HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE THIRTY-FIRST, OR THE HUNTINGDONSHIRE,

REGIMENT OF FOOT.

1701

In the commencement of the eighteenth century, the British Monarch, King William III., found that the conditions of the Treaty of Ryswick, concluded in 1697, were violated by the King of France, Louis XIV., who, on the decease of Charles II. of Spain on the 1st of November, 1700, pursued with unremitting assiduity his ambitious project of ultimately uniting the crowns of France and Spain, by procuring the accession of his grandson, Philip, Duke of Anjou, to the vacant throne; thus excluding the claims of the House of Austria, and disregarding the existing treaties between the principal nations of Europe. The seizure of the Spanish Netherlands by the troops of France,—the detention of the Dutch garrisons in the barrier towns,—the declaration of Louis XIV. in favour of the family of James II., and other acts of hostility, justified the British Government in making preparations for war.

King William had determined on active measures, by sea and land, against the powers of France and Spain, and had accordingly directed augmentations to be made in the navy and army. A division of the army had been appointed, under the command of Brigadier-General Ingoldsby, (twenty-third regiment,) to embark for Flanders, and another portion of the army was selected to embark for the coast of Spain, under the orders of the Duke of Ormond.

1702

The death of King William III. took place on the 8th of March, 1702. His policy was adopted by his successor Queen Anne, who entered into treaties of alliance with the Emperor of Germany,—the States-General of the United Provinces,—and other Princes and Potentates, for preserving the liberty and balance of power in Europe, and for defeating the ambitious views of France.

The measures for increasing the efficiency of the fleet had occasioned the suggestion of raising Corps of Marines, capable of acting on land as well as at sea. Several regiments of the regular army were appointed to serve as Marines, and six additional regiments were especially raised for that service.[6]

On the 14th of March, 1702, a Royal Warrant was issued, authorising Colonel George Villiers to raise a Regiment of Marines, which was to consist of twelve companies, of two serjeants, three corporals, two drummers, and fifty-nine private soldiers each, with an additional serjeant to the grenadier company. The rendezvous of the regiment was appointed to be at Taunton and Bridgewater.

For the raising of this regiment the following officers received commissions, those of the field officers being antedated to the 12th of February, 1702:—

Captains George Villiers (Colonel).

Alexander Lutterell (Lt.-Colonel).

Thomas Carew (Major).

Francis Blinman.

George Blakeney.

Captain-Lieutenant John Deveroux.

First Lieutenants Saloman Balmier.

Roger Flower.

Second Lieutenant William Bisset.

Chirurgeon James Church.

Chirurgeon’s mate William Church.

The declaration of hostilities against France and Spain was issued on the 4th of May, 1702: thus began, “fruitful in great actions and important results,” The War of the Spanish Succession.

Additional forces were sent to Flanders, and the Earl of Marlborough was appointed to command the confederate troops with the rank of Captain-General.

The expedition, which had been planned by King William against Spain, was carried out by the Ministers of Queen Anne. It was arranged, accordingly, that a combined fleet of English and Dutch ships, consisting of fifty sail of the line, besides frigates, under Admiral Sir George Rooke, and a land force amounting to nearly fourteen thousand men, under the command of the Duke of Ormond, should proceed to the coast of Spain. The following corps were employed on this service, namely:—

Officers and Men.

Lloyd’s Dragoons, now 3rd Light Dragoons (detachment.) 275

Foot Guards, the Grenadier and Coldstream 755

Sir H. Bellasis’s now 2nd Foot 834

Churchill’s 3rd ” 834

Seymour’s 4th ” 834

Columbine’s 6th ” 724

O’Hara’s, 3 companies 7th Royal Fusiliers 313

Erle’s 19th Foot 724

Gustavus Hamilton’s 20th ” 724

Villiers’s Marines, 5 Companies. 31st ” 520

Fox’s Marines 32nd ” 834

Donegal’s 35th ” 724

Charlemont’s 36th ” 724

Shannon’s Marines 834

——

9653

Dutch Regiments commanded by Major-General Baron Sparre and Brigadier Pallandt } 3924

———

13,577

Colonel Villiers’s Corps of Marines, now the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, soon after its formation was thus called upon to supply five Companies for embarkation for active service on board the fleet destined against Spain: these Companies embarked in the latter part of May from Plymouth, and proceeded to join the fleet at Portsmouth, from whence the expedition sailed to Cadiz in the month of July, 1702.

The armament appeared off Cadiz on the 12th of August, and the Duke summoned the place; but his terms being refused, he landed on the 15th at the Bay of Bulls, between Rota and Fort St. Catherine, under great disadvantages and a well conducted opposition: he marched upon Rota, where the horses and stores were disembarked, and in two days afterwards he advanced to the town of St. Mary. Rota was retaken by a coup-de-main, and the British garrison of 300 men was captured. The attempt on Cadiz failed; the troops were re-embarked, and sailed from Cadiz on the 30th of September.

In alluding to this expedition, Bishop Burnet remarks,—“It is certain our Court had false accounts of the state the place was in, both with relation to the garrison, and to the fortifications; the garrison was much stronger, and the fortifications were in a better state, than was represented.”

Conspicuous as the bravery of the troops had been in the expedition against Cadiz, still the failure of the attempt naturally caused painful feelings to arise among the British soldiers, who were disappointed of reaping the well-earned fame of a successful enterprise, when victory appeared almost within their grasp. The receipt of information of the arrival of a Spanish fleet from the West Indies, under a French convoy, at the harbour of Vigo, speedily dissipated these feelings, and gave renewed hopes to the troops. The allied fleet immediately bent its course thither, and arrived before Vigo on the 22nd of October, 1702. The French admiral Count de Chateaurenaud had placed his shipping and the galleons within a narrow passage, the entrance to which was defended by a castle on one side, and by platforms mounted with cannon on both sides of the inlet; a strong boom was thrown across the harbour.

To facilitate the attack on this formidable barrier, the Duke of Ormond landed a portion of his army six miles from Vigo on the 23rd of October, and took, by assault, a battery of forty pieces of cannon, situated at the entrance of the bay. A British flag, hoisted on this fort, was the signal for a general attack. The fleet in full sail approached, broke the boom at the first shock, and became closely engaged with the enemy’s ships, while the British troops that had landed, stormed and captured the batteries. After a vigorous defence, the French and Spaniards, finding they could not escape, set fire to some of their vessels, and cast their cargoes into the sea; but the British exerted themselves nobly in extinguishing the flames, and succeeded in saving six galleons and seven ships of war. Two thousand of the enemy are stated to have perished, and the Spaniards sustained a loss in goods and treasure exceeding eight million dollars, more than one-half of which fell to the captors, whose loss in this victory was inconsiderable. Queen Anne, attended by the Lords and Commons, went in state to St. Paul’s Cathedral to return thanks for this success, and each of the regiments of infantry received 561l. 10s. prize-money.

Villiers’s Marines (THIRTY-FIRST regiment) did not land at Vigo, but served on board the fleet in this gallant enterprise.

The troops under the Duke of Ormond subsequently returned to England, and on their arrival in November, 1702, were stationed as follows, namely:—

Lloyd’s 3rd Dragoons (detachment) Portsmouth.

Foot Guards, 1st and Coldstream Gravesend and Chatham.

Sir H. Bellasis’s 2nd Foot Portsmouth.

Churchill’s 3rd ” Chatham.

Seymour’s 4th ” Plymouth.

Columbine’s 6th ” Portsmouth.

Royal Fusiliers 7th ” Tilbury.

Villiers’s (Marines) Thirty-first Plymouth.

Fox’s Marines 32nd Foot Plymouth.

Viscount Shannon’s Marines Chatham.

1703

On the 6th of January, 1703, seven companies of the regiment were stationed at Plymouth, and on the 27th of that month four companies were ordered for embarkation on board of the ships Suffolk and Grafton, which proceeded on service to the coast of Spain, to join the fleet under Admiral Sir George Rooke, and continued in that quarter, and in the Mediterranean, during that year.

In December, 1703, Colonel Villiers, who was in command of the Regiment on board of the fleet, was drowned. He was succeeded in the Colonelcy of the Regiment by Lieut.-Colonel Alexander Lutterell, on the 6th of December of that year.

1704

The THIRTY-FIRST regiment, being at this time a Marine Corps, continued to serve on board the fleet in the Mediterranean, and in February, 1704, proceeded, under Admiral Sir George Rooke, to Lisbon, from whence it proceeded to Barcelona, where the troops were landed under the command of Major-General the Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, on the 19th of May; but the force, being inadequate for the purpose intended, was re-embarked on the day following.

The fleet next proceeded to attack the fortress of Gibraltar, and the Prince of Hesse effected a landing on the afternoon of the 21st of July, 1704, with eighteen hundred British and Dutch Marines: after a bombardment of three days, the governor was forced to capitulate, and the Prince of Hesse took possession of the garrison on the evening of Sunday, the 24th of July, 1704. The attack of the seamen and marines is recorded in history to have been one of the boldest and most difficult ever performed. The fortress of Gibraltar was thus taken, and was besieged by the Spaniards and French in October following, for seven months, during which period it was successfully defended by the navy and marines, and has since remained, as a monument of British valour, in possession of the Crown of Great Britain.

After selecting a sufficient force to garrison Gibraltar, the Marine Corps were distributed in the several ships of war which were then collected in the Tagus, in order to co-operate with the land forces on the coast of Spain.

1705

Towards the end of May, 1705, the British fleet having about five thousand troops on board, with General the Earl of Peterborough, proceeded to Lisbon; King Charles embarked on board of the Ranelagh on the 23rd of July, and the Dutch fleet having joined in the Tagus, proceeded from thence, and anchored before Barcelona on the 22nd of August.

The Earl of Peterborough commenced operations against Barcelona by an attack on the strong fortress of Montjuich, which was taken by storm on the 17th of September. In this attack the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt was wounded by a musket-ball which occasioned his death. The city of Barcelona was invested, and after considerable efforts on the part of the besiegers and the besieged, the garrison surrendered on the 6th of October, 1705.

The capture of Barcelona obtained for the allied forces the applause of the nations of Europe, and in a great degree promoted the cause of King Charles in his efforts to succeed to the Crown of Spain.

1706

The decease of Colonel Lutterell having taken place, he was succeeded by Lieut.-Colonel Josiah Churchill, on the 1st of February, 1706.

The neglect of King Charles III. and his counsellors to secure the advantages obtained by the conquests before stated, and the persevering efforts made in favour of King Philip V. by the French, and by those persons in other countries who supported his cause, occasioned great difficulties, as well as serious losses to the allied forces.

A powerful French and Spanish force by land, aided by a fleet, attempted the recapture of Barcelona, which was besieged in the beginning of April, 1706; but when the enemy had made preparations to attack the place by storm, the English and Dutch fleet arrived with reinforcements for the garrison;—the French relaxed in their efforts, and the siege was raised on the 11th of May.

The city of Barcelona was thus relieved, and the allied fleet, with the troops on board, proceeded to the coast of Valencia; after capturing Carthagena, and placing six hundred Marines for its defence, the expedition proceeded to an attack upon Alicant, which, after a gallant resistance and severe loss, surrendered on the 25th of August, 1706.

The fleet then proceeded to Iviça and Majorca, which surrendered to King Charles III., and detachments of Marines were placed as garrisons in those islands.

1707

The defeat of the allied forces under the Earl of Galway by the Duke of Berwick at Almanza, on the 25th of April, 1707, cast a gloom over the prospects of King Charles in Spain; and in June following, measures were adopted for co-operating with the Duke of Savoy and the Prince Eugene, in an attack upon Toulon. The fleet proceeded for the coast of Italy, and anchored between Nice and Antibes, when a conference took place with the commanders-in-chief of the sea and land forces, and it was decided that a joint attack should be made upon a portion of the enemy’s army which was entrenched upon the river Var; the enemy having evacuated his positions, they were immediately occupied by several hundred British seamen and marines; the passage was thus secured for the Duke of Savoy to prosecute his designs, and ships were stationed along different parts of the sea-coast: every aid was afforded by the fleet; but the enemy, having been reinforced, made a successful sally, and the allied forces sustained considerable loss; the siege was consequently raised on the 10th of August following.

1708

In consequence of King Charles having desired that Sardinia should be reduced, with a view to a passage being opened for his troops into Naples to attack Sicily, and also to secure the means of supplying provisions for his armies, it was decided that a body of marines should be withdrawn from Catalonia to assist in this enterprise. On the 12th of August, 1708, the armament designed for this service arrived before Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia, and after receiving a hesitating reply to the summons to surrender, the bombardment commenced on that evening, and continued until the following morning, when, at the break of day, Major-General Wills (Thirtieth regiment), at the head of the Marines, with one Spanish regiment, landed, and the place surrendered.

It was next decided that an attempt should be made upon the island of Minorca. The fleet accordingly set sail, and arrived before Port Mahon on the 28th of August, 1708.

At this period the six marine regiments had been much reduced in numbers by the arduous services on which they had been employed from the commencement of the war, so that it became necessary to draft the men of two of these corps into the other four regiments, in order to render this force effective for the service for which it was now destined, and which, there was reason to expect, would be difficult, and would require the most energetic measures towards effecting the conquest of the island. For this purpose all the Marines fit for service, were drawn from the ships about to return home, and were incorporated in the four regiments which were employed in the reduction of this island. The two regiments (Holl’s and Shannon’s) returned to England in order to recruit their numbers.

The fleet proceeded to commence operations, and the first attack was against Fort Fornelle, which was cannonaded, and surrendered after a contest of four hours; a detachment proceeded to Citadella, the capital, which surrendered; batteries, which had been erected, were opened on the works defending the town of Port Mahon, on the 17th of September, when, after a short but brisk fire, a lodgment was effected under the walls of St. Philip’s Castle, and on the following day the place surrendered.

The valuable and important Island of Minorca was thus reduced to submission to the British Crown by the gallantry of the Navy, and about two thousand four hundred Marines; the island, which was ceded to Great Britain at the Treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, continued in the British possession until the year 1756, when it was recaptured by a combined Spanish and French force under the command of Marshal the Duke de Richelieu.[7]

1709

In the early part of the year 1709, an armament was prepared for the purpose of attacking Port Royal in the province of Nova Scotia, which was then in possession of the French; the expedition was entrusted to Colonel Nicholson of the Marines, and to Captain Martin of the Navy. The squadron proceeded to Boston, where it was reinforced by some ships, and by provincial auxiliary troops: a council of war was held, and arrangements were made for disembarking the troops, which took place on the 24th of September. The fortress surrendered on the 1st of October, and the Marines took possession. The fortress was named Anna-polis Royal, in honor of Queen Anne, in whose reign the conquest was effected.

The affairs of Spain at this time had materially changed, and the prospects of King Charles III. in obtaining the monarchy had become very doubtful. The town of Alicant, after sustaining a powerful siege by the forces of Spain and France, was compelled to surrender in April; the fleet under Admiral Sir George Byng, and the troops on board under Lieut.-General Stanhope, which were destined for its relief, were prevented, by heavy gales and severe weather, from communicating with the town, and affording the desired assistance. The garrison consisted of Colonel Sir Charles Hotham’s and Colonel Frederick Sybourg’s regiments (afterwards disbanded), together with a large body of Marines, who evinced the most heroic perseverance in maintaining the place. On the 6th of April, 1709, the enemy sprung a mine, which split the rock on which the Castle of Alicant was situated, when Colonel Sybourg and several other officers were swallowed up in the opening, which immediately closed. Although they had been permitted to see the mine, they refused to capitulate; the garrison afterwards continued to defend the castle, until Lieut.-General Stanhope, being unable to communicate with the town, proposed terms of surrender, which being acceded to, the gallant survivors of the siege were conveyed on board the fleet, and were removed to Minorca, and afterwards to Barcelona.

1710

In March, 1710, Admiral Sir John Norris, who had arrived at Port Mahon as commander-in-chief of the Naval forces, proceeded to Barcelona, in the month of June, in order to concert with King Charles III. the plan of future operations. It was determined that an expedition should proceed against the Isle of Cette in the province of Languedoc. His troops, including the Marines, landed on the 13th of July, and after a feeble resistance the fort surrendered: the regiment of Stanhope and three hundred Marines advanced against Agde, and the town surrendered. The Isle of Cette was shortly afterwards recaptured by the French, but the British troops had been previously re-embarked.

1711

Colonel Churchill having received Her Majesty’s permission to sell his commission, Lieut.-Colonel Sir Harry Goring, Bart., was promoted to the Colonelcy of the Thirty-first Regiment by purchase, on the 1st of March, 1711.

The decease of Joseph I., Emperor of Germany, took place on the 17th of April, 1711, and King Charles III. of Spain was elected Emperor of Germany, by the title of Charles VI., on the 12th of October of that year: this circumstance rendered unnecessary any further attempts in the cause of King Charles on the part of the British Government. His Majesty embarked at Barcelona on board of the fleet, and proceeded to assume the duties of the Imperial throne.

1712 1713

In the year 1712 negotiations were entered into between Great Britain and France, and a Treaty of Peace was concluded at Utrecht, on the 11th of April, 1713. By this treaty it was settled, that Great Britain should retain possession of Gibraltar, Minorca, and Nova Scotia, which had been conquered during the war, and in acquiring which the Marine Corps had greatly contributed.

From the period of the formation of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, in the year 1702, as a Corps of Marines, to the termination of the war by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the regiment was employed, by detachments, on board the fleet, and was engaged on various services at sea, as well as on land, according to the conditions on which it was raised.[8]

Among the reductions which were directed to take place in the establishment of the army consequent on the Peace of Utrecht, the Marine Corps were included in the list of regiments to be discontinued.

1714

The decease of Queen Anne took place on the 1st of August, 1714, and King George I., who was then at Hanover, was immediately proclaimed as the Sovereign of Great Britain and Ireland. The partisans of the Pretender, James Francis Edward Stuart, son of the late King, James II., renewed their exertions in his behalf; and Jacobite principles had become so prevalent in certain parts of the kingdom, that it was necessary that the army, which had been considerably reduced after the Peace of Utrecht, should be again augmented.

Six additional regiments of cavalry (from the ninth to the fourteenth dragoons) were raised. The establishments of the regiments of infantry were increased, and, in consideration of the services of the Marine Corps during the late war, Wills’s, now thirtieth,—Goring’s, now thirty-first,—and Borr’s, now thirty-second, which had been ordered to be disbanded, were retained on the establishment, and were incorporated with the regiments of infantry of the line, and authorised to take rank according to the dates of their original formation in 1702.

1715

The adherents of the Stuart dynasty continued to be numerous, particularly in Scotland, where active preparations were made for the elevation of the “Pretender” to the throne; and the Chevalier de St. George[9] (so styled in France) repeated the attempt which he had made in 1708, and effected a landing in Scotland in December, 1715, where a rebellion had broken out in September; the Earl of Mar had assembled his vassals, erected the standard of the Pretender in the Highlands, and had been joined by several clans, to the number of ten thousand men. King George I. was supported by his Parliament in adopting energetic measures for opposing the designs of the Jacobites, and for maintaining the Protestant Succession.

To oppose the rebellious forces, the Duke of Argyle was appointed to the command of the army in Scotland. After several movements and skirmishing, the rebel army, commanded by the Earl of Mar, advanced, in the early part of November, towards the Firth; and the Duke of Argyle quitted the camp at Stirling, and proceeded to the vicinity of Dumblaine. On the morning of Sunday, the 13th of November, the hostile armies confronted each other on Sheriffmuir. After half-an-hour’s sharp fighting the left wing of the rebel army gave way, and the King’s troops captured several standards and colours; but while this portion of the rebel army was being pursued, the rebels had defeated the left wing of the royal army. Thus each commander had a wing triumphant and a wing defeated: both armies returned to their former ground, but the action was not renewed. The rebels were, however, defeated in their design of crossing the Firth, and they retired, during the night, towards Perth. The royal army returned to Stirling on the following day. The rebels who had assembled in England under the Earl of Derwentwater and Mr. Forster, were also compelled to surrender at Preston, in Lancashire, to General Carpenter, on the same day as the battle of Sheriffmuir was fought.

Towards the end of December the “Pretender” arrived in Scotland, but his presence did not animate the Scots sufficiently to induce them to renew the contest in his behalf; they considered him unfit to be the leader of a great military enterprise, although the Chevalier is recorded in history to have greatly distinguished himself in the battle of Malplaquet in 1709, “when he charged twelve times with the household troops of the King of France, and, in the last charge, was wounded in the arm by a sword.” The Chevalier had the credit of possessing plenty of animal courage, when led by others, but no moral fortitude when left to himself, and dependent upon his own resources.[10]

1716

In the latter part of the year 1715 the royal army had been joined by considerable reinforcements, and in January, 1716, the Duke of Argyle advanced towards Perth.

The Pretender and the Earl of Mar, being unable to oppose effectual resistance, and seeing no prospect of establishing a footing in Scotland, withdrew from their army privately, and escaped to France, after which the Highlanders dispersed.

The rebellion in Scotland at this period thus terminated.

The THIRTY-FIRST regiment proceeded to Ireland, and continued to form a part of the force in that portion of the United Kingdom until the year 1739.

On the retirement of Colonel Sir Harry Goring, on the 8th of September, 1716, Lord John Kerr was appointed to the Colonelcy of the regiment.

The remainder of the reign of King George I. did not produce any events to give occasion for the active services of the army, and the movements of regiments from one station to another seldom took place.

1727

His Majesty’s decease occurred on the 11th of June, 1727, and his son, King George II., succeeded to the throne.

1728

Major-General Lord John Kerr died on the 1st of August, 1728, and on the 13th of that month, Colonel the Honorable Charles Cathcart, from the Ninth foot, was appointed to the Colonelcy of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment.

1731

Colonel William Hargrave was promoted on the 1st of January, 1731, from the Seventh Royal Fusiliers to the Colonelcy of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, in succession to Colonel the Honorable Charles Cathcart, who was removed to the Eighth dragoons.

1737

On the 27th of January, 1737, Colonel William Handasyd was promoted from the Fifteenth foot to the Colonelcy of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, in succession to Colonel William Hargrave, who was removed to the Ninth foot.

1739

In the year 1739 the THIRTY-FIRST regiment was removed from Ireland to Great Britain.

1740

In the two previous years the British merchants had made great complaints against the Spanish depredations in America, and on the 23rd of October, 1739, war was proclaimed against Spain by Great Britain; and the events which occurred in Germany in the following year occasioned the contest that is designated the “War of the Austrian Succession,” in which most of the European powers became engaged, and which disturbed the long interval of comparative peace that had succeeded the Treaty of Utrecht.[11]

These events were occasioned by the decease of Charles VI., Emperor of Germany, on the 20th of October, 1740. The Emperor was the last Prince of the House of Austria, and he was succeeded in his hereditary dominions by his eldest daughter, the Archduchess Maria Theresa, who married, in 1736, the Duke Francis Stephen, of Lorraine. The Duke, in the following year, became Grand-Duke of Tuscany. Immediately on her father’s decease, Maria Theresa was proclaimed Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, Princess of Transylvania, Archduchess of Austria, and universal successor to all the dominions of the House of Austria, pursuant to the “Pragmatic Sanction;”[12] and she declared her husband co-regent in the government of her dominions.

Although the possessions of Austria were guaranteed to the Archduchess Maria Theresa by the German Edict known in history as the “Pragmatic Sanction,” to which nearly all the powers of Europe had been parties, yet the succession of the Archduchess to her father’s Austrian hereditary territories was disputed by several claimants; and among others by Charles Albert, Elector of Bavaria, who was afterwards elected Emperor of Germany. The King of Prussia also revived a dormant claim to Silesia, which he invaded in November; the Prussian monarch offered Maria Theresa sufficient money to resist all her enemies, on condition of ceding Silesia to him, but the proposition was indignantly rejected.

1741

The King of France supported the Elector of Bavaria, while King George II. supported the Archduchess Maria Theresa; and in April, 1741, the British Parliament voted a subsidy of 300,000l. to the Queen of Hungary and Bohemia. His Majesty also informed the Parliament, that the Queen of Hungary had demanded the twelve thousand troops he had stipulated to furnish; and accordingly he had requested the King of Denmark and the King of Sweden to hold in readiness their quotas of six thousand men each, for the maintenance of which they had received subsidies from England. King George II. was drawn into the war from the apprehension of losing Hanover, but at this period His Majesty abstained from being a principal in the contest, by agreeing with the French sovereign, Louis XV., to give his vote, as Elector of Hanover, to the Elector of Bavaria for the dignity of Emperor of Germany, and thereby to preserve the neutrality of his Hanoverian territories.

During 1741 and the previous year the regiment was encamped at Windsor, and on Lexden Heath, near Colchester, as part of the force ordered to be prepared for the assistance of Maria Theresa, but no embarkation for continental service took place during the year 1741.

1742

The Elector of Bavaria was chosen Emperor of Germany at Frankfort on the Maine, and crowned, as Charles VII., on the 11th of February, 1742: he was, however, a most unhappy prince; his electoral dominions were overrun by the Austrians, the French were driven out of Bohemia, and the King of Prussia, under the mediation of King George II., concluded a peace at Breslau with the Queen of Hungary.

The King of England resolving to take a more active part in the war, an army of sixteen thousand men, under Field-Marshal the Earl of Stair, was ordered to be embarked for the Netherlands in the summer of 1742, in order to support the Queen of Hungary.

On the 17th of May the THIRTY-FIRST regiment embarked at Deptford for Flanders, having been previously reviewed on Kew-green by King George II. and the Duke of Cumberland, with the other regiments destined for the above service.[13] No action took place during the year, the troops being suddenly marched into winter-quarters, after every preparation had been made for active operations.

1743

In the commencement of the year 1743 the British and Hanoverian troops were assembled in the Low Countries, commanded by Field-Marshal the Earl of Stair, as allies to the Austrians, under the command of Marshal Neuperg and the Duke d’Aremberg, and advanced towards Germany, in order to secure the navigation of the Upper Maine. The French Marshal, Noailles, had anticipated the British general, and was already on the opposite shore of this river, and in possession of its principal posts when the Allies arrived at Aschaffenberg. Here the Allied army remained until June, on the 19th of which month King George II., attended by the Duke of Cumberland, arrived at the camp.

The two armies were encamped on the plains near the banks of the Maine, opposite to, and in sight of, each other; with a ridge of hills, covered with woods on the north of each, the Allies being on the north and the French on the south side of the river. The Confederate army amounted to nearly forty thousand men, in high spirits, though nearly destitute of provisions. A retrograde movement being resolved on for the purpose of obtaining supplies, as well as to effect a junction with a corps of twelve thousand Hessians and Hanoverians, in some danger of being cut off at Hanau, His Majesty, on the evening of the 26th of June, gave orders that the army should hold itself in readiness to march on the following morning; accordingly the Confederate army marched towards Dettingen before daylight on the morning of the 27th of June. The army was weakened for want of provisions, the soldiers having been on half-rations for some time, and the horses were without forage.

Marshal Noailles immediately ordered a large force of cavalry and infantry, composed of the household troops and of the Royal Guards, to the village of Dettingen, by which the British had to pass. The THIRTY-FIRST regiment, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Montague, was in advance towards Dettingen, when the French made the above movement, and gave the first intelligence of it to His Majesty.

Aschaffenberg was occupied by the French the moment it was evacuated by the Allies. The Confederate army had to march through a narrow way between a mountain and the Maine, the cannon on the opposite side of the river commanding its flank. Dettingen, in front, was occupied in force by the French, and also Aschaffenberg in the rear. In this situation the destruction of the Allies seemed inevitable; but Marshal Noailles having repassed the river, the Duke de Grammont, who succeeded to the command, advanced to the attack through the defile, thus relinquishing all the advantages of his position. The British troops, animated by the presence of their Sovereign, on the 27th of June, received the impetuous attack of the French with such steadiness and intrepidity, that the latter were forced to retire, and recross the Maine with the greatest precipitation and the loss of five thousand men.

The Twentieth and THIRTY-FIRST regiments were in reserve in a wood on the British right, and towards the afternoon they were led into action by his Majesty in person, who evinced the same martial qualities for which he was distinguished at the battle of Oudenarde, on the 11th of July, 1708, when Hereditary Prince of Brunswick Lunenburg.

The regiment sustained but trifling loss at the battle of Dettingen, in consequence of its having been in reserve during the early part of the action.[14]

Although the victory was highly honorable to those by whom it was gained, yet it was productive of no decisive results.[15] The allied army continued its march to Hanau; it subsequently crossed the Rhine, and was employed in West Germany, but returned to Flanders for winter-quarters.

1744

On the 20th of March, 1744, France declared war against England, and on the 29th of that month a counter-declaration was made by Great Britain, in which the French monarch was accused of violating the “Pragmatic Sanction,” and of assisting the son of the Pretender in his designs on the British throne.

The regiment served the campaign of 1744 with the army commanded by Field-Marshal Wade; it was encamped some time on the banks of the Scheldt, and afterwards penetrated the French territory to the vicinity of Lisle, but no general engagement occurred.

1745

In January, 1745, the Emperor Charles VII. died at Munich, and Francis, Grand-Duke of Tuscany, consort of Maria Theresa, became a candidate for the Imperial crown; this event changed the aspect of affairs in Germany, and led to the re-establishment of the House of Austria in the Imperial dignity.

Colonel Lord Henry Beauclerk was appointed, on the 22nd of April, 1745, from the forty-eighth to the Colonelcy of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, in succession to Colonel W. Handasyd, deceased.

His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland was appointed to the command of the Confederate army, and on the French investing Tournay, which towards the end of April was besieged by an immense force, under Marshal Count de Saxe, His Royal Highness determined to raise the siege, which resulted in the battle of Fontenoy.

On the morning of the 11th of May, the formidable position at Fontenoy, occupied by the superior numbers of the enemy, was attacked, when the British infantry evinced that heroism for which that arme of the service has ever been conspicuous, and forced the enemy’s position; but being exposed to a destructive cross-fire, in consequence of the Dutch having failed in their attack on the village of Fontenoy, and Brigadier-General Ingoldsby not having captured a battery in the wood of Barry, the British regiments, which had forced the French position, were ordered to retire. The attack was repeated, with the same results: British valour was conspicuous, but the failure of the Dutch rendered a retreat necessary, and the Allied army withdrew to Aeth.[16]

In the London Gazette it was stated that,

“The Highland regiment (42nd), the regiment late Handasyd’s (THIRTY-FIRST), Duroure’s (12th), and many others also distinguished themselves. The honor gained by the Infantry was in a great measure owing to the conduct and bravery of Lieut.-General Ligonier.”

It was the practice at this period in all the armies of Europe to form battalions of Grenadiers of the different regiments composing the force in the field; it was their privilege to lead upon all arduous occasions, when they were ever conspicuous, and suffered the most. The grenadier company of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment brought only eleven men out of the field of Fontenoy, of the seventy-five that it took into action, and its captain and subalterns were killed.

The THIRTY-FIRST regiment had Lieut.-Colonel Montague, Captains Baird and Pollock, Lieutenant Dalway, four serjeants, and one hundred and twenty-five rank and file killed; Lieutenants Stafford and Porter, Ensigns Worsley, Bromley, and Freeman, six serjeants, and one hundred and thirty rank and file, wounded.

Tournay made a gallant defence until the 21st of June, when it surrendered to Marshal Saxe.

After the battle of Fontenoy the Allied army encamped at Lessines and Grammont, when a demonstration being made by the French to attack the Confederates, it was concentrated at the latter place, in order to receive them. After exchanging a few cannon-shots, the enemy withdrew, showing a disposition to surround the Allies, which determined the Duke of Cumberland to fall back on Brussels.

The Confederate generals suspected that the French would make an attempt upon Ghent, and therefore despatched Lieut.-General Baron de Molck to Ghent to reinforce the garrison of that fortress. The troops appointed for this service were Sir Robert Rich’s (fourth) dragoons, three squadrons of Slipperbach’s dragoons, and two squadrons of the regiments of Ligne and Styrum, and seven hundred hussars; with a battalion of the Royal regiment of foot, and Bligh’s and Handasyd’s regiments (Twentieth and THIRTY-FIRST foot); in all about four thousand men.

The Baron de Molck led his column along the cause-way of Alost, until he reached the Priory of Melle (Pas du Mésle), when it was suddenly assailed by a volley from two batteries near the priory, and the next moment from ten to fifteen thousand French sprang from their concealment among the trees and surrounded the detachment. The Baron de Molck attacked them with such resolution, that he forced a passage, and arrived safely in Ghent with the fourth dragoons, the Royals, and the hussars. Brigadier Bligh, finding it impossible to follow the Lieut.-General, drew off to the right with his own regiment (the 20th), the THIRTY-FIRST, and the Austrian and Dutch dragoons, forced a passage through the enemy, gained an adjacent wood, and retired thence to Dendermond, twelve miles east of Ghent. The loss of the Allies amounted to about six hundred men. This action, which was fought on the 9th of July, is called by the French the combat of La Mésle. In the account of this affair published at the time, it was stated that “our troops behaved with incredible bravery, and have acquired immortal honor.” Ghent was shortly afterwards taken by the French.

The allied army remained entrenched between Antwerp and Brussels until the French Marshal had reduced the chief fortified places in Austrian Flanders.[17]

On the 2nd of September the Grand-Duke of Tuscany was elected Emperor of Germany, by the title of Francis I. At this period the rebellion in Scotland began to assume a formidable aspect. Prince Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, who had arrived in the Highlands towards the end of July, had been joined by several clans, and on the 16th of September proclaimed his father King of Great Britain, at Edinburgh. The success gained over the Royal army, under Lieutenant-General Sir John Cope, at Preston-Pans, on the 21st of September, caused numerous adherents to flock to the Prince’s standard.

Several regiments were in consequence recalled from the Continent, and the THIRTY-FIRST, with other corps, arrived in the river Thames on the 25th of October.[18]

The THIRTY-FIRST regiment, which had been much reduced by its casualties during the campaigns in Flanders, did not proceed to Scotland, but remained in the vicinity of London. The young Pretender marched as far as Derby, from whence he commenced his retreat to the north on the 6th of December, as he found but few partisans in England to join him in his expedition.

1746

On the 16th of April, 1746, a decisive blow was given to the hopes of the Pretender by the defeat of the rebels at Culloden. Prince Charles, after enduring many hardships, escaped to France.

1747

Several regiments were now ordered to return to Flanders, but the THIRTY-FIRST remained in Great Britain. On the 2nd of July, 1747, the Duke of Cumberland engaged the French at Laffeld, or Val, where the Allies suffered severely from the misconduct of the Dutch troops.

1748

In the summer of 1748 the Allies again took the field, but hostilities were at length terminated by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which was signed on the 7th of October, 1748. By it all the great treaties, from that of Westphalia in 1648, which first recognised the principle of a balance of power in Europe, to that of Vienna in 1738 were renewed and confirmed. Prussia retained Silesia, and the Empress-Queen, Maria Theresa, was guaranteed in the possession of her hereditary dominions, according to the Pragmatic Sanction. France surrendered her conquests in Flanders, and England those in the East and West Indies; all therefore Great Britain gained by the war was the glory of having supported the German sovereignty of Maria Theresa, and of having adhered to former treaties.

1749

Colonel Henry Holmes was appointed by King George II. to the Colonelcy of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment on the 8th of May, 1749, in succession to Colonel Lord Henry Beauclerk, who retired from the service.

In the year 1749 the THIRTY-FIRST regiment was embarked for Minorca, where it remained for the three following years.

1751

In the Royal Warrant, dated the 1st of July, 1751, for ensuring uniformity in the clothing, standards, and colours of the army, and regulating the number and rank of regiments, the facings of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment were directed to be Buff. The first, or King’s colour, was the Great Union; the second, or Regimental colour, was of Buff silk, with the Union in the upper canton; in the centre of the colour the number of the rank of the regiment, in gold Roman characters, within a wreath of roses and thistles on the same stalk.

1752

In 1752 the regiment returned to England from Minorca.

1753 1754

During the years 1753 and 1754 the THIRTY-FIRST regiment was stationed in England.

1755

In the year 1755 the regiment proceeded to Scotland, in which country it remained for seven years.

1756

While the regiment was stationed in North Britain, the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle was interrupted by the aggressions of the French on the British territory in North America, and early in 1756 the King of France prepared a powerful armament for the capture of the island of Minorca. In consequence of this attack on Minorca, hostilities became inevitable on the part of Great Britain, and on the 18th of May war was declared against France.

The garrison of Minorca, consisting of the 4th, 23rd, 24th, and 34th regiments, after making a noble and vigorous defence, which called forth the unqualified admiration of their opponents, was forced to surrender on the 29th of June.

At this period the army and navy were increased, and among other augmentations, fifteen of the regiments of infantry were authorised to raise second battalions from the 25th of August, 1756.

1758

In 1758 these additional battalions were formed into distinct corps, and numbered from the sixty-first to the seventy-fifth regiment. By this arrangement, the second battalion of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment was constituted the present Seventieth regiment.[19]

1759

The THIRTY-FIRST regiment, having been selected to remain in the United Kingdom, was precluded from taking a part in The Seven Years’ War, the most memorable occurrences of which were, the battle of Plassey, gained in India by Colonel Clive, on the 23rd of June, 1757, which laid the foundation of the British dominion in India; in Germany, the battle of Minden, which was fought on the 1st of August, 1759; in North America, the capture of Cape Breton, in July, 1758; and the capture of Quebec, in September, 1759, which cost the life of the gallant General Wolfe, but which led to the conquest of Canada in the following year, when Montreal, with the whole of that country, surrendered to General Amherst, in September, 1760.

1760

In Germany several hard-fought but indecisive actions occurred: the battle of Warbourg, on the 31st of July, 1760; the action near the Convent of Campen, on the 16th of October following; and the battle of Kirch Denkern, or Fellinghausen, on the 15th and 16th of July, 1761. In the following year actions were fought at Wilhelmstahl and at Amonebourg; the former on the 24th of June, and the latter on the 21st of September.

1762

On the 4th of January, 1762, war was declared against Spain; and Martinique, Grenada, St. Vincent, and other West India islands surrendered to English valour. The important city of Havannah, in Cuba, also capitulated to the British arms.

These successes were followed by a Treaty of Peace, the preliminary articles of which were signed at Fontainebleau, by the Duke of Bedford, on the 3rd of November, 1762.

In June, 1762, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment proceeded from Scotland to England, where it was stationed during the two following years.

On the 20th of August, 1762, Colonel James Adolphus Oughton, from the fifty-fifth regiment, was appointed by His Majesty King George III. to the Colonelcy of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, in succession to Lieutenant-General Henry Holmes, deceased.

1763

The treaty of Fontainebleau was concluded at Paris on the 10th of February, the ratifications were exchanged on the 10th of March, and peace was proclaimed in London on the 22nd of that month.

By this treaty, the whole of Canada, part of Louisiana, together with Cape Breton, and the other islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, were ceded to Great Britain. In the West Indies, the islands of Tobago, Dominica, St. Vincent, and Grenada were retained by Great Britain; but Martinique, Guadaloupe, Marigalante, and St. Lucia were restored to France. In the East Indies, the French obtained the restitution of their settlements, but agreed not to erect any fortifications in Bengal. Minorca was restored to England in exchange for Belle-Isle, which had been captured by the British in 1761, and it was stipulated that the fortifications of Dunkirk should be demolished. Spain ceded East and West Florida to Great Britain, in return for the restitution of the Havannah, Manilla, and all the places which Spain had lost since the commencement of the war.

1765

In this year the THIRTY-FIRST regiment was embarked for Pensacola, the capital of West Florida, which country had been ceded to Great Britain by Spain at the peace of Fontainebleau; on the passage out, the transport having the regiment on board put into Blue-field Bay, Jamaica, at the time the yellow fever was raging with great violence in that island; the THIRTY-FIRST took the infection, and unfortunately carried it to Pensacola, where the soldiers continued to suffer most severely; so great was the mortality, and so rapid the disease in its course, that the regiment could not supply men to carry their comrades to the grave. The men who attended the funerals of their brother soldiers in the morning, while the regiment was strong enough to preserve some ceremony, were, in many instances, consigned to the tomb in the evening. It appears by the newspapers of the period, in which allusion is made to the mortality, that at one period of its illness the regiment could muster only a corporal and six men for duty.

1772

The regiment remained in the Floridas, garrisoning alternately St. Augustine and Pensacola, the capitals of East and West Florida, until the autumn of 1772, when it was embarked for St. Vincent, to take part in reducing to submission the refractory Caribs in that island.

The island of St. Vincent was captured from the French, in 1762, and was ceded to Great Britain at the peace concluded in the following year; it contained two tribes of natives, called the red and black Caribs, 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 Caribs were devoted to the French interest; they were dangerous and troublesome neighbours to the English planters, and it was found necessary to restrain their conduct, and enforce obedience to a few salutary regulations. They were, however, of a resolute spirit, possessed many thickly wooded fastnesses, and resisted all attempts to restrain their roving propensities and mode of life with such determination, that it became necessary to augment the military force on the island. Although they were contemptible opponents in skill, yet the nature of the climate, and the natural difficulties of the country, being thickly wooded where they inhabited, rendered the service extremely tedious and arduous.

1773

On the 14th of January, 1773, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment fell into an ambuscade, and sustained some loss; the commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Walsh, was among the killed.

1774

After the troops had been in the woods for some months, they at length succeeded, in February, 1774, in bringing the Caribs to terms, who agreed to acknowledge the sovereignty of Great Britain, but were permitted to preserve their own laws and customs.

Thus terminated the Carib war. The THIRTY-FIRST regiment returned to England, and was subsequently stationed in North Britain.

1775

At this period the unfortunate misunderstanding between Great Britain and her American colonies, on the subject of taxation, produced open hostilities. On the 19th of April the first collision occurred at Lexington, and on the 17th of June following the battle of Bunker’s Hill was fought. During the winter Quebec was besieged by an American Army: this fortress was gallantly defended by the troops under Lieut.-General Guy Carleton, and reinforcements were ordered to proceed from England to Canada.

1776

The THIRTY-FIRST regiment proceeded from Glasgow to Cork, whence it embarked for Canada in April, as part of the army under Major-General Burgoyne. The transports arrived at Quebec on the 28th of May, shortly after the defeat of the Americans by a sortie of the garrison. Lieut.-General Carleton had pursued the enemy up the river St. Lawrence, and Major-General Burgoyne’s force remained only one night at anchor below Quebec, where orders had been left for him to follow. He joined at Trois Rivières; part of the army disembarked and immediately occupied the villages adjacent to their post on the road to Montreal. On the 8th of June the Americans attempted to surprise the post of Trois Rivières, having passed the river from Sorel with two thousand men.

Brigadier-General Fraser, who commanded at the post of Trois Rivières, gave the foe a ready reception, with such men as he could collect, and, being soon supported from the cantonments and the transports, put the Americans to the rout. The troops pursued the fugitives along the shore, while the shipping sailed up the river and intercepted their flight. Major-General Thompson, the American General, with many officers, and two hundred men, were taken prisoners.

On the 14th of June the flotillas and the force on shore reached Sorel, which the colonists had evacuated a few hours before; Major-General Burgoyne continued the pursuit as far as St. John’s, where the troops from the transports under Major-General Phillips joined him, and soon afterwards an additional reinforcement under Brigadier-General Fraser.

All hope of accommodation now failed; on the 4th of July the American Congress issued their Declaration of Independence, and abjured their allegiance to the Crown of Great Britain. By this Declaration the name of colonies was abolished, and the thirteen provinces, namely, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, were constituted the United States of America.

The whole of Major-General Burgoyne’s army was assembled by the end of July at St. John’s, where it remained encamped during the naval operations on Lake Champlain. After the defeat of the American fleet, on the 11th of October, the weather becoming too severe for further operations in the field, the troops returned to Canada. The posts occupied by the THIRTY-FIRST regiment during the winter were Sorel, St. Charles, St. Denis, St. Anthony, and St. Ours.

1777

Major-General Burgoyne, who had proceeded to England to submit to the Government a plan for the ensuing campaign, arrived in Canada in May, 1777, empowered to carry it out. An army, composed of British, Dutch, and Colonial Corps, with the flank companies of the regiments left to garrison Quebec (among which was the THIRTY-FIRST regiment), amounting to nearly eight thousand men, was equipped and in the field by the 1st of July.

The flank companies of the THIRTY-FIRST, commanded by Captains Cotton and Simpson, formed, with the other flank companies and the twenty-fourth regiment, the advance of the army under Brigadier-General Fraser. Ticonderago was first attacked, and the Provincials were forced to evacuate that post.

Major-General Burgoyne’s plan was to penetrate the United States from Lake Champlain to the river Hudson, and advance upon Albany, with the view of reducing that country to submission. While Major-General Burgoyne moved towards the lake by Skenesborough, a short distance inland from South Bay, where an action occurred on the 6th of July, Brigadier-General Fraser, with the advance, followed the Provincial troops towards Castleton, and on the following day commenced an action by detaching his light companies to occupy a height commanding their flank. The American General observing this movement detached a force to prevent the British obtaining possession of this post. A sharp action ensued, and the Americans retreated with much loss to Huberton, where, meeting with a reinforcement, they made a stand in good order. Brigadier-General Fraser attacked them with great vigour, but not having half their number, made no impression upon them, until Major-General Reidesel, commanding the Dutch, arrived, when their flank being turned, the Americans retreated, leaving two hundred dead on the field, among whom was Colonel Francis, their commander.

The flank companies were hotly engaged in this affair. Brigadier-General Fraser had but 850 men in the beginning of the day, while the enemy amounted to 2000.

When Major-General Burgoyne joined, he pursued the Americans to Fort Anne and Fort Edward, notwithstanding the natural difficulties of the road, which the enemy increased by every possible means that could be devised. The Americans retreated from Fort Edward to Saratoga, and abandoning Fort George, left the navigation of Lake George open to Major-General Burgoyne.

General Arnold was now appointed to command the Americans in the British front, and, forming at Saratoga, fell back to Stillwater. Major-General Burgoyne remained at Fort Edward in great want of provisions and of means to advance; a detachment sent to procure supplies was completely cut off at Bennington, while Lieut.-Colonel St. Leger was compelled to raise the siege of Fort Stanwix, leaving behind his equipage and baggage.

The Americans, greatly elated by these circumstances, had assembled a large body under Major-General Gates at Stillwater. Small parties having been detached to Lieut.-General Burgoyne’s[20] rear, were in some measure successful, and his communication being thus threatened, notwithstanding his difficulties, arising from want of resources, he resolved to advance, and at all hazards to attempt a junction with the troops under Lieut.-General Sir Henry Clinton, taking with him thirty days’ provisions. Lieut.-General Burgoyne crossed the river Hudson on the 13th and 14th of September by a bridge of rafts, which had once been swept away, and on the 18th arrived at Stillwater, before the enemy’s position, which he attacked at two o’clock in the afternoon of the 19th of September, when a severe and indecisive action ensued. Both parties held their respective positions, and entrenched themselves within them. The British General, confined between two rivers by a stronger force than his own, continued within his lines and redoubts until the 7th of October, and when nearly destitute of provisions, determined to make another effort to extricate his troops; 1500 British, with twelve pieces of artillery, commanded by Lieut.-General Burgoyne in person, moved in advance towards the American position, and formed his right wing, while a body of light companies and Indians were placed under cover to act upon the enemy’s rear when he should be sufficiently advanced. General Gates, observing this separation of wings, instantly attacked the left wing with a view to cut off all chance of a junction; the British grenadiers were in this wing, and behaved with great gallantry. General Arnold attacked the British right, and Brigadier-General Fraser threw the light companies into a second line, in rear of the right wing, to cover its retreat upon the left. While this movement was taking place, the left of the right wing doubled to the rear. Brigadier-General Fraser led the light infantry to its support, but was mortally wounded; not, however, before his brave troops gave the right wing time to recover, and secured Lieut.-General Burgoyne’s retreat to his camp. The Americans pushed on, and obtained an entrance into the British lines: night put an end to the action.

During the night Lieut.-General Burgoyne removed his position to higher ground in his rear. General Gates distributed his corps to surround the British, and Lieut.-General Burgoyne once more tried a new position, retiring on Saratoga, and abandoning his baggage and provisions, as well as his hospital with 300 sick. He reached Saratoga safely, the Americans having been delayed in their pursuit by bad weather: a detachment, sent to observe the British, succeeded in reaching the place, but withdrew on the appearance of Lieut.-General Burgoyne’s force. Sending a detachment with workmen to examine and repair the roads, Lieut.-General Burgoyne resolved to continue his retreat to Fort George. The detachment, which was of regular troops, had scarcely marched, when the Americans appeared in force; it was instantly recalled, and the hope of rendering the roads passable for artillery was abandoned. The British patrols reported that every avenue of escape was in possession of the enemy; the men were worn down with fatigue and hunger, having been for some time on a reduced allowance, and but three days’ provisions remained. Under these circumstances Lieut.-General Burgoyne was constrained to treat with Major-General Gates, and obtaining honorable terms, capitulated on the 17th of October. The troops, of which the grenadier and light companies of the THIRTY-FIRST formed part, laid down their arms on condition of being sent to England; and they engaged not to serve again in North America during the war.

The American government violated the conditions of the convention, and detained the troops until the year 1781.

1778 1779

In 1778 the French monarch sent a numerous fleet under the Count D’Estaing, having on board a large body of troops, to the assistance of the Americans; in 1779 the court of Spain commenced hostilities against Great Britain, and this example was followed by the Dutch.

1780

Major-General Thomas Clarke, from the Coldstream Guards, was appointed, on the 3rd of May, 1780, to the Colonelcy of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, in succession to Lieut.-General Sir James Adolphus Oughton, K.B., deceased.

1781

The battalion companies of the regiment had remained in Canada, where they eventually were joined by the flank companies. On the 12th of March, 1781, the light company was detached to Lake Champlain, with a view of reconnoitring the neighbourhood, and effecting the destruction of the military stores left at Ticonderago by Lieut.-General Burgoyne. The object was partly accomplished, and Captain Andrew Ross, who commanded the company, gained great credit for the skill and conduct he displayed in this difficult enterprise. The party consisted, in addition to the light company of the THIRTY-FIRST, of men selected from the different Provincial corps, with a few Indians. It was in the spring of the year, when the ice was breaking up, and the operations were attended with difficulties and great privations. The men suffered so severely from fatigue, that the Provincials and Indians dropped off by degrees, and the party was reduced, on its return, to the light company only.

During July the THIRTY-FIRST regiment was encamped on the Plain of Abraham, memorable as the scene of the British victory over the French under the Marquis de Montcalm, on the 13th September, 1759, by which Quebec was gained to England, and in which battle the celebrated Major-General Wolfe lost his life.

1782

In October, 1781, the British army under Lieut.-General the Earl Cornwallis, after a gallant defence against the combined French and American forces, was compelled to surrender to General Washington at York-Town. The enormous expense of carrying on the war with America, so distant from the seat of preparation and power, with the other evils attending this memorable and ever-to-be regretted contest, were so apparent, that the desire for peace became general, and King George III. at length conceded the Independence of the United States. The Preliminary Articles of Peace were signed at Paris on the 30th of November, 1782, by the Commissioners of the King of Great Britain and by those of the American Congress, and the Treaty was concluded in the ensuing February.

While the THIRTY-FIRST was stationed in Canada, a letter, dated the 31st of August, 1782, conveyed to the regiment His Majesty’s pleasure that County-titles should be given to the regiments of infantry, and the THIRTY-FIRST was directed to assume the name of the Huntingdonshire regiment, in order that a connexion between the corps and that county should be cultivated, which might be useful in furthering the success of the recruiting service.

1783

The preliminaries of the treaties between England, France, and Spain, were signed at Versailles on the 20th of January, 1783. St. Lucia was restored to France, also the settlements on the river Senegal, and the city of Pondicherry in the East Indies. France relinquished all her West India conquests, with the exception of Tobago; Spain retained Minorca (which she had captured in the previous year) and West Florida; East Florida was ceded in exchange for the restitution of the Bahamas to Great Britain.

On the 2nd of September, 1783, were signed the Preliminary Articles of Peace with Holland, the peace with that country having been postponed in consequence of the Dutch claiming an indemnification for the expenses of the war, and the restoration of Trincomalee, in Ceylon, which had been captured from the Dutch by the English, in January, 1782, and retaken by the French in August following. The place was, however, restored to Holland.

1787

After eleven years’ service in North America, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment embarked, on the 4th of October, 1787, at Quebec, and on the 7th of November landed at Portsmouth.

During the two following years the regiment remained in Great Britain.

1789

In the year 1789 was effected the French Revolution; the Bastile was stormed by the Parisians on the 14th of July, and the Governor put to death. The National Assembly passed several decrees abolishing all the relies of the feudal system. On the 20th of August a declaration of rights was agreed on to serve as the basis of the French constitution. A national force was embodied, and no vestige of the old government remained, except a King without power, and a Court without splendour.

In the summer of 1789 two British vessels were seized by the commander of a Spanish frigate at Nootka Sound, on the western coast of North America, where a settlement had recently been established for carrying on the fur-trade with the natives. The settlement was taken possession of by Spain, and the British crews were made prisoners. The Government, on receiving this intelligence, called upon the Court of Madrid to make satisfaction for these injuries, and great preparations were made for war by both countries.

1790

Accordingly in July, 1790, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment embarked at Spithead on board the fleet to perform its original service of Marines, in the event of a war with Spain, which appeared probable. The negotiations were protracted to a considerable length of time, but on the 28th of October a convention was entered into, by which Spain agreed to make reparation for the injuries sustained, and to restore Nootka.

1791

In July, 1791, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment was sent hastily to Birmingham, to aid in the suppression of very serious disturbances, which broke out there in consequence of the celebration of the anniversary of the French Revolution, on the 14th of July, 1791, by a party of the “Friends of Freedom,” at a tavern. The populace destroyed the house and chapel of Dr. Priestley, the eminent philosopher, and burned many of the dwellings of those suspected to be friendly to the French cause. The troops employed were praised for their regularity and forbearance on this occasion.

When order had been restored in Birmingham, an outbreak among the miners at Whitehaven called for the assistance of the military, and the regiment was again employed in the delicate as well as unpleasant duty of aiding the civil power in the suppression of riot.

1792

Major-General James Stuart was appointed from the half-pay of the Ninetieth regiment to the Colonelcy of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment on the 8th of February, 1792, in succession to Lieutenant-General Thomas Clarke, removed to the Thirtieth regiment.

On the 17th of April, 1792, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment embarked at Port Patrick for Ireland.

1793

Colonel Henry Lord Mulgrave, from the Grenadier Guards, was appointed Colonel of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment on the 8th of February, 1793, in succession to Major-General James Stuart, deceased. His Lordship subsequently assumed the command of the regiment at Waterford, as its Colonel; and, after inspecting the corps in the field, entertained the officers at dinner.

Meanwhile, Louis XVI. had been decapitated, and the progress of democracy menaced Europe with universal anarchy. On the 1st of February the National Convention of France declared war against Great Britain and Holland, and the British Government prepared for hostilities. A large army was sent, under the command of the Duke of York, to join the Austrian and Prussian allies. Several engagements occurred, and the French gained possession of the Austrian Netherlands. Holland opened her principal towns to the enemy, and they were garrisoned by French troops.

In September, 1793, the flank companies of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment embarked for Barbadoes, for the purpose of taking part in the capture of the French West India Islands.

1794

In the beginning of 1794 an armament was assembled at Barbadoes, of which the flank companies of the THIRTY-FIRST formed part, and early in February the expedition, under Admiral Sir John Jervis and General Sir Charles (afterwards Earl) Grey, sailed for Martinique. After some sharp fighting the island was taken possession of by General Sir Charles Grey, on the 22nd of March.[21]

From Martinique the grenadiers, under Prince Edward (afterwards Duke of Kent), the light infantry, under Major-General Dundas, and three other regiments, embarked on the 30th of March for St. Lucia, where they arrived on the 1st of April, and the conquest of that island was effected in three days; His Royal Highness Prince Edward, with his brigade of grenadiers, and Major-General Dundas, with his brigade of light infantry, taking possession of St. Lucia on the 4th of April. The flank companies of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment were afterwards employed in the reduction of the island of Guadaloupe. A determined resistance was made by the enemy; but the island was captured by the 20th of April.

France did not view with indifference the loss of these valuable possessions, and in June a French armament arrived at Guadaloupe for the recovery of that island. The light company, under Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Andrew Ross, highly distinguished itself on the night of the 13th of June, in attacking the enemy near Point-à-Petre. General Sir Charles Grey stated in his despatch:—

“Brevet Major Ross,[22] of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, who was with the light infantry, behaved with great gallantry and good conduct on this occasion, as he has done on every other.”

The light company also participated in a night attack on Fort Fleur d’Epée between the 25th and 26th of June; on the day following, Brigadier-General Symes, with the grenadiers and light infantry, attacked the enemy, who was driven to Morne Mascot, where he again made resistance, but being charged with the bayonet, he fled into Fort Fleur d’Epée.

Lieut.-Colonel Ross, of the THIRTY-FIRST, commanded the second battalion of light infantry on these occasions.

Lieut.-Colonel Colin Graham, of the twenty-first Royal North British Fusiliers, was appointed to the command of the troops in Basse Terre, and he defended Berville camp with the utmost gallantry until the 6th of October, when he was forced to surrender,—his force having become reduced by excessive exertion, and the unhealthiness of the climate, to one hundred and twenty-five rank and file fit for duty.

The troops at Guadaloupe suffered severely from the climate, and the arduous duties they had to perform, and could only muster 389 soldiers fit for duty on the 1st of September.[23]

By the articles of capitulation the British troops were to march out with the honors of war, and it was agreed to send the garrison to England on board French ships, as soon as transports were ready. The latter part of the agreement was not, however, complied with, as they remained prisoners for more than a year afterwards, during which time many of them died. The garrison consisted of the flank companies of the 17th, 31st, and 34th regiments; the 39th, 43rd, 56th (three companies), and 65th regiments. Their loss in the different actions between the 27th of September and the 6th of October amounted to two officers killed and five wounded; twenty-five non-commissioned officers and privates killed, and fifty-one wounded.

During the year 1794 Lieutenants Davies, Mackenzie, and Williams, of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, died of fever contracted in the West Indies.

The whole island of Guadaloupe, with the exception of Fort Matilda, had been recaptured by the French: this fort was defended by the troops under Lieut.-General Prescott until the 10th of December, when it was evacuated by the British.

On the 12th of July, 1794, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment embarked at Wexford for England, disembarked at Bristol, and marched thence to Southampton.

The regiment, on the 25th of July, 1794, was augmented to ten battalion and two flank companies; and on the 17th of August following embarked for Holland, where it was stationed at Middleburg and Flushing, in the island of Walcheren, but was not employed on any particular duty.

1795

In this year the regiment returned to England, and landed at Plymouth on the 27th of February, 1795.

A camp was formed in the month of August, at Nursling, near Southampton, which the THIRTY-FIRST regiment joined on the 25th of that month, and received a reinforcement to its strength in drafts from the 43rd, 88th, 92nd, and 94th regiments, which raised its establishment to 1000 rank and file, with a second lieutenant-colonel, a major, and one additional lieutenant to each company, besides two recruiting companies.

On the 25th of October, 1795, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment embarked for the West Indies, as part of the armament which had been prepared for the deliverance of the French West India Islands from the power of republicanism, and to reduce to obedience the insurgents of St. Vincent and Grenada. The expedition, commanded by Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, sailed with the immense fleet, under the convoy of a squadron of the Royal Navy, commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Hugh Christian. The troops amounted to about 25,000 men, in the highest state of equipment; and the armament on quitting the British shores presented a magnificent spectacle, calculated to impress the mind with a just idea of the power of England; but it unfortunately happened that the voyage had been delayed until a very late period of the year; three attempts were made to get under weigh, and each was prevented by the violence of the weather: many ships were driven from their anchors and stranded.

Three hundred sail got under weigh on the 11th of November, when an accident to the Admiral rendered the attempt of no avail. On the 15th another endeavour was overcome by the tempestuous weather. At length the fleet sailed, but it had scarcely got clear of the Isle of Wight, when another severe storm obliged the vessels that had ridden through it with safety to return to Portsmouth.

With great difficulty and exertion Admiral Christian collected the remainder of his convoy, and again sailed on the 9th of December, but four days afterwards a storm destroyed many of the transports, and so scattered the fleet as to render a re-union impossible.

1796

Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercromby sailed in the “Arethusa” frigate, with such vessels as could be collected, and on the 14th of March, 1796, arrived at Barbadoes.

The THIRTY-FIRST regiment, having weathered the storm, which had dispersed the fleet in the Channel, proceeded on the voyage, but was unable to make good the passage, and on the 5th of February, 1796, after being six weeks at sea struggling against the violent tempests, the regiment was landed at Gosport, whence it marched to Poole, in Dorsetshire; the regiment was not long inactive, as on the 19th of March it was again on board ship at Southampton, and proceeded to its original destination.

On the 1st of May the THIRTY-FIRST arrived off the island of St. Lucia, on which Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercromby had already effected a landing. The regiment disembarked immediately, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Hay, and was cantoned near the point of disembarkation at Choc Bay. The fortress of Morne Fortunée was invested by Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercromby; Morne Chabot, another strong position, having been carried with great gallantry by Brigadier-General (afterwards Sir John) Moore.

The batteries against Morne Fortunée were opened on the 14th of May, and on the night of the 17th the strong outpost of La Vigie was assaulted. The THIRTY-FIRST regiment marched from its position, near Choc Bay, at sunset, for the purpose of a night-attack upon this post, which was remarkably strong. It formed a peninsula, accessible only by a narrow isthmus, and commanded the entrance on one side of the Carenage harbour. The post was defended by two batteries; the first placed midway upon the acclivity, and the second on the summit of the height. The approaches to both were by a circuitous path, and the guide who accompanied the regiment was mortally wounded by the first fire from the enemy’s piquet stationed on the isthmus. The regiment, being ignorant of the country, missed the proper direction. Lieut.-Colonel Hay ordered it to ascend the hill en force, which was done, although attended with great difficulty from the precipitous nature of the ground. The first battery was gallantly carried by storm, and the enemy retired to the higher one. The regiment was unfortunately separated in the ascent, and was unable to make a concentrated and effectual attack upon the works that crowned the height, which it nevertheless, in spite of all obstacles, bravely attempted, but the enemy’s grape-shot took such effect that the regiment was obliged to withdraw, after a severe struggle.

The THIRTY-FIRST had Captains Johnson and Walker, four serjeants, and eighty rank and file killed; Lieut.-Colonels Hay and Arbuthnot, Captains Murray and Sorrell, Lieutenants Sullivan and Hawkshaw, four serjeants, and one hundred and twenty-one rank and file wounded.

On the 25th of May the island of St. Lucia capitulated, and the THIRTY-FIRST, forty-fourth, forty-eighth, and fifty-fifth regiments, under Brigadier-General Moore, were selected to occupy the place. The possession of the island was not a quiet one; small bodies of French, who had deserted from the different fortresses at their capitulation, withdrew into the interior, and joined the runaway slaves and Caribs; taking advantage of the impenetrable nature of the country, they formed themselves into bands for the purpose of molesting the British, and plundering the planters and other residents of the island. Brigadier-General Moore took the field, and penetrated with his force into the wildest quarters of the mountains, in order to eradicate these predatory bands.

The THIRTY-FIRST was employed on this harassing duty, and suffered much from fatigue, privation, and continual exposure; on the service being concluded, the regiment went into quarters at Vieux Fort, and other posts, when it became so unhealthy that the authorities were compelled to remove the corps from the island. The deaths among the men were for a time sixteen each day; on the embarkation of the regiment, on the 22nd of December, for Barbadoes, it had scarcely a soldier fit for duty; and on its disembarkation there, six days afterwards, it became necessary to send the entire regiment into hospital, which was the second time the THIRTY-FIRST had been rendered unserviceable from sickness, the corps having suffered in a similar manner while stationed in Florida in the year 1765.

During the year 1796 the regiment had lost seventeen officers, and eight hundred and seventy men, including those who fell in the attack of La Vigie, in St. Lucia.

In the previous year Prussia had concluded a peace with the French republic, and, in consequence of the United Provinces of Holland having leagued with France, England had taken possession of the Cape of Good Hope; in February, 1796, the island of Ceylon was also captured from the Dutch by Great Britain. The former allies of England now became converted into enemies. War was declared by Holland, which had been constituted the Batavian republic, against Great Britain in May, and Spain followed the example in October. In the same month Lord Malmesbury was sent to Paris to negotiate a peace on the part of the British Government, but the French insisted upon retaining, as integral parts of the republic, the conquests lately made: these terms could not be acceded to consistently with the general interests of Europe, and the negotiation was discontinued.

1797

On the 14th of February, 1797, the combined fleets of France and Spain were defeated off Cape St. Vincent, by Admiral Sir John Jervis, afterwards created Earl St. Vincent, on account of this glorious victory, for which the honor of knighthood was also conferred on Commodore (afterwards Admiral Viscount) Nelson. On the 18th of February the Spanish island of Trinidad surrendered to a British force under Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercromby.

In April, 1797, Austria signed the preliminaries of peace with the French Republic, and, in July, Lord Malmesbury was sent a second time to negotiate a treaty, but the demands of the French Directory rendered the attempt abortive.

In the year 1797 the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, greatly reduced in numbers, embarked for England and landed at Gravesend in July; it mustered only eighty-five men, including serjeants, drummers, and rank and file. Shortly after disembarkation the regiment marched to Doncaster, and remained at stations between that place, Hull, and York, for the two following years.

In this year alarming mutinies occurred on board the fleet at Spithead and the Nore, but the British seamen nobly redeemed their character on the 11th of October, 1797, in the victory gained by Admiral Duncan (who was in consequence created Viscount Duncan), over the Dutch fleet, off Camperdown, which was proceeding to join that of the French at Brest.

On the 17th of October the definitive treaty of peace between Austria and the French republic was signed at Campo Formio, so that Great Britain was left to continue the contest single-handed with France and her allies.

1798

The threat of invasion, renewed by France, called forth the patriotic feelings of the British nation; the militia force was increased, and volunteer corps were formed in every part of the kingdom.

Napoleon Bonaparte, against whose legions in the Peninsula, in subsequent years, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment acquired great renown, was now rising step by step to that Imperial sway which he afterwards attained. The French Directory, jealous of his ambition, sent him on the expedition to Egypt, with the view of acting from that country against the British empire in India. Napoleon took Alexandria by storm, and soon established himself at Cairo. The Sublime Porte, incensed by the invasion of Egypt, declared war against France, and formed an alliance with Russia. The fleet, which had conveyed the expedition to Egypt, was almost destroyed by Admiral Nelson in Aboukir Bay on the 1st of August. So large a portion of the French army being thus secluded in a distant land, gave fresh impulse to the Allies, and in November the island of Minorca surrendered to the British arms. In December the co-operation of Russia against France was secured by Great Britain.

1799

At this period of the war the soldiers of the English militia regiments were permitted to extend their services to the regular army;—the THIRTY-FIRST regiment received eight hundred and fifty-three volunteers from the militia.

In March, 1799, war was declared by the French Directory against Austria, and the combined Austrian and Russian armies were so successful as to recover the greater portion of Italy.

In August, 1799, a corresponding attempt was made by Great Britain to recover Holland from the dominion of France, and a numerous army was selected to proceed to that country, under His Royal Highness the Duke of York. Previously to the arrival of the Duke of York, the army was commanded by Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, K.B., with the local rank of General.

The THIRTY-FIRST regiment marched to Deal, embarked for Holland on the 8th of September, and arrived at the Helder on the 15th of the same month. The THIRTY-FIRST and other regiments were embarked after the departure of General Sir Ralph Abercromby, in order to reinforce his army. The Duke of York, having preceded these additional troops by two days, was already in command of the army, which was intrenched in the advance of the Helder on the Zuype, in which lines Sir Ralph Abercromby had, on the 10th of September, near the village of Crabbendam, repulsed the attack of the French and Dutch under General Brune.

Immediately on landing, the THIRTY-FIRST marched to the lines, and joined Major-General the Earl of Chatham’s brigade, in the division of General Sir Ralph Abercromby, on the 15th of September. The Duke of York, having been reinforced by the expected arrival of a corps of twelve thousand Russians, under Lieut.-General Hermann, resolved on attacking the French position in advance of Alkmaar, reaching from Zuyder-Zee on the right, to Camperdown on the left, and embracing the town of Bergen.

The attack was made on the 19th of September, in four columns: the right, formed entirely of Russians, under Lieut.-General Hermann, moved on Bergen; the centre divisions, under Lieut.-General Dundas and Lieut.-General Sir James Pulteney, forced the village and post of Oude Carspel, on the road to Alkmaar; while the left column, in which was the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, under General Sir Ralph Abercromby, advanced to the capture of Hoorne.

The point of attack selected for Sir Ralph Abercromby’s division being at a considerable distance beyond the extent of the line, the THIRTY-FIRST, and other regiments, marched at eight o’clock on the night of the 18th of September, and the movement was performed with such skill and secrecy, that Hoorne was surprised and carried on the following morning without loss, which placed the French position in considerable peril. The Russians having failed in holding Bergen, after having entered it in gallant style, rendered it impossible for the centre division to continue in possession of the posts it had acquired. The British troops were therefore withdrawn to their former lines upon the Zuype, to which the Russians had retreated. Hoorne was evacuated, and the THIRTY-FIRST, with the other regiments of Sir Ralph Abercromby’s division, returned on the night of the 19th of September to the ground they had quitted on the former evening.

From the 20th of September until the 1st of October, both armies remained within their intrenchments, strengthening their lines of defence; the French had received reinforcements, and had inundated a large tract of country on their right by cutting the sluices, thus contracting the ground of operations to six or seven miles.

The Duke of York, on the 2nd of October, made another attack on the French position between Bergen and Egmont-op-Zee. The combined attacks were made in four columns; the division under General Sir Ralph Abercromby, being on the right, marched along the beach. The left of the French army was posted and concentrated about Bergen, a large village surrounded by extensive woods, through which passed the great road leading to Haarlem; between which and the sea was an extensive region of high sand-hills impassable for artillery. Behind the sand-hills, and to the enemy’s right, through the whole extent of North Holland, lies a wet and low country, intersected with dykes, canals, and ditches. The French centre was supported by the town of Alkmaar. The battle soon became serious in front of Bergen, upon which Lieut.-General Dundas had been ordered to proceed.

Meanwhile Sir Ralph Abercromby had passed Bergen in order to turn the position of the French at Alkmaar, and overcame every opposition until he reached Egmont-op-Zee, which post was occupied in great numbers, and gallantly defended. Sir Ralph Abercromby, however, here overthrew a corps of the French army, and wheeling his division to the left, turned the enemy’s position at Bergen, upon which General Brune, the commander-in-chief of the French and Batavian army, fell back, taking up an equally strong position at a short distance to the rear.

The THIRTY-FIRST regiment had an opportunity of distinguishing itself particularly throughout this arduous contest, which lasted from six in the morning until the same hour in the evening. In the attack of Bergen, the regiment took two pieces of artillery from the enemy; the corps on the right frequently charged with the bayonet, and lost a great number of men. The THIRTY-FIRST regiment had one serjeant and twenty-seven rank and file killed; Captain Smith, Ensign King, and fifty-five rank and file wounded.

During the night of the 2nd of October, Bergen and Egmont-op-Zee were evacuated by the enemy.

The army remained during the night on the ground it held at the close of the battle, and on the 3rd of October Alkmaar was occupied by detachments of British troops. On the 6th of October, the advanced posts in front of Alkmaar, Egmont-op-Hooff, and Egmont-op-Zee, were pushed forward, preparatory to a general forward movement. At first little opposition was shown, and the British took possession of some villages, and of a position on the sand-hills near Wyck-op-Zee; but the column of Russian troops, under the command of Major-General D’Essen, in endeavouring to gain a height in front of their intended advanced post at Baccum, was vigorously opposed, and afterwards attacked by a strong body of the enemy.

This movement obliged General Sir Ralph Abercromby to move up in support with the reserve of his corps; the French advanced their whole force; the action became general along the whole line from Limmen to the sea, and was maintained with great obstinacy on both sides until night, when the enemy retired, leaving the British masters of the field of battle. The THIRTY-FIRST regiment, on the 6th of October, had Lieutenant Forster, one serjeant, and thirty-five rank and file killed; Captain Pickering, Lieutenants Mullins, Walker, Ball, Ensigns Williams and Johnson, three serjeants, and eighty-four rank and file wounded.

In the meantime the French army had been reinforced; the state of the weather, the ruined condition of the roads, the total want of the necessary supplies, offered great obstacles; besides which, the efforts which had been made for the liberation of Holland were not seconded by the Dutch people, so that it was determined to withdraw the British army. A convention was ultimately concluded with General Brune at Alkmaar, on the 18th of October.

On the 16th of November the THIRTY-FIRST regiment embarked at the Texel, and landed at Deal three days afterwards, when it marched immediately to Canterbury, where the effects of the Dutch campaign began to be perceptible. Before the army left Holland dysentery had broken out among the men, arising from their exposure to the damp and fogs natural to the country. The THIRTY-FIRST lost a great number of men, from this cause, while stationed at Canterbury.

1800

On the 15th of May, 1800, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment embarked at Dover for Ireland, landed at Cove on the 6th of June, and marched directly to Cork, where a force was collecting for a secret service, to which it was added. On the 27th of June the embarkation took place, and on the 8th of July the armament reached the Bay of Quiberon; the twenty-third, THIRTY-FIRST, fifty-second, and sixty-third regiments landed on the Isle de Houat, where they remained encamped, under the command of Brigadier-General the Honorable Thomas Maitland, until the 19th of August, when they again embarked and joined the expedition under Lieut.-General Sir James Pulteney, destined for the coast of Spain. A landing was effected at Ferrol on the 25th of August; the troops advanced to the heights which overlook the town, and the THIRTY-FIRST had some skirmishing with the enemy’s piquets. After viewing the town and its defences, Sir James Pulteney abandoned the idea of attacking the place; the troops were re-embarked on the following morning, and the fleet sailed for Vigo, where it arrived on the 27th of August. Here General Sir Ralph Abercromby joined with other troops, and assumed the command of the whole force. After remaining in Vigo Bay for some time, the fleet sailed for Cadiz, where it arrived on the 3rd of October. Sir Ralph Abercromby summoned the Governor to surrender, but an epidemic fever was raging in the city, and the fleet quitted the coast for fear of infection, and proceeded to Gibraltar.

At this period General Sir Ralph Abercromby received orders from the British Government to proceed to Egypt; but the three battalions of the ninth foot, the second battalion of the twenty-seventh, the THIRTY-FIRST, and two battalions of the fifty-second regiment, being composed principally of volunteers from the militia, whose conditions of enlistment limited their services to time and place, were not available for the expedition to Egypt: they were accordingly ordered to proceed to Lisbon, where they arrived on the 27th of November, having suffered much from confinement on board ship, and the use of salt provisions.

1801

On the 27th of January, 1801, the THIRTY-FIRST was again at sea, and on the 14th of February disembarked at Minorca, which had surrendered to Great Britain in November, 1798; this island was restored to Spain at the Peace of 1802.

1802

The successes of the British arms in Egypt, by which the French were expelled from that country, were followed by a Treaty of Peace, which was signed on the 27th of March, 1802, at Amiens, between the French Republic, Spain, and the Batavian Republic, on the one part, and Great Britain on the other. The principal features of the treaty were, that Great Britain restored all her conquests during the war, excepting Trinidad and Ceylon, which were ceded to her, the former by Spain, and the latter by the Batavian Republic. Portugal was maintained in its integrity, excepting that some of its possessions in Guiana were ceded to France. The territories of the Ottoman Porte were likewise maintained in their integrity. The Ionian Republic was recognised, and Malta was to be restored to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. The French agreed to evacuate the Neapolitan and Roman states, and Great Britain all the ports that she held in the Adriatic and the Mediterranean.

In May, 1802, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment sailed from Minorca for England, and early in June landed at Portsmouth, on the 19th of which month it was reduced to the Peace Establishment.

1803

In the year 1803 the regiment was removed to Jersey.[24]

Napoleon Bonaparte was now approaching the zenith of his power: the unsettled state of affairs in France had induced him to quit his army in Egypt, and on his return the Directory was abolished, Bonaparte being appointed First Consul of the French Republic. This occurred in 1799, and in the following year Europe was astounded by his daring passage of the Alps, followed by the victory of Marengo, which caused Austria to sue for peace.

The French being driven from Egypt in 1801 by the gallant Abercromby and his brave troops, in which the THIRTY-FIRST regiment would probably have shared, had it not been for the circumstances stated at page 61, the Peace of Amiens was concluded; it, however, gave but a slight interval of tranquillity to Europe. The military spirit of the French nation had been aroused by the genius of Napoleon, who endeavoured to realize his schemes for the aggrandizement of France;—and England appeared as a barrier to his designs.

In May, 1803, the war was renewed; Hanover was overrun by the French, and severed for a time from the British Crown. An immense flotilla was also assembled at Boulogne for the invasion of England. The threat of invasion aroused the patriotism of the British people, and the most strenuous measures were pursued to defeat the French ruler’s designs; the “Army of Reserve Act” was passed in June, 1803, for raising men for home service by ballot; numerous volunteer and yeomanry corps were formed in every part of the kingdom; and all party differences merged into one universal effort for the preservation of Great Britain.

1804

On the 18th of May, 1804, Napoleon was invested with the dignity of Emperor of the French, and on the 26th of May of the following year he was crowned King of Italy at Milan.

Further measures of defence were adopted by Great Britain, and the “Additional Force Act” was passed on the 14th of July, 1804, by which a second battalion was added to the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, to be formed of men raised in the county of Chester, for limited service.

The regiment embarked at Jersey for England on the 9th of November, and on the 27th of that month arrived at Portsmouth, whence it marched to Winchester, and received a further number of volunteers from the Militia.

On the 12th of December the Court of Spain issued a declaration of war against England, in consequence of the capture of some frigates off Cadiz, which had been intercepted while on their way to France with cargoes of treasure,—Spain having agreed to furnish a powerful aid to Napoleon.

1805

By July, 1805, the second battalion was fully embodied, and in October proceeded from Chester to Winchester, where the first battalion was stationed.

While the French were pursuing their victorious career in Germany, they experienced dreadful reverses from the navy of Great Britain. On the 21st of October the combined fleets of France and Spain were completely defeated off Cape Trafalgar. The victory was, however, clouded by the death of Admiral Viscount Nelson, to whose memory the highest honors were paid by a grateful and admiring nation.

1806

On the 9th of January, 1806, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment was present at the funeral of Admiral Viscount Nelson, and formed part of the line between which the procession passed on its way to St. Paul’s Cathedral, in which the Admiral’s remains were interred, and where a monument was erected by order of Parliament.