•>!' I Ix JMt^^^^^i 1x» C7r y ^ HER MAJESTY'S ARMY J DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE VARIOUS REGI^IENTS NOW COMPRISING THE QUEEN'S FORCES, FROM THEIR FIRST ESTABLISHMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME BY WALTER RICHARDS ^if^ Coloured gnuslralions VOI NEW YORK OH N BKAC II A M 7, BARCLAY STREET TERRITORIAL REGIMENTS. 24. For the next four or five years they were constantly engaged in the fierce though desultory fighting which oiu- position in India then entailed upon us, and in 1805 sustained heavy loss and gained fresh honours at Bhurtpore. So severely had the twenty years in India dealt with the regiment, that a month after their return home in 1807 "only forty-four men remained." The following year they discarded the Highland uniform, which was not resumed till 1882. They were not again engaged in any campaign of note till 1835, when in the small war at the Cape they earned " South Africa " as a distinction. Then again came a period of comparative quiet, to be terribly broken by the fateful mutiny in India. Early in that terrible time they were at Umballa, when the 5th Bengal Infantry mutinied ; in June of the same year, nine companies were with the force under Barnard before Delhi. Early in the morning of the 8th of that month, the army having started at one o'clock in the morning, came upon a strong body of mutineers, with twelve pieces of artillery. The order was given, " Charge and carry those guns ! " With a loud and hearty cheer—almost a hoarse roar of joy that they were about to grapple with the destroyers of so many innocent people —Her Majesty's 75th, or Stirliugshu'e Regiment, swept in line to the front under a storm of musketry, and carried the guns by the bayonet, driving back the Sepoys. The 75th joined Su' Colin Campbell's force for the relief of Lucknow, and were placed in charge of the Alumbagh, where they repulsed an attempt made to take it by the enemy. Amongst the awards of the Victoria Cross was one to Ensign E. Wadeson,* of the regiment, for the gallant manner in which, at imminent risk to himself, he saved the lives of two men. Two other crosses were gained by men of the 75th at Budlee- ke-Serai. Private Corbett lay wounded and surrounded by the enemy. Sergeant Coghlan of the 75th did not " like " this arrangement, and forthwith, with three of his comrades to help him, entered the Serai where Corbett lay and brought him back to the British lines. Later on he displayed conspicuous coolness and courage, and attained the coveted honour of a V.C. The third cross fell to Private Green who, seeing a wounded comrade in imminent risk of being butchered, " went out into the open and under a heavy fire carried him back." Before the mutiny was finally quelled, the 75th did good service in Oude under Captain Brookes. With the exception of some desultory skirmishing with the Kaffir tribes in 1872 — 74, no further active service of note fell to the share of the 75th till the recent Egyptian campaign. Here they were in the Third Brigade under * He was then ignorant of his promotion from the rank of sergeant. He subsequently became Lieutenant- Colonel of the regiment. I I 24* HER MAJESTY'S ARMY. Sir Archibald Alison, and found plenty of opportunities for the display of theii- valoui'. After a period spent in more or less unimportant skirmishing, the Highland Brigade at the end of August were ordered to Ismailia, arriving there early in September, and in the march to Kasassin, which immediately followed, the columns were led by the Gordon Highlanders. At Tel-el-Kebii- they, with the Cameron Highlanders, were for a time, as has been before observed, in the position of the " apex of a wedge " thi-ust into the heart of the Egyptian army, and being opposed by the 1st Guards of Arabi's force, experienced some severe fighting. Their loss was one ofiicer * and five non-coms, and men killed, one officer and twenty-nine non-coms, and men wounded.f This jjhase of the war was now practically over, as predicted by Sir Garnet Wolseley, and the Gordon Highlanders had won "Egypt" and " Tel-el-Kebir " to the list of theii- honoiu's. At the grand review, which was held in Cairo, it is related by a Scotch writer that the regiment was preceded by the " dog of the regiment, Juno," who went with it into Tel-el-Kebir, and " was decorated with a handsome silver collar. % The 75th remained in the army of occupation, and were accordingly ready when the need arose for renewed operations in 1884, and were selected to form part of the expedi- tionary force for the relief of Tokar, Colonel F. Daniell being in command of the regiment. On the occasion of the battle of El Teb they were in the Fii-st Brigade, and particularly distinguished themselves by their steadiness of movement, and by the brilliant manner in which they carried an important position held stubbornly by the enemy. They took part in the battles of Tamai and Tamanieh, and gained the latest addition to their many distinctions by the sterling service they rendered in the Nile campaign. The Second Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders consists of the old 92nd, a regiment whose career has been as adventurous as its origin was romantic. The regiment was raised in 1794 by the Marquis of Huntly, afterwards the last Duke of Gordon, and the story is familiar to every one how the beautiful duchess, his mother, assisted to recruit her son's regiment, placing—when all other arguments failed—the given bounty between her peerless lips. To quote a somewhat hackneyed modern song, many were the stalwart Highlanders who gladly allowed themselves to be thus " bought and sold for a kiss." * Lieutenant H. G. Brookes. t It is recorded that, in the foUowinf,' October, a detachment of the Gordon Highlanders had to be sent to re-inter the deail at Tel-el-Kebir, Avhose bodies had been exhumed and stripped by tlie Bedouins. + On the collar was the inscription, " Presented to 'Juno' (First Battalion Gordon Highlanders), the heroine of Tel-el-Ke'.'ir, by English and Irish admirers." TERRITORIAL REGIMENTS. 243 Concerning the uniform at this time, we read that the officers wore scarlet jackets, yellow facings, silver lace, with a blue silk worm in the centre, flat plated buttons, silver epaulettes, scarlet waistcoats, belted plaid of green tartan, the sword being the Highland carried muskets queues were worn by officers and men. claymore. The privates ; Shortly after its establishment the regiment sailed for Gibraltar, and for the next four years or so was engaged there and in Corsica, returning to England in 1798. Up to this date its regimental number was 100, but at the end of this year, 1798, it received the numerical distinction it at present bears. The Gordon Highlanders joined the Eusso-British expedition against the French in Alkmaar, and notably at Egmont-op-Zee, they Holland, 1799 ; and at Oude-Sluys, at displayed signal courage. After some unimportant services against the French in Minorca, Quiberon Bay, and Belle Isle, they joined the forces under Sir Ealph Abercromby in Egypt. With the rest of the troops they landed at Aboukir Bay on March 8, 1801, and made good their position under a heavy fire. At Mandora, five days later, the Gordon Highlanders led the left column, and during the course of the engagement made a brilliant charge, and subsequently captured a battery. They remained in Egypt till the termination of the campaign, when they returned to England ; the next foreign service in which they were engaged being the expedition against Denmark in 1807,* and the year following found them amongst the forces with Moore at Corunna, at which famous action they served with distinction. In the following year, 1810, commenced for the Gordon Highlanders a period as stirring as it was fruitful of honour, for then it was that they joined the army of Wel- lington. Under C'ameron of Fassiefern the light company of the regiment was particu- larly distinguished, despite the untoward circumstances in which they were placed at Fuentes d'Onor.f At Arroyo dos Molinos they were in the left column under Colonel Stewart, and commenced the attack upon the village. Attacking it in the early morning they spread terror amongst the defenders, their pipers, according to Lord de Eos's account, striking up " with some spirit of waggery the old Highland tune, ' Hey, Johnny Cope, are ye waken yet?' " At Almaraz they were in General Howard's brigade, and were led by Sir Eowland Hill iu person to carry the town at the point of the bayonet. Noticeable here amongst much that was noticeable was the individual merit and gallantry of • About this time a second buttalion wiis Ibrnicil. + See twpra, p. 159, note. I i2 ; 244 ^^^ MAJESTY'S ARMY. Privates Gall and Somerville, of the grenadier company, who, eager to capture Eagusa, " tossed aside their bonnets and muskets, flung themselves into the river, and daringly swam across," to fetch back the pontoon bridge which had become loosened. This exploit undoubtedly forwarded in a considerable degree the attainment of Lord Hill's object, and the gallant Highlanders were rewarded by the general for their service. Particularly did the 92nd distinguish themselves, too, at Salamanca, pushing steadily on through the "cloud of smoke and dust that rolled along, within which was the battle all its sights sounds of terror." They bear Vittoria their colours at with and on ; Maya, under Major John Mitchell, they lost two-thirds of their number, so many being slain that "the enemy was actually stopped by the heaped mass of dead and dying; and then the left wing of that noble regiment coming down from the higher ground was forced to smite wounded friends and exulting foes alike, as, mixed together, they stood or crawled before its fire.