquired additional honour by the spirited manner in which he
assailed the enemy's left, overthrowing all opposition, and was
rewarded with another honorary distinction. In May, 1813, he was
appointed colonel of the Sixth West India regiment, and he was
employed as Adjutant-General to the army commanded by the Marquis
of Wellington until the colossal power of Napoleon was destroyed,
and the Bourbon dynasty restored to the throne of France. After
the peace of 1814 he was honoured with the dignity of knight grand
cross of the order of the bath. He was subsequently appointed to
the command of the expedition against _New Orleans_, where he
encountered the most extraordinary difficulties. At the storming of
the enemy's works, when he saw the prowess of his troops unable to
overcome the obstructions, he rode forward to encourage them by his
presence, and fell a victim to his bravery. He lived an ornament to
his profession, admired, beloved, and esteemed by all who knew him,
and died regretted in the thirty-sixth year of his age.
[26] _From 1825 to 1832._
SUCCESSION OF COLONELS
OF
THE SEVENTH REGIMENT;
OR,
THE ROYAL FUSILIERS.
GEORGE LORD DARTMOUTH,
_Appointed 11th June, 1685._
LORD DARTMOUTH was the son of Colonel William Legge, a zealous
royalist, who was with King Charles I. at the battle of Newbury and
other engagements, was also in the design of the Earl of Holland to
restore His Majesty in 1648, and was wounded and taken prisoner.
The King was so sensible of Colonel Legge's services, and esteemed
him so highly for his fidelity, that a short period before his
execution, his Majesty requested the Duke of Richmond to inform
the Prince of Wales (afterwards Charles II.) "that whenever he was
restored to his rights, he should be sure to take care of _honest
Will Legge_, for he was the faithfullest servant that ever any
prince had."
Colonel Legge also displayed great devotion to the cause of King
Charles II., and was one of the commissioners appointed by the
King, in 1659, to promise pardon to all who should endeavour to
effect His Majesty's restoration; excepting the individuals who sat
as judges on his royal father. After the restoration His Majesty
informed Colonel Legge of the message of King Charles I. by the
Duke of Richmond; but the colonel declined being advanced to the
peerage, at the same time expressing a hope that his sons might
deserve his Majesty's favour.
GEORGE LEGGE (the eldest son of Colonel William Legge) went to
sea at the age of seventeen, under the care of Sir Edward Spragg,
a distinguished officer who commanded the rear squadron of the
combined English and French fleets against Holland in 1673, and
fought the Dutch Admiral Tromp, ship to ship, until both their
ships were so disabled that they quitted them, and, hoisting their
flags in other vessels, renewed the battle with incredible fury.
Sir Edward Spragg's ship being terribly torn, he designed to go on
board of a third vessel; but his boat was struck by a shot and he
was drowned. Under this gallant preceptor George Legge acquired
a knowledge of his profession; in 1667 he commanded the Pembroke
man-of-war; in 1671 the Fairfax; and in the following year the
Royal Catherine. In 1672 he was appointed lieutenant-governor of
Portsmouth; in 1673 he was appointed governor of that fortress;
also master of the horse and gentleman of the bedchamber to His
Royal Highness the Duke of York (afterwards King James II.). At
the augmentation of the army in 1678 he was appointed colonel of a
newly-raised regiment of foot, which was disbanded after the peace
of Nimeguen; he was also lieutenant-general of the ordnance, and
was sworn a member of the privy council in 1681; in 1682 he was
constituted master-general of the ordnance, and was commissioned to
inspect all the forts and garrisons in England.
On the 2nd of December, 1682, he was advanced to the dignity of
BARON OF DARTMOUTH, with remainder, in default of issue, to his
brother William; which remainder the King particularly ordered
himself "in justice" (as he was pleased to say) "to the memory
of old Colonel Legge, whose modesty ought not to prejudice his
children."
The preamble of the patent imports--"That His Majesty, remembering
the great merits of WILLIAM LEGGE, one of the grooms of the royal
bedchamber to his late father King Charles I., especially in that
unparalleled rebellion raised against him, in which, being a
person of singular skill and experience in military affairs, and
also a valiant and expert commander, he faithfully served His
Majesty in most of the battles and sieges of those unhappy times;
that he also performed several eminent services to King Charles
II. since his most happy restoration; and further, considering
that GEORGE LEGGE, eldest son of the said WILLIAM LEGGE, following
his father's example in divers military employments, especially
in sundry sharp and dangerous naval fights, wherein he did freely
hazard his life, for which respect, being made general of the
ordnance and artillery, and one of His Majesty's most honourable
privy council, His Majesty has thought fit to dignify him with some
further honour. &c."
In 1683 LORD DARTMOUTH was sent with the fleet to Africa, to
destroy the works of Tangier and bring home the garrison and
English inhabitants; on his return he was rewarded by his Majesty
with a grant of ten thousand pounds. On the accession of King James
II. his lordship was continued as master-general of the ordnance,
and one of the privy council; he also held the appointment of
constable of the Tower of London; and on the augmentation of the
army in 1685, he was appointed Colonel of the ROYAL REGIMENT OF
FUSILIERS. In 1687, when King James II. was making a tour through
part of his dominions, the city of Coventry presented His Majesty
with a large gold cup and cover, which he immediately delivered
to LORD DARTMOUTH, telling him, "There was an acknowledgment from
the citizens of Coventry for his father's sufferings in their
town:"--Colonel Legge having endured a long imprisonment there,
after being wounded and taken prisoner at the battle of Worcester,
in 1651, and he escaped from thence by a stratagem on the part of
his wife, in woman's attire.
When the Prince of Orange prepared an armament for a descent on
the English coast, LORD DARTMOUTH was appointed admiral of the
fleet of England sent out in the autumn of 1688 to intercept the
Dutch. He accepted this employment out of gratitude to the King,
"who," as Bishop Burnet observes, "loved him, and in whose service
he had long been." The bishop adds,--"He was, indeed, one of the
worthiest men of his court, and, although much against the conduct
of his affairs, he was resolved to stick to him at all hazards."
His conduct while in command of the fleet has been variously
represented; but it appears evident he was only prevented fighting
the Dutch fleet by unfavourable weather.
On the accession of the Prince of Orange to sovereign power,
LORD DARTMOUTH was deprived of his appointments, and in 1691 he
was imprisoned in the Tower of London for corresponding with
King James. After three months' confinement, he died suddenly of
apoplexy, and King William commanded the same honours to be paid at
his lordship's funeral which would have been due to him if he had
died possessed of all his late employments. He was interred near
his father, in a vault in Trinity Chapel, in the Minories.
JOHN, EARL OF MARLBOROUGH,
_Appointed 26th August, 1689._
This talented and brave nobleman attained the summit of military
fame, and was equally celebrated for sound judgment in the cabinet,
and for persuasive eloquence in conversation; while he swayed the
councils of foreign courts, and reconciled conflicting interests
among the states of Christendom, he led their armies to battle
and to victory, acquiring a renown which will live in the page of
history to the remotest ages, and the record of his achievements
serves as a monument to commemorate the national glory. He was
born on the 24th of June, 1650, and before he was sixteen years of
age he was page of honour to the Duke of York, who procured him
the commission of ensign in the first foot guards in 1666. Being
an enthusiast in his profession, he resigned the pleasures of the
court to engage in actual warfare on the shores of Africa, and
distinguished himself as a volunteer against the Moors under the
walls of Tangier. In 1672 he was appointed captain of a company
in the Duke of Monmouth's regiment of foot, and served with the
French army, commanded by Louis XIV. in person, against the Dutch,
where he signalized himself by a regular attention to duty, and
volunteered his services on every occasion of difficulty and
danger. He soon attracted the attention of the celebrated Marshal
Turenne; distinguished himself at the siege of Nimeguen in 1672;
and, in 1673, added to his rising honours by his gallantry at
the siege of Maestricht, where he was wounded. In the following
campaign he served with the French army on the Rhine, and was
rewarded on the 3rd of April, 1674, with the colonelcy of an
English regiment in the pay of Louis XIV., with which corps he
continued to serve in the German war. In 1678 his regiment was
recalled from France; and he proceeded to Flanders in command of
a brigade of infantry; but the peace of Nimeguen taking place, he
returned to England, and his regiment was disbanded. He continued
in the suite of the Duke of York, whose constant attendant he
became, and was employed in several delicate missions between
His Royal Highness and the King, in which he evinced signal
address. In 1633, he raised a troop of dragoons, and was appointed
colonel of the royal regiment of dragoons,--a corps formed of two
newly-raised troops of dragoons and four troops of Tangier horse.
He was also elevated to the peerage of Scotland by the title of
Baron Churchill of Aymouth; and soon after the accession of the
Duke of York to the throne, he was created an English peer by the
title of Baron Churchill of Sundridge, and promoted to the rank of
brigadier-general. On the breaking out of the rebellion of the Duke
of Monmouth, in June, 1685, Lord Churchill was detached with a body
of troops against the insurgents, and his excellent conduct at the
battle of Sedgemoor was rewarded with the colonelcy of the third
troop of Life Guards, which gave him the privilege of taking the
court duty of gold stick; but his devotion to the Protestant cause
having induced him to join the standard of the Prince of Orange at
the revolution in 1688, he was deprived of his appointment.
On the accession of King William III. and Queen Mary, Lord
Churchill was restored to the command of the third troop of
Life Guards; advanced to the title of EARL OF MARLBOROUGH;
and subsequently appointed colonel of the ROYAL REGIMENT OF
FUSILIERS. He commanded the troops on the continent in 1689; gained
additional laurels at the battle of Walcourt; and was appointed
commander-in-chief in June, 1690. In the autumn of the same year
he reduced Cork and Kinsale in Ireland;--and served at the head of
the British infantry under King William III. in Flanders, in 1691;
but, in May, 1692, he was sent prisoner to the Tower on a charge
of high treason, which was not substantiated. In 1698 he was again
received into royal favour; and in 1701 King William III. appointed
him to the command of the British troops in the Netherlands, and
to negotiate the treaties to be formed with foreign powers on the
prospect of a war with France; he also appointed him, on the 12th
of February, 1702, colonel of the twenty-fourth regiment of foot.
On the accession of Queen Anne, he was appointed captain-general
of the forces, and to the chief command of the English, Dutch,
and auxiliary armies employed against the French; and all his
operations were crowned with success. He took Venloo, Ruremonde,
Stevenswaert, and Liege with surprising rapidity;--extended
and secured the Dutch frontiers, and forced the enemy to seek
shelter behind their lines. His great ability had become so
conspicuous that on his return to England he was raised to the
rank of DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. In the spring of 1703 he once more
took the field;--forced Bonn, Huy, and Limburg; but was impeded
in his brilliant career by the jealousy or timidity of the Dutch
generals. In April, 1704, he was appointed colonel of the first
foot guards;--and in the succeeding campaign his grace led the army
from the Ocean to the Danube;--he attacked the enemy on the 2nd
of July, 1704, and forced the intrenchments at Schellenberg with
distinguished gallantry. The decisive battle of Blenheim was fought
on the 13th of August following, and the legions of France and
Bavaria were overthrown;--there, the heaps of slain gave dreadful
proofs of British valour; and whole legions of prisoners were
proofs of their mercy. This victory, which exalted the reputation
of the DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH, and displayed in its true light the
distinguished character of the British troops, produced the most
important results;--Bavaria was subdued:--Ratisbon, Augsburg,
Ulm, Meminghen,--all were recovered. From the Danube he marched
towards the Rhine and Moselle. Landau, Treves, and Traerback were
taken; and the British commander was created a PRINCE OF THE
EMPIRE. His abilities in the field were equalled by his judgment
in the cabinet; and his council guided the confederate princes
of Europe. In the spring of 1705 he once more took the field,
and menaced the French in Alsace. From the Moselle he proceeded
to the Maese. Liege was relieved, Huy retaken, and the boasted
impregnable French lines were forced at Helixem and Neer-Hespen;
but his career of victory was again impeded by the opposition he
met with from the Dutch generals. These difficulties were however
removed. In the spring of 1706 another campaign opened,--when the
discipline he had introduced, and the confidence he inspired,
again proved invincible. He met, attacked, and triumphed over
the French and Spaniards at Ramilies on the 23rd of May, 1706.
This decisive victory was followed by the surrender of Louvain,
Brussels, Malines, Liere, Ghent, Oudenarde, Antwerp, Damme,
Bruges, and Courtray: in the meantime Ostend, Menin, Dendermond,
and Aeth, were taken:--places which had resisted the greatest
generals for months--for years:--provinces disputed for ages
were the conquests of a summer. So great was the reputation of
the armies of the allies, and of their distinguished commander,
that throughout the campaign of 1707 the enemy avoided a general
engagement; but in the following summer a gallant French army,
led by the princes of the blood, was overcome at Oudenarde:--new
armies and new generals appeared; but the career of MARLBOROUGH
could not be stopped. The barriers of France on the side of the Low
Countries, the work of half a century, were attacked. A numerous
French army were spectators of the fall of Lisle,--the bulwark
of their barriers. Every campaign added new conquests. Tournay
was taken. The French army--posted near Malplaquet, in a position
covered by thick woods, defended by treble entrenchments--was
attacked. The battle was bloody--the event decisive. The woods were
pierced. The fortifications were trampled down. The enemy fled.
After this victory Mons was taken; and in the succeeding years,
Douay, Bethune, Aire, St. Venant, Bouchain,--all underwent the same
fate. Nothing availed against a general whose sagacity foresaw
everything, whose vigilance attended to everything, whose constancy
no labour could subdue, whose courage no danger could dismay,
and whose intuitive glance always caught the decisive moment
and insured victory; while the discipline he maintained and the
confidence he inspired were equivalent to an army. The ambitious
Louis XIV. saw his generals over-matched,--his armies beaten and
dispirited,--his possessions wrested from him,--the barriers of
his kingdom trampled down, and a powerful army ready to carry the
horrors of war into the heart of his kingdom. The disasters of
ten campaigns having proved that MARLBOROUGH was invincible, the
French monarch sued for peace. The din and calamities of war were
succeeded by the smile of plenty, tranquillity, and enjoyment: but,
for some political cause, the gallant MARLBOROUGH was divested
of all his offices dependent on the British crown. Continuing a
stedfast adherent to the Protestant succession, he retired to the
continent until the accession of George I., and was then replaced
in his former posts, in which he continued until his decease in
1722. His unremitting exertions to inculcate the principles of
order and discipline; his discernment in bringing merit into
notice; his impartiality; and a series of glorious victories by
which he upheld the national honour, and proved himself a valuable
servant of the crown and kingdom, occasioned his memory to be
deeply engraved on the hearts of the brave men who had fought under
his command.
LORD GEORGE HAMILTON,
_Appointed 23rd January, 1692._
LORD GEORGE HAMILTON, fifth son of William Duke of Hamilton, was
an officer in the Royal Regiment in the reign of Charles II.,
and also of James II., and, adhering to the Protestant interest
at the Revolution in 1688, he was advanced to the rank of
lieutenant-colonel, and on the 1st of March, 1690, to the brevet
rank of colonel. He served under King William III. in Ireland,
and distinguished himself at the battle of the Boyne; and in
1691 he was at the siege of Athlone, at the battle of Aghrim,
and the capture of Limerick. In January, 1692, he was appointed
colonel of the ROYAL FUSILIERS, at the head of which corps he
distinguished himself at the battle of Steenkirk, and his gallantry
was rewarded with the colonelcy of the Royal Regiment. Continuing
to serve under King William in the Netherlands, he distinguished
himself in 1693 at the unfortunate battle of Landen, and in
1695 at the siege of Namur, and while engaged in this service
he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. On the 3rd of
January, 1696, he was advanced to the peerage by the titles of
Baron Dechmont, Viscount of Kirkwall, and EARL OF ORKNEY; and in
March, 1702, he was promoted to the rank of major-general. He
served the campaign of this year under the Earl of Marlborough,
and was engaged in the siege of Stevenswaert. He commanded a
brigade of infantry during the campaign of 1703, was advanced to
the rank of lieutenant-general, and invested with the order of
the Thistle in 1704; and, having proceeded with the army into the
heart of Germany, took part in gaining the glorious victories of
Schellenberg and Blenheim. In 1705 he distinguished himself at the
siege and capture of Huy; and in the following year at the battle
of Ramilies, and the siege of Menin. He also took a distinguished
part in the battle of Oudenarde in covering the siege of Lisle;
and in forcing the passage of the Scheldt in 1708. In 1709 he
distinguished himself in the movements which preceded and led to
the battle of Malplaquet, and during this hard-contested action he
signalized himself at the head of fifteen battalions of infantry.
He also signalized himself at the siege of Douay in 1710; and in
the beginning of the following year he was promoted to the rank
of general. He was also engaged in passing the French lines in
1711, and commanded twenty battalions of infantry at the siege of
Bouchain.
On these occasions the EARL OF ORKNEY had evinced personal bravery
and military talents of a superior character. At the close of the
war he was a member of the privy council, and governor of Edinburgh
Castle. On the accession of George I. he was appointed one of the
lords of the bedchamber to his Majesty, and governor of Virginia;
and in January, 1736, he was promoted to the rank of field marshal.
He was many years one of the sixteen representatives of the
Scottish peerage; and died in January, 1737.
EDWARD FITZPATRICK,
_Appointed 1st August, 1692._
EDWARD FITZPATRICK was many years an officer of the Holland
Regiment, now third foot or buffs, in which corps he rose to the
rank of captain, and was so distinguished for a regular attention
to duty, and for devotion to the Protestant interest, that at
the revolution in 1688 he was promoted to the colonelcy of a
regiment of foot (afterwards disbanded) with which he served in
King William's wars. He was at the battle of Walcourt in 1689; and
at the siege of Cork and Kinsale in 1690; and having signalized
himself at the battle of Steenkirk in 1692, he was rewarded with
the colonelcy of the ROYAL FUSILIERS. In 1693 he was wounded at
the battle of Landen; and in 1694 he was promoted to the rank of
brigadier general. In 1695 he commanded a brigade of infantry
at the siege of Namur, and he acquired the confidence of his
sovereign, and the esteem of his companions in arms. He was drowned
on the 10th November, 1696.
SIR CHARLES O'HARA,
_Appointed 12th November, 1696._
CHARLES O'HARA was an officer of the English brigade in the Dutch
service in the time of King Charles II., and commanded a company in
the Earl of Ossory's regiment. He subsequently held a commission in
the first foot guards, was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of
the regiment, and was knighted by King William III. at Whitehall
in 1689. He subsequently served under His Majesty in Flanders;
was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1695, and was
rewarded with the colonelcy of the ROYAL FUSILIERS in 1696. On the
breaking out of the war of the Spanish succession, he was advanced
to the rank of major-general, and he commanded a brigade under
the Duke of Ormond in the expedition against _Cadiz_ in 1702, on
which occasion he was charged with participating in the plunder of
Port St. Mary's, and brought to trial, but acquitted: in 1704 he
was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general. In 1706 Queen Anne
advanced him to the dignity of a peer of Ireland by the title of
BARON OF TYRAWLEY in the county of Mayo; and proceeding to Spain,
he commanded the left wing of the allied army at the battle of
Almanza, in 1707, where he was wounded. His Lordship was sworn a
member of the privy council of Queen Anne in 1710; and also of
King George I. in 1714; and in November, 1714, he was promoted to
the rank of general. He had previously resigned the colonelcy of
the ROYAL FUSILIERS in favour of his son; and on the breaking out
of the rebellion in 1715 he raised a regiment of foot in Ireland;
this corps was, however, disbanded in 1718. He held, for several
years, the appointment of commander-in-chief in Ireland; also the
government of Minorca, and of the Royal Hospital near Dublin. He
died on the 8th of June, 1724.
THE HONOURABLE JAMES O'HARA,
_Appointed 29th January, 1713._