In the meantime important events had transpired on the continent of Europe. The invasion of Russia by Napoleon, the burning of Moscow, the disastrous retreat of the French army from the north, and the separation of Prussia, Austria, and other states, from the interest of Napoleon, were followed by a treaty of alliance and subsidy between Great Britain and Sweden, in which it was stipulated that a Swedish army commanded by the Crown Prince should join the allies; and on the 2nd of August, 1813, the 4th battalion of the Royal Scots embarked under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Muller for Stralsund, in Swedish Pomerania, forming part of an expedition sent thither under the orders of Major-General Gibbs. Thus a battalion of the regiment proceeded to the same part of the world to which a body of daring Scots, who formed the nucleus of this distinguished corps, proceeded exactly 200 years before, to engage in the service of the Swedish monarch. The battalion remained at Stralsund until the middle of December, when it advanced to support the army of the Crown Prince of Sweden on the Elbe, and halted on the 24th of December at Lubeck.

Thus at the conclusion of the year 1813 the regiment had four battalions on foreign service in three different quarters of the globe; namely—

The services of the 1st battalion were limited, during the early part of 1814, to the usual duties of a corps stationed on an enemy's frontier. On the night of the 3rd of March, Captain Stewart received information of the appearance of a strong body of Americans in Longwood, in advance of Delaware town; and he directed the light companies of the Royal Scots, and 89th regiment, to march at day-break, to support the advance posts. At five o'clock on the evening of the 4th the Americans were discovered, in very superior force, posted on a commanding eminence, protected with breastworks formed of logs of wood. The companies of the Royal Scots and 89th instantly attacked the enemy in front, "in the most gallant manner," while a company of rangers, and a detachment of Canadian militia, made a flank movement to the right, and a small band of Indians made a similar movement to the left, with a view of gaining the rear of the position. "After repeated efforts to dislodge the enemy in an arduous and spirited contest of an hour and a half's duration, which terminated with the daylight, the troops were reluctantly withdrawn, having suffered severely, principally in officers."[118] The Royal Scots had Captain David Johnstone, 1 serjeant, and 9 private men killed; Lieutenant Angus Macdonald, 2 serjeants, and 37 private men, wounded; and a bugler taken prisoner.

The battalion assembled at Fort George on the 1st of June; and on the 3rd of July two flank and five battalion companies marched from that place towards Chippewa. In the meantime a body of Americans had landed at Black Rock, and had driven in the garrison of Fort Erie. On the 4th the enemy advanced in force by the river, and the light company of the Royal Scots was engaged in a skirmish with the American riflemen. On the 5th of July a severe engagement with very superior numbers of the enemy took place.[119] The attack was not attended with success. Major-General Riall, speaking of the conduct of the troops in general orders, observed—"Although their efforts were not crowned with the success they deserved, yet he has the greatest satisfaction in saying it was impossible for men to have done more, or to have sustained with greater courage the heavy and destructive fire with which the enemy, from his great superiority in numbers, was enabled to oppose them." The Royal Scots had Captain E. P. Bailey, 5 serjeants, and 71 rank and file killed; Lieut.-Colonel Gordon, Lieutenants W. Campbell, A. Macdonald, A. Campbell, J. T. Connell, B. Fox, George Jackson, and Charles Hendrick, 12 serjeants, and 132 rank and file, wounded; Captains E. M. Bird and John Wilson severely wounded and taken prisoners; 5 serjeants and 72 rank and file missing.

Fort Erie afterwards surrendered to the superior numbers of the enemy; the Royal Scots returned to Fort George; and on the 13th of July seven companies took up a position at Fifteen-mile Creek.

The three companies left at Fort George quitted that place a few days afterwards, and, having crossed the Niagara river on the 25th of July, marched to Lewiston to attack a body of the enemy; but the Americans fled, and the Royal Scots captured a quantity of stores and other articles. The three companies afterwards re-passed the river at Queenstown; and, advancing to the Falls of Niagara, formed in the position of Lundy's Lane, under the orders of Lieut.-General Drummond. In the mean time the other seven companies were on the march from Fifteen-mile Creek towards the Falls.

The three companies of the Royal Scots had scarcely taken their post in the centre of the position of Lundy's Lane, when about 5000 Americans advanced, and attacked the British troops with great fury; and a most sanguinary contest ensued. During the heat of the conflict the seven companies of the Royal Scots arrived from Fifteen-mile Creek, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Gordon, and took post on the right of the line. The enemy attempted to force the centre for the purpose of gaining the crest of the position, but were repulsed with loss, and the Royal Scots distinguished themselves in driving back the assailants. About nine in the evening there was an intermission of firing; but the Americans renewed the attack soon afterwards with fresh troops, and a fierce conflict of musketry and artillery followed in the dark. The Americans charged up the hill; the British gunners were bayoneted while in the act of loading, and the guns were in the possession of the enemy for a few moments; but the troops in the centre, where the three companies of the Royal Scots were fighting, soon drove back the Americans, and retook the guns. The storm of battle still raged along the heights; the muzzles of the British and American artillery were within a few yards of each other, and the fight was kept up with a sanguinary obstinacy seldom witnessed. In limbering up the guns, at one period an American six-pounder was put by mistake on a British limber, and a British six-pounder on an American limber. At one moment the Americans had the advantage; at the next the shout of victory rose from the British ranks; and about midnight the enemy retreated.[120] The troops were thanked for their distinguished bravery in general orders on the following day; and "the admirable steadiness of the Royal Scots, under Lieut.-Colonel Gordon, at several very critical points and movements, claimed the Lieut.-General's particular notice." The three companies in the centre of the line particularly distinguished themselves, and were twice mentioned in the Lieut.-General's public despatch in terms of the highest commendation. The Royal Scots lost on this occasion Lieutenant William Hemphill, 3 serjeants, 1 drummer, and 48 rank and file, killed and missing; Captain Brereton, Lieutenants Haswell and Fraser, 4 serjeants, and 93 rank and file, wounded; Lieutenants Clyne, Lamont, and Fraser taken prisoners. The conduct of the battalion on this occasion, with the distinguished bravery evinced by the grenadier company in the storm of Fort Niagara on the 19th of December, 1813, obtained the Royal permission to bear the word "Niagara" on the colours of the regiment.

An attack on Fort Erie having been resolved upon, the 1st battalion of the Royal Scots appeared before this place on the 4th of August, and formed part of the besieging force. During the progress of the siege several slight skirmishes occurred; and on the 10th of August the Royal Scots had Lieutenant Gregor M'Gregor and 3 private men killed and 9 private men wounded.

The batteries having produced an impression on the place, a general assault was made on the fort and adjoining works on the 15th of August before day-break; and two companies of the Royal Scots formed part of the force selected to storm the fort and entrenchments leading from it to the lake. This portion of the storming party made its attack with signal gallantry, and after a desperate resistance succeeded in effecting a lodgment in the fort through the embrasures and demi-bastion, and turned the guns against the enemy, when a sudden explosion of some gunpowder placed under the platform occurred, and almost all the men who had entered the place were either killed or dreadfully mangled. This occasioned the troops to retreat; the enemy opened a heavy fire of musketry, and the storming party retired. The eight companies of the Royal Scots which had not taken part in the storming of the fort were immediately thrown out to cover the retreat—"a service which that valuable corps executed with great steadiness."[121] The loss of the battalion in this unfortunate affair was—Captain Torrens and 32 rank and file killed, 2 serjeants and 37 rank and file wounded.

The troops continued before the fort, and on the 9th of September 2 private soldiers of the Royal Scots were killed, and Lieutenant P. Grant wounded by a shell. On the 17th the enemy made a sortie, and an engagement took place, which lasted nearly five hours. "On the right the enemy's advance was checked by the 1st battalion Royal Scots, supported by the 89th regiment, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Gordon of the Royals; and in the centre he was driven back by the Glengarry light infantry, under Lieut.-Colonel Battersby, and directed by Lieut.-Colonel Pearson, inspecting field officer."[122] On this occasion the battalion lost 2 serjeants and 22 rank and file killed and missing; Lieut.-Colonel Gordon, Lieutenant Rutledge, and 30 rank and file, wounded. Lieutenant Rutledge died on the same day, and Lieut.-Colonel Gordon on the 25th.[123]

On the 17th of October the battalion marched to Chippewa, and engaged the enemy at Cook's Mills, drove the Americans from their post, without sustaining any loss. Shortly afterwards the battalion proceeded to Fort Niagara, where it was stationed during the remainder of the year.

In April, 1814, the left wing of the 2nd battalion in the East Indies marched to Bellary; at the same time the right wing, forming part of the force in the southern Mahratta country, quitted the field, and joined the left wing at Bellary in May. Soon afterwards the battalion proceeded to Hyderabad, where it remained until the beginning of November, when it received orders to proceed to Ellichpoor, to join the field force under the command of Brigadier-General Doveton, and was subsequently employed against a barbarous people called the Pindarees, who infested the British territory in India at this period, and committed dreadful ravages wherever they appeared.

The 3rd battalion was employed in the spring of 1814 in the blockade of the strong fortress of Bayonne, in France; while a great part of the allied British, Spanish, and Portuguese army, which had passed the Pyrenees mountains, advanced up the country.

In the meantime the Dutch had made an energetic struggle to free themselves from the power of Napoleon, and a strong party had declared in favour of the Prince of Orange. A British force was sent to Holland under the orders of Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Graham, afterwards Lord Lynedoch, and the 4th battalion of the Royal Scots was ordered from the north of Germany to join the troops in Holland. The battalion accordingly commenced its march from Lubeck on the 17th January, 1814, and encountered many difficulties, from the inclemency of the weather. While traversing the forest of Shrieverdinghen, 120 men were lost in a snow storm; much extreme suffering occurred during the journey; and on the 2nd of March the men went into cantonments at Rozendalh. After halting six days the battalion was ordered to join the force destined to make an attempt on the strong fortress of Bergen-op-Zoom; and was selected to form part of the 4th column of attack; at the same time its flank companies were detached to join another column. The attack was made about ten o'clock on the night of the 8th of March. The Royal Scots succeeded in crossing the Zoom, and forced an entrance by the water-port. Having gained possession of the ramparts round the water-port gate, the battalion was exposed to a heavy fire of grape and musketry from two howitzers, and a strong detachment of French marines, stationed near the arsenal: two companies were detached to keep the enemy in check, and were relieved every two hours by two other companies of the battalion. These companies were actively engaged in this service from eleven o'clock until daylight; when the enemy made a furious attack in strong columns, which bore down all before them. The two detached companies of the Royal Scots were attacked by a host of combatants, and driven in. A heavy fire of grape was opened upon the battalion from the guns of the arsenal; and it was forced to retire by the water-port gate, when a detached battery opened upon it. Being thus placed between two fires, with a high palisade on one side, and the Zoom filled with the tide on the other, the battalion was unfortunately obliged to surrender. The colours were first sunk in the river Zoom by Lieutenant and Adjutant Galbraith: the battalion then surrendered, on condition that the officers and men should not serve against the French until exchanged. The failure of the coup-de-main on Bergen-op-Zoom occasioned an immense sacrifice of gallant men. Of the Royal Scots, Captains M'Nicol, Edward Wetherall, and Purvis, Lieutenant Mills, 1 serjeant, and 36 rank and file, were killed; Lieutenants Robertson, Stoyte, Midgley, and Stewart, 7 serjeants, 1 drummer, and 63 rank and file, wounded.

On the following day the battalion marched out of Bergen-op-Zoom, and on the 8th of April it embarked for England: on the 21st it arrived at Hilsea barracks, where it was supplied with clothing and equipments, and on the 6th of May it embarked on board the Diomede and Leopard (two sixty-fours, armed en-flute), and sailed for Canada.

Meanwhile the success of the arms of the allied sovereigns in various parts of Europe had been followed by the abdication of Bonaparte, and the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty to the throne of France. This event occurred in April, 1814, at which time the 3rd battalion of the Royal Scots was employed in the blockade of Bayonne. The French commandant in this fortress, not believing the statement of Bonaparte's abdication to be true, made a sortie with the garrison on the morning of the 14th of April, and gained a temporary advantage; but was afterwards repulsed. Major-General Hay,[124] Lieut.-Colonel of the Royal Scots, was killed at the first onset; the battalion also had 5 rank and file killed; Captain Buckley, Lieutenant Macdonnell, 1 serjeant, 1 drummer, and 32 rank and file, wounded; also a few private men missing.

This was the last action of the war; and the British troops, after vanquishing the legions of Bonaparte in various parts of the globe, stood triumphant in the interior of France, and saw the fall of that gigantic power which had shaken the throne of every sovereign on the continent of Europe, and, aiming at universal empire, had sought to rule the world with Asiatic despotism. The Royal Scots remained encamped near Bayonne until August, when they marched back to Spain, and were the last British corps which quitted the French territory after the termination of this glorious war. The battalion, having embarked at Passages for Ireland, landed at the Cove of Cork on the 13th of September, 1814.

His Royal Highness the Prince Regent was pleased to confer upon the 3rd battalion the honour of bearing the word "Peninsula" upon its colours, as a mark of his royal approbation of its meritorious conduct in Portugal and Spain.

The right wing of the 4th battalion, which sailed for Canada in May, arrived at Quebec on the 26th of June, and on the 1st of July sailed up the St. Lawrence to Three Rivers; but the left wing, in the Leopard, was wrecked on Anticosti, a barren island in the mouth of the river St. Lawrence, and lost all its arms and baggage. The right wing afterwards returned to Quebec, and, the left having joined it, the battalion formed part of that garrison until May of the following year.

In January, 1815, the first battalion quitted Fort Niagara, and proceeded to Queenstown. From this place it proceeded to Fort George, Kingston, Prescott, Montreal, and Three Rivers, which latter place it reached on the 25th of May, when it embarked for Quebec; and on its arrival off Cape Diamond, peace having been concluded with the United States, it was removed on board of transports. At the same time the 4th battalion was withdrawn from garrison at Quebec, and, having embarked on board the fleet, both battalions sailed for England, and arrived at Portsmouth on the 17th and 18th of July.

In the meantime Napoleon Bonaparte, with that perfidy which had ever marked his conduct, had quitted the island of Elba, and, attended by 600 men, made his appearance on the shores of France. The French troops joined the standard of the invader, the royal family fled, and Bonaparte reascended the throne with a rapidity which exceeded the wildest flights of poetry or romance. The peace of Europe was thus broken. The allied sovereigns resolved to wage war against the usurper; and in April, 1815, the 3rd battalion of the Royal Scots was suddenly ordered from its quarters at Fermoy to the Cove of Cork, to embark for the Netherlands, where a British force was assembling to engage in the approaching contest, under Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington—a leader under whose eye this portion of the Royal Regiment had already acquired numerous laurels in the Peninsular War.

The battalion landed at Ostend in the early part of May, and proceeded to Ghent, and from thence to Brussels, where it was stationed several weeks. It formed part of the 9th brigade, commanded by Major-General Sir Denis Pack, and was placed in the 5th division, under the command of Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Picton.

During the night between the 15th and 16th of June, while the Royal Scots were reposing in comfortable quarters at Brussels, the men were suddenly aroused by the bugles sounding and drums beating to arms. Instantly quitting their beds, the soldiers prepared for action, and, seizing their muskets, issued in bands from every part of the city; and in a few hours the British regiments were passing through the dark forest of Soignes in the direction of Charleroi, a sharp conflict having already commenced between the corps in advance and the enemy. After a march of about twenty-two miles, the 5th division arrived at the scene of conflict soon after mid-day on the 16th of June, and, diverging from the high road, confronted the enemy on the undulating grounds near the farm-house of Quatre Bras.

The Royal Scots, advancing from their post in the centre of the 5th division, by a movement to their left through a field of corn which reached to the shoulders of the tallest men, encountered a column of French infantry, and by a determined charge drove it from its ground. The enemy's musketeers rallied under the protection of their formidable cavalry, and opened a galling fire, which was returned by the Royal Scots with steadiness and precision. The enemy, having the advantage of a rising ground, poured down volley after volley of grape and musketry with dreadful execution. The Royal Scots stood their ground with unflinching firmness; and, after fighting for some time in line, the battalion formed square, to resist the French cavalry, which was advancing in great force. The valour and intrinsic merit of the corps were now tested; but in vain the foaming squadrons of cuirassiers came rushing forward—in vain the daring swordsmen sought to penetrate the square; neither the superiority of their numbers, nor the fury of their charge, availed against the Royal Scots; the battalion stood firm, and resisted every attack of the enemy with an unshaken fortitude, which reflected honour on the corps.[125] After repulsing the formidable onsets of the enemy's steel-clad horsemen, the battalion deployed; again the French cuirassiers and lancers advanced, and the battalion once more formed square. The daring squadrons rushed forward in full career; the battalion sent forward a shower of balls, which emptied a hundred saddles, and the remaining horsemen wheeled round, and galloped away.[126] Thus the Royal Scots were triumphant, and they were soon afterwards moved to sustain the 28th regiment, which had suffered severely: another furious onset was made by the French cavalry, when the two corps formed one square, and repulsed their assailants with firmness. The French, dismayed by the sanguinary resistance of their adversaries, and being attacked in turn, were already giving way. Sir Thomas Picton placed himself at the head of the Royal Scots and 28th regiment, and leading them to the charge, the enemy was driven from his position with loss.

The battalion passed the following night on the field. The Prussians had been attacked on the 16th of June at Ligny, and forced to retreat to Wavre; a corresponding movement was made by the Duke of Wellington, to keep up the communication with the Prussians, and the Royal Scots, retreated on the 17th of June, with the remainder of the army, to the elevated grounds in front of the village of Waterloo, where the troops passed a stormy night in the open fields, drenched with rain.

On the memorable 18th of June the battalion formed part of the reserve under the gallant Sir Thomas Picton. At the commencement of the battle, when the enemy sent forward a cloud of skirmishers, and developed his massy columns of attack, the Royal Scots, commanded by Major Colin Campbell, were instantly engaged with the legions of Napoleon. "I have great pleasure," observes an officer, who was an eye-witness, "in detailing the conduct of the gallant 3rd battalion of the Royal Scots, and though I have been present with the battalion at the battles of Busaco, Fuentes d'Onor, Salamanca, Vittoria, both stormings of St. Sebastian, the passage of the Bidassoa, &c., &c., in all which they bore a most conspicuous part, and suffered severely, I can assure you they never evinced more steadiness, or more determined bravery, than at the late battle.

"About nine o'clock on the morning of the 18th June, the battalion was attacked by the enemy, and, with very little interruption, the entire day it formed a line of skirmishers in front of the brigade.

"I have often seen the battalion engaged, but, I must confess, on this trying day, it far excelled anything I had ever witnessed; and indeed, so pleased was the late General Picton with its gallantry and good conduct, that he several times expressed it himself to the battalion in the most flattering terms."

Thus, while the thunder of 400 cannon, the roll of musketry, the occasional explosion of caissons, the hissing of balls and grape-shot, the clashing of arms, and the impetuous shouts of the combatants, produced an awful scene of carnage and confusion, the Royal Scots were seen amidst the storm of battle, boldly confronting the torrent of superior numbers, and fighting with a constancy and valour which the enemy could not overcome. Corps after corps advanced; but amidst the dense smoke which often prevented the combatants from distinguishing each other, the British colours waved triumphant, and the shout of victory rose above the din of combat. Paralyzed by the astonishing resistance of the British arms, the attacks of the enemy relaxed; the Prussians arrived on the left, to co-operate, the Anglo-Belgian army formed line, and with one impetuous charge overthrew the French host, and drove it in wild confusion from the field of battle, with the loss of its cannon and equipages. Those warlike and numerous legions, which a few hours before meditated only rapine and conquest, were mingled in utter confusion along the road, and over the fields, while the allied squadrons poured on their shattered flanks and rear, and sabred the panic-struck fugitives without mercy or intermission. Thus ended a battle, the greatest of past or present times, the importance and character of which are above the reach of sophistry or mis-statement; a battle, which may in itself be considered an era, and the story of it, serving as a monument to commemorate the national glory, will survive when the brightest historical epochs on record shall be lost amid the obscurity and confusion of ages. In the important conflicts on the 16th and 18th of June, the Royal Scots had Captain Buckley, Lieutenants Armstrong, O'Niel, and Young, Ensigns Kennedy, Robertson, and Anderson, 1 serjeant-major, 4 serjeants, and 29 rank and file, killed; Major Campbell; Brevet-Majors Arguimbeau, M'Donald, Massey, and Dudgeon; Lieutenants Rea, Ingram, Simms, Clark, Mann, G. Stewart, Alstone, Dobbs, Morrison, Miller, Lane, Black, Scott, and Adjutant Cameron; Ensigns Cooper, Stephens, and M'Kay; Quarter-Master Griffith; Volunteer Blacklin; 20 serjeants, and 275 rank and file, wounded.

The battalion advanced with the main army into France, and encamped on the 6th of July at Clichy, on the banks of the Seine, two miles from Paris, where it remained nearly four months.

In the meantime the 1st and 4th battalions had arrived at Portsmouth from Canada (as before stated), and the 4th having been completed to 1000 effective rank and file, by the transfer of men from the 1st, sailed for the Netherlands, to join the allied army under the Duke of Wellington; at the same time the remainder of the 1st battalion sailed for Scotland, and was stationed in Edinburgh Castle.

The 4th battalion having landed at Ostend, marched up the country to Paris, and pitched its tents at Clichy, where the 3rd battalion was also encamped.

After the flight of Bonaparte, and the restoration of Louis XVIII. to the throne of France, rewards were conferred on the officers who had distinguished themselves during the war;[127] and the honour of bearing the word "Waterloo" on its colours, was conferred on the 3rd battalion of the Royal Scots; every officer and man present at the battles on the 16th and 18th of June, 1815, also received a silver medal, to be worn on the left breast, attached by a crimson and blue riband, and the soldiers had the privilege of reckoning two years' service towards additional pay and pension on discharge.

The 3rd battalion quitted the camp at Clichy on the 29th of October to go into cantonments for the winter: it occupied successively Maule, Montmorency, and Gillecourt, and their adjacents.

During the winter the 4th battalion was ordered to return to England,[128] where it arrived in the early part of 1816. From the period of its formation the 4th battalion was considered as a depôt to the other battalions of the regiment, until it embarked for Germany, in 1813. All recruits enlisted for the regiment, volunteers from the militia, and sick and wounded men sent home from foreign service with any prospect of being again fit for military duty, joined the 4th battalion; and the recruits were completely drilled before they were sent to join the other battalions.[129] Peace having been restored, the battalion was disbanded at Dover on the 24th of March, 1816.

In February of the same year the 1st battalion marched from Edinburgh Castle to Port Patrick, where it embarked for Ireland, and remained in that country nearly ten years.

The 3rd battalion, forming part of the army of occupation in France, marched from Gillecourt in January, 1816, and went into garrison at Valenciennes. It quitted this place in March, 1817, and proceeded to Calais, where it embarked for England, and landed at Dover on the 24th of the same month. It shortly afterwards marched to Canterbury barracks, where it was disbanded on the 24th of April, 1817.

The regiment was thus reduced to its former establishment of TWO BATTALIONS; and the men of the 3rd battalion having been transferred to the 1st and 2nd battalions, His Royal Highness the Prince Regent was pleased to grant permission to the 1st and 2nd battalions to bear the words "Busaco," "Salamanca," "Vittoria," "St. Sebastian," "Nive," "Peninsula," and "Waterloo," on their colours, in commemoration of the distinguished services of the 3rd battalion of the regiment, as before narrated.

In the meantime the 2nd battalion had continued actively employed in the East Indies against the Pindarees, and these barbarous hordes being composed entirely of horsemen, the services of the corps were of an arduous and trying nature; traversing extensive districts by forced marches, passing rivers and thickets, and attempting to surprise these bands of plunderers, were duties calculated to exhaust the physical powers of Europeans when performed under an Indian sun.

While the Royal Scots were engaged in these services, several of the native princes prepared to wage war against the British. Their designs were partly discovered and disconcerted by the Marquis of Hastings. Hostilities, however, followed, and the battalion was called upon to engage in the contest. The eight battalion companies formed part of the second division under the command of Brigadier-General Doveton; and the flank companies were destined to form part of the 1st division of the army of the Deccan, under Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Hislop, Baronet.

The battalion was stationed at Jaulnah; from whence the flank companies marched on the 11th of October, 1817, under the command of Captain Hulme, with two regiments of native cavalry, and four guns, to join the head-quarters of the 1st division, and arrived at Hurda on the 22nd. The battalion companies quitted Jaulnah on the 15th of October, under the command of Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, (Lieut.-Colonels N. M'Leod,[130] and Neil M'Kellar having the command of brigades,) and arrived, with the remainder of the 2nd division, its train of elephants, camels, and horses, at Meiker, on the 23rd. From this place the Royal Scots were detached, with the battering train, down the Berar Ghats, with the design of taking part in the reduction of Asseerghur, an important fortress, belonging to a native sovereign named Scindia; but the order was suddenly countermanded, and the division was directed to proceed to Nagpore, the capital of the Mahratta territories, an attack having been made on the British force at that place. The division proceeded for this station without delay; and the Royal Scots, following by forced marches, rejoined the head-quarters on the 7th of November, at Oomrouttee. From this place Brigadier-General Doveton pushed forward with the Royal Scots, and part of his division, and having encountered excessive fatigue, by constant marching, arrived on the 12th in the vicinity of Nagpore, where he was joined by the remainder of the division on the following day. In the meantime the British troops at this place had taken post on two strong eminences near the residency, on which attacks had been made by the Rajah's forces, and one of the eminences had been carried by a great superiority of numbers; but the other, though attacked, had been maintained.

On the arrival of Brigadier-General Doveton's division, the Rajah was inclined to come to terms, and he at length agreed to surrender his guns and disperse his troops; but the treachery he had already evinced induced the Brigadier-General to dispose his troops in order of battle when he advanced to take possession of the guns. The troops were accordingly formed in the following order:—Two regiments of native cavalry and six horse artillery six-pounders on the height; on its left Lieut.-Colonel M'Leod's brigade, composed of a wing of the Royal Scots, four regiments of native infantry, and the flank companies of another native regiment; Lieut.-Colonel M'Kellar's brigade, consisting of a division of the Royal Scots, a regiment of native infantry, and a detachment of horse artillery with four guns; on its left was Lieut.-Colonel Scot's brigade, of a division of the Royal Scots, a regiment of native infantry, and a detachment of foot artillery with sappers and miners, and two guns; a reserve of native infantry supported the line, and the principal battery of the artillery was posted in the rear of Lieut.-Colonel M'Leod's brigade. On the left of the position was an enclosed garden; beyond it the Nagah Nuddee; a small river ran from thence past the enemy's right; and three parallel ravines, terminating in the bed of the river, crossed the space between the infantry and the enemy; but in front of the cavalry, and on their right, the country was open. The enemy's position was masked by irregularities of the ground and clusters of houses and huts, and a thick plantation of trees, with ravines, and a large reservoir. On this ground the Rajah had formed an army of 21,000 men, of which 14,000 were horse, with seventy-five guns. Such was the ground on which the battle of Nagpore was fought. Beyond the river lay the city, from the walls of which the movements of both armies could be perceived.

The Rajah had agreed, after much procrastination, to surrender his guns at noon on the 16th of December; and the British force was put in motion to receive them. The first battery was taken possession of without opposition; but on the troops entering the plantation, the enemy treacherously opened a sharp fire of musketry on them. The action then commenced. The columns deployed. The brigades under Lieut.-Colonels M'Leod and M'Kellar carried the enemy's right battery with great gallantry, and afterwards drove the right wing from its ground. The other batteries were also carried, and the supporting troops routed, and the enemy was driven from all his positions, and pursued a distance of five miles. The enemy's camp equipage, 40 elephants, and 75 guns were captured; and the Royal Scots added to their former honours that of standing triumphant in the interior of India, over an immense superiority of numbers of the enemy. The battalion lost on this occasion 9 rank and file killed, and 26 wounded.

After this success the siege of the city of Nagpore was commenced. The troops which defended this place, consisting of about 5000 Arabs and Hindoostanees, insisted upon extraordinary terms; and these not being granted, they resolved on a desperate defence. On the 23rd of December a breach was made at the Jumma Durwazza gate, and an assault on the place was resolved on. One company of the Royal Scots, under the command of Lieutenant Bell, with five of native infantry, and a proportion of sappers and miners, were allotted for this service; and two other companies of the Royal Scots, under the command of Captain H. C. Cowell, were destined to attack the city at another gate; and the remaining five companies were kept for the protection of the batteries.

At half-past eight o'clock on the morning of the 24th of December the signal was given, when the storming party, rushing from the trenches, gained the breach, but were instantly assailed by a heavy fire of matchlocks from the adjoining buildings; at the same time the British troops were unable to injure their numerous antagonists, either by the fire of musketry or coming to close quarters. The Arabs, thus sheltered behind walls, each marked with fatal aim, and with impunity, his destined victim; and their fire under these circumstances is destructive at distances beyond that where European musketry is considered effective. Lieutenant Bell, of the Royal Scots, a most promising officer, who had served with the 3rd battalion during a great part of the war in Spain, was killed while gallantly leading his men to the attack; and the breach being found untenable, the troops were ordered to withdraw. The other storming parties succeeded in gaining the desired points; yet their positions were also untenable, and they were ordered to retire.

On the following day the Arabs renewed their offer to surrender; and their terms being acceded to, they marched out of the city on the 1st of January, 1818, and were allowed to go where they pleased, with the exception of proceeding to Asseerghur. The loss of the Royal Scots in the attack on Nagpore was 1 lieutenant (Bell) and 10 rank and file killed, with 2 serjeants and 49 rank and file wounded.

Brigadier-General Doveton, in his despatch to the Commander-in-Chief in India, stated—"During the operation in the field of the 2nd division of the army of the Deccan under my command, the conduct of the 2nd battalion of His Majesty's Royal Scots, under the immediate command of Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, has been invariably such as to entitle that valuable corps to my highest approbation and applause; and more particularly in the action with the enemy's army at this place on the 16th ultimo, their gallantry, steadiness, and good conduct were most exemplary."

Thus, whether Europe, Asia, Africa, or America be the scene of conflict, the conduct of the Royal Scots appears to have been uniformly the same; and the gallantry displayed by the 2nd battalion on this occasion was rewarded by the royal permission, dated the 29th of March, 1823, to bear the word "Nagpore" on its colours.

In the meantime the two flank companies, commanded by Captain Hulme, had been engaged in several movements with the 1st division of the army of the Deccan, and passed the Nerbuddah in flat-bottomed boats on the 30th of November. On the 8th of December the division arrived at Peepleea, and after four marches encamped in the vicinity of Oojain, a short distance from Maheidpoor, where the army of Mulhar Rao Holkur, one of the coalesced Mahratta powers against the British interests in India, was assembled. After various fruitless negociations, the division advanced against the enemy on the morning of the 22nd of December; and as the troops were crossing the ford of the Seeprah river they were exposed to a powerful and concentrated cannonade. About half a mile beyond the river stood the army of Holkur; and after passing the stream Brigadier-General Sir John Malcolm advanced with two brigades of infantry to attack the enemy's left and a ruined village situated on an eminence near the centre. The companies of the Royal Scots formed part of this force; and in the action which followed they evinced their native valour in a signal way. The enemy's left was brought forward in anticipation of the attack, and a destructive fire of grape shot was opened on the British; yet, encouraged by the example of Sir John Malcolm and Lieut.-Colonel M'Gregor Murray,[131] the Royal Scots rushed forward in the face of this tremendous fire; the enemy's infantry were driven from their position, and the village and batteries were carried at the point of the bayonet; the enemy's artillerymen were resolute, and stood their ground until they were bayoneted. While the Royal Scots were victorious at their point of attack, the enemy's right was overpowered; his centre gave way on the appearance of a brigade ascending from the river; and his troops, occupying a position where his camp stood, also fled on the advance of a British force to attack them. Thus the army of Mulhar Rao Holkur was routed; and in a general order, dated the 23rd of December, the Commander-in-Chief of the army of the Deccan observed—"The undaunted heroism displayed by the flank companies of the Royal Scots in storming and carrying, at the point of the bayonet, the enemy's guns on the right of Lieut.-Colonel Scot's brigade, was worthy of the high name and reputation of that regiment. Lieutenant M'Leod fell gloriously in the charge, and the conduct of Captain Hulme, Captain M'Gregor, and of every officer and man belonging to it entitles them to his Excellency's most favourable report and warmest commendation."

The loss of the Royal Scots on this occasion was Lieutenant Donald M'Leod, 1 serjeant, and 7 rank and file, killed; Lieutenants John M'Gregor and Charles Campbell, 4 serjeants, 1 drummer, and 27 rank and file, wounded. In commemoration of the valour evinced by these two companies the battalion obtained the royal permission to bear the word "Maheidpoor" on its colours.