The regiment embarked from Gibraltar on the 25th of March, 1792, and landed at Portsmouth on the 24th of April following, where it went into barracks. On the 22nd of July it was encamped at Wickham Bushes, near Bagshot, under the Duke of Richmond, with two battalions of Royal Artillery, the 3rd, 14th, and 29th regiments, where it was reviewed by his Majesty; after the breaking up of the camp it returned to Portsmouth.

The repose granted to England by the peace of 1763 was, a few years after that period, interrupted by legislative differences with the North American Colonies, and at length by measures, which led to a desperate and sanguinary war. Hostilities were commenced in 1775, and terminated in 1783, with the loss to Great Britain of that large portion of territory, the United States of America. During this important struggle, France had afforded active assistance in promoting the disunion of England and her American subjects. A spirit of republicanism soon afterwards began to spread in France. Anarchy, revolution, and bloodshed, and the execution of their king, followed in rapid succession. The latter act took place in 1793, and was the immediate cause of a war on the part of Great Britain and of Europe, against France.

In February, 1793, the Queen's Regiment was ordered to Dover and Folkstone to do duty over French prisoners of war. While on this duty, two of the newly-raised independent companies were added to the regiment, and a brigade of six-pounders attached to it. In August following it was embarked, with the exception of the staff, to serve as marines in the fleet under Admiral Earl Howe, and shared in the glorious victory over the French fleet on the 1st of June, 1794, which Earl Howe completely defeated, and seven of the enemy's ships were captured. Lieutenant John Neville, of the Queen's Royals, was killed on board the Charlotte, and Ensign Boycott was wounded on board the Defence. The gallant Admiral, in his public dispatch of the 2nd of June, expressed his thanks to the crews and military corps for the highly distinguished examples of resolution, perseverance, and spirit testified by them in the actions of the 28th and 29th of May, and the 1st of June.

Lieutenant-General Jones[24] died on the 20th of November, 1793, and was succeeded in the Colonelcy of the regiment by Major-General Alexander Stewart.

The regiment continued to serve on board the fleet until the 24th of November, 1794, when, with the exception of two companies, it was re-landed, and, by the incorporation of some independent companies, augmented to twelve companies, of four serjeants, two drummers, and 100 rank and file each. Of these, the ten companies on shore were formed into a Second Battalion, as appears by the Adjutant-General's letter of the 29th of November. Some time, however, elapsed before the regiment had either two pair of colours, or the staff of two battalions; but the corps, thus formed, was designated the Second Battalion, while the two companies, which remained doing marine duty on board the fleet, continued the nucleus of the First Battalion, waiting an opportunity, when their services should be no longer required as marines, to be filled up, which took place in the following year.

On the 20th of December, 1794, Major-General James Coates was appointed Colonel, vice Major-General Alexander Stewart, deceased[25].

On the 25th of December the Second Battalion embarked, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel the Earl of Dalhousie, for the West Indies, and arrived in Carlisle Bay, Barbadoes, on the 29th of March, 1795.

The year in which the regiment arrived in the West Indies was rendered remarkable by a series of brilliant achievements performed by the British forces serving in that part of his Majesty's dominions; and the valuable French possessions of Martinique and Guadaloupe were but a part of the captures made by the army and fleet under their respective commanders, General Sir Charles Grey and Admiral Sir John Jervis.

The National Convention, which at this period governed France, although busily and successfully employed in extending revolutionary power in Europe, was not indifferent to the events above alluded to; and an expedition to the West Indies was despatched from Brest, commanded by the famous Victor Hughes, a republican commissioner, for the purpose of recovering the conquered islands. A force of 2000 French troops arrived at Guadaloupe, and were quickly reinforced by a multitude of Mulattoes and Blacks, who were speedily clad in uniforms. Among this motley group, comprising slave and freeman, the doctrines of liberty and equality were disseminated, and led to a rapid overthrow of regular government, and to a frightful catalogue of outrages and disasters.

The same spirit of disorganization that devastated Guadaloupe was soon spread, through the instrumentality of agents, to the other conquered islands, and thus tended to weaken the power of the English forces at the principal point of attack:—added to this circumstance, the ranks of the British battalions had been thinned by an epidemic, most malignant in its nature, and it was found impossible to oppose an effectual resistance to the accumulated force which now assailed them. The island of Martinique was the only settlement that could be preserved, and this was not done without great exertions of the British troops, ably supported by the colonists.

The Queen's Royal had proceeded to Martinique shortly after its arrival in the West Indies; and so great had been its sufferings, that, at the termination of 1795, the total strength of the battalion in that country was reduced to 162 men, and of those, two serjeants and four privates were afterwards killed in an engagement with the French brigands at Vaughlin, and in the same affair we find Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Dalhousie numbered with the wounded.

In the month of July, 1795, the two flank companies of the regiment, already mentioned as being left on board the Fleet, were disembarked at Guernsey, and proceeded in the month following to Southampton: they had been augmented, and now formed the First Battalion of the regiment, which was already in a state of readiness for foreign service. In October, eight companies of the First Battalion, under Lieutenant-Colonel Harris, embarked, and formed part of the memorable expedition destined for the West Indies, under Major-General Sir Ralph Abercrombie and Admiral Christian.

On this occasion about 16,000 troops were collected at Portsmouth, and on the 18th of November the fleet containing them stood down the Channel, but in a few hours it was overtaken by a dreadful hurricane, which caused many ships laden with men to be wrecked, and the coast about Weymouth to be strewed with dead bodies. Amongst the transports lost, was that having on board the flank companies of the First Battalion of the Queen's, who were afterwards collected at Plymouth, and commanded by Major Eyre. No further attempt was made to forward this portion of the regiment to its previous destination; but the six companies, under Lieutenant-Colonel Harris, proceeded onwards with the fleet, and in February, 1796, were landed at Martinique, where they formed a junction with the Second Battalion, serving in that island.

In addition to this timely reinforcement, the Second Battalion, during its service in the West Indies, was augmented by drafts from the Forty-sixth and Sixty-first regiments, and also by men of different regiments who had been prisoners at Guadaloupe, and who had been exchanged.

By Returns of the battalion in the West Indies, made at the above period, its casualties for a half year, ending

In 1797 the Second Battalion of the Queen's formed part of the expedition when Sir Ralph Abercrombie captured the Spanish island of Trinidad; and in the course of the same year, the serviceable men were transferred to the Fifty-seventh regiment, and the battalion, comprising altogether seventy persons, was embarked, and returned to Europe.

The flank companies, which had been wrecked and left in England, were made the basis of another First Battalion, which was formed accordingly, and removed from Plymouth to Lyndhurst and Lymington.

In March, 1797, Lord Dalhousie, who had a short time previously returned from the West Indies, assumed the command of the First Battalion, which was marched to Tiverton, where it was brigaded with the Twenty-ninth and Fifty-eighth Regiments.

The quarters of the Queen's Royal, during the year 1797, continued in the western district, and in June the regiment moved to Plymouth Lines.

When the mutiny broke out in the fleets at Spithead and the Nore, and attempts were made to disseminate seditious publications among the soldiery, Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Dalhousie, and the Captains of the Queen's Royal, addressed a letter to the General Commanding the district, expressive of their firm reliance on the unshaken loyalty of the corps; at the same time, the non-commissioned officers and privates subscribed the sum of one hundred guineas to be applied towards the detection and punishment of any persons who should attempt to distribute unlawful papers, or offer, by bribes or any other means, to seduce the soldiers from their allegiance. The letter from the Lieutenant-Colonel and Captains, as also the resolution of the men, signed by the Serjeant-Major, Michael Eager, were entered, by order of the Colonel, in the Orderly Book of the regiment.

The latter document is transcribed into this record, as characteristic of British soldiers, who, in periods of political excitement, do not permit themselves to be withdrawn from the fidelity and allegiance which they owe to their Sovereign, whom they have sworn to defend against all enemies.

Head Quarters, Plymouth Lines,
10th June, 1797.

Regimental Orders.

On the 7th of October, the remainder of the Second Battalion, under Lieutenant-Colonel Harris, arrived from the West Indies, joined the corps at Penzance, and the whole were incorporated into one battalion. In December the regiment was again marched to Plymouth, to do duty in Mill Prison; and on the 25th of the same month twelve lieutenants and two companies were reduced.

In February, 1798, the Queen's received orders to hold itself in readiness for embarkation. It was brigaded at Plymouth with the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-ninth, under the command of Lord Dalhousie, in March; and on the 12th of June following embarked at Barnstaple, under Lieutenant-Colonel Eyre, for Ireland, where republican principles had gained ground, and being encouraged by promised aid from France, the malcontents broke into acts of open rebellion. The regiment landed in Ireland on the 20th of February, and arrived at Fowke's Mill in the middle of the action between Major-General Sir John Moore and the rebels. On the next day, the army moved on to Wexford, which Lord Dalhousie entered with the flank companies of the Queen's Royal, and liberated Lord Kingsborough, and several other Protestant gentlemen, who were to have been put to death. Lieutenant Charles Turner[26], of the Queen's Royal, was one of the officers who, a few days after, surprised and took prisoner the celebrated Bagenal Harvey, who had concealed himself in a cave in Saltee Island, and whose character for courage and desperation was such that few people would have ventured to approach his hiding-place.

When the French expedition under General Humbert landed in Ireland in July, 1798, the Queen's Royal marched to Tuam, where the army assembled. After the surrender of General Humbert, the regiment returned to Phillipstown, and wintered in Kilkenny, where they were brigaded with the Twenty-ninth regiment, under Major-General Peter Hunter.

In the early part of the following year, the brigade, with some guns, marched to Tullamore and to Phillipstown, to be ready in case of a rising in that part of the country: this, although apprehended, did not take place, and in six weeks the brigade returned to Kilkenny, and in June the Queen's moved from thence to Cork, and encamped at Monkstown.

In the month of July, the regiment embarked for England, landed at Southampton, and marched to the camp on Barham Downs, near Canterbury, where it was recruited by volunteers from the militia; and with the Twenty-seventh, Twenty-ninth, and Eighty-fifth regiments, it formed the third brigade of the army commanded by Major-General Coote. With this brigade, to which the Sixty-ninth regiment was afterwards added, it served during the expedition to Holland, and was engaged with the enemy at the Helder, on the 27th of August, 1799, when the army commanded by Sir Ralph Abercrombie made good its landing, in defiance of great natural obstacles at the point of debarkation, and also made an advanced movement, in opposition to every exertion on the part of an active enemy, to prevent it.

A detail of this gallant exploit states, 'the first success of this day was principally owing to General Coote's brigade, and the advance, consisting of the 23rd and 55th regiments, commanded by Colonel Macdonald, who, instead of waiting the attacks of the enemy, advanced on every occasion to meet them.' These brave efforts cost the British forces a loss of about 500 men.

In subsequent operations, during this arduous expedition, the Queen's Royal had the honour of contributing a full portion of its services, and was present when his Royal Highness the Duke of York, in Command of the Anglo-Russian forces, on the 2nd of October, 1799, gained a decided victory at Egmont-op-Zee, over a numerous army opposed to him on that occasion. Alluding to this action, his Royal Highness observes, 'Under Divine Providence, this signal victory, obtained over the enemy, is to be ascribed to the animated and persevering exertions which have been at all times the characteristics of the British soldier, and which, on no occasion, were ever more eminently displayed; nor has it often fallen to the lot of any general to have such just cause of acknowledgment for distinguished support.'

On the 6th of October the French and Dutch armies again contested the field with their opponents, and were once more forced by British valour to retire. In his report of this victory, the Duke of York remarks, that 'the gallantry the troops displayed, and the perseverance with which they supported the fatigues of the day, rival their former exertions.' The loss of the Queen's Royal in this action proves they were honourable competitors for glory.

Notwithstanding the successes of the British forces, they were precluded from a further advance, and from profiting by the just reward of their labours, in consequence of the lateness of the season, and the difficulty of obtaining supplies during the winter; besides which, the French army was receiving large reinforcements.

These and other causes induced his Royal Highness to desist from further offensive operations, and finally led to the withdrawing of the Anglo-Russian army from Holland, and to the termination of an expedition which, although unattended with full success, evinced distinguished merit and bravery on the part of the British commander and his army.

Nor must it be omitted, in alluding to this expedition, that at this period the old regiments had been considerably reduced by the arduous services against St. Domingo and the French West India islands, and were now chiefly made up from volunteers from the militia, hastily got together, and employed in active offensive operations before they could be properly organised and rendered fit for such duty.

Notwithstanding these disadvantages, the British troops employed in Holland upheld, by their gallantry and discipline, the honour of their country, and by the skill and attention of their officers, this short but active campaign prepared this little army to advance the glory of England in succeeding years, against the best organised troops in Europe.

Major-General Coote expressed, in orders, his approbation of the conduct of the Queen's Royal; and after the evacuation of Holland, the regiment landed at Yarmouth, from whence it proceeded to Ashford, in Kent, for the winter.

In May, 1800, the Queen's Royal marched to Plymouth, and embarked on board the Europa and Thisbe, on a flying expedition, under the command of General Sir Thomas Maitland and Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, which was employed in making descents upon the coast of France, and destroying batteries and small crafts. In this service, Major Ramsay, of the Queen's, led some successful attacks, and on one occasion (as recorded in 'Baine's History of the Wars') 'he seized several sloops and gun-vessels, and burned a national corvette of eighteen guns, by means of a detachment from the Queen's Regiment, assisted by the gun-launches under Lieutenant Pinfold.'

On the 15th of June, the regiment was encamped in the island of Houat, preparatory to an intended attack upon Belle Isle; but the plan was abandoned; the regiment re-embarked, and, with other corps, to the number of 5000 men, sailed, under the command of the Earl of Dalhousie, to reinforce Sir Ralph Abercrombie at Minorca, where it arrived on the 19th of July.

On the 29th of August, 1800, it was again on ship-board, forming part of the expedition against Cadiz, on the abandonment of which it became necessary to dispose of this force, which, although small, was considered the corps d'élite of England, and included almost the entire disposable force of the country.

The attention of Sir Ralph Abercrombie was directed towards the Mediterranean, and the reduction of Malta encouraged an expedition to that quarter. At this time Egypt was occupied by 30,000 French veterans, emboldened by conquest, and inured to the climate of the country. They had been taken from that army which, under Napoleon Bonaparte, had astonished Europe by its successes in Italy and in Germany, and they were now awaiting a favourable opportunity to forward the ambitious projects that had been planned for them by their great leader, who had exultingly named them 'The army of the East.'

The attention of all Europe was directed to the struggle about to take place, in which the ambition of Bonaparte was supposed to have attained a crisis, and the fate of Asia was to be decided on the shores of Africa, by the two most powerful European nations.

A British army, amounting to about 15,000 men, assembled under Sir Ralph Abercrombie, at Marmorice Bay, on the coast of Asiatic Turkey, towards the end of December, 1800.

The Queen's Royal Regiment had proceeded from Cadiz to Gibraltar and Minorca, from whence it sailed to Malta, and now formed part of the above force. Some weeks were lost at Marmorice, in expectation of receiving reinforcements of Greeks and Turks; and the expedition did not proceed to its final destination until the 23rd of February, 1801. On the 1st of March it anchored in the bay of Aboukir, eastward of Alexandria; but notwithstanding all the exertions of the navy under Admiral Lord Keith's orders, the necessary arrangements could not be made for landing the troops, chiefly in consequence of unfavourable weather, until the 8th of March. On the morning of that day a signal rocket caused 150 boats, laden with 5000 men, to approach the shore. The clear silence of the morning broken by the deep murmur of thousands of oars urging forward the flower of a brave army, whose polished arms glittered in the rays of the morning sun, produced an interesting scene:—the floating battalions drew near the shore, which was crowded with French troops; a combat ensued; and the bay of Aboukir resounded to the roar of cannon.

A body of French troops, supported by several batteries, awaited the arrival of their enemies, but were forced to give way in defiance of every exertion, and after severe loss. The loss of the British amounted to 576 rank and file, in killed, wounded, and missing.

The Queen's Royal Regiment was first employed under the command of Sir Sydney Smith, at the siege of Fort Aboukir; but on the 12th of March, seven companies, under Lieutenant-Colonel Jones, were ordered to join the army, and arrived in time to take a share in the victory of the 13th of March. The other three companies of the regiment remained with the Twelfth Light Dragoons (dismounted) before Aboukir, until the surrender of that fort on the 19th of March. The regiment was afterwards attached to the fourth brigade, under Major-General Sir John Doyle's command, and was present at the glorious Battle of Alexandria, on the 21st of March; when a protracted and well-contested fight terminated in victory to the British troops after a loss of between 1400 and 1500 men.

After the battle of the 21st of March, the Queen's Royal was detached, with the flank companies of the Fortieth regiment, under Colonel Spencer, to Rosetta, and was employed in the reduction of that town, and of the fortress of St. Julien, which commanded the navigation of the Nile, on which occasion one of the 'French Invincible Standards' was taken. The Regiment then proceeded with the army towards Cairo, and was engaged in the affair at Rahmanie,—the capture of the French convoy in the Desert,—at the surrender of Cairo—and in the escort of the French garrison from that city to its place of embarkation. Subsequently, the regiment joined that part of the army which was engaged in the blockade of Alexandria, and was attached to the reserve brigade commanded by Major-General (afterwards Sir John) Moore. Alexandria surrendered on the 2nd of September, 1801, and the Queen's Royal was ordered to Fort Pharos, at the entrance of the harbour, where it continued until the following December.

In this campaign, the severe loss sustained by the British army in their active operations against the enemy was greatly augmented by deaths caused by fatigue, as well as by the climate of Egypt. The casualties in the Queen's were 36 killed and 70 wounded[27].

In the action of the 21st of March, Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercrombie, the commander-in-chief of the army, received a mortal wound, and died on the 28th of the same month. His merits are attested in General Orders issued to the army on the 16th of May, 1801[28], and in the dispatch of his successor, General Hutchinson, in the following terms: 'His memory will be recorded in the annals of his country, will be sacred to every British soldier, and embalmed in the recollection of a grateful posterity.' The same officer adds, 'It is impossible for me to do justice to the zeal of the officers, and to the gallantry of the soldiers, of this army.'

By the conquest of Egypt, Great Britain effected a revolution, which, in a great degree, influenced the politics of nations throughout the world. The vaunting ambition of France received a timely check, by the defeat of the boldest project which the mind of her greatest General had ever conceived; and the 'Army of the East' returned to their country, relieved, in a short campaign, of the fruits of four years' toil and glory.

The successful efforts of the British fleet and army were followed by a treaty of peace with France, which was concluded at Amiens on the 1st of October, 1801, by which Egypt was again restored to the Ottoman empire. The troops, as opportunities offered, were withdrawn from the scene of their brilliant achievements, and about the end of the year 1801 the Queen's Regiment embarked for Gibraltar.

The peace concluded at the above period was, however, of short duration, and did not tend to check the hostile spirit of Bonaparte, whose perfidious conduct and insatiable ambition rendered an appeal to arms again necessary, and Great Britain was obliged to declare war against France in May, 1803.

From the spring of 1802 until the end of 1805, the Queen's Royal formed part of the garrison of Gibraltar, and was highly complimented by his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, for its loyalty, steadiness, and good conduct throughout the mutiny which occurred there. By the malignant fever which raged with great violence in that garrison in 1804, it lost in a few weeks one captain, six subalterns, and about 90 men, besides women and children.

While the regiment was at Gibraltar, the officers received permission to wear the medals which had been presented to them by the Grand Signior, for their services in the Egyptian campaign.

In November, 1805, the regiment embarked for England. One of the transports, having on board the two flank companies, and one battalion company under the command of Captain Wilson, was taken on the 15th of December by the squadron of the French Admiral, Guillaumet, consisting of six sail of the line (one commanded by Jerome Buonaparte) and several frigates. The captured companies were put on board La Voluntaire frigate, where they remained prisoners about three months: they were subsequently restored to liberty in consequence of that vessel putting into the Cape of Good Hope, which she expected to find a friendly port, but which had surrendered a short time before to the British forces under Lieut.-General Sir David Baird and Admiral Sir Home Popham. At the Cape these companies remained about seven months, when they embarked once more for England, and rejoined the regiment in April, 1807.

In the mean time the head-quarters and the remainder of the regiment had landed, in December, 1805, at Portsmouth, its strength amounting to 20 officers, 31 serjeants, 12 drummers, and 289 rank and file.

In January, 1806, the regiment received new colours, on which, in addition to former devices, were the Sphynx, and the word Egypt, granted to it by his Majesty, in consideration of its distinguished conduct in that country in 1801, as already detailed.

In 1807 the establishment of the regiment was 696. In the month of June of that year it embarked for Guernsey, and remained there till June of the following year, receiving, during its stay in that island, 330 general-service men from the depôt in the Isle of Wight, and above 150 militia volunteers.

In June, 1808, the regiment returned to England, 860 rank and file strong, and was quartered at Ipswich, until the 18th of July, when it was brigaded with the Twentieth Foot and a battalion of the Ninety-fifth Rifles, under the command of Major-General Acland, and embarked at Harwich for Portugal, to join the forces about to be assembled in that country.

The peace of Tilsit, which was concluded at this period between France and other continental powers, gave a more determined character to the war pursuing between England and France. Napoleon, who by this time had become sensible of his inability successfully to invade Great Britain, sought the humiliation of his rival in excluding, by the above treaty, the manufactures of England from the markets of Europe. As a part of his scheme for universal empire, he gained the royal family of Spain into his power by treachery, placed his brother Joseph on the throne of that kingdom by force, and effected the conquest of Portugal. Such acts of tyrannical ambition failed not to rouse the just resentment of England, and led to the bold determination of rescuing the Peninsula from the rapacious conqueror. Portugal was destined to receive the advance-guard of a British army, which, as in Egypt, was to encounter the victorious legions of Napoleon, and, as in Egypt, also to triumph. On the 1st of August, 1808, a body of British troops, commanded by Major-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, landed near Lisbon, and on the 17th of the same month they defeated a French force at Roleia. At this first meeting of the great rival powers, a severe struggle terminated in favour of English valour, and was a faithful precursor of the ability of the commander, and of the successes which were to accompany the gallant army on their future career.

After a tedious passage from England, Major-General Acland's brigade arrived in a small bay near Peniché, where it landed in the night of the 20th of August, and in a few hours joined the army under Sir Arthur Wellesley, in time to share the honours and triumphs of the memorable battle of Vimiera. The brigade underwent much fatigue, and suffered some loss; and the General's dispatches bear evidence that it did its duty. After the convention of Cintra, by which Portugal was delivered from the power of France, the Queen's Royal crossed to Old Lisbon, and marched to escort prisoners of war from Fort La Lippe. His Majesty has graciously permitted the regiment to bear the word Vimiera on its colours and appointments, in commemoration of its gallantry in that battle.

In the autumn, when the army under Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore advanced from Lisbon into Spain, the Queen's formed part of Sir John Hope's division, which protected the march of the artillery by the south bank of the Tagus to Talavera de la Reyna, and from thence by the pass of the Guadarrama mountains, to form a junction at Salamanca with the Commander-in-Chief, the same being the only route considered passable for heavy guns.

Before the British troops were concentrated at Salamanca, the Spanish force which was to have co-operated with them had ceased to exist; it had been attacked, defeated, and dispersed by the French, who had 300,000 men in Spain. Sir John Moore, however, advanced with his army of about 23,000 men, until Bonaparte directed 80,000 veterans with 200 cannon against him: a retreat was immediately commenced. In all the fatigues, distresses, and privations of this memorable winter campaign, the Queen's regiment had its full share, and was brigaded with the 5th, 14th, and 32nd regiments under command of Major-General (now Lord) Hill. This brigade was posted in line on the left of Sir John Moore's position, when that officer fought and defeated the French forces in front of Corunna on the 16th of January, 1809. The glory of the day was clouded by the loss of many brave soldiers, among whom the British army had to lament the death of its gallant commander[29].

The withdrawing of the British troops from Spain after the battle of Corunna was the consequent operation of Sir John Moore's retreat to the coast: arrangements for this purpose were therefore hastily concerted, and as speedily acted upon. A great portion of the army was enabled to embark in the harbour of Corunna during the night after the battle; at the same time General Hill's brigade retired to a position near the ramparts of the town, leaving the piquets of the brigade, under Lieutenant-Colonel Kingsbury, of the Queen's Regiment, employed as a rear-guard to cover the retreat of the army, and to keep the enemy in check by fires and other stratagems, until the embarkation was completed, almost without molestation; and General Hill's brigade followed from the citadel on the succeeding day. The troops embarked in such vessels as they could reach; the ships made the best of their way to England, and, in consequence of the stormy season, landed the troops at the first port they could gain. The Queen's Regiment arrived in parties, and was subsequently re-united at Ipswich.

In consequence of the gallant conduct of the Queen's Royal in the action at Corunna, the regiment has received his Majesty's permission for the word Corunna being borne on its colours and appointments[30].

A detachment of the Queen's Royal had been left in Portugal, when the corps advanced from Lisbon to Salamanca, and was assembled at Elvas under the command of Captain Gordon, who, with his detachment, joined the army of Sir Arthur Wellesley previous to its entering Spain. Captain Gordon's party was attached to the Second Battalion of Detachments, and had the honour of sharing in the victory at Talavera de la Reyna on the 28th of July, 1809[31].

When the militia regiments were allowed, in 1809, to volunteer into the line, the Queen's Royal was very successful in recruiting, and its establishment was increased to 1000.

In July of the same year, the regiment formed part of the expedition under the Earl of Chatham to the Scheldt; was employed at the siege of Flushing, and, after the surrender of that fortress, it remained in quarters at Middleburgh, where it suffered severely from the Walcheren fever. On the evacuation of the island in December, the regiment embarked at Flushing, and returned to its old quarters at Ipswich.

During the year 1810, the regiment remained in England, where it was joined in August by the detachment which had been left in Portugal; and its numbers were thus increased to 1126 rank and file.

On the 25th of January, 1811, the Queen's Royal embarked at Portsmouth, with the Thirty-sixth, Second Battalion of the Forty-third, Fifty-first, and Eighty-fifth regiments, to reinforce the British army in Portugal. The fleet, commanded by Sir Joseph Yorke, encountered contrary gales, which so prolonged the voyage, that the convoy did not reach its destination until the 2nd of March, when the regiment disembarked at Lisbon, and went into barracks in the castle. It was afterwards attached to the Sixth Division of the army, and engaged with it in the pursuit of the French army under Marshal Massena, who evacuated his position at Santarem, and commenced his retreat into Spain a few days after the arrival of the above re-inforcements. Many brilliant exploits were performed by the adverse armies during this retreat, and also in the subsequent operations on the eastern frontier of Portugal. The Sixth Division was subsequently employed in the south, under Sir Thomas Graham, covering the siege of Badajoz, which was menaced by the French Marshal, but surrendered to the bold and superior tact of Lord Wellington in April, 1812.

When Lord Wellington advanced into Spain in 1812, and occupied Salamanca, the Sixth Division was quartered in that city, and charged with the siege of the three fortified convents, in which the enemy had left garrisons. In the unsuccessful attempt to carry one of these forts, (that called St. Vincente) by escalade, on the night of the 23rd of June, in which Major-General Bowes fell, the light company of the Queen's lost Captain Sir George Colquhoun, Lieutenant Mathews, one serjeant, and six men killed, and was otherwise so reduced, that it was found necessary next day to draft ten men from each battalion company to complete it. After the reduction of these forts, the St. Caetano and La Mercea by storm, and St. Vincente by capitulation, the Sixth Division joined the army in the advance to Toro, and took part in the several movements which preceded and led to the battle of Salamanca.

On this glorious day, the 22nd of July, 1812, the Sixth Division was originally posted in reserve, to support the Fourth and Fifth in the intended attack upon the enemy's centre and the heights of Arapiles. After the crest of the height had been carried by the Fourth Division, one division of the French made a determined stand, and after a sharp contest, obliged the British to give way. Marshal Beresford, who was on the spot, directed General Spry's brigade of the Fifth Division to change its front, and attack the flank of the enemy; and Lord Wellington ordered up the Sixth Division under Sir Henry Clinton, to relieve the Fourth, and the battle was soon restored to its former success. The French had now but one hill left, on which they had concentrated all their remaining forces. The Sixth Division was ordered to advance in line upon the enemy's position, which it did in a most gallant manner, under a heavy fire of 21 pieces of cannon and of musketry; and after a severe contest, the enemy fled through the woods towards the Tormes, protected by the approaching darkness of the night, by which many were enabled to escape: the defeat of the French army was now completed.

The loss of the Queen's on this day amounted to nearly one-half its number present, the light company being detached. One lieutenant (Denwoody) and 20 men were killed; its two majors, Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Kingsbury and Major Graham, (both of whom afterwards received honorary medals from his Majesty,) severely wounded; one captain (Scott) and three lieutenants (Gordon, Williams, and Hudson), and 100 men wounded. In fact, towards the close of the action, a subaltern officer, Lieutenant Borlase, had the honour of commanding the regiment. In honour of its gallant services in this action his Majesty has been graciously pleased to permit that Salamanca should be added to other distinctions on the colours of the regiment.

After the above defeat, Marshal Marmont withdrew the army of Portugal in the direction of Burgos, and Lord Wellington crossed the Douro and entered Madrid. The allied army made a further advance to Burgos, the siege of which was undertaken and pushed with vigour, but was abandoned in October, in consequence of a junction of the disposable French force in Spain, amounting to between 80,000 and 90,000 men, and the determination of the British commander to retire on the Douro, and subsequently to Salamanca and to Ciudad Rodrigo. When the army halted, the Queen's Regiment was quartered at Fulgoza de Salvador; and being much reduced in numbers, the head-quarters, with six skeleton companies, were sent to England, and the remaining four companies formed the right wing of the Second Provisional Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Bingham of the Fifty-third regiment. The companies of the Queen's were about one hundred effective rank and file each, and the battalion was posted to the Fourth Division, under Major-General the Honourable Sir G. Lowry Cole.

In the campaign of 1813, the four companies of the Queen's were frequently engaged, and showed the same spirit of valour and discipline for which the regiment had been distinguished on former occasions. In consideration of the services rendered by this portion of the regiment at the battle of Vittoria on the 21st of June of this year, and of its uniform good conduct in the series of actions which took place in the Pyrenees between the 26th of July and the 2nd of August following, his Majesty has graciously approved of the words Vittoria and Pyrenees, being borne by the regiment, in addition to its other honourable badges of merit and royal favour.

In reporting the above brilliant affairs, in which the army of the allies, commanded by the Duke of Wellington, was eminently successful in driving the French force under Marshal Soult from their strong holds, his Grace observes, 'In the course of this contest (28th July) the Fourth Division, which has so frequently been distinguished in this army, surpassed its former good conduct.' In the action fought two days subsequently, when Marshal Soult's army was posted in a position so formidable, that the Duke of Wellington, in his dispatches, characterises it as one of the strongest, and most difficult of access, he had ever yet seen occupied by troops, the steep hill, crowned with French soldiers, was boldly ascended, and the front of the enemy's main position was fearlessly attacked by a part of Sir Lowry Cole's Division; on which occasion the Battalion, comprising the Queen's and Fifty-third Regiments, is mentioned as having been led by Colonel Bingham.

In conjunction with this operation, the Third Division, under Sir Thomas Picton, having advanced on the enemy's left, the French fled in great confusion, leaving 4000 of their infantry unsupported in the valley, one half of whom were obliged to surrender at discretion. Thus were the attempts of the French Marshal to relieve Pampeluna frustrated, and his army doomed to suffer defeat and severe loss in defiance of extraordinary exertions, which gave them sanguine expectation of success. In these affairs several men of the Queen's were killed, and Lieutenant Hutton and a great number wounded.

On the 2nd of August, the Fourth Division advanced to the Puerto de Echalar, and afterwards moved to Lezaca to cover the head-quarters. At the latter place the Duke of Wellington remained stationary with his army in position to cover the siege of St. Sebastian, at this time pushed with great vigour by a portion of the allied army under Sir Thomas Graham.

No movement of consequence was made until the 31st of August, when the French crossed the Bidassoa in considerable force. With great fury they made repeated attacks on the Spanish position on the heights of San Marcial. The First and Fourth Divisions were, in consequence, moved forward to protect the flanks of the Spaniards, but the latter repulsed the enemy with such spirit, that they sought protection under their cannon; and giving up all hope of the relief of St. Sebastian, they re-crossed the Bidassoa, and during the night retreated from their position on the left bank of that river. In this operation the Second Provisional Battalion was left at the pass of the Crown Mountain, to keep up the communication with the Seventh Division.

On the 31st of August also the fortress of St. Sebastian was attacked and carried by assault. The British army had the proud satisfaction of victoriously entering the territory of France, and was led by its able commander to a position in front of the Bidassoa, considered one of the strongest in the Pyrenees, extending from Zugano Mardie by La Rhona to the sea.

In the storming of Marshal Soult's intrenched position on the river Nivelle, on the 10th of November, the attack of the centre columns was led by the four companies of the Queen's, supported by their comrades of the Fifty-third. The men carried bags of fern to fill up the ditch, and small scaling-ladders to mount the rampart of a redoubt which they were ordered to take. In this service they were completely successful. The battalion advanced with a British huzza, and the enemy abandoned the redoubt and fled. A deep ravine, immediately in the rear of the work, prevented the further advance of the Queen's, who from the crest of the hill had opened a sharp fire upon the fugitives. For the gallant and successful services on this occasion, his Majesty has graciously sanctioned the addition of the word Nivelle to its other badges of distinction.

Soon after this action the army went into quarters for a short time, while preparations were making for crossing the Adour, and forming the blockade of Bayonne. The Queen's was sent to St. Jean de Luz for new clothing, and rejoined the division at St. Severe. The Fourth Division proceeded towards Bourdeaux, to support the Seventh under Lieutenant-General Lord Dalhousie, and after the surrender of that city returned to the Plains of Toulouse.