On the 4th of June, 1818 the Fourth were again encamped near St. Omer, and received the thanks of Lord Hill for their appearance and correct discipline at the review on the 24th of June; also the expression of the Duke of Wellington's approbation at the review on the 31st of July: they were subsequently encamped on the horn-work of Valenciennes; they formed a guard for the Duke of Kent during his residence at that city, and were reviewed on the 10th of September, with the remainder of the army commanded by his grace the Duke of Wellington, in presence of their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Kent; when a number of evolutions were gone through, and during the manœuvres the army crossed the Scheldt by pontoon bridges.
The King's Own having returned to Valenciennes on the 21st of October, furnished guards of honour for the Emperor of Russia, King of Prussia, Prince of Orange, and Grand Dukes Constantine and Michael, who reviewed the Russian, British, Danish, Saxon, and Hanoverian contingents of the army of occupation, on the 23d of October. This force amounted to between fifty and sixty thousand men; the evolutions of a mock engagement were gone through, and two rivers were passed by pontoon bridges.
The Emperor of Russia was so well pleased with the conduct of the King's Own, that on quitting Valenciennes he presented one hundred and nineteen Napoleons (pieces of twenty francs each) to be divided among the men of the grenadier company composing his guard; also ten Napoleons each to the two serjeants who were his orderlies; and directed the aide-de-camp to give them his feather to keep in remembrance of the Emperor's regard for the corps. The King of Prussia also gave money to the men of the light company of the King's Own forming his guard.
On the breaking up of the army of occupation in France, the King's Own received, with the other corps, the expressions of the approbation of the Duke of Wellington, in general orders; also of Lieut.-General Lord Hill in general orders to the two divisions under his command; of Lieut.-General Sir Charles Colville in division orders; and of Major-General Sir Denis Pack in brigade orders.
The regiment embarked at Calais on the 29th of October, landed at Dover on the following morning, and proceeding from thence to Winchester barracks, was immediately afterwards ordered to hold itself in readiness to embark for the West Indies; at the same time the establishment was reduced to seven hundred and forty-six officers and men.
In the early part of January, 1819, the regiment marched to Cumberland fort; on the 1st of February it embarked at Portsmouth, and having landed at Barbadoes on the 5th of April, was reviewed by Lieut.-General Lord Combermere on the same day, and afterwards returned on board the transports. His lordship expressed in general orders his approbation of the appearance and discipline of the regiment.
On the following day six companies sailed for Grenada (head-quarters) under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Piper; two companies to Trinidad under Lieut.-Colonel Faunce; and two to Tobago under Captain Fletcher.
At the half-yearly inspection in July, Major-General Sir Frederick Robinson expressed in brigade orders "the very high satisfaction he had enjoyed in the military appearance and the report of the good conduct of the King's Own regiment, which he perceives has not lost any of its former character,—hitherto a subject for praise and admiration with officers of the highest rank and military reputation."
The two companies at Tobago suffered very severely from fever, and having lost four officers and eighty-four serjeants and rank and file, the remaining one officer, four serjeants, two drummers, and thirty-five rank and file were relieved in September 1820 by the twenty-first regiment, and sent to Barbadoes, from whence they were removed to Grenada.
A general change of quarters took place among the troops stationed in the Windward and Leeward Islands in March 1821, when the King's Own proceeded to Barbadoes. On leaving Grenada Major-General Riall expressed in brigade orders his approbation of the conduct of the King's Own, and the satisfaction he experienced at hearing from the magistrates and principal inhabitants of the island their esteem for the corps, and their regret at its departure.
The loss from disease during the short period the regiment had been in the West Indies was great. Quarter-Master Thomas Richards and fifty-four men had died at Grenada; Lieutenant William Blagrave, Ensign Robert Gamble, and seven men at Trinidad, which had proved a comparatively healthy station, the two companies having occupied the barracks at St. Joseph's and the hospital had frequently been without a patient; at Tobago, Lieutenants John Westby, Frederick P. Robinson, and Isaac Beer, with Ensign Frederick Clarke, and eighty-four men, had fallen victims to the climate; Captain Charles James Edgell died on the passage, near Barbadoes: the total loss of life in one year and eleven months was eight officers and one hundred and forty-five soldiers.
The regiment was, however, still in an efficient state, and having been inspected by Lieut.-General Sir Henry Warde on the 27th of August, an order was issued on the same day, expressing "the great satisfaction felt by the lieut.-general at the appearance of that old and respectable corps under arms, as well as the steadiness of the regiment, the correct advance in line, and the close firing, which evince that great attention has been paid to its discipline, and is highly creditable to Lieut.-Colonel Piper and to the officers generally."
In October the establishment was reduced to eight companies, making a total of thirty-three officers and six hundred and seventeen men.
1823
Lieut.-Colonel Piper died at Barbadoes soon afterwards, and was succeeded in January, 1822, by Brevet Lieut.-Colonel A. D. Faunce. In the following year this officer obtained permission to return to England for the benefit of his health, on which occasion Lieut.-General Sir Henry Warde observed in general orders—"He was aware that no encomium of his could add lustre to the already well-established and high military character of Lieut.-Colonel Faunce, yet the particularly exemplary state of discipline, in every respect, which the Fourth or King's Own regiment has attained since he assumed the command, calls loudly on the lieut.-general, as an imperious duty to the service, to express his warmest praise and thanks to Lieut.-Colonel Faunce, for the truly able and unremitted attention which he has daily and hourly paid to his regiment, the effect of which confers on him the highest credit and honour as its commander, and at the same time reflects them strongly on every individual, both officer and private, composing the corps under his command."
In December the regiment was withdrawn from Barbadoes, and proceeded,—four companies and head-quarters to the Ridge at Antigua, three to Brimstone-hill, St. Kitt's, and one to Montserrat and Nevis. Previous to its embarkation Lieut.-General Sir Henry Warde expressed in general orders his "high approbation of the conduct of the corps." During the two years and nine months it was stationed at Barbadoes, it was in a healthy state, excepting towards the end of 1821, when a fever carried off Lieut.-Colonel John Piper, Ensigns H. N. Shipton, and H. J. Loraine, with Quarter-Master Doran, and Assistant-Surgeon Morrow; its total loss in serjeants and rank and file was fifty-eight.
The detachment at Nevis suffered from the unhealthy situation of the barracks, and lost seventeen men out of thirty; it was subsequently withdrawn. In October, 1824, the regiment lost Brevet Major John Wynne Fletcher.[34]
In April, 1825, the regiment was augmented to ten companies, and the total establishment to eight hundred and thirty-six officers and men.
The regiment was relieved from duty at Antigua, St. Kitt's, and Montserrat, in February, 1826, by the ninety-third, and sailed for England. The first division landed at Gosport on the 16th of March, the second on the 1st of April, and the last on the 6th of April.
During the seven years the regiment was in the West Indies its total loss was sixteen officers, twenty-one serjeants, one drummer, and two hundred and forty-five rank and file. It brought home four hundred and twenty rank and file, (without leaving a sick man behind;) and on the 25th of April sent out thirteen recruiting parties, twelve to different parts of England, and one to Ireland.
On the 8th of August the Adjutant-General of the Forces, Major-General Sir Henry Torrens, inspected the regiment, and expressed his approbation of its appearance and discipline, adding that he should make a most favourable report to His Royal Highness the Duke of York. In the autumn it quitted Winchester, and proceeding to Portsmouth, was employed in the duty of that garrison. At the half-yearly inspection, Major-General Sir James Lyon expressed his perfect approbation of its appearance and discipline.
The regiment was soon afterwards called upon to transfer its services to the Peninsula, the scene of many of its toils and triumphs. After Spain and Portugal had been delivered by British skill and valour from the power of Bonaparte, these kingdoms became convulsed by opposing interests, one party striving for the liberties possessed by other nations, and another for a return to ancient usages; and the granting of a constitution to Portugal, which conferred on the people privileges previously unknown in that country, was followed by internal commotions; at the same time the kingdom was menaced with an invasion from Spain. The Portuguese government applied for the aid of a body of British troops; six companies of the King's Own formed part of a force of five thousand men, commanded by Lieut.-Gen. Sir William H. Clinton, ordered for this service, and embarking from Portsmouth on the 15th of December, arrived at Lisbon towards the end of that month.
Having landed on the 1st of January, 1827, the King's Own occupied the barracks of Valle de Pereiro, and were formed in brigade with the tenth, twenty-third, and first battalion of the sixtieth rifles, under the command of Major-General Sir Edward Blakeney. The brigade having been inspected by Sir William Clinton on the 14th of January, advanced up the country nine stages to Coimbra, and was quartered in convents, the King's Own occupying the convent of St. Bernard. On the advance of the British, the Spaniards withdrew from the frontiers, and declared a friendly disposition towards the Portuguese government; a mutiny in the Portuguese army was also suppressed; and there being no further occasion for the British troops, they marched back to Lisbon, where the King's Own arrived on the 12th of July, and occupied the barracks of La Lippe at Belem. Three companies of the regiment were subsequently stationed at Oeiras, a small town on the right bank of the Tagus, two leagues from Lisbon, and the other three at Feitovia barracks, near Fort St. Julian.
In these quarters the King's Own remained until the spring of 1828, when the British troops were withdrawn from Portugal; the six companies having received the expressions of the approbation of Major-General Sir Edward Blakeney in brigade orders, for their exemplary conduct, embarked from Belem stairs on the 31st of March, and on their arrival at Portsmouth, they were ordered to proceed to Scotland: they landed at Leith on the 26th and 29th of April, and proceeded to Edinburgh Castle, where the remainder of the regiment had previously arrived.
The regiment marched in July to Glasgow, where it received a new pair of splendid regimental colours, which cost £150, with belts which cost £21, and a richly-mounted staff, &c., for the drum-major; which were presented by the colonel, General the Earl of Chatham.
From Glasgow, the regiment embarked, in July, 1829, in steam-vessels for Ireland, and after landing at Belfast in the early part of August, marched to Newry, with detached companies at Cavan and Clones.
In June, 1830, the regiment marched to Dublin, and occupied Richmond-barracks; in September it embarked from Dublin, and having landed at Liverpool, the two flank companies remained there a short time to attend on the occasion of the opening of the railroad from that town to Manchester, while the battalion companies proceeded to Stockport, Bolton, and Oldham; the flank companies arrived at Stockport on the 18th of September.
In January, 1831, the head-quarters were at Ashton-under-Lyne; in March at Northampton; and in April at Chatham.
Part of the regiment embarked in this year for New South Wales, in detachments, as guards to convict-ships.
The head-quarters, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel M'Kenzie, embarked for the same destination at Deptford, on board the Clyde, on the 14th of April, 1832, and arrived on the 30th of August.
1834
The regiment remained at New South Wales five years; its head-quarters being established at Paramatta until June, 1833, when they were removed to Sydney; but returned to Paramatta in June, 1834; where they remained upwards of twenty months.
On the decease of General the Earl of Chatham the colonelcy of the King's Own was conferred on Lieut.-General John Hodgson, by commission dated the 30th of September, 1835.
1837
In March, 1836, the head-quarters were again removed to Sydney; and in August of the following year two divisions embarked for the East Indies. One division landed at Madras on the 30th of September, 1837; the head-quarters arrived on the 7th of October, and were stationed at Fort St. George.
The third and last division embarked from New South Wales on the 26th of December, 1837, and arrived at Madras on the 9th of April, 1838.
Thus, after serving a period of nearly one hundred and sixty years, in every quarter of the globe, this celebrated corps, which has so often triumphed over foreign enemies in fields of conflict, has been appointed to guard the colonial possessions of its country in the distant clime of India, where it has remained to the beginning of 1839, which brings this record to a conclusion.
1839
[To face page 141.
FOOTNOTES:
[6] Piercy Kirke held the commission of captain-lieutenant of the Earl of Oxford's troop in the royal regiment of horse guards, at the time he was appointed lieut.-colonel of this regiment, and for several months afterwards.
[7] The first Tangier regiment was raised in 1661, and is now the second, or queen's royal regiment of foot.
[8] The expense of equipping the regiment was estimated at the following rates.
| Clothing. | Appointments. | |||||||
| £. | s. | d. | £. | s. | d. | |||
| Coat and breeches | 1 | 16 | 0 | Waist belts | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| Serjeant's ditto | 4 | 10 | 0 | Swords | 0 | 4 | 6 | |
| Hats | 0 | 7 | 0 | Pikemen's Swords | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Serjeant's ditto | 0 | 15 | 0 | Grenadier hangers | 0 | 6 | 6 | |
| Grenadier caps | 0 | 9 | 6 | Serjeant's Swords | 0 | 10 | 0 | |
| Neckcloths | 0 | 1 | 0 | Collars or Bandaliers | 0 | 5 | 6 | |
| Serjeant's ditto | 0 | 2 | 0 | Cartouch boxes | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| Shirts | 0 | 3 | 6 | Match boxes | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Serjeant's shirt | 0 | 6 | 0 | Grenade bags | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| Shoes, per pair | 0 | 4 | 6 | Knapsacks | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| Stockings, per pair | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| Serjeant's ditto | 0 | 6 | 0 | |||||
| Sashes for the Pikemen | 0 | 2 | 6 | |||||
[9] The usual charge for regimental colours, was from £6 to £10 each.
James R.
"Our will and pleasure is, That out of such moneys as shall come into your hands for the pay and contingent uses of Our guards and garrisons, you pay to Thomas Holford the sum of Two Hundred and Six Pounds Five Shillings and Six Pence, for Ten Colours made and provided by him for Our dearest Consort, The Queen's Regiment of Foot, and for so doing this, together with the acquittance of the said Thomas Holford, shall be your warrant and discharge.
"Given at Our Court at Windsor this 21st day of August 1686.
"By His Majesty's command,
"To Our Trusty and well-beloved }
Cousin and Councillor Richard }
Earl of Ranelagh, Our Pay- } "W. Blathwayt."
master-General, }
&c. &c. &c. }
Third troop of life guards; disbanded in 1746.
Queen's horse; now first dragoon guards.
M. G. Warden's horse; disbanded in 1690.
Queen's dragoons; now third light dragoons.
Royals; now first foot.
Queen Dowager's; now second foot.
Queen Consort's; now fourth foot.
[12] The following corps were sent to England on this occasion:—
First troop of life guards; now first regiment of life guards.
Count De Schomberg's horse; now seventh dragoon guards.
Royal Dragoons; now first, or royal dragoons.
The Queen's regiment of foot; now fourth, or King's Own.
Hastings'; now thirteenth foot.
[13] The Earl of Marlborough's force consisted of the following corps:—
The Queen's regiment; now fourth, or King's Own.
Royal fusiliers; now seventh foot.
Princess Anne's; now eighth foot.
Hastings'; now thirteenth foot.
Hales's, afterwards disbanded.
Sir David Collier's, ditto.
Fitz-patrick's, ditto.
100 men of the Duke of Bolton's, ditto.
200 of the Earl of Monmouth's, ditto.
Lord Torrington's marine regiment, ditto.
Lord Pembroke's, ditto.
[14] On the accession of Queen Anne, the eighth foot, which had been designated the Princess Anne's regiment from the time of its formation in 1685, obtained the title of the Queen's regiment, the Fourth also continued to be distinguished by the same title; and during this reign two regiments were designated Queen's regiments.
[15] Vide the Historical Record of the Third Foot, or Buffs.
[16] The embarkation return of the regiment is preserved among the Harleian MSS. No. 7025.
[17] The six regiments of marines were:—
Colonel Thomas Saunderson's; now thirtieth foot.
Colonel George Villiers'; now thirty-first foot.
Colonel Edward Fox's; now thirty-second foot.
Colonel Harry Mordaunt's; disbanded.
Colonel Henry Holt's; disbanded.
Colonel Viscount Shannon's; disbanded.
The six regiments of foot for sea service were:—
Colonel Ventris Columbine's; now sixth foot.
Colonel Thomas Earl's; now nineteenth foot.
Colonel Gustavus Hamilton's; now twentieth foot.
Colonel Lord Lucas's; now thirty-fourth foot.
Colonel Earl of Donegal's; now thirty-fifth foot.
Colonel Lord Charlemont's; now thirty-sixth foot.
[18] The grenadiers, on their institution in 1678, wore fur caps with high crowns; these were soon afterwards replaced by leather caps covered with cloth and ornamented with regimental devices, which were continued until the adoption of bear skin caps in the reign of George III.
[19] Boyer's Annals of Queen Anne.
[20] In some accounts this officer's name is stated to be Fish, in others Fisher.
[21] The following regiments were employed on this expedition, viz.:—
| Kirke's regiment, | now second foot. | ||
| The Queen's | " | " | fourth foot. |
| Hill's | " | " | eleventh foot. |
| Desney's | " | " | thirty-sixth foot. |
| Windress's | " | " | thirty-seventh foot. |
| Clayton's | " | disbanded in 1712. | |
| Kane's | " | " 1713. | |
| Churchill's Marines | " | ||
| Walton's | } | North American militia, joined the expedition at Boston. | |
| Vetch's | |||
[22] "The behaviour of the officers in general was very brave, nor are some regiments unworthy of great praise; viz., Barrell's (King's Own), Price's, and some others."—General Advertizer.
"The regiments which distinguished themselves were Barrell's (King's Own) and Ligonier's foot."—Ibid.
[23] "General Barrell's regiment (the King's Own) gained the greatest reputation imaginable at the late engagement, the best of the clans having made their strongest efforts to break them, but without effect; for the old Tangiereenes bravely repulsed those boasters with a dreadful slaughter, and convinced them that their broad sword and target are unequal to the musket and bayonet when in the hands of veterans who are determined to use them. After the battle there was not a bayonet of this regiment but was either bloody or bent."
"The battle was so desperate that the soldiers' bayonets were stained with blood to the muzzles of their musquets."
"There was scarce an officer or soldier of Barrell's (King's Own) and that part of Munro's (now thirty-seventh) which engaged, who did not kill one or two men each with their bayonets," &c.—Particulars of the Battle of Culloden published at the time.
[24] The exact time when the regiment obtained the Lion of England for its badge has not been ascertained. A tradition has long existed in the corps that it was conferred by King William III., in consequence of its being the first corps which joined him after he landed at Torbay, in November, 1688; but on searching the details of the events which occurred at that period, it appears that this was not the first regiment which joined his Majesty; that only the colonel, lieut.-colonel, a few other officers, and about thirty soldiers, joined King William; and that the regiment adhered to King James until he vacated the throne. It is probable, however, that this distinguished badge was conferred by King William III. for the attachment which the regiment evinced to his person and government and to the protestant cause.
[25] Beatson's Naval and Military Memoirs.
[26] Return of regiments in garrison at Minorca, 1756—
Key:
A = Officers
B = Serjeants
C = Corporals
D = Drummers
E = Privates
F = Killed
G = Wounded
H = Died
| Corps. | Strength at the commencement of the siege. |
Loss. | ||||||||
| During the siege. | At the general assault. | |||||||||
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | F | G | |
| Fourth, or King's Own | 25 | 28 | 27 | 18 | 616 | 14 | 68 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
| Twenty-third, or Royal Welsh Fusiliers | 24 | 24 | 26 | 17 | 615 | 19 | 83 | 7 | 9 | 7 |
| Twenty-fourth Regiment | 25 | 23 | 27 | 16 | 623 | 6 | 61 | 6 | .. | 7 |
| Thirty-fourth Regiment | 26 | 29 | 29 | 19 | 650 | 12 | 77 | 9 | 1 | 3 |
| Total | 100 | 104 | 109 | 70 | 2504 | 51 | 289 | 30 | 17 | 24 |
Officers Killed.
Fourth, or King's Own, --Lieut. Whitehead.
Thirty-fourth regiment,--Captain Hobby.
" " Lieut. Armstrong.
Officers Wounded.
Twenty-third regiment, --Lieut. Young.
Twenty-fourth regiment,--Major Godfrey.
" " Lieut. Francis.
Thirty-fourth regiment,--Capt. Sir Hugh Williams.
Engineer,--Major Cunningham.
[27] "Major-General Grant crossed the ford with the Fourth and fifth regiments, and the Fourth Regiment, passing the ford first, drove the enemy from an entrenchment and battery, and took from them three brass field-pieces and a 5½ inch howitzer."—London Gazette.
[28] London Gazette.
[29] The effectives of the British army in 1803 were as follows:—
| In Great Britain. | In Ireland. | On Foreign Stations. | Total. | |
| Cavalry | 10,436 | 3,466 | 2,263 | 16,165 |
| Artillery and engineers | 9,000 | 2,000 | 3,000 | 14,000 |
| Foot guards | 6,916 | .. | .. | 6,916 |
| Infantry of the line | 44,981 | 21,790 | 42,951 | 109,722 |
| Militia | 66,189 | 18,508 | .. | 84,697 |
| 137,522 | 45,764 | 48,214 | 231,500 | |
| Yeomanry and volunteers:— | ||||
| Cavalry | 29,000 | 10,000 | .. | 39,000 |
| Artillery | 7,000 | .. | .. | 7,000 |
| Infantry | 290,000 | 65,000 | .. | 355,000 |
| General Total | 463,522 | 120,764 | 48,214 | 632,500 |
The above numbers of "Fighting men" are exclusive of the Royal Navy and Marines.
A "Horse Guards, 5th September, 1804.
"My dear Lord,
"I have been so extremely occupied since my return from my tour through the southern district that I have never been able, till this day, to write to you, and to express to you, in the warmest manner possible, the thorough satisfaction I experienced at the appearance and state of discipline of the King's Own regiment, which does the highest credit to the commanding officer, and every individual in it. I beg your lordship to convey these sentiments from me to the regiment, and at the same time to be assured that I shall, in consequence, recommend to his Majesty to allow a greater promotion to take place in the King's Own upon the present occasion, than has been allowed to other regiments, the fifty-second excepted. I shall therefore be happy to receive any recommendations that your lordship may think proper to make."
(Signed) "Frederick."
"To Lieut.-General the Earl of Chatham.
"Lieut.-General the Earl of Chatham has the greatest pleasure in communicating to the King's Own regiment the distinguished approbation which his Royal Highness the commander-in-chief has been pleased to convey to him of their soldierlike appearance and high state of discipline when his Royal Highness lately saw them at Shorncliffe camp. Lord Chatham desires to offer his particular thanks to Lieut.-Colonel Brinley, as well as to the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates, for their conduct and unremitted exertions, so well attested by the superior appearance of the regiment, and he trusts that a perseverance in the same exemplary conduct, will ensure to them a continuance of his Royal Highness's favourable opinion.
"Lord Chatham assures the regiment that it is with the warmest satisfaction he has seen a corps, whose zeal and whose bravery it has been his good fortune to witness in the field, attain that degree of discipline, correctness, and precision, which when combined must ever render British soldiers invincible."
[31] After dinner Colonel Brinley was addressed by Major Dales as follows:—
"The King's Own have directed me to inform you that, while they rejoice at your promotion, they feel much distressed at parting with an officer whose whole time has been so zealously and successfully employed for the general welfare of the corps. It is their intention to beg your acceptance of a small mark of their universal esteem, and it naturally suggested itself to them that a SWORD was the most appropriate token; and, while it will keep alive your attachment to them, opportunities will probably occur when it will be drawn in defence of the best of Kings and best of governments."
To which the colonel replied:—"I beg leave to express in the warmest terms, how much I feel the marked attention showed me by this very elegant entertainment. I return you a thousand thanks for the testimony of your attachment, esteem, and regard, manifested by the proposed present of a superb sword, which I shall wear with pride, and I hope with honour to the end of my life. To your assistance alone, during the three years I have had the honour to command you, am I indebted for enabling me to bring the King's Own regiment to its present state of perfection; and I attribute the recent mark of favour which his Majesty has been graciously pleased to confer on me, to your generous aid."
[32] In 1808 the officers' lace, epaulettes, and buttons, were directed to be changed from silver to gold.
[33] Lieut.-General Leith was wounded during the action, when Major-General Pringle assumed the command of the fifth division, and Lieut.-Colonel Brooke that of the brigade.
[34] Brevet Major John Wynne Fletcher was senior captain of the regiment, in which he had served most zealously twenty-five years, and he was sincerely lamented by his brother officers. He was aide-de-camp to Lieut.-General Sir Henry Warde, K.C.B., commander of the forces in the Windward and Leeward Islands, who followed his remains to the grave, and directed a marble tablet, with the following inscription, to be placed in the church at Bridgetown;—
of a good Christian, a gallant soldier, and an honest man,
in life beloved and in death lamented.
Near this spot rest the mortal remains of Brevet Major
JOHN WYNNE FLETCHER,
Captain in the Fourth, or the King's Own Regiment of Foot,
And Aide-de-camp to Lieut.-General Sir Henry Warde,
Who departed this life on the 24th of October, 1824,
Aged 39 years.
SUCCESSION OF COLONELS
OF
THE FOURTH,
OR THE
KING'S OWN REGIMENT OF FOOT.
CHARLES EARL OF PLYMOUTH.
Appointed 13th July, 1680.
Charles Fitz-Charles, natural son of King Charles II., by Catherine, daughter of Thomas Pegg, Esq., of Yeldersley, in Derbyshire, was advanced to the peerage in July, 1675, by the titles of Baron Dartmouth, Viscount Totness, and Earl of Plymouth. Being a sprightly youth, and an aspirant to military fame, he obtained permission of the king, his father, to proceed in the character of a volunteer to the city of Tangier, in Africa, where he was initiated in the first rudiments of war. Having been educated abroad, he was familiarly styled Don Carlos, and in the printed narratives of several skirmishes with the Moors he is spoken of in terms of commendation. While he was engaged in the defence of this fortress the Second Tangier, now King's Own, regiment of foot was raised in England, of which his lordship was appointed colonel. During the siege he was attacked with a severe dysentery, of which he died in October, 1680, in the twenty-third year of his age. He was a very promising officer, of good natural abilities, affable, generous, and brave, and his death was much regretted by his companions in arms, also by the king, his father. His body was embalmed, sent to England, and interred in Westminster Abbey.
PIERCY KIRKE.
Appointed 27th November, 1680.
Piercy Kirke is represented by historians as an adventurous soldier of fortune, distinguished for personal bravery and gross immorality. He entered the army soon after the suppression of the insurrection of the Millenarians (or fifth-monarchy men) in 1661, and was many years an officer in the royal regiment of horse guards. During the Dutch war he obtained permission of King Charles II. to proceed to France to join the Duke of Monmouth's regiment of foot,—then in the service of Louis XIV. With this corps he served under the Duke of Monmouth at the siege of Maestricht in 1613; and in the two succeeding campaigns with the French army on the Rhine, commanded by the celebrated Marshal Turenne, under whose orders the English regiments of Monmouth and Churchill, and the Scots regiments of Douglas (now first royal) and of Hamilton, highly distinguished themselves. These corps also acquired additional laurels under Marshal Luxemburg, in 1676; and under Marshal De Crequi, in 1677; but the loose discipline which prevailed in the French army in Germany occasioned the troops to contract licentious habits, from which Kirke was never afterwards thoroughly reclaimed. On the formation of the Second Tangier, now King's Own, regiment, he was appointed to the lieut.-colonelcy, and in November he succeeded the Earl of Plymouth in the command of the corps; he was also appointed commander of the forces at Tangier, and he subsequently performed the duties of governor of that colony. While at Tangier, he was employed on an embassy to the Emperor of Morocco; he is said to have contracted a friendship with several Moorish chiefs, and an interchange of civilities took place between him and the emperor: his connexion with these barbarians, among whom internal feuds and the exercise of cruel propensities were frequent, was not calculated to soften the rugged traits of his character. In 1682 he was removed to the first Tangier (now second or queen's royal) regiment; which corps he commanded at the battle of Sedgemoor, where the rebel army under the Duke of Monmouth was overthrown. He was afterwards directed to attend with his regiment Lord Chief Justice Jeffries and four other judges, who were appointed to try the rebel prisoners; and while employed on this service he is said to have executed a number of wounded rebels in a barbarous manner, and he was also charged with the commission of numerous acts of wanton cruelty, for which he afterwards pleaded the express orders of the king and of Lieut.-General the Earl of Feversham. Brigadier-General Kirke certainly did not exhibit on this occasion the traits of a humane disposition, yet no doubt can exist but that the barbarities said to have been committed by him have been much exaggerated. The secretary-at-war summoned him to appear at court and explain his proceedings, which he did to the satisfaction of the king. He afterwards joined the association in favour of the Prince of Orange; this was, however, not suspected by James II., who promoted him to the rank of major-general on the 8th of November, 1688, and placed him at the head of the van-guard of the army appointed to oppose the Prince. Kirke is reported to have formed the design of seizing the king's person at Warminster, and of delivering him into the hands of the Prince of Orange; but this plot was frustrated by the king's being prevented visiting that quarter in consequence of an excessive bleeding at the nose, to which his Majesty was subject. Major-General Kirke was afterwards arrested and sent under a guard to London; but the flight of the king to France, and the elevation of the Prince of Orange to the throne, following in rapid succession, he was liberated and received into the favour of his new sovereign. In 1689 he was sent with two regiments of foot to the relief of Londonderry, in which service he succeeded; but he was accused of cruelty to the inhabitants, and of augmenting their miseries unnecessarily. He evinced ability and personal bravery in several skirmishes with King James's forces; he served under King William at the battle of the Boyne, and at the siege of Limerick, and on the 24th of December, 1690, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general. He was subsequently appointed to the staff of King William's army in the Netherlands, and he died at Breda on the 31st of October, 1691.
CHARLES TRELAWNY.
Appointed 23rd April, 1682.
Charles Trelawny was the fourth son of Sir Jonathan Trelawny, baronet, of an ancient family, which derived its name from the lordship of Trelawny, in Alternon, in the county of Cornwall; he obtained a commission in the Duke of Monmouth's regiment of foot, raised in England in 1672, for the service of the King of France against the Dutch. In his first campaign he was engaged in the invasion of Holland; in 1673 the famous city of Maestricht was besieged and captured; and during the four succeeding years he served on the Rhine under Marshals Turenne, Luxemburg, and De Crequi, and having acquired the character of a brave and meritorious officer, he was promoted to the majority of his corps. When Monmouth's regiment was disbanded in 1679, he was placed on half-pay; but in the summer of 1680 he was appointed major of the Second Tangier regiment, for which corps he raised a company of sixty-five men in Devonshire, &c. Soon after his arrival in Africa he was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy, and in 1682 he succeeded Colonel Kirke in the colonelcy of the regiment. He took an important part in bringing about the Revolution in 1688; and having joined the association formed in favour of the Prince of Orange, he induced his brother, the Bishop of Bristol, to engage in the same cause. In November, 1688, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general; after he had joined the Prince of Orange, King James deprived him of his regiment; but it was restored by the Prince on the 31st of December. He distinguished himself at the head of a brigade of infantry at the battle of the Boyne; and he was subsequently appointed governor of Dublin. His conduct while in charge of the metropolis of Ireland, was marked by zeal for the public good, and by the ability with which he performed the duties of his government. On the 2nd of December, 1690, he was promoted to the rank of major-general; and in 1691 he retired from his regiment, and was appointed to the government of Plymouth. The following character is given of this distinguished officer in history:—
"General Charles Trelawny was a gentleman of an ancient and honourable family, which he also ennobled by his actions. He served under the famous Turenne, and his gallantry and experience spoke him worthy of so great a master. His public actions in several instances redounded to his honour, but his modesty was too delicate to admit of his reciting them. He served with the troops which Charles II. sent to the assistance of France, when they and their country gained the greatest reputation, by covering the retreat of the French and repulsing the Germans, an action of such signal importance that it procured the thanks of Louis XIV.; and this may be said to his and the nation's honour, that the armies of France have been protected as well as conquered by the English. Nor did he shine less in his private than his active life; the reputation he acquired in public services he adorned with affability, tenderness, and charity to all about him; the bravery of the soldier being tempered with the politeness of the accomplished gentleman. In short, so generous and noble a spirit attended his whole course of life, and so much patience and resignation in his last illness, that he appeared in both equally the hero, and died great as he had lived." His decease occurred on the 24th of September, 1731.
SIR CHARLES ORBY.
Appointed 11th December, 1688.
This officer was a stanch adherent to the Roman Catholic cause; he was lieut.-colonel of the third troop of life guards and deputy adjutant-general, and King James II. rewarded him with the colonelcy of the Queen's regiment of foot, from which he was removed by the Prince of Orange.
CHARLES TRELAWNY.
Re-appointed 31st December, 1688.
HENRY TRELAWNY.
Appointed 1st January, 1692.
Henry Trelawny, seventh son of Sir Jonathan Trelawny, and brother of General Charles Trelawny, raised a company of foot in the summer of 1680, for the Second Tangier regiment, in which corps he was appointed captain, and he served three years in Africa. In 1685, he was at the battle of Sedgemoor; and in December, 1688, he was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the regiment. He served under King William in Ireland, and was appointed colonel of the regiment on the 1st of January, 1692. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1696; and retired from the regiment in 1702.
WILLIAM SEYMOUR.
Appointed 12th February, 1702.
William Seymour obtained a commission in the royal regiment of fusiliers (now seventh foot) when that corps was raised in the summer of 1685; and two years afterwards he commanded a company. In 1691 he was appointed major, and in 1692 lieut.-colonel of the second regiment of foot guards. He served under King William in the Netherlands, and was wounded at the battle of Landen in 1693. In the following year he succeeded Lord Cutts in the colonelcy of one of the regiments of foot raised in 1689. After the peace of Ryswick his regiment was disbanded; and on the 1st of March, 1701, he succeeded Louis Marquis of Puizar in the colonelcy of a regiment, now the twenty-fourth foot, from which he was removed in 1702 to the Queen's, now King's Own, regiment, and promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. He commanded a brigade before Cadiz in 1702, and was wounded at Vigo. He was subsequently appointed to the command of the six regiments of marines; was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1704, to that of lieut.-general in 1707, retired from the regiment in 1717, and died in 1727.
THE HONOURABLE HENRY BERKELEY.
Appointed 25th December, 1717.
Henry Berkeley, third son of Charles second Earl of Berkeley, was page of honour to the Duke of Gloucester, son of Queen Anne; and after his Royal Highness's decease, he was page of honour to her Majesty Queen Anne. He obtained a commission in the army in December, 1709; in June, 1717, he was appointed first commissioner for executing the office of master of the horse to King George I.; and in December following he was promoted to the colonelcy of the King's Own, from which he was removed in 1719, to the Scots troop of horse grenadier guards. He was one of the King's equerries, and a member of parliament for the county of Gloucester; and died at Bath in May, 1736.
CHARLES CADOGAN.
Appointed 21st April, 1719.
Charles Cadogan entered the army in 1706, and served in Flanders under the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough. He was a member of parliament for the borough of Reading, also for Newport in Southamptonshire. In 1715 he was appointed captain and lieut.-colonel in the second foot guards; and in 1719 he purchased the colonelcy of the King's Own regiment. He succeeded, on the decease of his brother, the celebrated William Earl Cadogan, in 1726, to the dignity of Lord Cadogan, Baron of Oakley; and in 1734 he was removed to the Inniskilling dragoons. In 1739 he was promoted to the rank of major-general; in 1742 he was appointed colonel of the second troop (now second regiment) of life guards, which gave him the privilege of taking the court duty of gold stick; and in 1745 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general. The government of Sheerness was conferred upon his lordship in 1749, that of Gravesend and Tilbury in 1752, and in 1761 he was promoted to the rank of general. His lordship was a fellow of the Royal Society, and one of the trustees of the British Museum; he died in 1776.
WILLIAM BARRELL.
Appointed 8th August, 1734.
This officer entered the army in the reign of William III.; he obtained the rank of captain in 1698, and his distinguished conduct in the wars of Queen Anne was rewarded with the brevet rank of colonel on the 1st of January, 1707. In 1715 he was promoted to the colonelcy of the twenty-eighth foot; in 1727 he was appointed brigadier-general; in 1730 he was removed to the twenty-second regiment, and in 1734 to the King's Own. In the following year he was promoted to the rank of major-general; in 1739 to that of lieut.-general; and he was also appointed governor of Pendennis castle. He died on the 9th of August, 1749.
ROBERT RICH.
Appointed 22nd August, 1749.
Robert Rich, second son of Sir Robert Rich, baronet, a distinguished officer in the wars of Queen Anne, was promoted by King George II. to the lieut.-colonelcy of the King's Own, at the head of which corps he distinguished himself at the battle of Culloden and was wounded; and in 1749 he succeeded Lieut.-General Barrell in the colonelcy of the regiment, which he held seven years. In 1758 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and in 1760 to that of lieut.-general; he also held the appointments of governor of Londonderry and Culmore-fort in Ireland; and in 1768 he succeeded, on the decease of his father, to the dignity of a BARONET. He died in 1785.
ALEXANDER DUROURE.
Appointed 12th May, 1756.
This officer was promoted on the 27th of February, 1751, from the lieut.-colonelcy of the twenty-fourth, to the colonelcy of the thirty-eighth regiment; and was removed in 1756 to the King's Own. In 1758 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and in 1760 to that of lieut.-general. He died in 1765.
THE HONORABLE ROBERT BRUDENELL.
Appointed 23rd January, 1765.
Robert Brudenell, third son of George Earl of Cardigan, was many years a member of parliament for Marlborough, also groom of the bedchamber to his Royal Highness the Duke of York, whose train he bore at the coronation of George III. He was appointed captain and lieut.-colonel in the third foot guards in 1758; was promoted to the colonelcy of the sixteenth foot in 1763; and removed to the King's Own in 1765. He died at Windsor in October, 1768.
STUDHOLME HODGSON.
Appointed 7th November, 1768.
Studholme Hodgson, after serving several years in the army, was appointed, in 1745, aide-de-camp to the Duke of Cumberland, whom he attended at the battles of Fontenoy and Culloden. He obtained the command of a company, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the first foot guards, on the 22d of February, 1747; and on the 30th of May, 1756, he was promoted to the colonelcy of the fiftieth foot. He obtained the rank of major-general on the 25th of June, 1759; and was removed to the colonelcy of the fifth foot in October of the same year. In 1761 he was advanced to the rank of lieutenant-general, and he commanded the land forces of a successful expedition against Belle Isle in the same year, for which he obtained the approbation of the king, and received the expression of the "warm sense of the great service he had done his king and country;" also the congratulation, "on the completion of so important and critical an operation which must ever be remembered to his honour," from the secretary of state, the celebrated William Pitt, afterwards Earl of Chatham. He was appointed in 1765, governor of Forts George and Augustus. In 1768 he was removed to the King's Own; in 1778 he was promoted to the rank of general; and in 1782 he was removed to the colonelcy of the fourth Irish horse, now seventh dragoon guards. He was again removed, in 1789, to the eleventh light dragoons, and on the 30th of July, 1796, he was promoted to the rank of field-marshal. He enjoyed this elevated rank two years, and died in the autumn of 1798, at the advanced age of ninety years.
JOHN BURGOYNE.
Appointed 7th June, 1782.
John Burgoyne was a distinguished cavalry officer in the reign of George II. On the 10th of May, 1758, he was promoted from captain in the eleventh dragoons to captain-lieutenant and lieut.-colonel in the second foot guards; and his talents and experience occasioned him to be selected, in the following year, to form and discipline a corps of light cavalry, (now the sixteenth, or the Queen's lancers,) of which he was appointed lieut.-colonel commandant. Previous to this period light cavalry was little known in the British army, the value of that arme had, however, become appreciated; and the discipline, dexterity, and efficiency of Burgoyne's horsemen soon attracted admiration, and he received from his sovereign repeated and conspicuous testimonies of his royal approbation. In 1762 he was sent with his regiment to Portugal, where he served as brigadier-general, and he acquired distinction under the Count La Lippe and the Earl of Loudoun, whose despatches bore testimony of his gallantry and zeal for the service, in the warmest terms. He was appointed in 1763 colonel of his regiment, which was honoured with the title of the Queen's light dragoons; and in 1772 he was promoted to the rank of major-general; he was also appointed governor of Fort William. When the British colonies in North America revolted against the mother country, he was placed on the staff of the army in America, and he joined the troops at Boston a short time before the battle of Bunker's Hill. In 1776 he served under Lieut.-General Carlton in Canada, and in the autumn of that year he was promoted to the local rank of lieut.-general in America.
In 1777 he was appointed to the command of an army destined to proceed by Lakes Champlain and George to Hudson's River, with the view of forcing its way to Albany. An erroneous idea of the loyalty of the majority of the inhabitants of this part of North America appears to have been prevalent; and the difficulties to be encountered in this enterprise from the wooded and but partially inhabited country, through which the army had to march, with the state of the roads, and other causes, appear to have been overlooked. After a series of hard toil, incessant effort, and severe privation, the Indian warriors who formed part of the army, and whose predatory habits and disposition to use the tomahawk and scalping-knife had been restrained, all deserted; many of the Canadians and provincials followed this example, while others were deterred from performing their duties by fear; and after several stubborn engagements, in which the British regiments fought gallantly against an immense superiority of numbers, the lieut.-general found himself on the banks of the Hudson's River, with an army of three thousand five hundred men, reduced in physical power by incessant toil and want of provision, invested by an army of sixteen thousand Americans, disappointed of the hope of timely co-operation from other armies, without provisions; and under these dismal circumstances he concluded a convention with the American General Gates at Saratoga, in which he agreed that the troops should lay down their arms on condition of being sent to England, and not serving in America during the remainder of the war. These articles were, however, violated by the American government, on frivolous pretences, and the gallant men who had fought so bravely, and who did not submit until surrounded by five times their own number, were detained in America. Lieut.-General Burgoyne was exposed to the fate which usually attends unsuccessful commanders, and his conduct was censured; he defended himself in parliament with great warmth, and courted investigation; this was followed by altercation with the members of the government, which ended in his resigning, in 1779, the colonelcy of the Queen's light dragoons, also his appointment on the staff of the army in America, and the government of Fort William; but he retained his rank of lieut.-general in order to be amenable to a court martial. He was afterwards restored to royal favour; appointed commander-in-chief in Ireland; and in 1782 he was appointed colonel of the King's Own regiment of foot; he was also a member of the privy council, and represented the town of Preston in parliament. He was an accomplished gentleman; also an able scholar, and author of a much celebrated comedy called "The Heiress;" and his character was further adorned with benevolence. He died on the 4th of August, 1792, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
GEORGE MORRISON.
Appointed 8th August, 1792.
This officer was appointed lieut.-colonel in the army, in 1761, he also held the appointment of deputy quarter-master-general, and in 1763 he was placed at the head of that department, where he remained many years. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1772, to that of major-general in 1777, lieut.-general in 1782, and general in 1796. He obtained the colonelcy of the seventy-fifth foot in 1779; was removed to the seventeenth foot in 1782; and to the King's Own, in 1792. He died in 1799.
JOHN EARL OF CHATHAM.
Appointed 5th December, 1799.
John Pitt succeeded, in 1778, to the dignity of Earl of Chatham. He served as a subaltern with the thirty-ninth foot at Gibraltar and in 1779 he was appointed captain in the eighty-sixth, or Rutland regiment, which was disbanded at the termination of the American war. In 1782 he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-colonel, and in 1788 he was appointed first lord of the admiralty, which he held six years. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1793, and to that of major-general in 1795, and in 1796 he was appointed president of the council. When the King's Own regiment was augmented, in 1799, to three battalions, he was appointed commandant of the second battalion; he proceeded in the same year to Holland, and commanded a brigade under the Duke of York in the actions of the 2nd and 6th of October, when he was wounded. In December he succeeded General Morrison in the colonelcy of the King's Own. In 1801 he was appointed master-general of the ordnance, which he held five years; in 1802 he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general, and, in 1827, he was re-appointed master-general of the ordnance, which he held three years. His lordship was nominated in 1809 to the command of an expedition against Walcheren and Antwerp, which failed from the numerous delays which occurred in conducting the enterprise. In 1812 he was promoted to the rank of general. He was subsequently honoured with the dignity of knight of the garter; and, in 1820, he was appointed governor of Gibraltar. He died in 1835.
JOHN HODGSON.
Appointed 30th September, 1835.