On the 14th of February, 1797, the combined fleets of France and Spain were defeated off Cape St. Vincent, by Admiral Sir John Jervis, afterwards created Earl St. Vincent, on account of this glorious victory, for which the honor of knighthood was also conferred on Commodore (afterwards Admiral Viscount) Nelson. On the 18th of February the Spanish island of Trinidad surrendered to a British force under Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercromby.

In April, 1797, Austria signed the preliminaries of peace with the French Republic, and, in July, Lord Malmesbury was sent a second time to negotiate a treaty, but the demands of the French Directory rendered the attempt abortive.

In the year 1797 the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, greatly reduced in numbers, embarked for England and landed at Gravesend in July; it mustered only eighty-five men, including serjeants, drummers, and rank and file. Shortly after disembarkation the regiment marched to Doncaster, and remained at stations between that place, Hull, and York, for the two following years.

In this year alarming mutinies occurred on board the fleet at Spithead and the Nore, but the British seamen nobly redeemed their character on the 11th of October, 1797, in the victory gained by Admiral Duncan (who was in consequence created Viscount Duncan), over the Dutch fleet, off Camperdown, which was proceeding to join that of the French at Brest.

On the 17th of October the definitive treaty of peace between Austria and the French republic was signed at Campo Formio, so that Great Britain was left to continue the contest single-handed with France and her allies.

The threat of invasion, renewed by France, called forth the patriotic feelings of the British nation; the militia force was increased, and volunteer corps were formed in every part of the kingdom.

Napoleon Bonaparte, against whose legions in the Peninsula, in subsequent years, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment acquired great renown, was now rising step by step to that Imperial sway which he afterwards attained. The French Directory, jealous of his ambition, sent him on the expedition to Egypt, with the view of acting from that country against the British empire in India. Napoleon took Alexandria by storm, and soon established himself at Cairo. The Sublime Porte, incensed by the invasion of Egypt, declared war against France, and formed an alliance with Russia. The fleet, which had conveyed the expedition to Egypt, was almost destroyed by Admiral Nelson in Aboukir Bay on the 1st of August. So large a portion of the French army being thus secluded in a distant land, gave fresh impulse to the Allies, and in November the island of Minorca surrendered to the British arms. In December the co-operation of Russia against France was secured by Great Britain.

At this period of the war the soldiers of the English militia regiments were permitted to extend their services to the regular army;—the THIRTY-FIRST regiment received eight hundred and fifty-three volunteers from the militia.

In March, 1799, war was declared by the French Directory against Austria, and the combined Austrian and Russian armies were so successful as to recover the greater portion of Italy.

In August, 1799, a corresponding attempt was made by Great Britain to recover Holland from the dominion of France, and a numerous army was selected to proceed to that country, under His Royal Highness the Duke of York. Previously to the arrival of the Duke of York, the army was commanded by Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, K.B., with the local rank of General.

The THIRTY-FIRST regiment marched to Deal, embarked for Holland on the 8th of September, and arrived at the Helder on the 15th of the same month. The THIRTY-FIRST and other regiments were embarked after the departure of General Sir Ralph Abercromby, in order to reinforce his army. The Duke of York, having preceded these additional troops by two days, was already in command of the army, which was intrenched in the advance of the Helder on the Zuype, in which lines Sir Ralph Abercromby had, on the 10th of September, near the village of Crabbendam, repulsed the attack of the French and Dutch under General Brune.

Immediately on landing, the THIRTY-FIRST marched to the lines, and joined Major-General the Earl of Chatham’s brigade, in the division of General Sir Ralph Abercromby, on the 15th of September. The Duke of York, having been reinforced by the expected arrival of a corps of twelve thousand Russians, under Lieut.-General Hermann, resolved on attacking the French position in advance of Alkmaar, reaching from Zuyder-Zee on the right, to Camperdown on the left, and embracing the town of Bergen.

The attack was made on the 19th of September, in four columns: the right, formed entirely of Russians, under Lieut.-General Hermann, moved on Bergen; the centre divisions, under Lieut.-General Dundas and Lieut.-General Sir James Pulteney, forced the village and post of Oude Carspel, on the road to Alkmaar; while the left column, in which was the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, under General Sir Ralph Abercromby, advanced to the capture of Hoorne.

The point of attack selected for Sir Ralph Abercromby’s division being at a considerable distance beyond the extent of the line, the THIRTY-FIRST, and other regiments, marched at eight o’clock on the night of the 18th of September, and the movement was performed with such skill and secrecy, that Hoorne was surprised and carried on the following morning without loss, which placed the French position in considerable peril. The Russians having failed in holding Bergen, after having entered it in gallant style, rendered it impossible for the centre division to continue in possession of the posts it had acquired. The British troops were therefore withdrawn to their former lines upon the Zuype, to which the Russians had retreated. Hoorne was evacuated, and the THIRTY-FIRST, with the other regiments of Sir Ralph Abercromby’s division, returned on the night of the 19th of September to the ground they had quitted on the former evening.

From the 20th of September until the 1st of October, both armies remained within their intrenchments, strengthening their lines of defence; the French had received reinforcements, and had inundated a large tract of country on their right by cutting the sluices, thus contracting the ground of operations to six or seven miles.

The Duke of York, on the 2nd of October, made another attack on the French position between Bergen and Egmont-op-Zee. The combined attacks were made in four columns; the division under General Sir Ralph Abercromby, being on the right, marched along the beach. The left of the French army was posted and concentrated about Bergen, a large village surrounded by extensive woods, through which passed the great road leading to Haarlem; between which and the sea was an extensive region of high sand-hills impassable for artillery. Behind the sand-hills, and to the enemy’s right, through the whole extent of North Holland, lies a wet and low country, intersected with dykes, canals, and ditches. The French centre was supported by the town of Alkmaar. The battle soon became serious in front of Bergen, upon which Lieut.-General Dundas had been ordered to proceed.

Meanwhile Sir Ralph Abercromby had passed Bergen in order to turn the position of the French at Alkmaar, and overcame every opposition until he reached Egmont-op-Zee, which post was occupied in great numbers, and gallantly defended. Sir Ralph Abercromby, however, here overthrew a corps of the French army, and wheeling his division to the left, turned the enemy’s position at Bergen, upon which General Brune, the commander-in-chief of the French and Batavian army, fell back, taking up an equally strong position at a short distance to the rear.

The THIRTY-FIRST regiment had an opportunity of distinguishing itself particularly throughout this arduous contest, which lasted from six in the morning until the same hour in the evening. In the attack of Bergen, the regiment took two pieces of artillery from the enemy; the corps on the right frequently charged with the bayonet, and lost a great number of men. The THIRTY-FIRST regiment had one serjeant and twenty-seven rank and file killed; Captain Smith, Ensign King, and fifty-five rank and file wounded.

During the night of the 2nd of October, Bergen and Egmont-op-Zee were evacuated by the enemy.

The army remained during the night on the ground it held at the close of the battle, and on the 3rd of October Alkmaar was occupied by detachments of British troops. On the 6th of October, the advanced posts in front of Alkmaar, Egmont-op-Hooff, and Egmont-op-Zee, were pushed forward, preparatory to a general forward movement. At first little opposition was shown, and the British took possession of some villages, and of a position on the sand-hills near Wyck-op-Zee; but the column of Russian troops, under the command of Major-General D’Essen, in endeavouring to gain a height in front of their intended advanced post at Baccum, was vigorously opposed, and afterwards attacked by a strong body of the enemy.

This movement obliged General Sir Ralph Abercromby to move up in support with the reserve of his corps; the French advanced their whole force; the action became general along the whole line from Limmen to the sea, and was maintained with great obstinacy on both sides until night, when the enemy retired, leaving the British masters of the field of battle. The THIRTY-FIRST regiment, on the 6th of October, had Lieutenant Forster, one serjeant, and thirty-five rank and file killed; Captain Pickering, Lieutenants Mullins, Walker, Ball, Ensigns Williams and Johnson, three serjeants, and eighty-four rank and file wounded.

In the meantime the French army had been reinforced; the state of the weather, the ruined condition of the roads, the total want of the necessary supplies, offered great obstacles; besides which, the efforts which had been made for the liberation of Holland were not seconded by the Dutch people, so that it was determined to withdraw the British army. A convention was ultimately concluded with General Brune at Alkmaar, on the 18th of October.

On the 16th of November the THIRTY-FIRST regiment embarked at the Texel, and landed at Deal three days afterwards, when it marched immediately to Canterbury, where the effects of the Dutch campaign began to be perceptible. Before the army left Holland dysentery had broken out among the men, arising from their exposure to the damp and fogs natural to the country. The THIRTY-FIRST lost a great number of men, from this cause, while stationed at Canterbury.

On the 15th of May, 1800, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment embarked at Dover for Ireland, landed at Cove on the 6th of June, and marched directly to Cork, where a force was collecting for a secret service, to which it was added. On the 27th of June the embarkation took place, and on the 8th of July the armament reached the Bay of Quiberon; the twenty-third, THIRTY-FIRST, fifty-second, and sixty-third regiments landed on the Isle de Houat, where they remained encamped, under the command of Brigadier-General the Honorable Thomas Maitland, until the 19th of August, when they again embarked and joined the expedition under Lieut.-General Sir James Pulteney, destined for the coast of Spain. A landing was effected at Ferrol on the 25th of August; the troops advanced to the heights which overlook the town, and the THIRTY-FIRST had some skirmishing with the enemy’s piquets. After viewing the town and its defences, Sir James Pulteney abandoned the idea of attacking the place; the troops were re-embarked on the following morning, and the fleet sailed for Vigo, where it arrived on the 27th of August. Here General Sir Ralph Abercromby joined with other troops, and assumed the command of the whole force. After remaining in Vigo Bay for some time, the fleet sailed for Cadiz, where it arrived on the 3rd of October. Sir Ralph Abercromby summoned the Governor to surrender, but an epidemic fever was raging in the city, and the fleet quitted the coast for fear of infection, and proceeded to Gibraltar.

At this period General Sir Ralph Abercromby received orders from the British Government to proceed to Egypt; but the three battalions of the ninth foot, the second battalion of the twenty-seventh, the THIRTY-FIRST, and two battalions of the fifty-second regiment, being composed principally of volunteers from the militia, whose conditions of enlistment limited their services to time and place, were not available for the expedition to Egypt: they were accordingly ordered to proceed to Lisbon, where they arrived on the 27th of November, having suffered much from confinement on board ship, and the use of salt provisions.

On the 27th of January, 1801, the THIRTY-FIRST was again at sea, and on the 14th of February disembarked at Minorca, which had surrendered to Great Britain in November, 1798; this island was restored to Spain at the Peace of 1802.

The successes of the British arms in Egypt, by which the French were expelled from that country, were followed by a Treaty of Peace, which was signed on the 27th of March, 1802, at Amiens, between the French Republic, Spain, and the Batavian Republic, on the one part, and Great Britain on the other. The principal features of the treaty were, that Great Britain restored all her conquests during the war, excepting Trinidad and Ceylon, which were ceded to her, the former by Spain, and the latter by the Batavian Republic. Portugal was maintained in its integrity, excepting that some of its possessions in Guiana were ceded to France. The territories of the Ottoman Porte were likewise maintained in their integrity. The Ionian Republic was recognised, and Malta was to be restored to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. The French agreed to evacuate the Neapolitan and Roman states, and Great Britain all the ports that she held in the Adriatic and the Mediterranean.

In May, 1802, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment sailed from Minorca for England, and early in June landed at Portsmouth, on the 19th of which month it was reduced to the Peace Establishment.

In the year 1803 the regiment was removed to Jersey.[24]

Napoleon Bonaparte was now approaching the zenith of his power: the unsettled state of affairs in France had induced him to quit his army in Egypt, and on his return the Directory was abolished, Bonaparte being appointed First Consul of the French Republic. This occurred in 1799, and in the following year Europe was astounded by his daring passage of the Alps, followed by the victory of Marengo, which caused Austria to sue for peace.

The French being driven from Egypt in 1801 by the gallant Abercromby and his brave troops, in which the THIRTY-FIRST regiment would probably have shared, had it not been for the circumstances stated at page 61, the Peace of Amiens was concluded; it, however, gave but a slight interval of tranquillity to Europe. The military spirit of the French nation had been aroused by the genius of Napoleon, who endeavoured to realize his schemes for the aggrandizement of France;—and England appeared as a barrier to his designs.

In May, 1803, the war was renewed; Hanover was overrun by the French, and severed for a time from the British Crown. An immense flotilla was also assembled at Boulogne for the invasion of England. The threat of invasion aroused the patriotism of the British people, and the most strenuous measures were pursued to defeat the French ruler’s designs; the “Army of Reserve Act” was passed in June, 1803, for raising men for home service by ballot; numerous volunteer and yeomanry corps were formed in every part of the kingdom; and all party differences merged into one universal effort for the preservation of Great Britain.

On the 18th of May, 1804, Napoleon was invested with the dignity of Emperor of the French, and on the 26th of May of the following year he was crowned King of Italy at Milan.

Further measures of defence were adopted by Great Britain, and the “Additional Force Act” was passed on the 14th of July, 1804, by which a second battalion was added to the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, to be formed of men raised in the county of Chester, for limited service.

The regiment embarked at Jersey for England on the 9th of November, and on the 27th of that month arrived at Portsmouth, whence it marched to Winchester, and received a further number of volunteers from the Militia.

On the 12th of December the Court of Spain issued a declaration of war against England, in consequence of the capture of some frigates off Cadiz, which had been intercepted while on their way to France with cargoes of treasure,—Spain having agreed to furnish a powerful aid to Napoleon.

By July, 1805, the second battalion was fully embodied, and in October proceeded from Chester to Winchester, where the first battalion was stationed.

While the French were pursuing their victorious career in Germany, they experienced dreadful reverses from the navy of Great Britain. On the 21st of October the combined fleets of France and Spain were completely defeated off Cape Trafalgar. The victory was, however, clouded by the death of Admiral Viscount Nelson, to whose memory the highest honors were paid by a grateful and admiring nation.

On the 9th of January, 1806, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment was present at the funeral of Admiral Viscount Nelson, and formed part of the line between which the procession passed on its way to St. Paul’s Cathedral, in which the Admiral’s remains were interred, and where a monument was erected by order of Parliament.

In November of the preceding year a squadron of English and Russian vessels landed some troops at Naples without any opposition from the Neapolitan Court. The French Emperor, on receiving intelligence of this transaction, issued a proclamation that “the Neapolitan dynasty had ceased to reign,” and an army, under his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, assisted by Marshal Massena, marched for Naples. On the 15th of February the French entered that capital, and soon obtained possession of the whole kingdom, excepting Gaeta; Ferdinand IV. and his Court having previously retired to Sicily. A decree was shortly issued by Napoleon, conferring the crown of Naples on his brother Joseph, who was proclaimed King on the 30th of May.

England being desirous of preserving Sicily from the dominion of France, troops were embarked for that island;—on the 26th of April the first battalion of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment embarked at Tilbury-fort, and landed at Messina on the 26th of July.

Previously to the arrival of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment, the French had assembled a force in Calabria for the invasion of Sicily, and Major-General Stuart, commanding the British troops in that island, formed the design of cutting off the French division under General Regnier; the result was the battle of Maida, where a victory was gained by the British troops on the 4th of July. Major-General Stuart being sensible that he could not, with his small force, maintain himself in Calabria, recrossed the straits of Messina and returned to Sicily. For this victory Major-General John Stuart received the dignity of Knight of the Bath, the thanks of Parliament, and was created Count of Maida by the King of the Two Sicilies.

Admiral Sir John Duckworth having failed in his coercive mission to detach Turkey from the interests of France, Great Britain determined to seize upon Egypt, as a check to any fresh demonstration by the French against the British possessions in the East Indies.

An armament accordingly sailed from Melazzo, on the coast of Sicily, in February, 1807, under the command of Major-General Alexander Mackenzie Fraser, Colonel of the seventy-eighth regiment, and landed at Aboukir on the 18th of March. On the 21st of March, Alexandria was occupied by the British troops, and it is a singular coincidence that it was the anniversary of the battle fought near there in the year 1801, when the gallant General Sir Ralph Abercromby received the wound which terminated his honorable career.

On the 27th of March a force of fifteen hundred men, of which the THIRTY-FIRST regiment formed part, was detached under the command of Major-General Wauchope to Rosetta. The troops arrived before the city on the 31st of March, and not having been impeded in their progress to the environs, entered the place. The THIRTY-FIRST regiment marched into Rosetta, while the grenadier battalion occupied a high sandy mound without the city.

Rosetta is situated upon a slight eminence, commanding a view of the river Nile and the fertile lands of the Delta; the streets are somewhat wider than the generality of Egyptian towns, and planted here and there with trees. The houses are high, the lower half of each being a dead wall, with a small door, leading into a narrow passage, well secured with bolts and bars of iron. The chambers are above, with trelliced windows projecting over the streets. The Turks had garrisoned their houses, and remaining quiet, allowed the British to continue their march until some way into the town, when through the loop-holes they had constructed on purpose, and their trelliced windows, a destructive and unexpected fire was opened upon the column. The troops, although placed in a most trying and perilous situation, behaved extremely well, and after having suffered very materially in killed and wounded, retired to Aboukir, from whence they returned to Alexandria.

Major-General Wauchope, who commanded the force, was killed; the THIRTY-FIRST regiment had Captain John Robertson, three serjeants, three drummers, and sixty-nine rank and file killed; Captain Patrick Dowdall, Lieutenants Edward Knox, Peter Fearon, John Thornton, —— Sladden, and Francis Ryan, Ensign Richard Kirby, seven serjeants, one drummer, and one hundred and twenty-nine rank and file wounded. Lieutenant Sladden subsequently died of his wounds.

Brigadier-General the Honorable Robert Meade (Lieutenant-Colonel of the THIRTY-FIRST), the second in command, was also severely wounded.

Major-General Fraser finding that a famine would be the consequence of the British remaining at Alexandria, without the occupation of Rosetta, detached another body of troops, amounting to two thousand five hundred men, under Brigadier-General the Honorable William Stewart, to reduce the place. The force consisted of a detachment of Royal Artillery, a detachment of the twentieth light dragoons, light infantry battalion, first battalion of the thirty-fifth regiment, second battalion of the seventy-eighth regiment, the Baron De Roll’s regiment, and a detachment of seamen. A large Turkish force coming down the Nile from Cairo, the troops were compelled to retire, fighting all the way to Alexandria.

A formidable force now approached Alexandria, and Major-General Fraser sent a flag of truce offering to evacuate Egypt, on condition that the British prisoners should be liberated. The proposal was readily accepted, and on the 19th of September the British troops embarked for Sicily, where they arrived on the 16th of October.

The first battalion of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment embarked from Sicily for Malta, on the 17th of September, 1808, where it remained until August, 1810, when it returned to Sicily.

On the 17th of August, 1810, the first battalion landed at Messina, and remained in garrison in the citadel until April, 1811, when Lieut.-General Lord William Bentinck, being about to proceed to the eastern coast of Spain, sent it to Malta, in order that a stronger corps might be drawn from that island, the thirty-first having been reduced considerably in numbers while stationed in the Mediterranean. The battalion landed at Malta on the 18th of April, but the force left in Sicily being found insufficient, four companies were immediately recalled, and on the 22nd of April re-embarked for Messina; a few months afterwards the head-quarters were ordered back to Sicily, and on the 28th of August joined the detached companies, when the battalion was once more united in Sicily.

About this period the British authorities in Sicily detected the traces of a conspiracy set on foot the year before by the Queen of Naples, who, it is said, had proposed a scheme to Napoleon for massacring the English. A new constitution was established in Sicily, upon the model of that of Great Britain, under the auspices of Lieut.-General Lord William Bentinck, who had been appointed Captain-General of the Island, and the Queen was sent into retirement.

In November, 1812, the grenadier company of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment embarked from Sicily for the east coast of Spain, under Lieut.-General Frederick Maitland, and landed at Alicant on the 2nd of December. In April, 1813, it returned to Sicily, where it arrived in May.

The first battalion of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment remained in garrison in the citadel of Messina until towards the end of 1813, when, in consequence of disturbances at Palermo, the capital of Sicily, which threatened to spread, the troops were detached to various central positions. The THIRTY-FIRST, by a detour, marched upon Castro Giovanni, and remained there until January, 1814, when the battalion returned to Messina.

On the 28th of March, 1814, the battalion embarked at Melazzo, as part of an expedition destined for the shores of Italy, under Lieut.-General Lord William Bentinck. In the beginning of April the first division of the army arrived off the coast above and below the city of Genoa, and threatened a descent upon Voltri, rather to engage the attention of the enemy, however, in that quarter, than for any other purpose.

On the 5th of April the second division of the Anglo-Sicilian army disembarked at Leghorn, and marched directly upon Sestri. The French reinforced that place to protect the coast batteries, and prevent the British communicating with the people of the mountains, who were ready to rise against the French. The two British divisions had united, and attacked the enemy, on the 8th of April, at Sestri; the battle lasted throughout the day, and in the night the French General Ronger St. Victor retired towards Recco, taking up his position in rear of Rafallo, where he left his advanced guard; a third British division, in which was the first battalion of the THIRTY-FIRST, hovered about the coast, and made some attempts to land fresh troops, but was prevented by the enemy’s detachments at Recco.

On the 9th and 10th of April the squadron cannonaded Recco, but was obliged to stand out again; in the night of the 10th General Pègot, who had arrived to relieve General Ronger St. Victor, retired, and occupied, on the 11th of April, a position at Mount Fascia. The English squadron and transports had all arrived before Genoa, and a detachment from the divisions on shore had been able to communicate with the native levies at Fontana Buona. On the 12th of April the position of Mount Fascia was attacked, and, after a hard day’s contest, General Pègot fell back in the night, and took up another strong position at La Sturla, on the heights of Albaro, his right on the sea being covered by a battery of four pieces of artillery, and his left resting on Fort Richelieu. The remainder of the British army disembarked at Nervi, and immediately attacked the enemy on the heights of Albaro, on the 13th of April.

The THIRTY-FIRST, under the command of Colonel Bruce, belonged to this division, and, with the 8th battalion of the Line of the King’s German Legion, dashed in among the enemy the instant of their debarkation, notwithstanding the intersected and difficult nature of the ground, which assisted so materially the obstinate defence of the French. Meanwhile the light company of the THIRTY-FIRST, under Captain Nunn, had carried the battery which covered the enemy’s right, with conspicuous bravery, and dismounted the four guns upon it under a galling fire of musketry and artillery from another battery near that captured.

The THIRTY-FIRST had Captains Stewart and Cruice, three serjeants, one drummer, and thirty-six rank and file wounded; one serjeant and thirteen rank and file killed.

The following extract from Division Orders, dated La Sturla, 14th of April, 1814, bears testimony to the conduct of the corps:—

During the 14th and 15th of April the attacks upon the heights of Albaro were repeated, and on the 17th, while disaffection among the people was rapidly spreading in Genoa, the posts of St. Francisco and St. Martin d’Albaro were carried, and the French retired behind the Bizagno.

By the 18th of April the disaffection in Genoa had reached a crisis, and upon the following day the advance upon the city took place. The THIRTY-FIRST drove the enemy from a strong battery of ten brass guns and two 13½ inch brass mortars, without sustaining any loss.

During the night of the 19th of April a convention was signed; on the morning of the 21st, the enemy marched out of the city and evacuated all his posts. On the 22nd the head-quarters of the THIRTY-FIRST were within the city of Genoa, when the Commander-in-Chief, Lieut.-General Lord William Bentinck, issued the order from which the following extract is taken:—

On the 27th of April the first battalion of the THIRTY-FIRST sailed with a force for the island of Corsica; when the troops arrived opposite Ajaccio, that place capitulated. The THIRTY-FIRST regiment then sailed for Bastia (the birth-place of Napoleon), and landing there on the 11th of May, remained until the 24th of June following, when it embarked for Sicily, and again went into garrison in the citadel of Messina, on the 18th of July, 1814.

In the meantime the brilliant successes gained over the French in the Peninsula and South of France, by the troops under the Duke of Wellington, in which the second battalion of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment bore a prominent part, led to a treaty of peace with France; Napoleon retired to Elba, which island was ceded to him in full sovereignty for life, with a pension payable from the revenues of France; and on the 3rd of May, 1814, Louis XVIII. entered Paris, and ascended the throne of his ancestors.

On the 24th of October, 1814, the second battalion of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment was disbanded at Portsmouth, and the officers and men fit for service were transferred to the first battalion, with which they were incorporated on the 6th of May, 1815, at Messina.

In commemoration of the services of the second battalion during the Peninsular War, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment has received the Royal Authority to bear on the Regimental Colour and Appointments, the words “Talavera,” “Albuhera,” “Vittoria,” “Pyrenees,” “Nivelle,” “Nive,” “Orthes,” and “Peninsula.”

Although the first and second battalions of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment were employed in different countries, yet they were engaged in the promotion of the same interests, namely, the restoration of the exiled families of the House of Bourbon to the thrones of their ancestors; the achievements of the second battalion were in the most distinguished arena, but the first battalion, although it was stationed among the pastoral beauties of Sicily, and the luxurious towns of Italy, maintained its discipline and character, besides adding honors to those formerly acquired on the field of battle, whenever, as on the heights of Albaro, an opportunity had offered.

The peace of Europe was again to be disturbed. The French army retained a chivalrous veneration for Napoleon, who returned from Elba, landed at Cannes, in Provence, on the 1st of March, 1815, and was joined by his former troops. Louis XVIII. withdrew from Paris to Ghent, and Napoleon assumed his former dignity of Emperor of the French.

Marshal Murat, the brother-in-law of Napoleon, by whom in 1808 he had been made King of Naples, upon Joseph Bonaparte being constituted King of Spain, had, in January, 1814, signed a treaty with England, and engaged to co-operate with the allies against France. Napoleon’s triumphal return to France caused Murat to espouse his cause, and he at once commenced hostilities against Austria, issuing a proclamation asserting the independence of Italy. Naples was thereupon invested by the Austrians, while an English squadron entered the port and acted in co-operation.

The allied powers, however, refused to acknowledge the sovereignty of Napoleon, and determined on his dethronement.

These events caused the THIRTY-FIRST regiment to be embarked at Melazzo for Naples, where it arrived on the 25th of May. The city had capitulated to the British fleet, under Admiral Lord Exmouth, and the troops landed to hold possession until the restoration of order in the kingdom, and Ferdinand IV. should be reinstated on the throne of the Two Sicilies. After an exile of nine years, this sovereign entered his capital on the 17th of June; on the following day the hopes of Bonaparte were crushed by his defeat on the memorable field of Waterloo, which victory triumphantly closed the campaign; and on the 8th of July Louis XVIII. re-entered Paris, and the Bourbon government was restored.

In the beginning of July the THIRTY-FIRST had sailed from the Bay of Naples for Genoa, and remained there to support the arrangements for restoring the Sardinian dominions to their original state.

Bonaparte was subsequently compelled to surrender himself a prisoner on the 15th of July to Captain Maitland, commanding the “Bellerophon” ship of war, and the island of St. Helena was afterwards appointed for his residence. Murat’s career was equally brief; he was driven from Italy, and withdrew to Corsica, from which island he made a rash descent on the coast of Calabria. After a sharp action he and his followers were taken prisoners. Murat was tried by a military commission, and shot on the 15th of October.

In February, 1816, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment embarked for Malta, and remained in that island until June, 1818, when it proceeded to England, and landed at Deal on the 22nd of July.

On the return of the regiment to England it was stationed at Dover Castle, Colchester, Chatham, and Sheerness.

In August, 1819, in consequence of disturbances in the manufacturing districts, three companies of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment proceeded to Manchester, three to Macclesfield, and three to Stockport. On the 10th of the same month the regiment was employed in Manchester.

An assemblage of people, estimated at forty to sixty thousand, took place on the 16th of August, in an open space in the town of Manchester, named St. Peter’s Field, for the purpose of petitioning Parliament. Such meetings having been forbidden by proclamation some weeks previously, the military were employed by the civil authorities in dispersing the crowd of persons who had entered the town, with banners, some of which were of a menacing nature.

The troops of the garrison, the fifteenth hussars, the THIRTY-FIRST and eighty-eighth regiments, with the Chester and Manchester yeomanry cavalry, were ordered to be assembled in the vicinity, under the senior officer, Lieut.-Colonel L’Estrange, of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment. The yeomanry were engaged during part of the day in dispersing the multitude, many of whom received injuries, and eight or ten were killed. The regular troops behaved with their usual coolness and discipline, in the delicate and important duty they had to perform. The thanks of the Prince Regent, and of the Magistrates, were communicated to the troops in the following letters:—

The disturbances among the manufacturing classes having subsided, the THIRTY-FIRST regiment left Manchester on the 2nd of June, 1820. The troops had been much harassed throughout the winter, in consequence of the ill spirit which prevailed among the people of the surrounding districts, and on the removal of the regiment the municipal authorities of Manchester and Salford addressed a letter to Lieut.-Colonel L’Estrange, expressing their regret at its departure, and their esteem for its conduct during the eventful period the corps was stationed in those towns.

On the 10th of June, 1820, the regiment arrived at Sunderland.

In February, 1821, the regiment marched from Sunderland to Port Patrick, in Scotland, whence, on the 7th of March, it embarked for Donaghadee, and on the following morning proceeded to Belfast. While quartered in this town, the establishment was reduced from ten companies of sixty-five rank and file, to eight companies of seventy-two rank and file each.

During the period the head-quarters remained at Belfast, detachments of the regiment were stationed in Coleraine, Downpatrick, and Carrickfergus, where they were employed on the revenue and other duties generally required from the army in Ireland.

In April, 1822, the regiment was removed from Belfast and its neighbourhood, occupying fresh quarters at Armagh, Newry, and Dundalk.

The regiment, in October 1823, marched from Armagh to Naas, and in January, 1824, proceeded to Dublin, where it occupied Richmond barracks.

In the year 1824 the regiment received orders to prepare for foreign service:—the island of Ceylon was, in the first instance, selected as its destination, but it was eventually changed to Bengal. On the 20th of July the left wing of the THIRTY-FIRST regiment marched to Kingstown, and embarked on board of transports for Portsmouth, where it arrived on the 26th of July; the right wing, following soon afterwards, joined on the 2nd of August, and the regiment went into barracks at Gosport.