Historical Record of the Sixth, or Royal First Warwickshire Regiment of Foot / Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in the Year 1674, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1838

THOMAS HARRISON,

Appointed 14th June, 1708.

Thomas Harrison served under King William in the Netherlands, and, during the war of the Spanish succession, he was adjutant-general to the British forces in Spain. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in the army on the 6th of February, 1706, and was rewarded with the colonelcy of the Sixth foot in June, 1708. He was sent to England with the news of the victory at Saragossa in 1710; and after the peace of Utrecht he was employed on the staff of the army in South Britain.

ROBERT DORMER,

Appointed 7th March, 1716.

After serving many years in the life-guards, and rising to the rank of lieut.-colonel of the first troop (now first regiment), Robert Dormer was promoted by King George I. to the colonelcy of the Sixth regiment of foot, which he retained four years.

JAMES DORMER,

Appointed 9th April, 1720.

James Dormer entered the army in 1701, and while serving under the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough was promoted to the rank of colonel in the army in 1707, and to that of brigadier-general in 1711. After the decease of Lord Mohun, who was killed in a duel with the Duke of Hamilton, Brigadier-General Dormer was appointed colonel of his Lordship's regiment of foot. This corps was, however, disbanded at the peace of Utrecht; and in 1715 he was commissioned by King George I. to raise, form, and discipline a regiment of dragoons (now the fourteenth light dragoons); from which he was removed, in 1720, to the Sixth foot. In 1727 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and in 1735 to that of lieut.-general. In 1738 he was removed to the first troop of horse grenadier guards, the command of which troop he retained until his decease in 1742.

JOHN GUISE,

Appointed 1st November, 1738.

John Guise obtained a practical knowledge of the profession of arms in the wars of Queen Anne; he served many years in the first foot guards, and was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of that regiment in 1736. In 1738 King George II. rewarded him with the colonelcy of the Sixth foot. In 1739 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, in 1742 to that of major-general, in 1745 to that of lieut.-general, and in 1762 to that of general. He held the appointment of governor of Berwick several years; and died in June, 1765.

WILLIAM RUFANE,

Appointed 14th June, 1765.

William Rufane entered the army in 1721, and served many years in the twenty-fourth regiment of foot, of which corps he was appointed major in 1741, and lieut.-colonel in 1751. On the 16th of January, 1761, he was appointed colonel of the seventy-sixth foot, then newly raised; and he served under Lieut.-General Hodgson, at the capture of Belle Isle, and highly distinguished himself. He also served in the West Indies, and was promoted to the rank of major-general on the 10th of July, 1762. In 1763 his regiment was disbanded; and in 1765 King George III. gave him the colonelcy of the Sixth foot. He was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general in May, 1772, and died in February following.

JOHN GORE,

Appointed 19th February, 1773.

The early services of this officer were in the third regiment of Foot Guards, in which corps he was appointed captain and lieut.-colonel in 1750, first major in 1760, and lieut.-colonel in 1761. In 1762 he was promoted to the rank of major-general; in 1768 he obtained the colonelcy of the sixty-first regiment; in 1772 he was advanced to the rank of lieut.-general, and in February of the following year he was removed to the colonelcy of the Sixth Foot. He died in November, 1773.

SIR WILLIAM BOOTHBY, BARONET,

Appointed 18th November, 1773.

Having entered the army in the reign of King George II., Sir William Boothby served with reputation several years, and was promoted on the 19th of March, 1750, to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the thirtieth foot. In 1760 he succeeded General Watson in the colonelcy of the sixty-third regiment, was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1762, was removed to the fiftieth regiment in 1764, and to the Sixth Foot in 1773; the command of which corps he retained until his decease on the 15th of April, 1787.

LANCELOT BAUGH,

Appointed 18th April, 1787.

This officer served many years in the first foot guards, in which regiment he was appointed lieutenant and captain in 1747, and captain and lieut.-colonel in 1758. In 1771 he was promoted to the rank of colonel, in 1777 to that of major-general, and in 1779 to that of lieut.-general. The colonelcy of the Sixth Foot was conferred by King George III. on Lieut.-General Baugh in 1787; and he retained this appointment until his decease in April, 1792.

SIR RALPH ABERCROMBY, K.B.,

Appointed 26th April, 1792.

This distinguished officer commenced his military career as cornet in the third dragoon guards in 1756; in 1762 he was appointed captain in the third horse (now sixth dragoon guards), and was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the regiment in 1773. Under his vigilant care and attention to all the duties of commanding officer, his regiment became distinguished as an efficient cavalry corps; and he was rewarded with the rank of colonel in the army in 1780; in the following year he was appointed colonel of the 103d regiment, or King's Irish infantry, which corps was disbanded at the peace in 1783. In 1787 he was promoted to the rank of major-general; and in September, 1790, he was appointed colonel of the sixty-ninth regiment, from which he was removed in 1792 to the Sixth foot.

On the breaking out of the war with France in 1793, he was promoted to the local rank of lieut.-general on the continent, and he held a command under the Duke of York, in Flanders. In this service he highly signalized himself, and his conduct was spoken of in the warmest terms of commendation in his Royal Highness's despatches; particularly his gallantry at the battle of Cateau on the 26th of April, 1794, and in the general attack made on the French posts on the 11th of May following. He also took an active and distinguished part in conducting the unfortunate retreat through Holland, and was wounded before Nimeguen on the 27th of October, 1794.

Shortly after his return to England he was sent with an expedition to the West Indies, to complete the deliverance of the French West India islands from the power of the republican government, and to reduce to obedience the insurgents in the islands of St. Vincent and Grenada. In this service he had distinguished success: he took Grenada—obtained possession of the settlements of Demarara and Essequibo—completed the capture of St. Lucia and St. Vincent—and afterwards reduced the Spanish colony in the island of Trinidad, and placed it under the dominion of the British crown. In the mean time he had been appointed to the colonelcy of the Princess Royal's dragoon guards, and created a Knight of the Bath; and in November, 1796, he was removed to the command of the Scots Greys. His distinguished merit was also rewarded with the appointment of lieut.-governor of the Isle of Wight, and the government of Forts George and Augustus.

In 1799 he was selected to command the first division of the Anglo-Russian army destined to attempt the deliverance of Holland from the power of France; and in effecting a landing on the 27th of August,—in repulsing the troops assembled to oppose him,—and in gaining possession of the forts of the Helder, which was followed by the surrender of the Dutch fleet, he evinced the abilities of a consummate general and the valour of a hero. He was also successful in the action of the Zyp on the 10th of September. After the arrival of the Duke of York he commanded a division under His Royal Highness with reputation; and in the accounts of the engagements which followed, his conduct was mentioned in terms of the highest praise.

After his return from Holland he was appointed to the command of an expedition sent into the Mediterranean. He captured Malta, and appeared before Cadiz; but an epidemic disease raging in the city at the time, the attempt on this fortress was desisted in for fear of infection. He subsequently directed his course towards Egypt, with the view of driving the French army from that country; and while the fleet anchored in the bay of Marmorice, in Asiatic Turkey, he arranged a plan of co-operation with the Turks. In February, 1801, he again put to sea, and on the 8th of March he effected a landing in the bay of Aboukir, and defeated a body of French troops. On the 13th he drove the French from their position beyond Mandora Tower, on which occasion he had a horse shot under him; and on the 19th Fort Aboukir capitulated. On the 21st of the same month he repulsed a furious attack of the enemy on the position which he occupied near Alexandria, and during the action he received a mortal wound which deprived his king and country of his most valuable services. He appears to have been wounded in the early part of the day, but continued in the field giving his orders with that coolness and perspicuity which had ever marked his character, till after the action was over, when he fainted through weakness and loss of blood, and died on the 28th of March, 1801.

Thus fell one of the most honourable military men whose lives have been commemorated in history. His character was held up to the admiration of the army in general orders, in which it was observed,—"The illustrious example of their commander cannot fail to have made an indelible impression on the gallant troops, at whose head, crowned with victory and glory, he terminated his honourable career; and His Majesty trusts that a due contemplation of the talents and virtues, which he uniformly displayed in the course of his valuable life, will for ever endear the memory of Sir Ralph Abercromby to the British army. His steady observance of discipline,—his ever-watchful attention to the health and wants of his troops,—the persevering and unconquerable spirit which marked his military career,—the splendour of his actions in the field,—and the heroism of his death,—are worthy the imitation of all who desire, like him, a life of honour and a death of glory."

PRINCE WILLIAM FREDERICK OF GLOUCESTER,

Appointed 4th November, 1795.

Prince William Frederick, only son of William Henry Duke of Gloucester, third son of Frederick Prince of Wales, was born at Rome in 1776. His first commission was that of captain and lieut.-colonel in the first foot guards, and was dated the 11th of March, 1789. He held also the rank of colonel in the army. In March, 1794, he proceeded to Flanders to join his company in the first battalion first foot guards, and having a letter of service as colonel on the staff, and to do duty with the army as a general officer, he was appointed to the command of a brigade of infantry of the line, under his Royal Highness the Duke of York. In the general attack of the French positions preparatory to the siege of Landrecies, he was employed in the column under Sir William Erskine, and attacked and carried the village of Premont and the wood on its left, for which he was thanked on the field. In the following month he was appointed colonel of the hundred and fifteenth regiment, then first raised; but he continued to serve with the army commanded by the Duke of York during the remainder of that campaign.

In February, 1795, his Highness was promoted to the rank of major-general, and in November following he obtained the colonelcy of the Sixth regiment of foot. When the attempt was made in 1799 to rescue Holland from the power of France, Prince William Frederick was appointed to the command of a brigade in the Anglo-Russian army commanded by his Royal Highness the Duke of York. In the action of the 19th of September he supported the Russians. Having re-captured the village of Schorel and the wood skirting the village, he pursued the enemy up the sand-hills, and drove them back upon Bergen; and when the army fell back he made good his retreat, bringing off his guns, ammunition, and wounded men in the face of the enemy. On the 24th of September he relieved the reserve, occupying the advanced posts on the left; and on the 4th of October he made a rapid advance to Schermerhorn, and obtained possession of three of the enemy's guns. On the 6th he fell back to his former position, and sustained for some time the attack of a body of the enemy of very superior numbers. When ordered to withdraw, he effected his retreat without loss. His Highness's brigade was also engaged on the 10th of October, and remained in front of the enemy until the army withdrew from Holland. His gallant conduct was rewarded with the rank of lieut.-general on the 13th of November, 1799. He was employed as lieut.-general upon the staff of Great Britain, and had the command of the north-west district from July, 1803, to May, 1807.

On the decease of his father in 1805 he succeeded to the title of Duke of Gloucester. In May, 1806, he was removed to the colonelcy of the third foot guards, and was promoted to the rank of general on the 25th of April, 1808. His Royal Highness was further advanced to the rank of field-marshal on the 24th of May, 1816. He was governor of Portsmouth, Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter, Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of the Bath, and Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order. He was a munificent patron of many public charities; and his universal benevolence was the subject of great praise. He died in December, 1834.

SIR GEORGE NUGENT, BARONET, G.C.B.

Appointed 26th May, 1806.

London: Printed by W. Clowes and Sons, Stamford Street.