The regiment arrived at Edinburgh in January, 1746, and advanced with the army commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, towards Stirling, when the young Pretender raised the siege of Stirling castle and made a precipitate retreat. The pursuit was retarded by severe weather; but the army continued its advance when the season permitted, and on the 16th of April encountered the clans on Culloden moor. The regiment was in the front line on this occasion, and took part in repulsing the attacks of the Highlanders, and in driving them from the field of battle with great slaughter. This victory proved decisive, and the rebellion was suppressed.

The loss of the regiment was limited to seven private soldiers killed and wounded. It was encamped a short time at Inverness, and afterwards removed to Glasgow.

From Scotland, the regiment was again removed to the theatre of the war in the Netherlands, where it arrived in time to take part in the operations of the campaign of 1747; and it was engaged at the battle of Val, on the 2nd of July. On this occasion the allied army was very inferior in numbers to the enemy, and although the gallantry of the British infantry was very conspicuous throughout the action, the Duke of Cumberland was obliged to order a retreat to Maestricht.

Eight rank and file of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were killed; one serjeant and fifteen rank and file were wounded; and five men missing.

The regiment was again in the field in the summer of 1748. Hostilities were this year terminated by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, and during the winter the regiment returned to England.[7]

In the Royal Warrant, issued on the 1st of July, 1751, for ensuring uniformity in the clothing, standards, and colours of the army, the following directions are given for the TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT, OR THE ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS:—

"In the centre of their colours, the THISTLE within the CIRCLE OF ST. ANDREW, and the CROWN over it; and in the three corners of the second colour, the KING'S CIPHER AND CROWN.

"On the grenadier caps, the THISTLE as on the colours; the WHITE HORSE, and motto over it, Nec aspera terrent, on the flap. On the drums and bells of arms, the THISTLE and CROWN to be painted, as on the colours, with the rank of the regiment underneath."

During the period the regiment was stationed in England, where it remained until 1751, it received the commendations of His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, on account of its good conduct in quarters, and of its former gallantry in the field.

The TWENTY-FIRST regiment embarked for Gibraltar towards the end of the year 1751, in order to relieve the Eighth, or King's Regiment.

Lieut.-General Campbell was removed to the Scots Greys, and King George II. nominated Colonel the Earl of Panmure, from the Twenty-fifth regiment, to the colonelcy of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS, by commission dated the 29th of April, 1752.

The regiment remained at Gibraltar until 1760, when it was relieved from duty at that fortress, and returned to England.

In the meantime another war had commenced between Great Britain and France, and in 1761 the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS, mustering eight hundred men, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Edward Maxwell, sailed with the expedition under Major-General Hodgson, for the attack of the French island in the Bay of Biscay, called Belle-Isle. The fleet appeared before the island on the 7th of April; but the coast was found like a vast fortress,—the little which nature had left undone by rocks and crags, having been supplied by art. A landing was, however, effected on the following day; the TWENTY-FIRST was one of the regiments which leaped on shore, and stormed the works of Port Andro, under a heavy fire of cannon and musketry; the works were found too steep to be ascended, and although the officers and soldiers made a gallant effort, one attempting to lift another up, it was found impossible to succeed, and they were ordered to return on board of the fleet. The regiment had three serjeants, one drummer, and eight rank and file killed; eight rank and file wounded; Lieutenants Innis and Ramage, and thirty-five rank and file, prisoners;—many of the officers and soldiers taken prisoners were severely wounded, and were unable to return on board of the fleet when the order was given to retire.

A landing was effected on the 22nd of April at a rugged spot near Point Lomaria, where the difficult ascent had occasioned the enemy to be less attentive to that part of the coast; and the troops, under Brigadier-General Lambert, having landed, gained the summit of the rock, and repulsed the attempts of the enemy to dislodge them,—capturing three brass field-pieces. The cannon was afterwards landed from the ships, and dragged up the rocks; the lines which covered the town of Palais were captured, and the siege of the citadel commenced. The ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS took part in the siege of the Citadel of Belle-Isle, which was prosecuted with so much vigour, that the governor, the Chevalier de St. Croix, was forced to surrender on the 7th of June. The capture of the island was thus effected, with the loss of about eighteen hundred men killed and wounded.

After the surrender of the Castle of Belle-Isle, the regiment returned to England, where it was stationed in 1762; and in 1763 and 1764 it occupied quarters in Scotland.

On the 6th of May, 1765, the regiment embarked for America, and was quartered five years in West Florida; in 1770, it was removed to Canada, and was stationed some time at Quebec.

In November, 1770, Lieut.-General the Earl of Panmure was removed to the Scots Greys, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS by Major-General the Honorable Alexander Mackay, from the Sixty-fifth regiment.

Having been relieved from duty at Quebec, in 1772, the regiment embarked for England, where it was stationed in 1773 and the two following years.

The American war commenced in 1775, and during the winter of that year Quebec was besieged by an American force.

In the spring of 1776, the regiment embarked for the relief of Quebec; on the arrival of the British reinforcement to the garrison, the Americans raised the siege, and made a precipitate retreat; they were pursued up the country, and driven from all the posts which they occupied in that province. After these services were performed, the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were quartered at St. John's, where they were stationed during the winter.

The regiment was called into active operations in the spring of 1777, with the armament commanded by Lieut.-General Burgoyne; it embarked in boats on Lake Champlain, and sailed to Crown Point, where the troops halted three days, and afterwards proceeded against Ticonderago; but the Americans quitted the fort without hazarding the events of a siege. The regiment returned on board of the flotilla, and sailing along the lake, arrived, about three o'clock on the afternoon of the 6th of July, within three miles of Skenesborough, where the Americans had a stockaded fort. The Ninth, Twentieth, and TWENTY-FIRST regiments leaped on shore, and ascended the mountains, to get behind the fort and cut off the retreat of the garrison; but the Americans made a precipitate retreat, and escaped with the loss of a few men made prisoners.

On the 8th of July, the regiment was detached towards Fort Anne, to support the Ninth, who were attacked by an American force of very superior numbers. The enemy was repulsed, and retreated towards Fort Edward.

To follow up these advantages proved a difficult undertaking; trees and other obstacles had to be removed; creeks and marshes had to be crossed; forty bridges had to be constructed; but by great exertion these difficulties were overcome, and on the 30th of July, the army arrived at the bank of the Hudson's River, which was crossed by a bridge of boats on the 13th and 14th of September, and on the 19th the army advanced against the Americans, in position on an island called Still-Water, when a severe action was fought. Lieut.-General Burgoyne stated in his public despatch,—"About three o'clock, the action began by a very vigorous attack on the British line, and was continued with great obstinacy until after sunset; the enemy being constantly supplied with fresh troops. The stress lay upon the Twentieth, TWENTY-FIRST, and Sixty-second regiments, most parts of which were engaged nearly four hours without intermission.... Just as night closed, the enemy gave ground on all sides, and left us completely masters of the field of battle."

Several other actions occurred, and the regiment sustained considerable loss in killed and wounded; among the former were Lieutenants Currie, Mackenzie, Robertson, and Turnbull; and among the latter Captain Ramsay, and Lieutenant Richardson.

The circumstances under which the troops commanded by Lieut.-General Burgoyne eventually became placed, assumed a desperate character; their numbers were reduced to about three thousand five hundred men able to bear arms; they were environed by sixteen thousand Americans; their retreat cut off, and they were short of provisions. Under these accumulated difficulties, they agreed to lay down their arms on condition of being sent to England, and of not serving again in North America during the war. These conditions were, however, violated by the American Congress, and the troops were detained some time in the provinces.

The TWENTY-FIRST regiment having been liberated returned to Europe, and in 1781 it was stationed in Scotland, recruiting its numbers.

At the termination of the American war, in 1782, the regiment was placed on the peace establishment; and in 1783 it proceeded to Ireland.

The regiment remained in Ireland until the spring of 1789, when it embarked from Cork for Nova Scotia, and landing at Halifax, was stationed in the British provinces in North America nearly four years.

Lieut.-General the Honorable Alexander Mackay died in 1789, and the colonelcy of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS was conferred on General the Honorable James Murray, from the Thirteenth regiment.

While the regiment was in North America a revolution took place in France, and republican principles were extended to the French West India islands, where the inhabitants of colour rose in arms against the European settlers, many of whom sought protection from Great Britain. Under these circumstances the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were removed to the West Indies in the spring of 1793.

The French royalists of Martinique sent pressing applications for assistance, and Major-General Bruce, commanding the British troops in the West Indies, was induced to proceed with a small force to their aid. The TWENTY-FIRST were employed on this service; they landed at Caise de Navire on the 14th of June; the other corps landed on the 16th, and eleven hundred British, and eight hundred French loyalists, advanced to attack the town of St. Pierre: but the Royalists were undisciplined; they got into confusion, fired by mistake on one another, and so completely disconcerted the plan of attack, that the English General, not having a force sufficiently numerous for the purpose without them, ordered the British troops to return on board of the fleet.

General Sir Charles (afterwards Earl) Grey assembled a body of troops at Barbadoes, in January, 1794, for the attack of the French islands, and the flank companies of the TWENTY-FIRST were employed on this service. A landing was effected on the island of Martinique in the early part of February, and after some sharp fighting, in which the regiment had several men killed and wounded, this valuable possession was delivered from the power of the republicans.

From Martinique the grenadiers, under Prince Edward (afterwards Duke of Kent), the light infantry, under Major-General Dundas, and three other corps, embarked on the 30th of March for St. Lucia, where they arrived on the 1st of April, and the conquest of that fine island was completed in three days.

The flank companies of the TWENTY-FIRST were afterwards employed in the reduction of the island of Guadaloupe. A determined resistance was made by the enemy; but the island was captured before the end of April. The regiment had several men killed and wounded; Captain Macdonald was also wounded on the 12th of April.

After the reduction of Guadaloupe, the flank companies of the regiment were removed to Antigua.

The loss of so many valuable colonial possessions was not regarded with indifference by the republican government of France, and in June a French armament arrived at Guadaloupe for the recovery of that island. The negroes and other men of colour flocked to the standard of republicanism; they were instantly armed and clad in uniforms; the doctrines of liberty and equality were disseminated among this motley crowd, which led to a frightful catalogue of crime and bloodshed. The flank companies of the TWENTY-FIRST were called from Antigua to aid in the defence of Guadaloupe; they arrived on the 10th of June in the Winchelsea ship of war, landed on the 19th, at Ance Canot, and were engaged in several arduous services, in which Lieutenants Harry Foley Price, Samuel Knollis, and J. S. Colepeper were wounded; also several private soldiers killed and wounded: but the British troops were not sufficiently numerous to contend with the republican forces.

Lieut.-Colonel Colin Graham of the TWENTY-FIRST was appointed to the command of the troops in Basse Terre, and he defended Beville camp until the 6th of October, when he was forced to surrender, his force having become reduced to one hundred and twenty-five rank and file fit for duty.

Three companies of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were engaged in the defence of Fort Matilda, under Lieut.-General Prescott, and the garrison made a resolute resistance, until the place became so much injured by the enemy's fire that it was not tenable, when it was evacuated during the night of the 10th of December. One company of the TWENTY-FIRST occupied the rampart,—the light company, under Lieutenant William Paterson, was stationed on the right of the breach, and the third company, under Captain Mackay, was posted along the Gallion river; they thus covered the embarkation of the garrison and stores, and afterwards retired on board of the fleet. The three companies were reduced by casualties to one captain, three lieutenants, six serjeants, and ninety-two rank and file. Lieut.-General Prescott stated in his despatch,—"During the whole progress of this long and painful siege, the officers and men under my command have conducted themselves in such a manner as to deserve my warmest praise; bearing their hardships with the utmost patience, and performing their duty with alacrity."

General the Honorable James Murray died in this year, and King George III. nominated Major-General James Hamilton from the Fifteenth regiment, to the colonelcy of the TWENTY-FIRST FUSILIERS.

In addition to the casualties in action, the regiment also sustained, during its services in the West Indies, severe loss from the yellow fever, and in 1796 it returned to England much reduced in numbers; it landed at Portsmouth, and proceeded from thence to Scotland, where it commenced active measures for completing its ranks with recruits.

The regiment occupied various stations in Scotland until June, 1800, when it embarked from Portpatrick for Ireland, where its numbers were increased to eight hundred rank and file by volunteers from the Scots fencible regiments then in that country.

In October of the same year, the regiment marched to Enniskillen, where it was quartered nearly two years, during which time its numbers were increased to a thousand men by recruits. The good conduct of the regiment, during its stay at this place, occasioned it to stand very high in the estimation of the inhabitants; and on its removal, in 1802, a hundred gentlemen and respectable persons sent a memorial to the Commander-in-chief, requesting that it might be again quartered at Enniskillen, and offered to defray the expense of removal.

On the 15th of July, 1802, the regiment arrived at Londonderry, where its establishment was reduced in consequence of the peace of Amiens having been concluded with France.

From Londonderry the regiment was removed to Dublin, in February, 1803; its establishment was again augmented in the summer of this year after the renewal of hostilities with France.

An alarming insurrectionary spirit was manifested at Dublin in the summer of this year; and on the evening of the 23rd of July an immense number of persons assembled with fire-arms and pikes, dragged the Lord Chief-Justice, Viscount Kilwarden, out of his carriage, and murdered him; also wounded his nephew, the Rev. Richard Wolfe, and committed numerous other acts of outrage and violence. At this period the regiment was quartered in Cork Street, Thomas Street, and Coombe Barracks, and it quickly assembled to suppress the riots. Lieut.-Colonel Brown was murdered by the insurgents as he was proceeding from his quarters to head the regiment. The command devolved on Major Robertson, under whose orders the regiment was actively employed in restoring tranquillity, in which service it had twelve men killed and wounded. The regiment received the thanks and approbation of the Commander-in-chief in Ireland, Lieut.-General the Honorable H. E. Fox, for its conduct on this occasion. Also the thanks of the city of Dublin. Lieutenant Douglas, who commanded the light company, and Adjutant Brady, particularly distinguished themselves, and were each presented with a piece of plate by the city of Dublin, accompanied with the expression of the gratitude and admiration of the citizens, for their gallant exertions.

On the decease of General Hamilton, in this year, he was succeeded in the colonelcy by General the Honorable William Gordon, from the Seventy-first regiment.

Leaving Dublin in July, 1804, the regiment proceeded to Loughrea.

Napoleon Bonaparte, whom the French had elevated to the dignity of Emperor, having made preparations for the invasion of England, his menace was met by a meritorious display of loyalty and patriotism by the British people, who armed to repel the threatened invasion. Among the precautionary measures adopted at this period, an "Additional Force Act" received the Royal Assent in July, 1804. The men raised for limited service, under the provisions of this Act, in the counties of Ayr and Renfrew, were added to the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS, and were formed into a second battalion, which was embodied at Ayr, and placed on the establishment of the army on the 25th of December, 1804.

On the 30th of April, 1805, the first battalion embarked from Monkstown for England; it landed at Portsmouth, and was subsequently encamped at Weymouth, where several corps were assembled, and were repeatedly reviewed by the King, and other members of the Royal Family, who expressed their high approbation of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS on every occasion on which the corps appeared before them. In the autumn the battalion marched to Lewes.

From Lewes the first battalion marched to London, in January, 1806, to attend the funeral of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson, who was killed at the battle of Trafalgar, where the British navy gained a decisive victory over the combined fleets of France and Spain. The remains of this highly distinguished naval commander were honored with a public funeral, which was conducted with great state. The interment took place on the 9th of January, in St. Paul's Cathedral: the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS afterwards marched to Colchester.

At this period the French arms were triumphant in Germany; and the Court of Naples having displeased the Emperor Napoleon, the Neapolitan territory was seized by the armies of France, and Joseph Bonaparte was proclaimed King of Naples. The British preserved the island of Sicily in the interest of the dethroned family: and in April the first battalion of the TWENTY-FIRST embarked from Tilbury for Sicily, and landed at Messina on the 26th of July.

On the 15th of August the second battalion embarked from Portpatrick for Ireland, where it was stationed during the following five years.

The Court of the Grand Seignior having become involved in hostilities with Great Britain, the first battalion embarked from Sicily on the 17th of May, 1807, and joined the expedition to Egypt under Major-General Alexander Mackenzie Fraser. The battalion landed at Alexandria, and marched to the camp at Aboukir. Peace having been concluded with the Turks, the battalion returned to Sicily, where it arrived in October.

The first battalion occupied quarters in Sicily during the year 1808.

In June, 1809, Lieut.-General Sir John Stuart, commanding in chief in the Mediterranean, resolved to menace the capital and kingdom of Naples, as a diversion in favour of the Austrians, who were contending against numerous difficulties in their war with France. The flank companies of the TWENTY-FIRST were employed on this service; and after menacing a considerable extent of coast, which produced much alarm, the romantic and fruitful island of Ischia, celebrated for the beauty of its scenery, and situate in the Bay of Naples, about six miles from the coast, was attacked. A landing was effected in the face of a formidable line of batteries, from which the enemy was speedily driven; Lieut. Cameron of the TWENTY-FIRST, who was attached to the British flotilla, attacked the enemy's gun-boats with great gallantry, and captured twenty-four of their number; but was mortally wounded at the moment of victory. The siege of the castle was undertaken, and in a few days the garrison was forced to surrender. The island of Procida surrendered on being summoned. Two valuable islands were thus rescued from the power of General Murat, whom the Emperor Napoleon had nominated King of Naples, in succession to Joseph Bonaparte, upon whom the Emperor had conferred the crown of Spain; and one thousand five hundred regular troops, with one hundred pieces of ordnance, were captured.

An attempt was, at this period, made to reduce the castle of Scylla; but the large force, which the enemy possessed in Calabria, rendered this impracticable. The battalion companies of the regiment were employed in this service, and had Captain Hunter killed, eight rank and file killed and wounded.

A detachment of the regiment was sent, at the request of the inhabitants, to the town of Valmi, for the protection of the place; but was intercepted by the enemy, and Captains Mackay and Conran, Lieutenants M'Nab and Mackay, four serjeants, two drummers, and seventy-six rank and file, were made prisoners.

In the summer of 1810, General Murat assembled upwards of one hundred heavy gun-boats, a number of others more lightly armed, and about four hundred transport-boats, and brought thirty thousand troops to the coast of Calabria for the purpose of invading Sicily. The ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were employed on the coast watching the approach of the enemy, and were at the alarm-post, under arms, every morning, two hours before daylight, for several months. During a dark night between the 17th and 18th of September, four thousand men, under General Cavaignac, made good their passage, and commenced landing about seven miles to the southward of Messina. The alarm being given, the TWENTY-FIRST regiment, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Adam (now General the Right Honorable Sir Frederick Adam, G.C.B., Colonel of the TWENTY-FIRST ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS), hurried to the spot, accompanied by two field-pieces which were attached to the regiment, and prevented several of the boats from reaching the shore: as the boats were retiring, a few of them were sunk by the fire of the field-pieces. The regiment next turned towards that portion of the enemy which had landed, and had taken post on two hills. The flankers were thrown out, and a fire of musketry was kept up until daylight, when the enemy, being cut off from the boats and surrounded, surrendered prisoners of war, delivering up one stand of colours. The prisoners, amounting to about one thousand officers and soldiers, were marched to Messina. This repulse, with the destruction of many of the enemy's gun-boats, by the British and Sicilian flotillas, disconcerted the plans of Murat, and no further attempts were made against Sicily.

In September, 1811, the second battalion embarked from Belfast for Scotland; and in this year it sent a strong detachment, with a number of volunteers from the militia, to Sicily, which increased the strength of the first battalion to twelve hundred rank and file.

Meanwhile the British army, commanded by Lord Wellington, now Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington, was fighting the battle of Spanish and Portuguese independence in the Peninsula; and in November, 1812, the grenadier company of the TWENTY-FIRST FUSILIERS proceeded, with the grenadier battalion, to the eastern coast of Spain, to take part in the war. It arrived at Alicant, on the 2nd of December; but circumstances occurred soon afterwards, which occasioned its return to Sicily, where it arrived in the spring of 1813.

Two companies proceeded, in 1813, to the island of Ponza; and in the same year, a strong detachment, commanded by Captain Renny, joined from the second battalion.

The brilliant success of the British troops in the Peninsula, and of the armies of the Allied Sovereigns on the Continent of Europe, was followed by the embarkation of a body of troops for Italy, under Lieut.-General Lord William Bentinck and Major-General H. T. Montresor. The TWENTY-FIRST regiment embarked for this service, in February, 1814, under Major Whitaker (Colonel Paterson commanding a brigade), and landed at Leghorn on the 13th of March; on the 23rd it marched to Pisa, and on the 25th to Lucca. In April, the battalion advanced upon Genoa; on the 12th of that month, the enemy was driven from Mount Facia and Nervi, and the British took post at Sturla. On the 17th of April, at daybreak, the French position in front of Genoa was attacked, the enemy was driven from the strong position he occupied, and afterwards evacuated the town, which was taken possession of on the 19th of April, by the TWENTY-FIRST, and other corps. The regiment had Lieutenant Sabine wounded; one serjeant and fourteen rank and file killed and wounded.

In the meantime the second battalion had been withdrawn from Scotland, to take part in the war on the Continent; it embarked from Fort George, on the 30th of December, 1813, landed in Holland on the 10th of January, 1814, and was employed in the attack of Bergen-op-Zoom, on the night of the 8th of March. One portion of the battalion formed part of the third column, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Robert Henry, of the TWENTY-FIRST, who was directed to draw the enemy's attention by an attack near Steenbergen gate; the flank companies were attached to the fourth column, under Brigadier-General Gore. Some severe fighting took place, and advantages were gained in the first instance; but the attack failed, and a number of officers and men, who had penetrated the works, were forced to surrender prisoners of war. The battalion had a number of men killed and wounded on this occasion; Lieutenant John Bulteel died of his wounds; Lieut.-Colonel Henry, Captains Durrah and Donald Mackenzie, Lieutenants the Honorable F. Morris, H. Pigou, D. Moody, D. Rankin, and Sir William Crosby, were wounded. Hostilities were soon afterwards terminated; Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated the throne of France; and in September the second battalion embarked from Ostend for England; it landed at Deal, and in October embarked from Gravesend for Scotland, where it arrived in the beginning of November, and landed at Leith.

The war in Europe having terminated, the first battalion of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS was selected to proceed to America, in consequence of Great Britain having become involved in war with the United States; it embarked from Genoa on the 12th of May, and arrived at Gibraltar on the 7th of June; and on the 11th, sailed with the Twenty-ninth and Sixty-second regiments, for the West Indies, where it joined the corps under Major-General Robert Ross. The fleet, with the troops on board, sailed from Bermuda on the 3rd of August, and proceeded to the Bay of Chesapeake, when the American flotilla fled for refuge up the Patuxent river. To ensure the capture or destruction of this flotilla, the troops landed at the village of St. Benedict, from whence they advanced to the delightful village of Upper Marlborough, when the Americans destroyed their flotilla to prevent its falling into the hands of the British. The object of the expedition had thus been accomplished; but the army had advanced within sixteen miles of Washington, and the enemy's force was ascertained to be such as would authorise an attempt to carry the capital. The troops accordingly advanced on the 23rd of August; routed some detachments on the road, and encountering the American army under General Winder, at the village of Bladensburg, gained a decisive victory over a force more than twice their own numbers, and occupying a position deliberately chosen. The light company of the regiment distinguished itself on this occasion; it had two men killed; Captain Robert Rennie, Lieutenant James Grace, and eleven rank and file wounded.

Advancing from the field of battle, the regiment moved towards Washington, and was the first corps which entered that city; it was fired upon by the Americans, and had sixty-eight men killed and wounded; but all resistance was soon overcome: the arsenal, docks, and other public property were set on fire, and the conflagration of burning buildings illuminated the sky during the night, while the exploding magazines shook the city, and threw down houses in their vicinity. Having completed this service, the British troops marched back to St. Benedict, and re-embarked on board of the fleet.

Early on the morning of the 12th of September, the troops landed at North Point, and advancing towards Baltimore, a division of Americans fled from an entrenched position which they were preparing across a neck of land. Continuing to advance, the troops entered a closely wooded country, where they encountered a party of Americans, and Major-General Robert Ross, mixing among the skirmishers, was mortally wounded,[8] when the command of the army devolved on Colonel Brooke.

Six thousand Americans, with six pieces of artillery and a corps of cavalry, were discovered in position in Godly wood. The light brigade extended and drove in the American skirmishers; the Forty-fourth, a party of Marines, and a body of seamen from the fleet, formed line behind the light infantry; the TWENTY-FIRST, commanded by Major Whitaker, (Colonel Paterson commanding a brigade,) and the second battalion of Marines, formed column in reserve, and the Fourth regiment made a flank movement to turn the enemy's left. The signal was given, the British troops rushed to the attack, and in fifteen minutes the American army was driven from the field with severe loss.

The regiment had Lieutenant James Gracie and fifteen rank and file killed; Major Robert Kenny, Lieutenant John Leavock, two serjeants, and seventy-seven rank and file wounded.

Colonel Paterson was commended in the public despatch, for the steady manner in which he brought the brigade into action.

At two o'clock on the following morning the march was resumed, and in the evening the troops arrived at the foot of the range of hills in front of Baltimore, where fifteen thousand Americans occupied a chain of palisaded redoubts, connected by breastworks, and defended by a numerous artillery. Trusting to the innate valour of his little army, which did not amount to one-third of the numbers of the enemy, Colonel Brooke made preparations for storming the hills after dark; but having received intimation from the fleet, that the entrance of the harbour was closed up by vessels sunk for that purpose, and that a naval co-operation against the town and camp was impracticable, the enterprise was abandoned. The troops retreated three miles on the following day, and then halted to see if the Americans would venture to descend from the hills; but, though so superior in numbers, they had no disposition to quit their works; and the British returned on board the fleet.

The season for active operations having passed, the fleet quitted the American coast, and the TWENTY-FIRST proceeded to Jamaica, where they were joined by a strong detachment from the second battalion, commanded by Major Alexander James Ross.

An attempt on New Orleans was afterwards resolved upon. The fleet again put to sea, and on the 10th of December anchored off the coast of Louisiana, opposite the Chandeleur Islands, from whence the troops were removed in boats to Pine Island, in Lake Borgne, where they were stationed, exposed to heavy rain by day and frosts by night, until the 22nd of December, when the first division proceeded in open boats to a desert spot about eight miles from New Orleans, where the regiments landed, and marched to a field on the banks of the Mississippi. The TWENTY-FIRST followed, and arrived in time to take part in repulsing a night attack of a very superior force of Americans, when the regiment had Captain William Conran and two rank and file killed; one serjeant, two drummers, and eight rank and file wounded; two men missing.

The army afterwards moved forward, but encountered many local difficulties. The Americans assembled a numerous force, in extensive fortified lines and batteries, with armed vessels on the river: the advance was checked, and some loss sustained. The ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS had Lieutenant John Leavock wounded; also several men killed and wounded.

Arrangements were made for attacking the enemy's fortified lines on the 8th of January, 1815, and the TWENTY-FIRST were appointed to take part in this service: several circumstances occurred to delay the attack, which was made under numerous disadvantages. The troops, however, rushed forward with great gallantry, and a detachment of the Fourth, TWENTY-FIRST, and Ninety-fifth (now Rifle-Brigade), captured a battery; but the troops were exposed to a dreadful fire, which brought them down by hundreds. Major-General the Honorable Sir Edward Pakenham was killed; Major-Generals Gibbs and Keane were dangerously wounded; and success being found impracticable, the surviving officers and men withdrew from the unequal contest. Many officers and soldiers, who had been foremost in the attack, were made prisoners.

Major J. A. Whitaker, Captain Robert Renny (Lieut.-Colonel), Lieutenant Donald M^cDonald, two serjeants, and sixty-five rank and file of the TWENTY-FIRST, were killed; Colonel William Paterson, Major Alexander James Ross, Lieutenants John Waters and Alexander Geddes, six serjeants, and one hundred and forty-four rank and file wounded; Lieutenants James Brady, Ralph Carr, and Peter Quin wounded and taken prisoners; Major James M^cHaffie, Captain Archibald Kidd, Lieutenants James Stewart, Alexander Armstrong, John Leavock, and J. S. M. Fonblanque, eight serjeants, two drummers, and two hundred and seventeen rank and file, prisoners: total loss, 451 officers and soldiers.

The capture of New Orleans appearing to be impracticable, the troops returned on board of the fleet. Fort Bowyer was afterwards captured, but hostilities were terminated by a treaty of peace, and the regiment returned to the West Indies, from whence Major Pringle sailed for England, on leave of absence, and the command devolved on Major Quin.

After a short stay at Bermuda, the regiment sailed for Europe; it arrived at Portsmouth in May, and afterwards sailed to Cork, where it landed in June.

In the spring of this year Bonaparte had returned to France and gained temporary possession of that kingdom: but his numerous veteran legions were overpowered by British valour at Waterloo on the 18th of June. The British army had, however, sustained severe loss, and the first battalion was selected to proceed to the Continent. It embarked from Monkstown on the 5th of July, landed at Ostend on the 17th, and proceeding up the country under Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell, joined the army, commanded by Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington, at Paris.

Having been appointed to remain on the Continent, and to form part of the Army of Occupation in France, the regiment marched to Compiègne, and occupied several villages in the neighbourhood of that place, where it was joined, on the 9th of January, 1816, by a detachment from the second battalion.

On the 13th of January, 1816, the second battalion was disbanded at Stirling; transferring the men fit for duty to the first battalion.

Towards the end of January, the regiment was removed to Valenciennes, and in October was reviewed, with the Army of Occupation, by Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington.

On the death of General the Honorable William Gordon, Lieut.-General James Lord Forbes was appointed Colonel of the regiment, from the Fifty-fourth foot, by commission dated the 1st of June, 1816.

A considerable reduction being made in the British contingent of the Army of Occupation, the regiment proceeded to Calais, where it embarked for England, and landed at Harwich on the 2nd of April, 1817.

In May, 1818, the regiment marched to Portsmouth.

In June, the officers were authorised to wear a long coat, of a pattern approved of by His Royal Highness the Duke of York.

The regiment embarked from Portsmouth, in March, 1819, for the West Indies, when Lieut.-Colonel Nooth, C.B., received the following communication from Major-General Lord Howard of Effingham, then commanding at Portsmouth, and Lieutenant-Governor of that fortress: "I am not in the habit of giving out orders of thanks to regiments on quitting my district, because these things are apt to degenerate so much into words of course, that they lose any value they might otherwise possess; my orders likewise to corps on their half-yearly inspections enable me to convey to them my opinion on their state of discipline, &c.; but I cannot, however, allow the TWENTY-FIRST regiment, under your command, to embark without expressing the sense I have of the good conduct of the regiment since it has been under my orders, and that its interior discipline, mode of doing duty, and external appearance, have been such as to merit my perfect approbation, and amply testify the strict attention paid by you to those under your command,—that you are properly supported by the officers and non-commissioned officers, in their respective stations, in carrying into effect the regulations of the service." His Lordship was also pleased to express his admiration of the conduct of the corps on the day of embarkation, adding,—"The regiment is more like one parading for inspection or review, than for embarkation for the West Indies."

The regiment landed at Barbadoes in April, without a single casualty, and was inspected by Lieut.-General Lord Combermere, who requested Major Meyrick to return the officers his lordship's thanks, for the very great attention they must have paid to those under their orders, to have brought them to the very high state of discipline in which his lordship found them.

In September, 1820, a detachment of one hundred rank and file proceeded to Tobago, where it remained until January, 1821, during which period it lost four officers and thirty-seven men by an epidemic disease.

The regiment left Barbadoes in March, 1821, when seven companies proceeded to Demerara, under Major Leahy, and three to Berbice, under Major Champion. Previous to its quitting Barbadoes, Major-General Mainwaring expressed in orders, "the high sense he entertained of the zeal and ability of Major Leahy, of the steady conduct of the officers and non-commissioned officers, and of the good and orderly behaviour of the men."

In August, the regiment sustained a severe loss in the death of Lieut.-Colonel John M. Nooth, C.B.: he was succeeded in the command by Lieut.-Colonel John Thomas Leahy.