Lieut.-Colonel John Ramsay and about three hundred officers and men of the regiment were thus made prisoners at the little walled town of Brihuega, in the mountains of Castile; but the officers and men on command and on detachment in the towns through which the army advanced escaped this disaster. The enemy used every means to induce the English, German, and Palatine soldiers, taken prisoners, to enlist into their service, and withheld provision from such as refused: this, however, proved advantageous to the allies; the soldiers availed themselves of every opportunity to desert the enemy's service, and returned in parties of thirty and forty to their own army.[32] Recruits also arrived from England; the officers and men who remained in captivity were exchanged, and several of the corps were re-organized; but the Sixth do not appear to have been engaged in any important service in the years 1711 and 1712. On the decease of the Emperor of Germany, King Charles was elevated to the imperial throne; one of the competitors for the crown of Spain was thus removed; a cessation of hostilities took place between the English and French in the campaign of 1712, which was followed by a treaty of peace, called the peace of Utrecht; and the Sixth proceeded to Ireland.

After the decease of Queen Anne, and the accession of King George I., several alterations were made in the army, and Colonel Harrison was succeeded in the command of the Sixth by Colonel Robert Dormer, from the lieut.-colonelcy of the first troop (now first regiment) of life-guards, by commission dated the 7th of March, 1716.

During the rebellion of the Earl of Mar, and the alarm occasioned by the proceedings of the courts of Spain and Sweden in favour of the Pretender, the Sixth remained in Ireland; but when the rash and unjust proceedings of the Spanish minister, Cardinal Alberoni, involved Great Britain and France in a war with Spain, the regiment was selected to form part of an expedition against the coast of Spain. The capture of Sardinia and the invasion of Sicily by the Spaniards was followed by a naval war in the Mediterranean; and the British government projected the capture of Corunna in Biscay, and of Peru in South America. The attack on Corunna was first determined on; and the Sixth formed part of a land-force of four thousand men, placed under the orders of General Viscount Cobham for this service. The troops embarked in the beginning of September, 1719; but, on arriving off the coast of Gallicia, circumstances occurred which occasioned the attack on Corunna to be laid aside, and an attempt on Vigo determined on. The fleet entered the harbour of Vigo on the 29th of September, and seized on seven ships, three of which were fitting up as privateers; on the following day the grenadiers landed on the south side of the river, three miles above the town; a sharp fire of musketry was opened upon them from the mountains, but at too great a distance to produce effect, and the battalion companies having gained the shore, the troops passed the night under arms. On the 1st of October the army approached the town, and encamped with its left to the sea near the village of Boas, and its right extending towards the mountains; abundance of wine being found in the houses, which were left without inhabitants, the soldiers drank freely, and it was found necessary to enforce strict discipline to prevent irregularities. The town of Vigo, and fort St. Sebastian, were abandoned by the enemy and taken possession of by Brigadier-General Honeywood, with eight hundred men. A thousand Spaniards retired to the citadel, and held out; but after a heavy battery had opened its fire, and the garrison had lost nearly three hundred men, the lieut.-governor surrendered. Two thousand barrels of powder, eight thousand muskets, and fifteen fine brass guns, which had been prepared for the invasion of Britain in favour of the Pretender, were found in the castle: the troops in garrison were also part of the force which had been selected to serve in the expedition under the Duke of Ormond. While the siege of the castle of Vigo was in progress, five hundred men were detached against Rondondella, and they captured and burnt the town. A thousand men embarked under Major-General Wade, on the 12th of October, and, proceeding to the upper end of Vigo bay, landed and marched thirty miles to Pont-a-Vedra; thirteen companies of Spaniards in garrison fled in a panic; the country was thrown into confusion, and the principal inhabitants hurried from their homes. The town of Pont-a-Vedra, the arsenal, barracks for two thousand men, thirteen pieces of brass, and eighty-six of iron ordnance, five thousand small arms, three hundred barrels of powder, and abundance of other stores, were captured. The arsenal, barracks, and Fort Marine, four miles from Pont-a-Vedra, with the iron ordnance, were destroyed; the more valuable stores were removed on board the transports, and the detachment returned to Vigo.

The king of Spain, being oppressed on every side, his sources exhausted, and his projects defeated, dismissed his turbulent minister and made pacific overtures. A treaty of peace was concluded before the projected expedition against Peru was undertaken, and the Sixth were again stationed in Ireland.

On the 9th of April, 1720, Colonel Robert Dormer was succeeded in the command of the regiment by his brother, Colonel James Dormer, from the fourteenth dragoons, who was promoted in February, 1738, to the first troop of horse grenadier guards: the colonelcy appears to have remained vacant until November following, when it was conferred on Lieut.-Colonel John Guise.

The regiment was withdrawn from Ireland in the autumn of 1739, and, after its arrival in England, another war between Great Britain and Spain having become inevitable, its establishment was augmented, and it was ordered to hold itself in readiness to proceed on foreign service.

A formidable armament was prepared for the attack of the Spanish colonies in the West Indies, and the land forces were placed under the orders of General Lord Cathcart, a nobleman of approved courage and experience in war. The troops having embarked in October, 1740, sailed under the convoy of a naval force commanded by Sir Chaloner Ogle; and the colonel of the Sixth, John Guise, was appointed to serve as brigadier-general in the expedition. This regiment did not form part of the first embarkation, but it was subsequently ordered to proceed to the West Indies to reinforce the troops employed in this enterprise.

A tempest dispersed the fleet, consisting of about one hundred and seventy sail, in the bay of Biscay; but the greater part of the vessels were re-collected and proceeded on the voyage. Arriving at the neutral island of Dominica, to provide wood and water, the troops sustained the loss of their gallant leader, Lord Cathcart, who died of dysentery; and the command devolved on Brigadier-General Thomas Wentworth.

On arriving at Jamaica in January, 1741, the expedition was joined by Vice-Admiral Vernon; but the season of the year for active service in the West Indies was fast passing away, and several circumstances concurred to create further delay. At length an attempt on Carthagena, the capital of an extensive and wealthy province in the country of Terra Firma in South America, was resolved upon; and, although this place was found strongly fortified, and the garrison reinforced by the crews of a squadron of large ships, commanded by Don Blas de Leso; yet, the fleet having silenced several small forts, eight regiments landed on the 10th of March, on the island of Tierra Bomba, near the mouth of the harbour, and commenced the siege of the principal fort, or castle, called Bocca-chica. On the evening of the 25th of March the grenadiers mounted the breach to storm the fortress, when the Spanish garrison fled, and the place was captured without loss.

Two channels having been made through the sunk vessels with which the Spaniards had blocked up the entrance of the harbour, the troops and artillery were re-embarked, and commenced landing, on the 5th of April, near the city. The country round Carthagena was found covered with trees and herbage of the most luxuriant growth, and the interwoven branches formed a shelter impenetrable both to heat and light; as the troops, led by Brigadier-General Blakeney, advanced along a narrow defile, several men were wounded by shots from the tracts and openings into the wood; and, on diverging from the defile, six hundred Spaniards were seen advantageously posted to dispute the passage: but they were speedily driven from their ground, and the British bivouacked within a mile of the castle of St. Lazar, which commanded the town. The men passed three nights in the open air, for want of tents and tools, which could not be landed sooner, and the health of the soldiers was in consequence seriously injured.

As the men were fast diminishing in numbers from hard duty and the effects of climate, Brigadier-General Wentworth resolved to attack St. Lazar by escalade; to which dangerous experiment he was urged by Vice-Admiral Vernon, who accused him of want of resolution. Twelve hundred men, commanded by Brigadier-General Guise, stormed the enemy's intrenchments under the walls of the fort, and though assailed by a heavy fire of musketry, the grenadiers, led by Colonel Grant, rushed forward with astonishing bravery, and leaping into the lines among the thickest of their adversaries, carried the works in gallant style. The Spaniards fled over a drawbridge into the fort; the British pursued under a heavy fire, and called for the ladders to storm the works; but so hot was the fire, that the Americans who carried the ladders threw them down and fled back to the camp. Meanwhile the soldiers were exposed to a most destructive fire, and were unable to cover themselves: at length three ladders were brought forward, and a serjeant and ten grenadiers mounted the walls, but were instantly cut to pieces, excepting the serjeant, who saved himself by leaping down again. Several of the ladders were found too short; it was ascertained that, owing to a guide having been killed, the attack was made on the strongest part of the works; Colonel Grant fell mortally wounded; and after sustaining a most destructive fire for several hours with intrepidity and perseverance, the troops were ordered to retreat, having lost six hundred men in killed and wounded.

This repulse was followed by the violent periodical rains, the country was deluged with water, and the change of atmosphere (which is always attended with epidemical distempers and the climate becomes extremely unhealthy) produced the most fatal effects. The soldiers were so drenched with rain, and their health so seriously impaired, that they re-embarked, and all hope of further success immediately vanished. The admiral was blamed for not stationing four or five of his large ships within pistol-shot of the town, when the troops advanced to attack fort St. Lazar; and if this had been done (Smollett observes), "in all probability the town would have surrendered."

After re-embarking, the distempers peculiar to the climate produced great havoc among the soldiers. Smollett states,—"Nothing was heard but complaints and execrations: the groans of the dying, and the service for the dead: nothing was seen but objects of woe and images of dejection." Such are the sufferings often endured by the British soldier in the various countries to which he is called upon to proceed, and are generally borne with exemplary fortitude.

The forts and castles of the harbour of Carthagena having been demolished, the fleet sailed to Jamaica; and subsequently to the south-east part of the island of Cuba, where the soldiers landed, and a camp was formed twenty miles up one of the large rivers of this island. At this camp the Sixth were stationed some time, and it was in contemplation to form a British settlement on this part of Cuba; the country was reconnoitred, detachments were sent out, and the Spanish villages were found deserted. For a short time a plentiful supply of fresh provisions was procured; but the men were afterwards rationed with salt and damaged meat and biscuit, and their numbers were so reduced by sickness, that in November they were put on board again, and re-conveyed to Jamaica.

The Sixth, having suffered severely from the effects of climate, returned to England in December, 1742, and commenced recruiting their numbers. They subsequently proceeded to Scotland, where they were stationed in the summer of 1745, when Charles-Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, raised his standard in the Highlands, and asserted his father's pretensions to the throne.

The head-quarters of the Sixth were at Aberdeen; two companies were at Inverness, which has been termed the capital of the Highlands, being the only town of importance north of Aberdeen; three companies were at Fort Augustus, situated on a plain at the head of Loch Ness, between the rivers Tarff and Oich, and built at the spot where they discharge themselves into the lake; a strong party, commanded by Captain Millar, occupied Fort William, which was built in the reign of King William III., in a plain on a navigable arm of the sea, called Loch Eil, near the influx of the Lochy and Nevis, in the county of Inverness; a serjeant's party occupied a redoubt at Ruthven; and a working party was employed on the newly-constructed roads in the Highlands. While in these quarters information was received of the arrival of the Pretender's eldest son with a few Scottish and Irish adventurers on the coast of Lochabar, and of their being joined by a number of Highlanders, under their respective chiefs. The news of this bold and hazardous undertaking was at first disbelieved, but Captain Sweetman of the regiment, walking out from Fort Augustus to gain information, entered an inn in the Highlands, where he was surrounded by eight rebels and conveyed a prisoner to the young Pretender's camp. There he was civilly treated, and suffered to go away on his parole; one of the Pretender's manifestos was given him, with a passport directed to all sheriffs, sheriff-deputies, and constables in Scotland, and signed Charles Pr. Custos Reg. After his release Captain Sweetman proceeded by post to London, where he was examined by the Privy Council, and the tidings of the rebellion were no longer doubted. The working parties of the Sixth and other corps were then ordered to rejoin their regiments.

The young adventurer having assembled about fifteen hundred men, encamped in the neighbourhood of Fort William: two newly-raised companies, of the regiments of St. Clair and Murray, proceeding to Fort William, were attacked by a body of mountaineers, and after a resolute resistance, the soldiers, having expended all their ammunition, were forced to surrender. Lieutenant-General Sir John Cope, the commander-in-chief in Scotland, assembled the disposable force under his orders at Stirling, and advanced towards the road leading through the Highlands to Inverlochy, taking with him a thousand arms, in the expectation of being joined at Crieff by a body of well-affected Highlanders. A detachment of the Sixth accompanied Sir John Cope in this advance through a wild country, where the soldiers were obliged to take their provision with them, and being disappointed of the Highlanders, the spare arms were sent back for want of carriage. On arriving at Dalwhinnie,—the place where the Fort Augustus and Inverness roads meet, information was received that the rebels were in force in a position in the winding of the road up the mountain, of such difficult approach and natural strength, that it was thought impossible to force it, and the soldiers, having only two days' provision with them, retired by Ruthven to Inverness.

A veteran serjeant of the regiment, named Molloy, and twelve men were left in charge of the little fort at Ruthven, which they defended against the rebel host with such distinguished bravery, that the following letter from this brave man to Sir John Cope deserves a place in this memoir.

From Inverness Lieut.-General Sir John Cope marched to Aberdeen, where he embarked the troops in transports, in order to proceed by sea to Leith, to oppose the progress of the rebels southwards; and two companies of the Sixth, commanded by Captains Pointz and Holwell, were employed in this service. Arriving at Dunbar, on the 16th of September, they landed on the south side of the Firth, and, to their great mortification and disappointment, learnt that the rebel highlanders and their adventurous chief had gained possession of Edinburgh, towards which city Sir John Cope commenced his march on the 19th of September.

Information having been received of the approach of a rebel force of very superior numbers, the King's troops took up a position a short distance to the east of the village of Preston-pans, near the sea, and seven miles from Edinburgh. Several changes of ground were made as the rebels menaced various parts of the line; but the attack was delayed, and the soldiers passed the night under arms: the two companies of the Sixth, and eight companies of Lascelles' (forty-seventh) regiment, formed one battalion, and were posted in the right centre of the front line[34].

About three o'clock on the morning of the 21st of September, large bodies of rebel Highlanders were seen in motion, and before day-break a chosen band of these hardy mountaineers was discovered through the thick atmosphere, moving like a dusky phantom swiftly along the undulating grounds to attack the right. As they drew near they raised a dismal yell, fired a volley, threw down their muskets, and rushed sword in hand upon the troops which guarded the artillery. The sudden advance of the Highlanders in the dark, their superior numbers, and peculiar mode of fighting, struck with dismay the two hundred soldiers appointed to guard the artillery on the right, who saw themselves assaulted by more than three times their own numbers, and as they caught the gleam of steel flashing in their faces, they gave way and fled. The two hundred and fifty dragoons on the right, seeing the artillery lost, became disheartened; they advanced to charge a large mass of Highlanders; but observing the disparity of numbers, they were seized with a panic and galloped out of the field. Their conduct damped the courage of the infantry, and the panic spread from rank to rank; but several companies made resistance, and feats of valour were nobly displayed by individuals and small parties; all semblance of order was, however, soon lost, and a confused rout ensued. The two companies[35] of the Sixth were among the troops who resisted the Highlanders; Captain Hollwell was killed; Captain Pointz was surrounded, dangerously wounded, and taken prisoner; Lieutenants Cumming and Paton, and Ensigns Wakeman and Irwine, were also made prisoners; and the two companies had nearly every man either killed, wounded, or taken prisoner: such were the disastrous results of this battle, that of the King's forces, not more than one-half escaped from the field. The prisoners were removed to Edinburgh, and afterwards to the Highlands.

With the advance of the rebels into Derbyshire, their precipitate retreat back to Scotland, and the battle of Falkirk, the services of the Sixth are not immediately connected; but in the early part of 1746, after the Duke of Cumberland had forced the young Pretender to raise the siege of Stirling castle, and to retreat to the Highlands, the three companies of the regiment stationed in Fort Augustus were besieged by the rebel army. As the young Pretender had obtained a train of artillery, and the services of a few French officers and engineers, the reduction of the fort was not a difficult operation, and the three companies were made prisoners: the works were afterwards blown up and abandoned by the enemy.

A lieutenant and about fifty men of the regiment had, in the mean time, assembled at Edinburgh: some of these men had escaped from captivity, others were the remains of the two companies which had fought at Preston-pans, and they were directed to proceed, by forced marches, to Inverlochy, and throw themselves into Fort William: a drummer and three men of the regiment, who were made prisoners at Fort Augustus, also escaped from custody and took refuge in Fort William. In March, 1746, the enemy besieged the fort, and the garrison made a most resolute defence. By a well-directed fire from the works, by sallies and other devices, with the co-operation of a small naval force, the enemy was forced to raise the siege and retire. This success was followed by the overthrow of the rebel army at Culloden, which extinguished the hopes of the Pretender, and the insurrection was thus finally suppressed. The officers and men of the Sixth were liberated from captivity, the companies in garrison were relieved, and the regiment proceeded to England to recruit its numbers, where it remained for six years.

In the warrant of King George II., bearing date the 1st of July, 1751, for regulating the uniform, colours, and distinctions of regiments, the facing of the Sixth was directed to be of DEEP YELLOW. "The first colour to be the great Union; and the second to be of deep yellow, with the union in the upper canton; in the centre of the colours the Antelope, being the ancient badge of the regiment, and in the three corners of the second colour the rose and crown. The front of the grenadier caps to be of deep yellow, with the antelope, as in the colours; the little flap to be red, with the white horse, and motto, Nec aspera terrent, over it; the back part of the cap to be red, and the turn-up deep yellow. The same badge of the antelope to be painted on the drums and bells of arms, with the rank of the regiment underneath."

The Sixth were employed on home duty until the winter of 1753, when they embarked for Gibraltar to relieve the thirty-second regiment; and they were employed on garrison duty at that important fortress during the whole of the Seven years' war. Hostilities commenced in America in 1755, and in 1756 a French armament, commanded by Marshal Duke of Richelieu, invaded the island of Minorca, in the capture of which the Sixth took so distinguished a part in 1708; and a detachment of the regiment was held in readiness to proceed to Port Mahon to reinforce the garrison. This service was, however, delayed; and Lieut.-General Fowke, who commanded the forces at Gibraltar, was dismissed the service for neglecting to strengthen the troops in Minorca by a battalion from his garrison.

After the peace of Fontainebleau the Sixth were relieved from duty at Gibraltar, and returned to England, where they arrived in the summer of 1763. Two years afterwards they proceeded to Scotland.

On the 14th of June, 1765, the colonelcy was conferred by King George III. on Major-General William Rufane, from the half-pay of the seventy-sixth foot (a corps raised in 1756, and disbanded after the peace in 1763), in succession to General Guise, deceased.

The regiment left Scotland in 1769, and was stationed in England during the three succeeding years: in October, 1772, it embarked for the West Indies, to assist in reducing to submission to the British government the refractory Charibbees in St. Vincent. This island was ceded to Great Britain by the treaty of 1763, and was found to contain two tribes of natives, called the red and black Charibbees; the former being the aborigines, and the latter having sprung from a cargo of African slaves who escaped from a vessel which was wrecked on the island. The Charibbees were found devoted to the French interest, and were dangerous and troublesome neighbours to the English planters. A resolution was taken to restrain their ambulations to a smaller range in the island, and to enforce obedience to several necessary regulations: and if this was found impracticable, to remove them to some other island, or to the continent of Africa. The Charibbees were, however, of a resolute spirit: they possessed many thickly-wooded fastnesses, and they resisted the attempt to restrict the indulgence of their roving propensities and mode of life so powerfully, that it was found necessary to augment the military force on the island.

Soon after arriving at St. Vincent the Sixth lost their colonel, Lieut.-General Rufane, who died on the 14th of February, 1773, and was succeeded by Lieut.-General John Gore from the sixty-first regiment: this officer died in November following, when his Majesty conferred the colonelcy of the Sixth on Lieut.-General Sir William Boothby, Baronet, from the fiftieth foot.

The regiment was employed in operations against the Charibbees of St. Vincent; several skirmishes occurred among the thickly-wooded parts of the country, and a few men were killed and wounded in the bush-fighting which took place daily. At length the natives were reduced to submission, and an agreement was concluded with their chiefs in February, 1774, by which further hostilities were prevented.

Having reduced the two refractory tribes to submission, the Sixth and forty-eighth regiments were stationed at the Charibbee islands until after the breaking out of the war of independence in North America.

Hostilities commenced in 1775, when the establishment of the Sixth was augmented from ten companies of thirty-eight private men each, to twelve companies of fifty-six private men each. In the following year they were withdrawn from the West Indies, and joined the army commanded by Lieut.-General Sir William Howe at New York. The health of the soldiers had, however, been impaired by their residence in a tropical climate, and after transferring a few men to other corps, they returned to England, where they arrived in March, 1777.

During the summer of 1778, the regiment was encamped, with the twenty-fifth, sixty-ninth, seventy-ninth, and ten militia corps, at Warley, under the orders of Lieut.-General Pierson. In the following year the regiment was encamped at Coxheath, with the fourteenth, fiftieth, sixty-fifth, sixty-ninth, and sixteen corps of militia; and in 1780 it was encamped at Rye, under Major-General Sloper.

In 1782 county titles were given to regiments, in order to facilitate the procuring of recruits; and the Sixth were designated the First Warwickshire regiment: at the same time the officers were directed to cultivate a connection with that division of the county, so as to create a mutual attachment between the inhabitants of Warwickshire and the regiment.

The Sixth had previously proceeded to the islands of Jersey and Guernsey, from whence they were removed to Ireland in the autumn of 1783.

On the 5th of May, 1786, the regiment embarked from Ireland for North America, to relieve the seventeenth at Nova Scotia, and was stationed in that island for several years.

General Sir William Boothby, Baronet, died at Bath on the 15th of April, 1787, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the Sixth by Lieut.-General Lancelot Baugh, from the fifty-eighth regiment; after whose decease in 1792, Sir Ralph Abercromby was appointed colonel of the Sixth, from the sixty-ninth regiment.

While the regiment was stationed in Nova Scotia a revolution took place in France, and in 1793 the King and Queen were beheaded. The dangerous doctrines of liberty and equality extended to the French West India islands, and the Sixth were withdrawn from Nova Scotia and employed in delivering these valuable possessions from the power of the republican government.

The forces engaged in this enterprise rendezvoused at Barbadoes in January, 1794, under the orders of General Sir Charles Grey, K.B. (afterwards Earl Grey), and the battalion companies of the Sixth constituted part of the third brigade, the flank companies being formed in grenadier and light infantry battalions. A landing was effected at three different points on the island of Martinico in the early part of February, and after some sharp fighting, in which the Sixth had about half a dozen men killed and wounded, this valuable possession was delivered from the power of republicanism. Sir Charles Grey observed in his public despatch:—"The spirit, unanimity, and perseverance of the navy and army never were more conspicuous; nor has more cordial co-operation ever been manifested between his Majesty's naval and land forces. In a word, the general, and field-officers, and the commanding officers of corps, have set such an example of zeal, activity, and animation in this service, which has been so laudably imitated by all the officers and soldiers of this little army, that they merit the greatest praise."

From Martinico the grenadiers under Prince Edward (afterwards Duke of Kent), the light infantry under Major-General Thomas Dundas, with the Sixth, ninth, and forty-third regiments, commanded by Colonel Sir Charles Gordon, re-embarked on the 30th of March, and arriving at St. Lucia on the 1st of April, completed the conquest of that fine island in three days. A detachment of the regiment was next 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, and Sir Charles Grey declared in his public despatch, that he "could not find words to convey an adequate idea, or to express the high sense he entertained, of the extraordinary merit evinced by the officers and soldiers in this service."

Although the extension of revolutionary power in Europe engaged the attention of the regicide government of France, yet the loss of these valuable colonial possessions was not regarded with indifference, and an expedition was fitted out at Brest for the recovery of the conquered islands. In June a body of French troops arrived at Guadaloupe, and the doctrines of liberty and equality were so successfully disseminated among the mulattoes and blacks, that they quickly flocked to the republican standard. The posts occupied by the British were attacked, and in October the whole island, except Fort Matilda, was re-captured by the French. This fort was defended by the troops under Major-General Prescott until December, when it was evacuated. The Sixth had several men killed and wounded in the defence of Guadaloupe, and had also Lieutenant Ekins wounded.

The regiment having sustained considerable loss from the effects of climate, transferred its service-men to the ninth foot, and embarked for England, where it arrived in July, 1795, and landed at Portsmouth, from whence it proceeded into Warwickshire to recruit. In this service it was not, however, very successful, in consequence of having transferred a number of Warwickshire men to the ninth regiment in the West Indies.

The regiment marched to Southampton in September, for the purpose of embarking for Gibraltar; but the order was subsequently countermanded, and it returned to Warwickshire to re-commence recruiting.

In November of the same year Sir Ralph Abercromby was removed to the seventh dragoon guards, and the colonelcy of the Sixth was conferred on Prince William Frederick, afterwards Duke of Gloucester.

Ireland being, at this period, in a state bordering on rebellion, the Sixth, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Colin Campbell, were ordered to proceed to that country. They embarked at Bristol in February, 1796, landed at Waterford, and in May proceeded to Kilkenny. The French directory cherished a decided antipathy to the British government, and sent a body of troops to Ireland to aid the malcontents in an appeal to arms. In December, when the French armament appeared in Bantry Bay, the Sixth marched to oppose the enemy, who returned to France without effecting a landing.

The regiment returned to Kilkenny in January, 1797, from whence it marched in April to Loughlinstown, near Dublin, where a considerable force was assembled in huts: it was subsequently encamped in Phœnix Park, Dublin, and being very weak in numbers, it was united to the first light infantry battalion in October it returned to its huts at Loughlinstown; and in the early part of 1798, marched to Nenagh, and subsequently to Galway.

The long-suppressed rebellion broke out in May, 1798, and Ireland became the scene of conflagration, rapine, and bloodshed, the conduct of the insurgents being of the most cruel and inhuman character. The Sixth, and light battalion attached to them, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Colin Campbell, were employed in suppressing this unnatural warfare. Scarcely was this accomplished, when the French directory endeavoured to revive the contest by sending General Humbert with about a thousand men to Ireland; and Major Macbean, with eighty men of the Sixth (who were not attached to the light battalion) formed part of the force sent against the French. In the action at Castlebar, on the 27th of August, the eighty men of the Sixth were the last that quitted their ground; their commanding officer, Major Macbean, was taken prisoner by the French and very cruelly treated; but he escaped a few days afterwards and joined the regiment at Tuam. The French having been surrounded and made prisoners, the rebellion was finally suppressed, and the regiment passed the winter at Moate and Athlone, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Bowes.

Tranquillity having been restored in Ireland, the regiment embarked at Cork in June, 1799, for Canada, and landed on the 14th of October at Quebec, where its ranks were completed by a draft from the third battalion of the sixtieth regiment.

The Sixth remained at Quebec until 1803, when they proceeded, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Bowes, up the country to Montreal, Kingston, and St. John's.

In 1804 a second battalion was added to the regiment, and was embodied at Liverpool, under the superintendence of the colonel, His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester. It was formed of men raised in the county of Lancaster for limited service, under the additional force act, passed on the 29th of June, 1804; and was placed on the establishment of the army from the 25th of December, 1804. In the same year the first battalion returned to Quebec, from whence it embarked, in 1806, for England: it landed at Portsmouth on the 7th of September, and marched to Deal barracks, where it was joined by the second battalion.

His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester was removed in May, 1806, to the third foot-guards; and the colonelcy of the Sixth was conferred on Major-General Sir George Nugent, Baronet, from the sixty-second regiment.

The first battalion having been completed to the war-establishment by drafts from the second, marched, in October, to Dover Castle; and in January, 1807, returned to Deal. In April following it embarked for Gibraltar, where it arrived on the 2nd of June, in a very complete and efficient state, and it passed the succeeding twelve months at that important fortress.

While the Sixth were in garrison at Gibraltar, the tyrannical proceedings of Bonaparte in Portugal and Spain, and the resistance which he met with in those countries, induced the British Government to aid the patriots in their endeavours to shake off the French yoke; and in June, 1808, this regiment, mustering upwards of eleven hundred men, was placed under the orders of Major-General Brent Spencer, with the view of being employed in this service. For some time, however, the point at which a landing should take place was not decided, and the troops appeared first off Ceuta, then proceeded to Cadiz, subsequently to Lisbon, and back to Cadiz. At length circumstances occurred which induced Major-General Spencer once more to proceed to the vicinity of Lisbon, where he learnt that Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley had arrived, with eight thousand men from Ireland, in the Mondego river, and immediately proceeded thither to join him.

Having landed on the shores of Portugal, the Sixth were formed in brigade with the thirty-second regiment, under Brigadier-General Bowes; the advanced guard quitted the banks of the Mondego river, on the 9th of August, and on the 17th attacked the French under General Laborde in their position at Roleia.

On the morning of this day, which is memorable for being the first of a series of victories gained by the British troops in the Peninsula, the Sixth issued from Obidos, a town with a Moorish castle, built on a gentle eminence in the middle of a valley, and, directing their march to the left, gained the ridge of heights on the enemy's right. They formed part of the left column of attack under Major-General Ferguson, destined to turn all the enemy's posts on the left of the valley, and the right of his post at Roleia; also to oppose the efforts of a body of French troops under General Loison, should they arrive from Rio Major during the action. The heights were cleared, the column descended from the higher grounds in the rear of the centre, and joining Brigadier-General Fane's brigade, were directed through the mountains to outflank the French right. Meanwhile the troops which attacked the enemy's centre were triumphant; the Sixth and other corps in the left column turned his right flank, and he fell back fighting to the Quinta de Bugaliera, and soon after four o'clock the action had ceased. The Sixth were not seriously engaged: their only loss was Captain John Currey and two men wounded, and one man missing; but their gallant bearing, and eagerness to engage their adversaries were conspicuous, and they were rewarded with the honour of bearing the word "Roleia" inscribed on their colours.

On the 19th of August the Sixth marched into position at Vimiera, a village near the sea-coast, and situate in a valley through which runs the little river Maceira; and the regiment was one of the corps posted on a large mountain which commenced at the coast. At seven o'clock on the morning of the 21st of August a cloud of dust was observed beyond the nearest hills, and soon afterwards the French army, commanded by Marshal Junot, was seen advancing in order of battle.

The Sixth, and several other corps, were directed to cross the valley behind the village, and to take post on another height, which overtopped the hill in front of the village; and, before the regiment reached the summit, the battle had commenced. A sternly contested action among rugged rocks and broken grounds ended in an entire defeat of the French army; and the Sixth were rewarded with the honour of bearing the word "Vimiera" inscribed on their colours.

These successes were followed by the convention of Cintra, and the British soldiers saw their gallant efforts succeeded by the deliverance of Portugal from the power of the enemy. On the departure of the French, the Sixth marched up the country to the strong fortress of Almeida, situate on the river Coa, in the province of Beira, where they remained in garrison four months.