Historical Record of the Nineteenth, or the First Yorkshire North Riding Regiment of Foot / Containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1688, and of its subsequent services to 1848

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS

OF THE

NINETEENTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

PLATES.

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE NINETEENTH,

OR

THE FIRST YORKSHIRE NORTH RIDING
REGIMENT OF FOOT.

The advances made by King James II. towards the subversion of the laws, and the established religion of the kingdom, occasioned the Prince of Orange to be invited to come to England with an army, to enable the nobility and other persons of property and influence to assert the inviolable character of the Constitution in parliament. The Prince landed in Devonshire on the 5th of November, 1688, and a number of persons afterwards joining his standard, they were formed into companies of musketeers and pikemen, and three regiments were embodied under Colonels Lord Mordaunt, Sir John Guise, and Sir Robert Peyton: troops of cavalry and companies of infantry were also raised, in the interest of the Prince of Orange, in various parts of England.

The flight of King James to France was followed by the elevation of the Prince and Princess of Orange to the throne, in February, 1689. At this period several of the companies of pikemen and musketeers raised when the Prince of Orange landed, were incorporated into a regiment under Colonel Francis Lutterell, whose commission, as colonel of this regiment, was dated the 28th of February, 1689; but the regiment, being formed of companies raised about the middle of November, 1688, was permitted to take rank from that date, and now bears the title of the "NINETEENTH REGIMENT OF FOOT."

The following officers were appointed to commissions in the regiment:—

In the summer of this year the regiment marched to Portsmouth; it was afterwards stationed in the Isle of Wight, and in September embarked on board the fleet to serve as marines; but landed at Plymouth in the winter.

The authority of King William being resisted in Ireland, an army was sent to that country under Marshal Duke Schomberg, and in March, 1690, the NINETEENTH received orders to send five hundred and twenty men to Ireland, to replace the losses sustained by many regiments at the unhealthy camp of Dundalk. The regiment afterwards sent a detachment to the West Indies, where nearly all the men died. The regiment also sustained the loss of its colonel, who died this year.

In 1691 the regiment was stationed in England recruiting, and the colonelcy was conferred on Colonel Thomas Erle, from a regiment which was raised in March, 1689, and disbanded after the treaty of Ryswick in 1697.

Having recruited its ranks and attained a state of efficiency, the regiment embarked for Flanders in the spring of 1692, and joined the confederate army, commanded by the British monarch in person, whose efforts were directed to arrest the progress of aggression pursued by Louis XIV.;—it served the campaign of this year against the French under Marshal Luxemburg.

At the battle of Steenkirk, on the 3rd of August, the regiment was in the main body of the allied army, and the advance-guard being repulsed before the supporting columns arrived at the field of battle, King William ordered a retreat. Colonel Erle's regiment was one of the corps which did not sustain any loss.

The NINETEENTH regiment was one of the corps assembled at Parck-camp, near Louvain, in May, 1693; and by taking possession of this post, King William defeated the designs of the French monarch on Brabant. The fourteenth, sixteenth, NINETEENTH, and two newly-raised regiments were formed in brigade under Brigadier-General Erle. This brigade was in position at Landen, on the 29th of July, when the confederate army was attacked by the superior numbers of the enemy. Brigadier-General Erle was ill of a fever, but hearing that an action was likely to take place, he quitted his bed, and was wounded at the head of his brigade. The French having, by their numerical strength, forced the position, the confederate army retreated. Both armies sustained severe loss, and the enemy derived little advantage from the victory, beyond an opportunity to besiege Charleroi, which was captured in the autumn.

The NINETEENTH regiment passed the winter in quarters at Malines.

In the beginning of May, 1694, the regiment quitted its quarters, and pitched its tents near the cloister of Terbanck; it took part in the operations of the campaign, and performed many long marches in Flanders and Brabant, and in the autumn returned to the pleasant town of Malines, where it passed another winter in garrison, with the third and fourth regiments of foot.

Early in the spring of 1695 the regiment marched to the vicinity of Ghent, and was encamped near Marykirk until the army took the field. King William undertook the siege of the strong fortress of Namur, and the NINETEENTH formed part of the covering army under the Prince of Vaudemont, who acquired great reputation for the skilful retreat he effected in the presence of a French army, of very superior numbers, under Marshal Villeroy. After taking part in covering this retreat, the regiment was employed in several operations for the protection of the maritime and other towns of Flanders, and to cover the troops carrying on the siege of Namur, which fortress was captured by the troops under King William, and that event terminated the campaign. The NINETEENTH regiment passed the winter at Dendermond.

Finding the progress of his arms arrested, and the fortune of war in favour of the confederates, the French monarch contemplated detaching England from the alliance against his interests, by replacing King James on the throne, for which purpose preparations were made for invading England, and a conspiracy was formed in London for assassinating King William. In consequence of the preparations in France, the NINETEENTH, and a number of other regiments, were ordered to return to England. The regiment embarked from Sas-van-Ghent in March, 1696, and sailed to Gravesend, where it landed. The assassination plot was discovered, and the designs of the French monarch frustrated.

The regiment remained in England until the summer of 1697, when it again proceeded to Flanders, and joined the army encamped near Brussels on the 14th of July; two days afterwards it was reviewed by King William. The treaty of Ryswick was signed in September, and the British monarch saw his efforts for the preservation of liberty, and the balance of power in Europe, attended with success. The regiment returned to England in November.

In 1698 the NINETEENTH regiment was stationed in Ireland, where it remained until 1702, when the succession of the Duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV., to the throne of Spain had produced another war.

Early in 1702 an expedition against the port and city of Cadiz was resolved upon by the British government, and the NINETEENTH regiment was withdrawn from Ireland to take part in the enterprise; the fleet was commanded by Admiral Sir George Rooke, and the land forces were placed under the orders of the Duke of Ormond. The regiment proceeded to the Isle of Wight, where it embarked on board the fleet,[7] which sailed for Cadiz, and a landing was effected between Rota and Fort St. Catherine in the middle of August. Fort St. Mary's was taken possession of, and some advantages were gained; but the expedition proved of insufficient force for the reduction of Cadiz, and the troops re-embarked. The NINETEENTH regiment was detached from Cadiz to the West Indies with the squadron of the royal navy under Commander Walker.

A powerful armament was prepared for the attack of the French and Spanish settlements in the West Indies in 1703, but this enterprise was afterwards laid aside. An unsuccessful attempt was made on Guadaloupe in March of this year, by a few men under Colonel Codrington.

Having lost a number of men from the effects of the climate, the regiment was withdrawn from the West Indies, and was stationed in Ireland in 1704; in 1705 it embarked for England, and landed near Chester in October.

The regiment was employed on home service during the years 1706, 1707, 1708, and 1709.

In May, 1709, Lieut.-General Erle disposed of the colonelcy of the regiment to the lieut.-colonel, George Freke.

Early in the spring of 1710 the regiment embarked for Flanders, to join the allied army in that country under the celebrated John, Duke of Marlborough; it advanced up the country to the vicinity of Tournay, and afterwards took part in the movements by which the French lines were forced at Pont-à-Vendin.

When the siege of Douay was undertaken, the NINETEENTH regiment was one of the corps selected to take part in this service. Some severe fighting took place in carrying on the attacks, and in storming the outworks, in which the regiment was engaged, and sustained severe loss. On the 25th of June the garrison beat a parley, and afterwards surrendered the fortress.

The NINETEENTH regiment had three serjeants and ninety-one rank and file killed at the siege of Douay; and one major, two captains, eight subalterns, ten serjeants, and one hundred and ninety-seven rank and file wounded.

The regiment formed part of the covering army during the siege of Bethune, which fortress surrendered on the 29th of August. Aire and St.-Venant were afterwards invested and taken, and the regiment marched to Ghent, where it passed the winter.

Advancing up the country in the spring of 1711, the regiment encamped a short time at Warde, where it was joined by a fine body of recruits from England. It took part in the operations by which the enemy's fortified lines were passed at Arleux on the 5th of August, and it was afterwards engaged in the siege of Bouchain, which proved a difficult service; but every obstacle was overcome by the skill and perseverance of the generals and engineers, and the innate bravery of the soldiers, who, on more than one occasion, fought up to their waists in water. This fortress was surrendered on the 13th of September.

In the spring of 1712 the regiment quitted its winter quarters. Before the army was assembled, Colonel Freke was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment by Major-General Richard Sutton, from a newly-raised corps, which was afterwards disbanded.

The army in Flanders was this year commanded by the Duke of Ormond, and advanced to the frontiers of France; but negotiations for a treaty of peace having commenced, a suspension of hostilities was proclaimed, and the British troops retired to the vicinity of Ghent.

During the year 1713 the regiment was stationed in Flanders.

The decease of Queen Anne took place on the 1st of August, 1714, when the regiment was ordered to return to England, and it was placed in garrison at Tilbury fort, Landguard fort, and Hull, with a detachment at Sheerness.

In August, 1715, the colonelcy of the regiment was conferred on Lieut.-Colonel Grove, from the foot guards, in succession to Major-General Sutton, who withdrew from active service.

The regiment was employed on home service many years; in 1722 it was encamped on Salisbury Plain, where it was reviewed by King George I.; and in the following year it marched to Scotland.

In 1727 the regiment was held in readiness to assist the Dutch in the expected war with the Emperor of Germany; but no embarkation took place.

Colonel Grove died on the 13th of October, 1729, and King George II. restored Major-General Sutton to the colonelcy of the regiment.

At this period the regiment was removed to Ireland.

Major-General Sutton was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general in 1735, and died in 1738, when the colonelcy of the regiment was conferred on Colonel the Honorable Charles Howard, from captain and lieut.-colonel in the foot guards.

In 1739 war was proclaimed against Spain, and the NINETEENTH regiment was withdrawn from Ireland, and stationed in North Britain.

A British army proceeded to Flanders in 1742, to support the interests of the House of Austria against France and Bavaria; but the NINETEENTH were employed on home service until 1744, when they proceeded to Flanders, and served the campaign of that year with the army under Field-Marshal Wade. The regiment was encamped some time on the banks of the Scheldt, and afterwards advanced into the territory subject to France, as far as Lisle; but no serious fighting took place, and it passed the winter in quarters at Ghent.

The regiment was called from its winter quarters in April, 1745, and advanced with the army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, to the relief of Tournay, which fortress was besieged by a numerous French force, and on the approach of the allied army the enemy took up a formidable position near the village of Fontenoy. This position was attacked on the 11th of May, and the gallant bearing of the British infantry was conspicuous; by a determined charge they broke the French lines and overthrew all opposition at their point of attack; but the Dutch failed in their attempts to capture the village of Fontenoy, and the English were exposed to a destructive flank fire which forced them to retreat. The attack was repeated, and British valour and intrepidity triumphed once more; but the Dutch again failed, and the English battalions, which had broken the enemy's lines, were exposed to so destructive a fire from batteries on both flanks, that a retreat was ordered, and the army withdrew from the field of battle to Aeth.

The regiment had Lieutenant Le Grand, Ensign Gibson, and seventeen private soldiers killed; Major Petitot, Captains Cochran and Douglas, Lieutenant Coote, Ensigns Cheape, Martin, and Potterfield, one serjeant, and sixty-nine rank and file wounded; thirteen men missing.

The subsequent operations of the campaign were of a defensive character, and the allied army was so much inferior in numbers to the enemy, that it was unable to prevent the capture of several fortified towns in the Austrian Netherlands.

This year a rebellion broke out in Scotland, and Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, gained some advantages at the head of the Highland clans, when several corps were ordered to return to England, but the NINETEENTH remained in the Netherlands.

Taking the field in the spring of 1746, the regiment was employed in various services; but the allied army, being very inferior in numbers to the force which the French monarch employed in the Netherlands, was necessarily restricted in its operations.

On the 11th of October the allied army was formed on the beautiful plain of Liege, and the NINETEENTH regiment was stationed, with two other corps, in the village of Roucoux. About noon the superior numbers of the enemy under Marshal Saxe were seen advancing, and about three in the afternoon a numerous body of infantry and artillery attacked three villages, which were occupied by eight battalions of British, Dutch, and Hessians. The disparity of numbers was about one to six, yet the allies stood their ground gallantly, and repulsed the leading brigades of the enemy. New combatants rushed forward, and the allies were again victorious; but they were eventually forced to quit the villages. After defending their post with great bravery for some time, the NINETEENTH, and other corps in Roucoux, quitted the village, and took post in a hollow way, where they defended themselves until a retreat was ordered, when the army withdrew to the vicinity of Maestricht.

One serjeant, one drummer, and thirty-three rank and file of the regiment were killed on this occasion; Lieutenant Cuthbert, Ensign M'Farlane, three serjeants, and nineteen rank and file wounded; Captain Leake, Lieutenant Campbell, and several private soldiers taken prisoners.

After passing the winter in cantonments in Holland, the regiment took the field with the army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, and distinguished itself at the battle of Val, on the 2nd of July in that year. The enemy attacked the village of Val, which was occupied by the thirteenth, twenty-fifth, and thirty-seventh regiments, and a battalion of Hanoverians, who repulsed the attacks of their numerous opponents some time, but were eventually forced to give way. They were reinforced by the eighth, NINETEENTH, and forty-eighth regiments, and a foreign corps, and returning to the charge, recovered the village. The fighting at this point was very severe; several French brigades were nearly annihilated, and the village was lost and won several times. During this protracted contest the innate valour of the British troops was very conspicuous; but the enemy at length succeeded in breaking the line, and the army was ordered to retreat to Maestricht, where it arrived on the same evening.

Lieut.-Colonel Williams, two serjeants, one drummer, and thirty-two rank and file of the regiment were killed; Major Petitot, Captain Masters, Lieutenants Goddard, Brown, Martin, and Phillips, Ensigns Dobson and Fuller, three serjeants, and one hundred and three rank and file wounded; fifteen rank and file missing.[8]

The regiment again took the field in 1748. Preliminary articles for a treaty of peace were signed at Aix-la-Chapelle, and a suspension of hostilities took place.

In this year Major-General the Honorable Charles Howard was removed to the third dragoon guards, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the NINETEENTH regiment by Colonel Lord George Beauclerk, from the eighth marines.

The regiment returned to England during the winter of 1748-9, and immediately proceeded to Gibraltar, where it was stationed four years.

On the 1st of July, 1751, a warrant was issued by authority of King George II., for establishing uniformity in the clothing, standards, and colours of the several regiments, by which the facing of the NINETEENTH was directed to be green. The First, or the King's colour, was directed to be the Great Union; the Second, or Regimental colour, to be the colour of the facings of the regiment, with the Union in the upper canton; in the centre of the colour, the Rank of the regiment, in gold Roman characters, within a wreath of roses and thistles on the same stalk, surmounted by the Crown.[9]

Having been relieved from garrison duty at Gibraltar, in 1753, the regiment returned to England; in 1755 it was stationed in Scotland; in 1756 it was again stationed in England.

A dispute respecting the extent of the British dominions in North America having occasioned another war with France, the regiment was augmented to two battalions.

In 1758 the Second battalion was formed into the SIXTY-SIXTH regiment, under the command of Colonel Edward Sandford.

During the summer of 1759 the regiment was encamped at Brentwood, and in 1760 at Barham Downs.

In 1761 the regiment was placed under the orders of Major-General Hodgson, for the attack of one of the French islands off the coast of Brittany, called Belle-Isle. The expedition appeared before this place on the 7th of April; but the whole island was found like one vast fortress, the little which nature had left undone by rocks and crags having been supplied by art; and the first attempt on the 8th of April, to establish a post on the island, failed. The NINETEENTH, mustering eight hundred men, under Lieut.-Colonel Robert Douglas, evinced great gallantry on this occasion in the assault of the enemy's entrenchments on the shore; the officers and soldiers rushed to the attack with heroic bravery, but were unable to ascend the steep acclivity; they attempted to help one another up, under a heavy fire, but failed, and were ordered to re-embark.

The regiment lost Lieutenant Dougal Stuart, three serjeants, one drummer, and forty-seven rank and file killed; Major Lumisden, one serjeant, one drummer, and thirty-eight rank and file wounded; Lieutenants Scrymsour, Forbes, and Nugent, one serjeant, and eighty-nine rank and file prisoners, thirty of whom were wounded.

Another attempt was made on the 22nd of April, when Brigadier-General Lambert effected a landing on the rocks near Point Lomaria: the difficulty of mounting the precipice had made the enemy least attentive to that part. Beauclerk's grenadiers (NINETEENTH), with Captain Patterson of the regiment, gained the summit before the enemy saw what was intended, who immediately marched a body of three hundred men to attack them; the grenadiers maintained their ground till the remainder of Brigadier Lambert's troops got up. Three brass field-pieces were taken, and some wounded prisoners. Captain Patterson lost his arm, and the other casualties were about thirty men killed. The cannon was afterwards landed from the ships and dragged up the rocks; the lines which covered the town of Palais were captured; the siege of the citadel was carried on with vigour, and the garrison surrendered on the 7th of June. The conquest of the island was thus achieved, and the officers and soldiers taken prisoners re-joined their regiments.

Returning from Belle-Isle when the capture of that island was completed, the regiment was stationed in England in 1762.

The war was terminated in 1762 by the peace of Fontainebleau, and the regiment again proceeded to Gibraltar, at which fortress it was stationed during the following eight years.

On the decease of Lieut.-General Lord George Beauclerk, the colonelcy of the regiment was conferred on Major-General David Graeme, from the forty-ninth regiment, by commission dated the 25th of May, 1768.

On the 19th of December, 1768, a warrant was issued by command of King George III. for regulating the standards, colours, clothing, &c., of the regiments of cavalry and infantry, by which it was directed, that the facing of the NINETEENTH REGIMENT OF FOOT should be deep green.

Early in the spring of 1771 the regiment was relieved from duty at Gibraltar, and arrived in England in May.

In 1773 the regiment was stationed in Scotland; and in 1775 it embarked for Ireland, where it was quartered upwards of five years.

The American war commenced in the same year in which the regiment embarked for Ireland, and was continued with varied success. In 1781 the regiment was ordered to proceed to South Carolina and Georgia, to reinforce the British troops in those provinces; it embarked from Ireland on the 17th of March, and arrived in America in May; but the peculiar turn which the circumstances of the war took shortly afterwards, prevented the regiment having an opportunity of distinguishing itself.

A letter, dated the 31st of August, 1782, conveyed to the regiment His Majesty's pleasure that it should be designated the NINETEENTH, or the FIRST YORKSHIRE NORTH RIDING REGIMENT, in order that a connexion between the corps and that part of the county of York should be cultivated, with the view of promoting the success of the recruiting service.

Hostilities terminated in 1782, and the regiment proceeded to the Leeward Islands; in 1783 it was removed to Jamaica, where it was stationed until 1791, when it returned to England, and landed at Portsmouth in June.

The French revolution had commenced while the regiment was at Jamaica, and in 1793 the King of France was beheaded, and a republican government was established, which was followed by war between England and France. The French Royalists of La Vendée and La Loire took arms against the regicide government, and solicited aid from England; the NINETEENTH regiment embarked with the expedition under Major-General the Earl of Moira, to aid the French Royalists, who expected to be able to gain possession of a sufficient portion of the coast for the English troops to land; the expedition was held in suspense, the fleet being driven about the Channel in stormy weather in the winter of 1793-4.

No opportunity of landing in France, and of joining the Vendéeans, having occurred, the regiment disembarked on the coast of Devonshire in January, 1794, and went into quarters: the health of the men having suffered from being long detained on board of the fleet.

After a few months' repose in quarters, the regiment again embarked, and sailed with the troops under the Earl of Moira for Ostend, which fortress was menaced by a numerous French force. The regiment landed at Ostend on the 26th of June. The Earl of Moira resolved not to limit his services to the defence of Ostend, but to attempt to effect a junction with the army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of York; and after a tedious and difficult march in the face of a victorious enemy of superior numbers, whose troops were overrunning the country in all directions, the British arrived at Alost, where they repulsed the attack of a body of the enemy on the 6th of July, and joined the Duke of York's army at Malines three days afterwards.

The allies did not bring into the field a force sufficiently numerous to contend with the immense armies of France, and the consequence was a disastrous campaign, and a retreat through Holland to Germany during the frosts and snow-storms of an unusually severe winter; and the NINETEENTH shared, with other regiments, in the sufferings occasioned by these operations. The regiment was engaged under Major-General Lord Cathcart in the attack of the enemy's post at Tuyl on the 30th of December, when it had five men killed and wounded; it also took part in several skirmishes, frequently crossing rivers on the ice to engage the numerous forces of the enemy.

In the early part of January, 1795, it was found necessary to resume the retreat, and a series of retrograde movements, through a country covered with snow and ice, brought the army into Germany, where the soldiers obtained a short repose, and afterwards embarked from Bremen for England.

The NINETEENTH landed from Germany in May, 1795, and were stationed in England eleven months.

On the 28th of April, 1796, the regiment embarked for the East Indies, and landed at Madras in the middle of November following.

A short time previously to the arrival of the regiment in India, the large and mountainous island of Ceylon, situate in the Indian Sea, had been captured from the Dutch, who had become united with France in hostility to Great Britain. After reposing a few weeks at Madras, the regiment received orders to transfer its services to Ceylon, and it landed at Columbo, the capital of the island, in December, 1796.

General David Graeme died in January, 1797, and King George III. conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on Major-General Samuel Hulse, from the fifty-sixth regiment of foot.

In the island of Ceylon, which produces a great diversity of vegetables, the finest fruits, and spices of good quality, particularly cinnamon, the regiment was stationed twenty-four years.

About this period the officers and soldiers of the NINETEENTH regiment subscribed one day's pay, amounting to £84, for the relief of the widows and children of the men killed in the victory obtained by Admiral Lord Nelson over the French fleet at the battle of the Nile, on the 1st of August, 1798. The regiment subscribed also 2500 pagodas (8s. 9d. each) towards carrying on the war in Europe.

Five companies embarked in February, 1799, for the continent of India, to take part in the war with the ruler of the province of Mysore, the celebrated Tippoo Saib, whose adoption of French counsels, and hostility to the British interests, proved his ruin. The Mysore was invaded by the British troops, under Lieut.-General (afterwards Lord) Harris, in March, 1799, and the army advanced by triumphant marches to the capital, the strong and splendid city and fortress of Seringapatam, which was captured by storm on the 4th of May, when Tippoo fell, mortally wounded, in the defence of the place.

The capture of the capital having terminated the war in the Mysore, the five companies of the regiment afterwards returned to Ceylon.

From Columbo, the regiment marched, in October, 1800, to Point de Galle, where the head-quarters were stationed several months.

In April, 1801, the regiment embarked for the harbour, town, and fortress of Trincomalee, situate in a barren tract of country on the north-east side of the island of Ceylon, from whence detachments were sent to various posts in the interior. The centre of the island appeared to be defended against the approach of Europeans by the unhealthy climate of the district, through which it was necessary to pass to enter the inland provinces, which were governed by a native chief called the King of Candy.

In 1802 a treaty of peace was concluded between England and France and Holland; but the island of Ceylon was retained by the British.

War with France and Holland was resumed in 1803, and, at the same time, it was found necessary to commence hostilities with the Candians, inhabiting the interior of the island of Ceylon, with whom attempts had been made to establish a treaty of amity and commerce, but without success.

Some outrages having been committed by the Candians on British subjects, demand was made for reparation, which was evaded on various pretences, and a body of troops, of which a detachment of the NINETEENTH regiment formed part, penetrated through the unhealthy districts into the interior, to demand redress, and to exact security against the repetition of outrage. The troops experienced little opposition, and advanced to Candy, the capital, which was found abandoned by the inhabitants. A treaty was framed, and everything appeared in a train for a satisfactory arrangement; but after evincing unparalleled duplicity and treachery, the population of the surrounding districts suddenly attacked the town after hostilities had ceased, and the British troops, under Major Davey, being overpowered by numbers, agreed to capitulate, on condition of being allowed to march with their arms to the British settlements on the coast. These conditions were violated; the British soldiers were barbarously massacred, at Candy, on the 24th of June, excepting a few men who escaped, or were spared by the assassins; the Malays in the English service were required to enter the Candian service, and all who refused were destroyed. The NINETEENTH regiment had the following officers and soldiers massacred on this occasion,—Lieutenants M. H. Bynn, Peter Plenderleath, and Hector M'Lean, Ensign Robert Smith, Quarter-Master John Brown, Assistant-Surgeon William Hope, and one hundred and seventy-two non-commissioned officers and privates.

After this act of perfidy and cruelty the Candians attacked the British settlements, and gained some temporary advantages; but were eventually driven back with loss. The surviving officers and soldiers of the NINETEENTH regiment were employed in much harassing and perilous service, and many casualties were occasioned by the climate. Captain Beaver particularly distinguished himself, and the governor, Major-General M^cDowall, expressed his sense of the captain's services, in general orders dated Columbo, 2nd September, 1803, in the following terms: "The Governor has observed, with peculiar satisfaction, the rapid series of well-judged and well-executed operations, by which Captain Herbert Beaver, of the NINETEENTH regiment, has hitherto proceeded, in recovering the important province of Matura from the Candians, and in bringing back its deluded inhabitants to their duty. The indefatigable activity, zeal, and ability, which that officer has displayed, since his assumption of the command in that district, has fully justified the high opinion which his Excellency had formed of him from his former services, and which induced the Governor to appoint him to that arduous station, in a time of such extreme difficulty and discouragement." The governor also expressed his approbation of the conduct of the officers and soldiers serving under Captain Beaver.