Spain having united with France in the war against Great Britain, orders were issued to attack the Spanish possessions in the West Indies, and in the early part of February, 1797, the Fourteenth Regiment proceeded to Cariacou, where an expedition was assembled to attack the island of Trinidad. On the morning of the 15th of February the fleet sailed on the enterprise, and as it anchored near the shores of Trinidad, the Spaniards became conscious of their inability to resist, and set fire to their naval force in the harbour. The troops landed on the 17th of February, and the Spaniards immediately surrendered, delivering up the island.

From Trinidad the regiment proceed to Martinique, where it was stationed several weeks.

Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby assembled a small force, in the beginning of April, for the attack of the Spanish island of Porto Rico, and the Fourteenth were withdrawn from Martinique to take part in the enterprise. The fleet entered a narrow channel three leagues eastward of the town, and the troops landed on the 18th of April; but met with great opposition by a heavy fire of musketry from the Spaniards, who were lodged behind a breastwork on the beach. The Fourteenth were in flat-bottomed boats, pulled by the Lascars of the Indiamen in which they had been conveyed. The impetuosity of the men could not bear delay; but, leaping out of the boats, and wading ashore, they soon drove the enemy from their position, at the point of the bayonet. Lieutenant-Colonel Burnett was ordered to pursue, with all possible speed, to endeavour to get possession of the bridge which led over the river between the town and the beach. So closely were the enemy pursued by the Fourteenth, and particularly by the Light Company, that many threw away their arms and accoutrements, and fairly ran for it: they succeeded in gaining the bridge; and, as soon as the men of the Fourteenth approached the tête-de-pont, the Spaniards blew up the bridge at the moment when many of their own people were crossing it. The destruction of the bridge obliged the Commander-in-Chief, Sir Ralph Abercromby, to change his plan, which had, originally, been to take the town by a coup-de-main. The next day, therefore, the army began to erect batteries. The second day after their completion, the enemy kept up such an incessant fire, that they succeeded in dismounting two of the guns of one of the batteries, and otherwise seriously injuring the works. A strong party was, therefore, ordered out at night to repair the damage: this party consisted of three hundred and fifty men, under the command of Captain Powell, afterwards Lieutenant-Colonel and Major of the regiment, of which number one hundred and fifty were to be employed in the trenches, and two hundred were placed at some distance from the battery to act as a covering party. The same night Major Ronald Hamilton, of the Fourteenth, made an attempt to ford the river, with a view of ascertaining if it were fordable for infantry; but, being discovered, he was fired upon by an advanced sentry. This creating some alarm, caused an irregular fire of musketry to be carried on all night. Under cover of this, and of the darkness, a party of five hundred Spaniards contrived to cross the river higher up, and then descending along its edge, secreted themselves among the brushwood between the river and the battery. At dawn of day a serjeant and twelve men of the Fourteenth, who had been on piquet in the bushes, were called in, and, at the very same moment, as if by magic, the whole party of Spaniards rushed, in one dense mass, into the battery.

Sir Ralph Abercromby, Colonel Hope, the Adjutant-General, (afterwards Lord Niddry) Colonel Maitland, with the whole staff of the Commander-in-Chief, had arrived, about an hour before, to inspect the work, and were at the moment in the battery. The sudden inrush of the Spaniards created surprise; and the increased number of persons thus in the battery produced great confusion. The only British who had arms were the twelve men from the piquet; but all the Spaniards were provided with bayonets, or short swords, evidently intended for the butchery of the whole working party. For a short time it seemed as if they were to be utterly at the mercy of the enemy; but, soon recovering themselves, they fell to work with good will with shovels, pickaxes, and other implements of labour, and that with such terrible effect, that every Spaniard was either killed, or taken prisoner, before the covering party could arrive to assist their comrades. The working party had five men killed, and seventeen wounded. Captain Powell, and Lieutenants Gibson and Wren, received thanks in general orders[13].

From Porto Rico the regiment again proceeded to Martinique, where it was stationed upwards of three years.

Towards the end of the year 1800, the regiment relieved the Seventieth Foot at Trinidad.

On the conclusion of the treaty of Amiens in 1802, Great Britain gave up the captured possessions of France, Spain, and Holland. The Fourteenth were relieved from duty in the West Indies in April, 1803, and returning to England, landed at Gosport, from whence they marched to Winchester, under Captain Graves, who had performed the duty of commanding officer nearly twelve months.

Previously to the arrival of the regiment in England, the short respite from the horrors of war, granted by the treaty of Amiens, had terminated; the ambitious designs of Bonaparte, First Consul of France, had involved Great Britain in another contest, and orders had been issued for augmenting the regular army. Every effort was made to complete the establishment of the Fourteenth Foot, which was attended with great success, and when Bonaparte assembled an army for the invasion of England, the regiment marched to Silver Hill Barracks, and afterwards to Winchelsea, where it was held in readiness to repel the legions of France, had they ventured to land on the British coast. At this momentous period the measures of the government were nobly seconded by the people; a patriotic enthusiasm pervaded the country; and the attitude the nation assumed, with the strength and energy it evinced, while breathing defiance to the gigantic military power by which it was menaced, left no room for doubt respecting the result of the contest had the French army attempted to carry into effect the threats of its leader.

In 1804 the French army remained inactive at Boulogne, and Great Britain preserved an attitude of defence. In the autumn of this year a second battalion was added to the Fourteenth Regiment.

The first battalion remained on the Sussex coast in readiness for active service whenever it might be required. In the mean time the French nation had conferred on its First Consul, Bonaparte, the dignity of Emperor, and he was also crowned King of Italy. In the autumn Napoleon reviewed his army at Boulogne, and afterwards marched against the forces of Russia and Austria, to crush the coalition forming against his interests in Germany. At this period the French troops were withdrawn from Hanover, which country they seized on resuming hostilities in 1803. Towards the end of October, the first battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment embarked for Hanover, where a body of British troops was assembled under Lieutenant-General Lord Cathcart. The defeat of the Austrians and Russians at Austerlitz, established the preponderance of the French power on the continent for a short period, and in the treaty concluded at Vienna soon afterwards, it was stipulated that Hanover should be occupied by the Prussians. Under these circumstances the troops under Lord Cathcart returned to England.

The first battalion landed from Hanover in February, 1806, and was quartered in Kent.

On the decease of General Hotham, King George III. conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on Major-General Sir Harry Calvert, from the Fifth West India Regiment, by commission dated the 8th of February, 1806.

In this year the second battalion proceeded to Ireland.

The first battalion was encamped at Shorncliffe, where it was formed in brigade with the Ninth and Ninety-first Foot, under Major-General Rowland Hill, (afterwards General Lord Hill); this brigade was reviewed with the Forty-third Regiment by His Royal Highness the Duke of York, who expressed his high approbation of the appearance and discipline of the several corps. In December the first battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment proceeded to Ireland.

After remaining in Ireland five months the first battalion returned to England, and in June, 1807, it embarked under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel James Watson, for the East Indies, where it arrived in November of the same year, and landed at Fort St. George, Madras.

The influence of French councils at the court of Denmark, had involved that country in hostilities with Great Britain, and in the beginning of 1808 the first battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment sailed from Madras with the expedition against the Danish settlement of Tranquebar, situate at one of the mouths of the Caveri river, in the Carnatic, which surrendered to the British arms on the 8th of February, when Lieutenant Colonel Watson, with the head quarters, returned to Madras, and shortly afterwards to Bengal.

In the mean time important events had occurred in Europe, which called the second battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment into active service. After reducing Germany to submission to his will, and forcing Russia to accede to his decrees, Napoleon was prompted by his restless ambition to attempt the subjugation of Spain and Portugal. The Spaniards and Portuguese rose in arms to assert their national rights, and in the summer of 1808 Portugal was delivered by a British army under Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley. In the autumn Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore received orders to advance with a body of British troops from Portugal, into the heart of Spain, at the same time several regiments were sent from the United Kingdom to co-operate in this enterprise. The second battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Jasper Nicolls, embarked from Cork for Spain, and landed at Corunna, forming part of the force under Lieutenant-General Sir David Baird. Advancing up the country, the British troops encountered many difficulties and privations, and the Spanish armies, with which they were directed to co-operate, were defeated and dispersed by the legions of Napoleon, who had three hundred thousand men in Spain. To confront this host of veterans, the British general had not twenty-five thousand men; yet, with that intrepidity for which he was always distinguished, he advanced and menaced the enemy's lines. Sir David Baird's division joined the troops under Sir John Moore on the 20th of December, at Majorga, from whence the army advanced to Sahagun, and preparations were made for attacking the French troops under Marshal Soult; but information being received that Napoleon was advancing at the head of an overwhelming force, the army retreated towards the coast. In this retrograde movement of two hundred and fifty miles, along roads covered with snow, over rivers and mountains, and along narrow defiles, the troops endured privation and suffering of various kinds; but the ability of their commander was conspicuous, and the army arrived, unbroken, at Corunna, in January, 1809. The soldiers obtained shelter, food, and repose in the town and neighbouring villages, and their wasted strength was recruited while they waited the arrival of shipping to transport them to England.

The French army under Marshal Soult approaching, the British troops formed for battle on a range of heights in front of Corunna; the Fourteenth were formed in brigade with the Second, Fifth, and Thirty-second Regiments, under Major-General (afterwards Lord) Hill, and were posted towards the left of the position. On the 16th of January the French troops descended the mountains and attacked the British position in three columns; the first column carried the village of Elvina; then dividing, attempted to turn the right of Lieutenant-General Sir David Baird's division by the valley, and to break its front; the second column advanced against the British centre, and the third attacked the left at the village of Palavia Abaxo. The furious onsets of the enemy were met and repulsed with a firmness and determination which proved the unconquerable spirit and excellent discipline of the British troops. The enemy finding his efforts unavailing on the right and centre, determined to render the attack on the left more serious, and succeeded in obtaining possession of Palavia Abaxo, the village through which the great road to Madrid passes, and which was situate in front of that part of the line; from this post the French were, however, soon expelled, by a very gallant attack of some companies of the second battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Nicolls[14]. The enemy was repulsed at all points, and the lustre of the British arms shone with peculiar brilliance amidst the most disadvantageous circumstances; but the army sustained the loss of its gallant commander, Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore, who was mortally wounded during the engagement.

Having defeated a French army of superior numbers, the British troops withdrew on board the fleet. Major-General Hill's brigade took up a position near the ramparts, leaving the piquets to keep up the bivouac fires, to cover the embarkation, which was completed with little loss, and the army returned to England.

The distinguished conduct of the Fourteenth Foot was afterwards rewarded with the royal authority to bear the word "Corunna" on the colours of the regiment.

The second battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment landed at Portsmouth and Plymouth, from whence it proceeded to Buckingham; and while stationed at that place, the county title of the regiment was changed from "Bedfordshire" to "Buckinghamshire."

In the summer of this year a very powerful armament was fitted out and placed under the orders of General the Earl of Chatham, for an attack on Holland, and the second battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment marched from Buckingham to Portsmouth, where it embarked on this enterprise under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Nicolls. In the beginning of August it landed on the island of Walcheren, situate in the German Ocean, near the mouth of the Scheldt, and was employed in the siege of Flushing, the principal port on the island. During the progress of the siege, the Fourteenth evinced the same ardour and contempt of danger for which they were distinguished at the battle of Corunna. On the evening of the 12th of August they were directed to storm one of the Dutch entrenchments in front of the position occupied by the troops under Major-General Graham, and a detachment of the King's German Legion co-operated in the attack. Lieutenant-Colonel Nicolls led the Fourteenth to the assault with great gallantry, and the soldiers rushed forward with so much spirit and resolution that they carried the entrenchments in a few minutes, capturing one gun and thirteen prisoners, and establishing a lodgment within musket-shot of the walls of the town. This was accomplished with the loss of Ensign C. Harold, and one private soldier, killed; four rank and file wounded.

On the following day the line of battle ships cannonaded the town, which was soon in flames, presenting an awful scene of destruction; in the evening one of the batteries was stormed by the Thirty-sixth, Seventy-first, and light battalion of the King's German Legion, and on the morning of the 15th of August the garrison surrendered.

The Fourteenth were thanked in general orders for their distinguished conduct.

Embarking from Flushing, the battalion was prepared to sail up the river Scheldt for an attack on Antwerp; but the delays which took place, gave the enemy time to prepare additional means of defence, and an epidemic disease of a fatal character breaking out among the troops, the enterprise was abandoned, and the Fourteenth returned to England, and were quartered at Steyning.

The unhealthy climate of Walcheren produced a serious loss of life among the troops left on that island, and the soldiers of the Fourteenth having recovered from the effects of the epidemic, embarked a second time for that station; they formed part of the covering brigade when the stores, sick soldiers, &c., were removed, on the final evacuation of that island.

In March, 1810, the second battalion embarked for Malta, but on arriving at Gibraltar, it was ordered to land at that fortress, and two companies, under Captain Everard and Captain Ramsay, were detached to Tariffa, for the defence of that town against the French: the two companies returned to Gibraltar in June, and the battalion continued its voyage to Malta, where it arrived on the 23rd of that month.

In the autumn of this year the first battalion was withdrawn from Bengal, to take part in the reduction of the Isle of France, or the Mauritius, an important island belonging to France, and situate in the Indian sea. The battalion sailed to Rodriguez, which was the appointed rendezvous of the expedition, and on the 28th of November the fleet came in sight of the Isle of France. The troops landed in the bay of Mapou, and advanced through a thick wood, skirmishing occasionally with the French. On diverging into the open country, the British marched direct upon Port Louis, but the soldiers suffering much from the want of water, the army halted at the streams at the powder mills, five miles from the town. Resuming the march on the following day, the troops were opposed by the enemy in force, when some sharp fighting occurred, in which the British soldiers were triumphant. The Fourteenth had one man killed, and two wounded, on this occasion.

Having overcome all opposition, the British continued their march, and took post in front of the enemy's lines before the town. On the following morning the governor, General de Caen, agreed to surrender the place to the British troops, under Major-General John Abercromby. This valuable island was thus added to the possessions of the British crown, and the Fourteenth were thanked in orders for their conduct on this service.

After the capture of the Isle of France, the first battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment proceeded to Madras, where it was stationed several weeks.

In January, 1811, the flank companies of the second battalion proceeded from Malta, to the island of Sicily, under the orders of Captain Ramsay and Captain Light, to serve under Major-General Lord William Bentinck.

After the capture of the Isle of France, the British government resolved to complete its dominion in the East, by the conquest of the island of Java, of which the Dutch had held undisturbed possession for more than one hundred years. The extent of the island,—six hundred and forty miles long, and about a hundred broad; the luxuriant and fertile character of the soil, the mountain districts yielding the vegetables and grain of Europe, and the plains the delicious fruits and other valuable productions of the East in abundance, without the necessity of laborious tillage, and to so great an extent as to occasion it to be sometimes called the granary of the East; rendered the island of Java a valuable acquisition to the United Provinces, and its principal city, Batavia, was the capital of the Dutch settlements in the East Indies. Holland having become a part of that empire which Napoleon was forming to prepare the way for universal dominion, it became necessary to deprive the Dutch of the large and fertile island of Java, and a body of troops was placed under the orders of Lieutenant-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty for that purpose. In this enterprise the first battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment was employed, and the greater part of the officers and men were re-embarked in March on board of the men-of-war ordered to cruise off the island, in which service they had various opportunities of distinguishing themselves, in destroying gun-boats, and in other enterprises on the coast. On one occasion Lieutenant Gillman, who commanded a party on board the boats of His Majesty's ship "Sir Francis Drake," was killed. The conduct of a detachment under Lieutenant J. H. Heyland, embarked in the sloop "Procris," engaged in the boarding of some of the enemy's gun-boats, was highly commended in the public despatch of Captain Maunsell, R.N.

Detachments consisting of the Fourteenth and Eighty-ninth Regiments, Royal Marines, and seamen, were landed from His Majesty's ship "Minden," near Bantam, on the coast of Java, and, in two contests, defeated five hundred of the enemy's chosen troops, which had been sent to Batavia to attack them. Captain Watson, Lieutenants Rochfort, McLean, and L'Estrange, and Ensign Jennings, of the Fourteenth, and Lieutenant Dunscombe of the Eighty-ninth, particularly distinguished themselves on these occasions.

The head-quarters sailed from Madras on the 18th of April, 1811, and landed on the 4th of August, at the village of Chillingching, about twelve miles east of Batavia, towards which city the army directed its march. The French and Dutch troops set fire to the magazines in Batavia, and abandoned the city, which was taken possession of by the British.

On the 10th of August the British advanced from Batavia, and found three thousand select men of the Gallo-Batavian troops in a strong position, defended by abattis behind Weltefreden; and this post was stormed and carried at the point of the bayonet, many of the enemy being killed, and the remainder retreating to the entrenched position at Cornelis, between the great river Jacatra, and the deep aqueduct of Slaken. The conduct of Captain Stannus commanding the light infantry company of the Fourteenth, and of Lieutenant Coghlan, commanding the rifle company, was highly commended in Colonel Gillespie's report of this action. The regiment had Ensign Nickisson and three rank and file wounded.

In the strong position of Cornelis more than ten thousand Gallo-Batavian troops were assembled, and they were greatly superior in numbers to the British force. This formidable position was, however, stormed on the 26th of August, and the invincible prowess of the assailants overcame all opposition; the British were triumphant at every point; nearly two thousand of the enemy were killed, and about five thousand prisoners were taken, including three general officers. The remainder of the enemy dispersed, excepting a few men, who accompanied the Gallo-Batavian commander, General Jansens, in his flight. The Fourteenth distinguished themselves on this occasion, and the conduct of their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Watson, was commended in the official account of the action given by Colonel Gillespie.

The victory of Cornelis terminated the Dutch sovereignty of Java; General Jansens was pursued up the country; and on the 16th of September, the Fourteenth were engaged in storming the fortified position at Jattoo, when the remainder of the Gallo-Batavian force was routed; General Jansens was afterwards forced to surrender, and this valuable island was annexed to the dominions of the British Crown. It was restored to Holland, at the termination of the war, by the Treaty of Vienna in 1814.

The loss of the Fourteenth Foot at the storming of Fort Cornelis was Captain Marinus Kennedy, two serjeants, and nine rank and file, killed; Major George Miller, Captain Trevor Stannus, Lieutenants W. H. Coghlan and Kenneth McKenzie, seven serjeants, and eighty-three rank and file, wounded; one rank and file missing.

Lieutenant-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty stated in his public despatch, "The superior discipline and invincible courage which have so highly distinguished the British army, were never more fully displayed, and I have the heartfelt pleasure to add, that they have not been clouded by any acts of insubordination."

The commanding officer of the Fourteenth, Lieutenant-Colonel Watson, (now Lieutenant-General Sir James Watson, K.C.B., colonel of the regiment,) was rewarded with a gold medal; and the word "Java" was placed, by royal authority, on the colours of the regiment to commemorate its distinguished services at the capture of that island, which was the most splendid acquisition made by the British arms in 1811. The strength of the first battalion at the capture of Java was forty-eight officers, and one thousand one hundred and forty-five non-commissioned officers and soldiers.

After the capture of Java the Fourteenth remained on the island for some time. The Sultan of Mataram, who governed a portion of the interior, trusting to his power, and the strength of his fortified palace, at Djoojocarta, meditated the expulsion of all Europeans from the island, and committed aggressions of which it became necessary to stop the progress. To effect this, his palace was captured by storm on the morning of the 20th of June, 1812; on which occasion the Fourteenth had another occasion of distinguishing themselves. Lieutenant-Colonel Watson commanded the main attack, and the grenadiers of the regiment headed the assault in their usual gallant style[15]. Colonel Gillespie, commanding the forces in Java, stated in orders,

"To Lieutenant-Colonel Watson, who commanded the leading column, the commander of the forces cannot convey the sense he entertains of his distinguished bravery, and of the quickness and celerity with which he conceived and executed the attack.

"The animated style in which Captain Johnstone and Lieutenant Hunter crossed the ditch, at the head of the Fourteenth grenadiers, and escaladed the ramparts, under the fire of the east bastion, could only be equalled by the order and zeal of their followers."

The conduct of Lieutenant Hill, and of Lieutenant McLean, of the regiment was also commended.

Eight rank and file of the regiment were killed. Lieutenant McLean died of his wounds, and thirty rank and file were wounded.

An expedition was fitted out, in 1813, consisting of a detachment of the Fourteenth Regiment, and of the troops in the service of the Honourable the East India Company; and placed under the orders of Lieutenant-Colonel Watson of the Fourteenth, for the attack of the piratical state of Sambas, on the western coast of the island of Borneo, which terminated in the surrender of the town, after a sharp conflict in which Captain Watson and Lieutenant Jennings were wounded; the capture of all the batteries, fortified posts, and defences of the Sultan, and the complete discomfiture of Pangerang Anom and his adherents. The first battalion proceeded to Bengal in October, 1813.

In the mean time the war in Europe was prosecuted with great vigour; the British troops were victorious in the Peninsula, and every effort was made to bring a powerful army into the field. At this period a third battalion was added to the Fourteenth Regiment of Foot; it was raised by volunteers from the Militia and assembled at Weedon under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel the Honorable James Stewart, and was soon in a condition fit for active service.

After a contest of twenty years, the period of the downfall of that gigantic power, which had sprung out of the French revolution, arrived; the snow storms of the winter of 1812–13, had annihilated the French army in Russia; the British army, which had delivered Portugal and Spain from the tyrannical rule of Napoleon, was following up its career of victory in the heart of France; at the same time the forces of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and other continental states, were invading France. Thus a favourable opportunity presented itself; one powerful effort appeared likely to overthrow Napoleon and his adherents, and at this important juncture, (the spring of 1814,) the third battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment received orders to hold itself in readiness for foreign service, and commenced its march for the coast; at the same time the second battalion was withdrawn from the island of Malta, to join the expedition, under Lieutenant-General Lord William Bentinck, against the north-west coast of Italy. This expedition captured several places, including the maritime city of Genoa, once a celebrated republic, now the capital of a province in the Sardinian States. The progress of the British arms in Italy was suddenly arrested by the termination of the war: Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated; Louis XVIII. ascended the throne of France; and the nations of Europe hailed the event as the great jubilee of Christendom. The embarkation of the third battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment was countermanded, and after some delay, the second battalion was placed in quarters at the city of Genoa, where it remained twelve months.

Towards the end of the year the third battalion was held in readiness to embark for North America; circumstances connected with the trade of neutral nations, during the war with France, having involved Great Britain in hostilities with the United States. Before the battalion quitted England, peace was concluded with the United States, when the order for its proceeding abroad was countermanded, and directions were given for its being disbanded on the 24th of March, 1815.

In the spring of 1815, while the Congress at Vienna was deciding on the boundaries of kingdoms, and the people of all countries were looking forward to a period of peace, Bonaparte suddenly violated his engagements, re-appeared in France, and the French army declaring in his favour, he reascended the throne he had abdicated. War was immediately declared against the usurper; the order for disbanding the third battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment was consequently rescinded, and on the 21st of March, (three days before the date fixed upon for its being disbanded,) the battalion received directions to embark for Flanders: it landed at Ostend on the 31st of March, and formed part of the army commanded by His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange.

Additional forces were sent to Flanders, Field Marshal his Grace the Duke of Wellington assumed the command, and the third battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Francis S. Tidy, (Major of the regiment,) was formed in brigade with the Twenty-third Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and Fifty-first Light Infantry under Colonel Mitchel, and constituted part of the fourth division, commanded by Lieutenant-General the Honorable Sir Charles Colville, K.C.B.

Bonaparte attempted, by one of those rapid advances for which he had always been celebrated, to interpose between the British and Prussian armies, and on the 16th of June the battles of Ligny and Quatre Bras were fought: the British were victorious; but the Prussians were defeated; and the Duke of Wellington retreated, on the 17th of June, to the position in front of the village of Waterloo, to preserve his communication with Prince Blucher.

On the 18th of June the third battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment had the honour to take part in the memorable battle of Waterloo, the character and importance of which engagement, distinguish it as the greatest event of the age, and mark it as the brightest era in the history of the British army. The battalion was composed of young soldiers, who had never before been under fire, but their bearing reflected honour on the corps to which they belonged. During the heat of the conflict, when the thunder of cannon and musketry, the occasional explosion of caissons, the hissing of balls, shells, and grape shot, the clash of arms, the impetuous noise and shouts of the soldiery, produced a scene of carnage and confusion impossible to describe, a staff officer rode up to Lieutenant-Colonel Tidy, and directed him to form square; this was scarcely completed when the glittering arms of a regiment of cuirassiers were seen issuing from the smoke. The French horsemen paused for a moment at the sight of the scarlet uniforms of the Fourteenth, and then turned to the right to attack a regiment of Brunswickers; but a volley from the Brunswick square repulsed the enemy, and Lieutenant-Colonel Tidy, with the view of giving confidence to the young soldiers of the Fourteenth, drew their attention to the facility with which infantry could repulse cavalry. The French cuirassiers rallied, and appeared inclined to charge the Fourteenth, but were intimidated by the steady and determined bearing of the battalion.

The cavalry attacks on the British line were particularly severe, and were supported by large bodies of troops of all arms; the infantry pressing forward, while dragoons, lancers, carabineers, and cuirassiers advanced in overwhelming numbers, threatening to bear down all opposition; masking at times the advance of infantry; charging the British squares, and when repulsed, quickly re-forming; while individuals, spurred on by an ardent but unavailing intrepidity, were observed searching for an opening in the British battalions by which to penetrate, and usually perishing in the vain attempt. Repulsed at all points, Bonaparte resolved to make a last desperate effort, and brought forward his reserve, consisting of the old imperial guards; but these chosen bands were overthrown and annihilated; and the whole British army rushing forward upon the enemy, completed the overthrow of the legions of Bonaparte, which were driven from the field of battle with the loss of all their cannon, baggage, and the materiel of their army.

Thus was a victory, the most complete and decisive, achieved by the army under the Duke of Wellington: the British soldiers halted on the field of battle surrounded by their ensanguined trophies: they had decided the political destiny of the world, and ensured national independence to the kingdoms of Europe!

In congratulating the regiments of the fourth brigade, in the share they had in achieving the glorious victory at Waterloo, Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Colville observed,—"the Twenty-third and Fifty-first Regiments fully maintained their former high character, whilst the very young third battalion of the Fourteenth, in this its first trial, displayed a steadiness and gallantry becoming of veteran troops." The loss of the battalion was seven rank and file killed; Ensign Alfred Cooper, four serjeants, and sixteen rank and file, wounded.

The royal authority was afterwards given for the regiment to bear the word "Waterloo" on its colors, to commemorate the share it had in gaining this splendid victory. Lieutenant-Colonel Tidy was rewarded with the dignity of Companion of the Bath; and every officer and soldier received a silver medal, with the privilege of reckoning two years' service for that day.

The names of the officers of the Fourteenth Regiment of Foot, who received medals, for the battle of Waterloo, on the 18th of June, 1815, are contained in the following list:

On the morning of the 19th of June, the British troops advanced in pursuit of the wreck of the French army; and on entering France, the Duke of Wellington invited Louis XVIII. to repair to Cateau Cambresis. Being desirous of not exposing the King's person, the British commander directed Cambray to be summoned; but this fortress refused to surrender, and repulsed the troops which approached the town on the 23rd of June. On the following day orders for attacking the place by escalade were issued, and the third battalion of the Fourteenth, with the Twenty-third and Fifty-first Regiments, were directed to make a feint attack on the Paris gate; but the gallantry of the officers and soldiers turned the feint into a real attack, and they were in possession of the town before the other brigades of the fourth division could force an entrance. The citadel of Cambray surrendered on the 25th of June.

The army continued its advance upon Paris, which city surrendered in the early part of July, and the war was terminated with the restoration of Louis XVIII. to the throne of France.

During this period, the second battalion had remained at the city of Genoa, on the north-west coast of Italy, from whence it was ordered to Marseilles, in France, under the command of Major-General Lowe, and it landed at that port on the 12th of July. At this period Bonaparte was at Rochefort, endeavouring to effect his escape to North America; but being prevented by the British cruizers, he surrendered to Captain Maitland, commanding the "Bellerophon" man of war, thus closing his political career. On the conclusion of the treaties of peace which followed these events, the battalion embarked from Marseilles for the island of Malta, where it arrived in January, 1816.

The third battalion remained in the vicinity of Paris several months; it was present at the reviews of the army, in the plain of St. Denis and Champs Elysees, by the Emperors of Russia and Austria, and the Kings of Prussia and France, and on the formation of the army of occupation, it returned to England: it was disbanded at Deal, on the 17th of February, 1816; the non-commissioned officers and soldiers fit for duty being transferred to the first and second battalions.

The first battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment was stationed at the military cantonment of Berhampore, from whence it marched, in the beginning of 1815, and joined the army assembled under Major-General George Wood, in consequence of the war with the kingdom of Nepaul. The Nepaulese were soon reduced to submission, and in April, the Fourteenth proceeded to the military cantonment of Dinapore, situated on the south bank of the river Ganges, in the province of Bahar, where they remained until October, when they embarked in boats, and proceeded to the cantonments near the ancient Hindoo town of Cawnpore, on the west bank of the Ganges, in the province of Allahabad.

On the 26th of April, 1816, the second battalion embarked from Malta, for the Ionian Islands, where it was stationed during the following seventeen months.

The first battalion remained at Cawnpore during the whole of this year.

In the mean time the resistance made by a powerful Hindoo Zemindar, or landholder, who possessed the town and fort of Hatrass, in the province of Agra, occasioned the regiment once more to take the field in India, in the beginning of 1817. This Zemindar was named Dyaram; during the troubles in the province of Agra, he only paid his rents when threatened with a large military force, and in the year 1803, when the country between the rivers Jumna and Ganges, called the Dooab, was taken possession of by the British, he expressed himself willing to pay his assessment, but objected to any interference in what he called his territory. This was not agreed to, but he was not then molested. His refusing to acknowledge the authority of the civil law, afterwards rendered it necessary to bring him to obedience by force of arms, and he had the presumption to defy the British power. To reduce this refractory Zemindar, a body of troops was placed under Major-General Sir Dyson Marshall, and the first battalion of the Fourteenth Regiment took part in the enterprise. The fortified town of Hatrass was reputed of great strength, and when the troops arrived before it, in February, 1817, some inquiry was made respecting the depth of the ditch, which a soldier of the Fourteenth, volunteered to ascertain, and fastening a large stone to the end of a cord, he proceeded alone after dark, and gained the necessary information, with a cool intrepidity, exposed to such great danger, as created great surprise. The fire of the batteries soon forced the town to submit, when it was taken possession of by Lieutenant-Colonel Watson, and the Fourteenth; but the castle held out several days; at length the principal magazine exploded, and during the following night the refractory Dyaram escaped at the head of a hundred horsemen all in complete armour. The castle was afterwards taken possession of without opposition; and this was followed by the submission of all the zemindars of the Dooab. After the performance of this service the Fourteenth returned to Cawnpore, where they remained several months.

The second battalion embarked from Cephalonia in the autumn of this year, and proceeded to Malta, where it remained a few days. The peace of Europe appearing to be established upon a firm basis, a reduction in the army took place, which occasioned the second battalion to receive orders to return to England for the purpose of being disbanded; it landed at Portsmouth on the 24th and 25th of November, and was reduced at Chichester on the 23rd of December, transferring four hundred and twenty rank and file to the first battalion.