The progress of military organization in Portugal and Spain, with the arrival of reinforcements from England, enabled the British commander to take the field in May, 1813, with a formidable army. He drove the French from Salamanca, turned their positions on the Douro, and forced them back in disorder upon Burgos, when they destroyed the castle and retreated to the Ebro, the passage of which river they were prepared to defend; but he turned their position by a flank march, and obliged them to fall back upon Vittoria, where they formed for battle. The sixth division was left behind at Medina de Pomar, to cover the march of the magazines, and the Sixty-first were thus prevented sharing in the victory at Vittoria on the 21st of June. They were sufficiently near to hear the firing, and arrived at the field of battle on the following day, to take charge of the captured artillery and stores.

The regiment was subsequently employed in attempting to intercept the French division under General Clausel, and when this force had escaped to France, the regiment proceeded to Pampeluna, to take part in the blockade of that fortress, from which duty it was relieved by a Spanish corps, on the 14th of July, and advanced into the Pyrenean Mountains to San Estevan, situated in a beautiful valley, where it halted. Thus, after marching nearly six hundred miles in seven weeks, passing six great rivers, gaining one decisive battle, and investing the two fortresses of Pampeluna and San Sebastian, the allied army stood triumphant on the lofty Pyrenees, and the officers and soldiers panted for opportunities to acquire additional honors.

The French army having been reinforced, and reorganized, advanced under Marshal Soult, and attacked the British posts in the mountains, when the allied army fell back to a position in front of Pampeluna. The sixth division, to which the Sixty-first continued to belong, quitted San Estevan to support the troops first attacked; but when advancing, Lord Wellington rode up to the division, and ordered it to halt for the night. It afterwards retired through the mountain passes, and bivouacked, during the night of the 27th of July, in a pine-wood. At daybreak on the following morning it resumed its march, and joining the army in position in the mountains, formed for battle across the valley in the rear of the left of the fourth division, its right on the village of Oricain, and its left on some heights.

Soon after the regiment had taken its post, columns of attack were seen in motion to commence the battle of the Pyrenees, where the Sixty-first had another opportunity of distinguishing themselves. A body of French troops moved along the valley of Lanz towards the mountain at its extremity, and the Sixty-first, with two other British corps, were ordered to move at a running pace and occupy the mountain. The Sixty-first hastened up the hill on one side, as the French skirmishers ascended on the other; but the British gained the summit first, and opened their fire with terrible effect. The French were encompassed in the valley; two brigades smote them from the left, the Portuguese smote them from the right, and the sixth division forced them back with a terrible carnage. The enemy retreated behind the village of Sauroren. The Sixty-first, and two other regiments, advanced to a post near the village, and the fire of small-arms was kept up until dark.

No serious fighting occurred on the 29th of July; but on the morning of the 30th the British batteries opened from the heights, and a cloud of skirmishers advanced against Sauroren. The firing at this point afterwards subsided; but was eventually renewed, and the Sixty-first had the honor to participate in storming the village and heights of Sauroren, and in forcing the French from a position, which, from its natural strength and advantages, appeared almost impregnable. The pursuit was continued until night, and many prisoners were taken.

The regiment had seventy men killed and wounded; Captains Charleton and McLean, Lieutenants Wolfe and O’Kearney, and Volunteer Leebody, were wounded.

Lieut.-Colonel Coghlan received a gold medal; and the word “Pyrenees” was placed upon the colours of the regiment, as a mark of royal approbation of its gallant conduct.

Continuing the pursuit of the enemy to the extremity of the Pyrenees, the regiment ascended the summit of one of the highest mountains on the 2nd of August, and as the soldiers beheld the beautiful plains of France, which Napoleon had often declared to be inviolable, spread in rich landscape scenery before them, they experienced emotions of exultation in the anticipation of future conquests. In the afternoon the regiment encamped on a piece of high ground, surrounded by inaccessible rock, the only entrance to which was through a chasm; a beautiful stream ran along the hollow below, with a cannon foundry on its banks. Two days afterwards it marched to the vale of Los Alduides: and afterwards penetrated France some distance; but withdrew towards Maya, and relieved the second division on the heights commanding the pass of Maya, where the soldiers threw up breastworks. The prospect from these heights was particularly interesting: on the left was seen the sea, and the fortress of Bayonne; on the right the thickly wooded plains of Gascony, interspersed with towns and villages; in front was the French army; and in the rear of the right and left, the lofty Pyrenees crowned with the tents of the British army.

On the 1st of September the division drove the enemy from two heights in its front; and on the 9th of October, it again attacked the French, to favour the operations of the British troops which had passed the Bidassoa. Three companies of the Sixty-first were engaged on this occasion.

Invigorated by the mountain air, and impatient to win the fair plains of France before them, the soldiers received with joyful anticipations the orders to advance, and attack the enemy’s positions on the Nivelle. The Sixty-first descended from the mountains by moonlight on the night of the 9th of November, and lay concealed near the enemy’s piquets until the following morning. The day broke with great splendour, and as the first rays of light gilded the summits of the mountains, three guns gave the signal for the attack, and the French beheld with astonishment the allied army rise from its concealment, and rush to battle with an impetuosity they were not prepared to withstand. The Sixty-first passed the Nivelle river, and marched through a rugged country towards the bridge of Amotz, to attack the works at that place; the skirmishers of the regiment were in front under Lieutenant Harris. Advancing up a difficult ascent, covered with bushes, under a sharp fire, the regiment drove a body of French troops from a semicircular breastwork; several officers of the regiment outran the men, who had knapsacks to carry, and first jumped into the works:—Captain William Henry Furnace, who had repeatedly distinguished himself, fell a sacrifice to his gallantry; and Lieutenant Christopher Kellet was killed about the same time. The regiment pressed resolutely forward to storm a redoubt at the top of the hill; its commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Coghlan, received a shot through the cap, which grazed the top of his head,—several officers and men fell, but the regiment continued its rapid advance, and Lieutenant Harris jumped across the ditch of the redoubt, when the French fled in dismay, and many of them were intercepted in the rear of the redoubt. Lieutenant-General Sir Rowland Hill came up to the regiment, and thanked the officers and soldiers repeatedly for the very gallant manner in which they had ascended under the enemy’s fire. A second redoubt was captured at this part of the enemy’s line, and afterwards a third. The Sixty-first penetrated the enemy’s camp, which had been abandoned and set on fire. The light company of the regiment was detached on this occasion, and distinguished itself. A decisive victory was gained, and the British army established itself in the French territory. Captains James Horton, Marcus Annesley, and Hugh Eccles, Lieutenants Robert Belton, and Archer Toole, were all severely wounded.

Lieutenant-Colonel Coghlan received an honorary distinction; Major Oke was promoted to the rank of lieut.-colonel; and the gallantry displayed by the regiment on this occasion, was rewarded with the word “Nivelle” on its colours.

After this success, the regiment occupied quarters at Ustaritz, which was found an agreeable change; the bleak summits of the mountains, on which it had been long stationed, having become extremely cold. The moral and physical energies of the men were in full power, and nothing could have withstood their conquering progress had the weather been favourable.

Early in December a forward movement was ordered; and on the morning of the 9th of that month a beacon lighted on the heights above Cambo gave the signal for the attack, when the passage of the river Nive was forced, and the enemy driven back towards Bayonne. The sixth division passed the river on floating bridges. The advanced-guard (in which was the light company of the Sixty-first, formed in a light battalion under Captain Greene, of the regiment,) evinced great gallantry, and surprised the first French piquet, which fled in dismay. Some sharp fighting occurred; Captain Greene was wounded, and Captain Charleton was sent from the regiment to take command of the light battalion. The swampy nature of the country retarded the advance of the division, and gave time for the French troops to effect their retreat towards Bayonne. The enemy advanced and attacked the British troops on the three following days, but were repulsed.

At the passage of the “Nive” the regiment earned another honorary inscription for its colours; and Captain Greene received a medal. Its loss was limited to Captains Greene and Charleton wounded, and a few private soldiers killed and wounded.

The regiment was stationed at Ville-Franque from the middle of November until the 22nd of February, 1814, assisting in the blockade of Bayonne. On one occasion, when the regiment had gone out for field exercise, leaving the officers, bât-men, pioneers, and the quartermaster-serjeant in quarters, a heavy fall of rain so swelled the stream of the Nive, that the pontoon-bridge of communication was detached from its moorings, and was seen floating down the stream. Quartermaster-Serjeant Rose (who distinguished himself at Talavera) and Private Thomas Dawson got hold of the bridge, and, at the hazard of their lives, succeeded in securing it, by which much inconvenience to the service was prevented. The quartermaster-serjeant was rewarded with a commission, and a sum of money was given to Private Dawson.

Quitting Ville-Franque, the regiment advanced up the country, and passing the river near Bereux, by a pontoon-bridge, on the morning of the 27th of February, it afterwards ascended by a narrow way between high rocks to the great road to Peyrehorade, which brought it into the presence of the French army, under Marshal Soult, in position near Orthes. The action commenced in the forenoon. The third and sixth divisions won, without difficulty, the lower part of the ridges opposed to them, and endeavoured to extend their left along the French front with a sharp fire of musketry. On the other flank the French defended their post with more resolution. During the early part of the day, the skirmishers only of the Sixty-first were engaged, and the regiment was in reserve; when the French army gave way, two fine battalions were seen attempting to cover the retreat, and Lieut.-Colonel Coghlan led the Sixty-first Regiment against them at a running pace. The two battalions fired a volley and retreated, pursued by the British light cavalry.

Lieut.-Colonel Coghlan received another honorary distinction for this battle; and the word “Orthes,” on the colours, commemorates the gallant bearing of the regiment on this occasion. Its loss was limited to one serjeant and ten men, killed and wounded.

Pursuing the retreating enemy on the following day, the regiment took some prisoners, and, being in advance, discovered part of the French army on an eminence near St. Sever; the enemy again retreated after dark, and was followed on the succeeding days. On one occasion the regiment lost a serjeant and seven men in a skirmish; and Lieutenant Furnace, of the light company, had a narrow escape, a ball having passed through the collar of his coat.

The regiment again came up with the enemy on the 16th of March, near Tarbes, and had a few men wounded. The weather was fine, the soldiers healthy, vigorous, and animated with their uninterrupted career of success, so that they were ready for any service; but the French continued their retreat without hazarding a serious engagement.

Marshal Soult concentrated the French troops under his command in a fortified position at Toulouse; and on the morning of the 10th of April, the Sixty-first Regiment was in motion with the fourth and sixth divisions, under Marshal Beresford, to turn the enemy’s right flank. The regiment being halted beyond the river Ers, while Lord Wellington and his staff reconnoitred the enemy, Lieut.-Colonel Coghlan took that opportunity to address the officers and men in a short and animated speech, which made a great impression on their minds. Immediately afterwards the regiment advanced; it crossed the river Ers, and marched along the left bank exposed to the enemy’s cannonade. On arriving at its destined point, the brigade was wheeled into line by Major-General Lambert, who led it forward to attack a formidable height occupied by French troops. The enemy descended with loud shouts to meet the advancing line, and opened a heavy fire of musketry; the Sixty-first rushed forward without firing a shot, the officers animating the men by their example, and answering the French shouts with a loud and confident huzza! They carried the height with fixed bayonets, but sustained severe loss. Many of the officers having outrun their men, who were retarded by the weight of their knapsacks, entered a French redoubt at the moment the defenders were quitting it, when a number of French soldiers turned round and fired with fatal effect: of the Sixty-first, Lieut.-Colonel Oke, Captain Charleton (who was calling to the enemy to surrender), and Lieutenant Arden, were wounded,—the latter mortally. The regiment advanced along the height until it was ordered to halt under an earthen fence, which partially sheltered it from the enemy’s guns. Early in the action its gallant commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel Coghlan, was mortally wounded[6]. In the afternoon the regiment, much reduced in numbers, supported the attack of the Scots brigade on a range of redoubts, from which the enemy was driven with loss: and the Sixty-first were directed to occupy one of the captured redoubts. The French advanced to recover the redoubts; when Major-General Lambert directed a division of the Sixty-first to cross the road, which was commanded by the enemy’s fire, and reinforce the troops in another redoubt. This was a perilous movement; but Captain Charleton, whose wound was dressed in the field in time to enable him to rejoin and command the regiment in its second attack, placed himself in front of the division, exclaiming, “I will show the way!” Serjeant Fraser stepped to follow his captain, and, encouraged by this example, the division made the movement at a running pace; several officers and soldiers were, however, hit by the French marksmen. The regiment defended the post committed to its charge, and the French were driven from their works, and forced to take refuge in the suburbs of the city of Toulouse. At the termination of the action, the surviving men of the regiment were brought out of the field by Adjutant Bace, assisted by two ensigns and Serjeant Robert Hogg, whose name merits notice from his zealous exertions during the action.

The Sixty-first was included, in Lord Wellington’s despatch, among the corps which had sustained severe loss, and were highly distinguished throughout the day.

Lieut.-Colonel Coghlan, Lieutenant H. Arden, and Ensign W. A. Favell, were killed on this occasion; Major J. Oke, Captains W. Greene and E. Charleton, Lieutenants A. Porteus, N. Furnace[7], T. Gloster, D. O’Kearney, J. Wolfe, E. Gaynor, W. White[8], J. Harris, G. Stewart, and J. H. Ellison, Ensigns J. Wright, Cuthbert Eccles, and S. Bartlett, wounded. The regiment had also eight serjeants and one hundred and fifty-three rank and file killed and wounded.

Medals were conferred on Lieut.-Colonel Oke, Captain Charleton (who was twice wounded), and Adjutant Bace: and the word “Toulouse” was added to the inscriptions on the colours of the regiment.

The French retreated from Toulouse, followed by the British army, and at St. Felix five officers and seventy men joined the Sixty-first, from the second battalion in Ireland, under the orders of Captain Hamilton.

Hostilities were terminated a few days afterwards; the power of Bonaparte had been destroyed, and the Bourbon dynasty was restored to France. The gallant veterans of the Sixty-first were thus gratified with a complete triumph over the enemies of their country. They had traversed kingdoms, fought battles, and conquered powerful armies for the good of Europe; their valour had exalted the glory of the British arms, and preserved their native country from the presence of war: and the word “Peninsula” was added to the numerous inscriptions on their colours, to commemorate their heroic conduct.

After reposing a short period in quarters, the regiment marched for Bordeaux; and at Bazas the Portuguese brigade, which had long served with the sixth division, was separated from it to return to Portugal; a feeling of respect for these brave companions in war pervaded all ranks of the British army: many reciprocal acts of kindness had marked the estimation in which the soldiers of the British and Portuguese armies held each other.

On the 30th of June, the regiment embarked for Ireland, when the following order was issued:—“Major-General Lambert cannot allow the regiments composing the left brigade of the sixth division of the army under the Duke of Wellington, to separate without requesting the officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, to accept his best thanks for their services while under his command. Though the period has not been long, yet it will be ever memorable; and the distinguished good conduct of the brigade, so repeatedly mentioned during this period, especially in the action of the 10th of April, will ever make him consider his appointment to the brigade as one of the most fortunate events of his military life.”

At the close of the services of the regiment in the Peninsula and South of France, the names of the following non-commissioned officers, whose meritorious services had been rewarded with commissions, were inserted in the Record Book,—

The regiment landed at Cork in July, and marched to Dundalk, where the second battalion was disbanded on the 24th of October; the men fit for duty being transferred to the first battalion.

From Dundalk the regiment marched to Newry, where it was stationed during the year 1815,—a period memorable in the history of Europe, on account of the return of Bonaparte to France,—his overthrow on the field of Waterloo,—and his removal to St. Helena.

In June, 1816, the regiment embarked from Ireland, and proceeded to Portsmouth, where it landed, and was stationed during the summer months at Fort Cumberland. In the autumn it embarked for Jamaica, and arrived at Spanish-town in December.

The regiment was stationed at Spanish-town, Uppark camp, Stony-hill, and Kingston, in Jamaica, upwards of five years, during which period it lost by disease seven officers, and three hundred and fifty-six non-commissioned officers and soldiers.

Having transferred the men who volunteered to remain in the country to other corps, the regiment embarked from Jamaica in March, 1822, and landed at Plymouth in May following.

The regiment performed garrison duty at Plymouth until the spring of 1824, when it proceeded to Ireland; it was stationed at Cork until October, when it marched to Limerick.

Leaving Limerick in 1825, the regiment proceeded to the counties of Roscommon, Leitrim, Longford, and Westmeath.

In 1826 the head-quarters were established at Athlone, with detachments at various stations in the neighbouring counties.

The regiment was assembled at Birr, in June, 1827, and in July marched to Richmond Barracks, Dublin, where it was divided into six service and four depôt companies; the service companies embarked in October for Liverpool, from whence they proceeded by canal to Fenny Stratford, and afterwards marched to Chatham.

On the 30th of June, 1828, the service companies, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel G. E. P. Barlow, embarked from Gravesend for the island of Ceylon where, they arrived in November, and landed at Colombo.

Lieut.-General Sir Edward Barnes inspected the Sixty-first on their arrival at Ceylon, and inserted the following statement, in his own hand-writing, in the Record Book of the regiment:—

The depôt companies were withdrawn from Ireland in November, 1833, and proceeded to Chatham; they returned to Ireland in 1836.

The service companies remained at Colombo until 16th October, 1834, when they embarked for Trincomalee.

On the 22nd May, 1837, the regiment sustained a loss of three officers, viz., Lieutenants Shaw and Harkness and Ensign Walker, who were unfortunately drowned, while on a shooting excursion, by the upsetting of a boat, in a squall off Cottiac.

The service companies re-embarked for Colombo in July, and after being inspected by Major-General Sir John Wilson, they marched for Kandy, where they arrived on the 22nd August, 1837.

On the promotion of Colonel Edward Darley to the rank of major-general, on the 28th June, 1838, Major Charles Forbes was advanced to the lieutenant-colonelcy, and the command of the service companies devolved on Major Simmonds.

While on duty at Kandy, the following order was inserted in the Regimental Record Book, by Lieutenant-General Sir John Wilson, K.C.B., in his own hand-writing, viz:—

On the 12th February, 1839, the regiment marched to Colombo, preparatory to its embarkation for England; and on the 3rd March, Her Majesty’s troop-ship ship “Jupiter” came to anchor in Colombo roads, having on board the service companies of the Ninety-fifth Regiment, under the command of Colonel James Campbell, intended for the relief of the Sixty-first Regiment; but in consequence of disturbances in India, the embarkation of the regiment was directed to be delayed.

After performing duty in various parts of the island of Ceylon for eleven years, during which period the regiment lost six officers and three hundred non-commissioned officers and privates, it embarked for England on board of Her Majesty’s ship “Jupiter,” and the following general order was issued by the General Officer commanding, dated “Head Quarters, Colombo, 22nd October, 1839:”—

In consequence of meeting with stress of weather in the British Channel, Her Majesty’s ship “Jupiter” put into the Cove of Cork, on the 4th of March, 1840, and was towed over to Southampton, by the steam-frigate “Cyclops,” having on board the depôt companies from Ireland. The whole regiment landed at Southampton on the 12th of March, and proceeded by railroad to Winchester; where it was inspected by Major-General the Honorable Sir Hercules Pakenham, commanding the South-West district, and subsequently by Lord Hill, the General Commanding in Chief, both of whom were pleased to express their entire approbation of its appearance, discipline, and interior economy.

In August following it was removed to Woolwich, and performed the dockyard duties there, and at Deptford, until the summer of the following year.

General the Right Honorable Sir George Hewett, Bart., G.C.B., died a few days after the arrival of the regiment in England, and Her Majesty was pleased to confer the colonelcy of the regiment on Major-General Sir John Gardiner, K.C.B., Deputy Adjutant-General of the Forces.

In June 1841, the regiment proceeded by railroad to the Northern district, and was detached in the counties of Northumberland, York, and Lancaster.

In consequence of the reverses sustained by the British troops in Affghanistan, in the winter of 1841, the Sixty-first Regiment was ordered to recruit to the Indian establishment of one thousand rank and file, and to prepare, with the Fifty-eighth Regiment, to embark for India.

The successful campaign of the following season, and the withdrawal of the troops from the Affghan territory, occasioned an alteration in the destination of the regiment.

In August, 1842, two companies, under the command of Major Burnside, were called upon by the civil authorities of Halifax, to suppress a formidable and organised riot which broke out in that town: numbers of the rioters had assembled from the adjacent towns, and were so confident in their strength and numbers as to attack a party of the Eleventh Hussars, several of whom were severely injured. The detachment of the Sixty-first Regiment was fired on by the mob, and Captain Hoey and five men were wounded with slugs. The order was then given to the Military to fire, when the peace of the town was speedily restored. The owners and occupiers of the mills and other property at Halifax, and in the neighbourhood, conveyed a vote of thanks to Major Burnside for his services on this occasion.

In March, 1843, the regiment was directed to furnish, by volunteers, two hundred men to the Ninety-eighth Regiment, in China: the required number were immediately produced; and the detachment embarked on the 1st of April, at Newcastle-on-Tyne, for Winchester, to join the depôt of the Ninety-eighth Regiment.

In the spring of 1843, the regiment proceeded by railway to Carlisle, where it embarked for Ireland, and landed at Dublin on the 6th of April; and was shortly afterwards inspected by Lieutenant-General the Right Honorable Sir Edward Blakeney, Commander of the Forces in Ireland, who was pleased to express his approbation of the appearance of the regiment in the field, and of its conduct in quarters.

On the 3rd June, five companies, under the command of Major McLeod, embarked on board of Her Majesty’s steamer “Rhadamanthus” for Waterford, on a particular service: the detachment landed on the following day, and re-inforced the garrison in barracks until the 6th June, when it re-embarked and returned to Dublin.

During the stay of the regiment in the garrison of Dublin, Lieutenant-Colonel Forbes died after a protracted illness. This distinguished officer had commanded the Sixty-first Regiment five years, and by his impartial and temperate exercise of authority, he had rendered himself respected and beloved by all who had the good fortune to serve under his command. Upon his decease, Major Henry Burnside was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy on the 9th May, 1843.

In July, 1843, the regiment proceeded from Dublin to Limerick, where it is stationed at the commencement of the year 1844, to which period this record of its services is brought.

On the 20th January, 1844, Her Majesty was pleased to remove Lieutenant-General Sir John Gardiner from the Sixty-first to the Fiftieth Regiment, in succession to Lieutenant-General Sir Hudson Lowe, deceased, and to appoint Major-General Sir Jeremiah Dickson, K.C.B., to the colonelcy of the Sixty-first Regiment.

Few regiments have been engaged in services which have called into exercise the moral and physical energies of the officers and soldiers to a greater extent than the duties in which the Sixty-first Regiment has been employed; and none have displayed the heroic virtues of the British military character more fully than this meritorious corps.

Whether at the Fort of St. Philip, in Minorca,—in the valley of the Tagus, at Talavera,—on the plains of Salamanca,—on the lofty Pyrenees,—or in the southern provinces of France, the same valour, constancy, patience, and perseverance, have shone forth with a splendour which has elevated the reputation of the corps; and its conduct in quarters has also elicited the commendations of the general officers under whom it has served. Deriving its origin from the Third Regiment of Foot, or the Buffs, the Sixty-first Regiment has inherited the same spirit which animated the officers and soldiers of that veteran corps during the wars of three centuries.

1844.