The British prosecuted the siege of Cuddalore with vigour, and on the 25th June the first parallel was completed. On that day the enemy made a sortie, but was repulsed with considerable loss after a severe contest. The commander of the party, Colonel le Chevalier de Damas, was among the prisoners taken. On the 1st July a frigate arrived in Cuddalore Roads, bringing official accounts from England of a general peace having been concluded, and hostilities consequently ceased.

By the 2nd August the British army had received the supplies, of which it stood greatly in want, and the camp was broken up, the troops marching to St. Thomas’s Mount where they arrived on the 16th August. Shortly afterwards, the army went into winter quarters, the Seventy-third occupying the fort and cantonment of Arcot. On1784. the conclusion of the peace, in March, 1784, Captains Baird and the Honble. John Lindsay, Lieut. Melville and about 30 men, who were taken in Colonel Baillie’s affair, were released and rejoined the regiment. During the remainder of the year the Seventy-third continued at Arcot, and was only employed, beyond the usual routine of duty in quarters, for a short time in quelling a mutiny which broke out in the native cavalry at Arnee. The regiment at this period was commanded by Lieut.-Colonel William Dalrymple. In the course of the month of June it was removed from Arcot to Fort St. George, where it was joined by several officers of the late second battalion, which had been disbanded. Lieut.-Colonel Dalrymple having returned to England, Lieut.-Colonel the Honble. George Mackenzie took command of the regiment, which continued in quarters at Madras for the remainder of the year.[3]

At the commencement of the year 1786, the numerical title of the regiment was changed to the Seventy-first Highlanders, and new colours were received from England bearing that number, which designation it has since retained. In March quarters were changed to Wallajahabad and Chingleput, nine companies being cantoned at the former and one at the latter under Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Hamilton Maxwell.

On the 4th June, 1787, Colonel the Honble. George Mackenzie, commanding the regiment, died after a short illness and was interred at Madras. He was succeeded in the command by the senior major, Brevet Lieut.-Colonel John Elphinston, who was succeeded in the majority by Captain David Baird.

During the year 1787 no change of quarters took place.

In February, 1788, in consequence of some disturbance or alarm in the Bombay presidency, the Seventy-first, about 800 strong, marched to Madras, and immediately embarked on board the Company’s ships for Bombay, where it arrived in April after a favourable passage. It remained here only six months, when, its services being dispensed with, it returned to Madras, and arrived there in December. Five companies under Lieut.-Colonel Elphinston occupied the barracks in Fort St. George, and the other five companies proceeded to Poonamallee. Major-General the Honble. William Gordon was appointed Colonel on the 9th April, 1789, in succession to Major-General John Lord McLeod deceased. In the course of the year the five companies at Poonamallee were moved to Tripassoor.

Early in 1790, hostilities having commenced by Tippoo Sultan attacking and capturing the lines of Travancore, the British Government in India determined to support the Rajah of that country. On the 18th of March an encampment was formed for that purpose in the neighbourhood of Conjeveram under the command of Colonel Musgrave. The force assembled there consisted of the Nineteenth British Dragoons, the Fifty-second and Seventy-first Highlanders, the Third and Fourth Regiments of native Cavalry, the first Battalion of Coast Artillery, and five of Coast Infantry. On the 29th of March this force moved to Trichinopoly, where Colonel Musgrave effected a junction on the 29th April, with the division assembled there under Colonel Brydges. This comprised the Thirty-sixth and Seventy-second Regiments, the Second and Fifth Native Cavalry, and seven battalions of Coast Sepoys.

On the 24th of May General Meadows arrived at Trichinopoly, and assumed the command: the army consisted of 15,000 men, forming two European and four native brigades. These were divided into wings. Lieut.-Colonel James Stuart, Seventy-second Highlanders, being appointed to command the left wing, and Colonel Brydges of the East India Company’s Service, the right; the Seventy-first and Seventy-second Highlanders, and First East India Company’s European battalion, formed the Second European brigade, under Lieut.-Colonel Clarke of the Company’s Service. The whole of the cavalry in the advance was commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Sir John Floyd of the Nineteenth Light Dragoons.

On the 24th May, Major-General (afterwards Sir William) Meadows reviewed the army, which on the 26th was moved towards the Coimbatore country by Anatore and Kidnaveran. On the 15th June the army reached the fortified post of Caroor, which the enemy abandoned without opposition. Here it remained strengthening the place and collecting grain till the 2nd July, when it moved to Arrivacourchy, where it arrived on the 5th, and, continuing its march by Tooramboddy, reached Daraporam on the 10th July, where a large supply of grain was found. The army arrived at Coimbatore on the 22nd July, being harassed on the march by Tippoo Saïb’s irregular horse. A halt was made here, and detachments sent to reduce Dindigul, Errode, and Palghautcherry, upon which service the flank companies of the Seventy-first were employed under Captains Phineas M^cIntosh and James Robertson. In August the whole of the cavalry and the advanced infantry had been pushed forward to the Boovany, near to the Gudzelhetty Pass. Tippoo Saïb, profiting by the divided state of the British force, descended with his whole army, and, after a very severe conflict, obliged Lieut.-Colonel Floyd to fall back. The troops from Coimbatore, however, had marched to his support, and, on the junction being effected, Tippoo Saïb retired. The British returned to Coimbatore on the 23rd September. Upon the march of the main body, the flank companies of the Seventy-first and Seventy-second were withdrawn from the siege of Palghautcherry, and ordered to take post in the fort of Coimbatore: and on the return of the army they rejoined their regiments.

The army was again put in motion on the 29th September, proceeding towards the Boovany by Shawoor and Coopachittypollum, where the troops arrived a few hours after Tippoo Saïb had left it. Some elephants, bullocks, and camels, loaded with rockets, fell into the hands of the British. On the 4th of October the army arrived at Errode, the enemy keeping a respectful distance during the march, and on the 6th it was ascertained that he had arrived with his entire force at Darraporam, against which he opened his batteries on the 8th. The fort had no cannon mounted, and the garrison, consisting of 100 Europeans and 200 Sepoys, capitulated on honourable terms, which were strictly adhered to. The British army moved on the 5th October, and on the 15th encamped in the neighbourhood of Coimbatore, where Lieut.-Colonel Stuart joined from Palghautcherry, after having taken that place, and left it in a tolerable state of defence. On the 20th October, all the heavy baggage having been deposited in the fort of Coimbatore, the army marched towards Errode, by Avinochy and Perentore, where it arrived on the 2nd November. On the 8th the army proceeded in the direction of Bovancore, and thence to a ford about three miles below Errode, the whole crossing the Cavery on the 9th and 10th, while Tippoo Saïb moved his entire force against a division under the orders of Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell, Seventy-fourth Regiment, then in the Bharamahl country. On the 11th November the army moved by Saukerrydroog on the Tappoor Pass, and ascended on the 14th, encamping at Adomancettah in the Bharamahl country: it marched again on the 15th, and effected its junction with Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell at Darampoury on the 17th. The whole force was now divided into ten brigades. The Seventy-fourth Highlanders joined the Seventy-first and Seventy-second in the Second Brigade; and Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell assumed command of the left wing in place of Colonel Brydges, who was appointed to command at Trichinopoly.

It was now ascertained that the enemy, whose movements were always sudden, varied, and perplexing, was directing his course to the Carnatic by Namacul and Trichinopoly. The British, in consequence, pursued by Malusundrum, arriving on the 23rd at Vavoor, the 27th at Jaloor, the 6th December at Munsarapett, at Terany on the last day of the year, and the 12th January, 1791, at1791. Arnee. During this long and fatiguing march, the Anglo-Indian troops frequently encamped upon the ground from which the enemy had removed in the morning, but the efforts made to overtake him were unsuccessful. The heavy guns and the sick having been left in the fort of Arnee, the army proceeded to Velhout, where on the 29th January it was reviewed by General Charles the Earl Cornwallis, K.G., who had arrived from Bengal to assume command, and who expressed great satisfaction at the appearance of the troops. His Lordship was at this period Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies. In the course of the foregoing campaign the Seventy-first lost few men in action, but many fell victims to climate and fatigue.

The army, being refreshed and equipped, commenced moving in a westerly direction on the 5th February, and passing by Perambaukum and Sholingar, arrived on the 11th in the vicinity of Vellore. On the 14th it marched by Chittipet and Chittoor towards the Muglee Pass, which it reached on the 17th. The following day the advance, followed by the park and stores, ascended the Ghauts, the whole army encamping on the 19th at Palamnaire, in the Mysore country, without having seen anything of the enemy. During the time the British army remained at Velhout Tippoo Saïb pushed southward and summoned Cuddalore, but upon hearing in what direction Earl Cornwallis had moved the Sultan hastened to the Shangana Pass, where he arrived too late to oppose the troops at the Muglee Pass. On the 24th the British marched to Colar, which was abandoned on their approach, and the army moved on to Ouscotta, which was carried by a battalion of sepoys. The enemy displayed a part of his force on the 4th March, and on the following day opened a cannonade upon the troops moving towards Bangalore, whilst his horse attempted to seize the stores and baggage, but without success. About sunset on the 5th March the army encamped within shot of the fort of Bangalore. The day following the suburbs of the town were attacked by the Thirty-sixth and Seventy-sixth Regiments, with some battalions of sepoys, and carried after a very resolute resistance on the part of the defenders. From this period to the 14th March nothing material occurred, but every preparation for the approaching siege was carried on with diligence and activity. On the 15th, the batteries being completed, opened fire upon Bangalore, and on the 17th the lines were cannonaded by the enemy, while at night the camp was much disturbed by his rockets. Forage became very scarce, and none could be procured beyond the advanced pickets. The siege, however, proceeded, the enemy continuing to harass the besiegers until the 21st March, when the breach being considered practicable, an attack was ordered. The storming party consisted of the grenadiers of the European regiments, followed by their light companies, and led by Lieutenant James Duncan, Seventy-first Highlanders, and Lieutenant John Evans, Fifty-second Regiment, with a forlorn hope of thirty chosen men, the whole supported by the battalion companies of the Thirty-sixth, Seventy-second, and Seventy-sixth Regiments, with some battalions of Bengal sepoys. The attacking force was commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell, Seventy-fourth Highlanders, the flankers by Major Kelly; Major-General Meadows was present on the occasion. The grenadier company, Seventy-first Highlanders, was commanded by Captain the Honourable John Lindsay, who, upon entering the breach, directed his men to throw away their priming and trust entirely to their bayonets. The light company was commanded by Captain James Robertson, son of the celebrated historian. With the aid of scaling ladders, and after encountering very formidable obstacles, Bangalore was carried. From the 6th March to the capture of Bangalore the Seventy-first had 6 privates killed and 14 wounded. On the 28th March, a strong garrison being left in Bangalore, the army moved to Deonhully, the birthplace of Hyder Ali, where it arrived on the 30th, and on the 1st April at Chinnaballaporam, both of which places were abandoned by the enemy. The army reached Connapelly on the 12th April, and on the following day effected a junction with the Nizam’s force, which had been sent to co-operate with the British, and which amounted to about 15,000 cavalry. On the 18th April the army arrived at Venkatagherry, where a large detachment of Europeans, under Colonel Oldham, joined from the Carnatic, and on the 22nd April it again encamped near Bangalore. During this march, the object of which was chiefly to secure supplies, the enemy’s irregular horse were now and then seen in small detached bodies. On the 4th May the army marched towards Seringapatam, the capital of Tippoo Saïb’s territory, and on the 13th reached Arakerry, on the Cavery, about eight miles below Seringapatam. The enemy could be seen in front, with their right resting on the river, and their left on a high hill named the Carighaut. During the night of the 14th of May the troops marched with a view to surprising the enemy, but owing to the badness of the weather and roads, together with the jaded state of the gun bullocks, little or no progress was made during the night, but on the following day, after undergoing great fatigue, they were brought into action. The enemy was then soon driven from his strong position, and forced across the river to the island upon which the capital, Seringapatam, is situated, where he was protected by his batteries. In this affair four guns and several standards were taken. The Seventy-first lost Lieutenant and Adjutant Roderick Mackenzie and 7 rank and file killed. Ensign John Stuart and 74 rank and file were wounded. The army rested upon the field of battle, and moving again on the 18th arrived at Canambaddy, on the Cavery, upon the 20th. It was now ascertained that the season was too far advanced for undertaking immediately the siege of Tippoo Saïb’s capital, and it was determined accordingly to withdraw. The battering train was destroyed, all the ammunition stores which could not be removed were buried, and on the 26th May the army marched in the direction of Bangalore. In the course of this retreat the British were joined by the Mahratta army, consisting of about 33,000 men, chiefly cavalry, and 30 pieces of cannon. Of the approach of this large force the British had been kept in total ignorance by the activity of Tippoo’s irregular troops. Captain Little, with two battalions of Bombay sepoys, joined with the Mahratta army, and supplies were now abundant.

On the 11th July the army arrived at Bangalore without any attempt on the part of the enemy to interrupt the march. By this time the Nizam’s cavalry had become unfit to keep the field, and were allowed to return to their own country. A large detachment of the Mahrattas proceeded into the Sera country, the remainder continuing with the British army. On the 15th July the sick and half of the tumbrils belonging to the field pieces were sent into the fort of Bangalore, and the army moved towards Oussoor, where it arrived on the 11th of the following month. The fort of Oussoor was abandoned by the enemy after he had blown up the angles.

On the 12th of August the army moved from Oussoor, and on the 23rd arrived at Bayeur. About this period Major Gowdie, of the Honourable East India Company’s Service, was detached with some troops for the reduction of the strong hill fort of Nundydroog, which it was found required regular approaches. The flank companies of the Thirty-sixth and Seventy-first Regiments, under the command of Captain Robertson of the latter corps, marched on the 17th of October to join the detachment under Major Gowdie, and, upon their arrival, were immediately placed in the last parallel.

On the 18th of October General the Earl Cornwallis with the whole army, made a movement towards Nundydroog, and in the evening of that day the troops were told off for an assault upon the two breaches, which had been pronounced practicable. The attacks commenced at eleven o’clock at night, the grenadiers assaulting the right breach and the light companies the left. The forlorn hope of the right attack consisted of twenty grenadiers, volunteers from the Thirty-sixth and Seventy-first, led by Lieutenant Hugh Mackenzie of the Seventy-first, afterwards for a long time paymaster of the regiment. The same number of light infantry, headed by Lieutenant Lewis Moore, of the Seventy-first, formed the left attack. The grenadier company of the regiment, in support, was commanded by Lieutenant James Duncan, the light company by Lieutenant Kenneth Mackenzie, the whole under Captain Robertson’s orders. Captain Robert Burne supported, with the Thirty-sixth grenadiers, the right attack, and Captain William Hartley, with the light company of that regiment, the left attack; Major-General Meadows, as usual, animating the whole with his presence. Both breaches were carried without much resistance from the enemy, and the gateway of the inner wall being soon secured, the fort fell into the possession of the British. Many of the enemy were killed, and several, in attempting to escape, were dashed to pieces over the precipices. It was an additional source of gratification that this important service had been achieved without the loss of a British soldier. The following general order was issued on this occasion:—

In a few days subsequently to the fall of Nundydroog the army retraced its route to Bangalore. On the 4th of December the troops were again put in movement, directing their march towards Savendroog, a fortress situated on the side of a mountain surrounded by almost inaccessible rocks. The fort being reconnoitred, a detachment, under Lieut.-Colonel James Stuart of the Seventy-second Regiment, was selected and ordered to reduce the place. On the 17th the British were enabled to open upon the fort a battery of six 18-pounders and three 12-pounders with considerable effect. The flank companies of the Seventy-first and Seventy-sixth Regiments joined the detachment under Lieut.-Colonel Stuart on the 20th of December, and on the following day the flank companies of the Fifty-second, Seventy-first, Seventy-second, and Seventy-sixth were selected for the attack upon Savendroog, in which a practicable breach had been effected, and formed under Lieut.-Colonel Colebrook Nesbitt, of the Fifty-second Regiment. The storming party, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Nesbitt, was directed to four different attacks: Captain James Gage, with the grenadiers of the Fifty-second and flank companies of the Seventy-sixth Regiments, to gain the eastern hill to the left; Captain the Hon. John Lindsay and Captain James Robertson, with the flank companies of the Seventy-first, to separate and attack the works or parties they might discover in the chasm or hollow between the hills; the Fifty-second and Seventy-second Regiments were to follow the flank companies. Parties were detached under Lieut.-Colonel Baird and Major Petrie round the mountain to draw the attention of the enemy from the main object, and to endeavour to prevent his escape. At eleven o’clock in the morning of the 21st of December, on a signal of two guns being fired from the batteries, the flank companies, in the order described, followed by the Fifty-second and Seventy-second Regiments, advanced to the assaults, the band of the Fifty-second playing “Britons, strike home,” while the grenadiers and light infantry mounted the breach. Immediate success followed the attempt, the fort being carried without the loss of a man. The troops were thanked in general orders for their gallant conduct, as follows:—

Outredroog, Ram Gurry, and Sheria Gurry shortly afterwards surrendered to the British Army. The force subsequently moved towards Outredroog, a hill fort about thirty miles west of Bangalore, where a general hospital was established. On the 31st of January, 1792, the army,1792. under General the Earl Cornwallis, was reviewed by the Poonah and Hyderabad Chiefs, and on the following day commenced its march towards Seringapatam, passing by Hooleadroog, Tagilly, and Carrycode. The troops came in sight of Tippoo’s capital on the 3rd of February, and encamped at the French Rocks. The enemy’s horse showed itself on the 4th and 5th, but attempted nothing hostile.

The entrenched camp of Tippoo Saïb was reconnoitred on the 6th of February, and at dark the army was formed in three columns of attack. The right, under Major-General Meadows, consisting of the Thirty-sixth and Seventy-sixth King’s Regiments; the centre, under the Commander-in-Chief, General the Earl Cornwallis, consisting of the Fifty-second, Seventy-first, and Seventy-fourth King’s Regiments. The left, under Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell, of the Seventy-fourth, was composed of the Seventy-second Regiment. The native troops were divided among the three columns. By eight o’clock in the evening of the 6th of February, the three columns were in motion. The head of the centre column, led by the flank companies of the respective corps, after twice crossing the Sohany river, which covered the enemy’s right wing and front, came in contact with his first line, and immediately forced its way through it. The British flankers, mixing with the fugitives, crossed the north branch of the Cavery, at the foot of the glacis of the fort of Seringapatam. Captain the Honourable John Lindsay collected the grenadiers of the Seventy-first upon the glacis, and attempted to push into the body of the place, but was prevented by the bridge being raised a few moments before he reached it. He was soon after joined by some of the light company of the Fifty-second and grenadiers of the Seventy-sixth, with whom he forced his way down to the famous “Lal bagh,” or Ruby Garden, where he was attacked most furiously, but the enemy was repelled with the bayonet.

Captain Lindsay was afterwards joined by the Seventy-fourth grenadiers, and attempted to drive the enemy from the Pettah, but could not succeed, from the numbers which poured on him from all sides. This gallant officer then took post in a redoubt, where he maintained himself until morning, and then moved to the north bank of the river, where the firing appeared very heavy. He was there met by Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable John Knox, of the Thirty-sixth Regiment, and by Lieut.-Colonel Baird, with the grenadiers of the Fifty-second and the light company of the Seventy-first, together with some of the troops that composed the left attack.

During these occurrences the battalion companies of the Fifty-second, Seventy-first, and Seventy-second Regiments forced their way across the river to the island, overpowering all that opposed them, when Captain Archdeacon, commanding a battalion of Bengal sepoys, being killed, that battalion was thrown into confusion, falling back upon the Seventy-first. Major Stair Park Dalrymple, wishing to prevent the sepoys intermingling with his men, ordered the regiment to move obliquely to the left, an operation that by chance brought him in contact with the Sultan’s redoubt, which was instantly attacked and carried. The charge of the redoubt was given to Captain Hugh Sibbald, of the Seventy-first, with his company, who on the following morning was killed, nobly defending it against repeated and desperate attacks from the enemy. He was replaced by Major Shelly, under whom the redoubt sustained two serious assaults. The Commander-in-Chief, General the Earl Cornwallis, in compliment to the memory of this officer, had the name of the redoubt changed to “Sibbald.”

In the evening of the 7th of February 3,000 of the enemy’s horse attacked the British troops on the island, but were repulsed by the Seventy-first Regiment and the First Coast Sepoys. In the course of these operations the regiment had Captain Sibbald and Lieutenant Daniel Bayne killed; Ensign Duncan Mackenzie was wounded; about 100 rank and file were killed and wounded.

The enemy’s loss was very severe, being estimated at 20,000 hors de combat. Eighty pieces of cannon were taken by the British. The following general order was issued:—

On the 9th of February the army took up its final position for the siege of Seringapatam, and on the 15th Major-General Robert Abercromby joined with the Bombay force, consisting of the Seventy-third, Seventy-fifth, and Seventy-seventh regiments, besides native troops, making a total of about 6,000 men.

The Seventy-first Highlanders, commanded by Major Dalrymple, crossed the south branch of the Cavery at nine o’clock at night on the 18th of February, and two hours later attacked by surprise a camp of the enemy’s cavalry, of whom a great part were slain and the remainder dispersed in all directions. This movement was designed to cover the operation of opening the trenches, which took place at the same time within 800 yards of the fort. Until the 24th of February the approaches were carried on with the greatest activity, when the general orders announced that the preliminary articles of peace had been signed, and in consequence all hostile measures immediately ceased.

On the 26th of February the two sons of Tippoo Saïb, Abd-el-Khalik and Musa-ed-Deen, the former ten years of age and the latter eight, were brought to the British camp as hostages for the due performance of the preliminary articles.

In consequence of some obstacles which had been opposed by Tippoo to the arrangement of the definitive treaty, working parties were ordered, and the guns replaced in the batteries on the 10th March. This state of suspicion and preparation lasted until the 15th of March, when it was discontinued, and on the 18th of that month, the definitive treaty being duly executed and signed, was delivered by the young Abd-el-Khalik to each of the confederates. On the 20th the counterpart was sent to Tippoo Saïb.

Thus terminated a war in which the confederates wrested from the enemy 70 fortresses, 800 pieces of cannon, and destroyed or dispersed at least 50,000 men. By the articles of the treaty Tippoo Saïb was bound to pay a large sum of money and to cede one-half of his dominions. The Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in India granted from this money a sum equal to six months’ batta for all ranks, and the Court of Directors afterwards made a similar grant. The East India Company also granted an annuity of £50 to Captain P. Melville for his services in India.

On the 26th of March, the exchange of the definitive treaty being completed, the British commenced moving towards Bangalore, from whence they proceeded to the Pednaigdurgum Pass, where the Bengal troops were ordered to their own Presidency.

Early in May the army descended the Ghauts, arriving soon after at Vellore, where the Commander-in-Chief arranged the cantonments of the troops and proceeded to Madras. The Seventy-first received orders to march to the southward, and in the month of June arrived at Warriore, near Trichinopoly, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Baird, who during the campaign had been absent from the regiment in command of a brigade. Eight companies were stationed at Warriore, and two were detached with Major Dalrymple to Dindigul. In this situation the regiment continued for the remainder of the year.

In March, 1793, the eight companies under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Baird proceeded from Warriore to Secundermally, in the neighbourhood of Madura. Meanwhile the events of the French Revolution had involved England in another contest, the National Convention of France having declared war against Great Britain and Holland in February, 1793. The news of this event arrived in India in May following, when the siege of the French settlement of Pondicherry, on the Coromandel coast, was determined upon. Lieut.-Colonel Baird, of the Seventy-first, was appointed to command a brigade on this service.

In July the flank companies of the regiment were ordered to join the force about to besiege Pondicherry, and marched for that purpose, being followed soon afterwards by the battalion companies. The place surrendered on the 22nd of August, and the Seventy-first returned to Secundermally and Dindigul, where it continued during the remainder of the year.

An attack upon the Mauritius was in contemplation at the commencement of the year 1794, and troops for that service were assembled at Wallajohabad. The Seventy-first, having received orders to join this force, marched to Wallajohabad, where the regiment remained only a short time, having been ordered to return to the southward, in consequence of the projected expedition being relinquished.

The regiment marched accordingly, and arrived at Tanjore in June, where it was stationed for the remainder of the year, having two companies detached under Major Dalrymple at Vellum.

Holland became united to France in the early part of 1795, and was styled the Batavian Republic. Upon the arrival of this information in India, an expedition was fitted out against the Island of Ceylon, where the Dutch had several settlements. Major Dalrymple, with the flank companies, marched to the coast, and embarked at Negapatam, for the purpose of co-operating with the troops destined for Ceylon, under the command of Colonel James Stuart, of the Seventy-second, who was promoted to the rank of Major-General at this period. The fleet arrived on the coast of Ceylon on the 1st of August, and two days afterwards the troops landed four miles north of the fort of Trincomalee. The siege of the fort was commenced as soon as the artillery and stores could be landed and removed sufficiently near to the place. On the 26th of August a practicable breach was effected, and the garrison surrendered. The fort of Batticaloe surrendered on the 18th of September, and the fort and island of Manaar capitulated on the 5th of October. After these services were performed, the flank companies returned to Tanjore in the month of October, having lost 11 men in killed and wounded. Captain William Charles Gorrie, of the grenadier company, was desperately wounded in this expedition.

The following honourable mention of an officer in this regiment is extracted from a letter of Sir Robert Abercromby to the Duke of York.

In May, 1796, the regiment marched to Wallajohabad, where it was stationed during the remainder of the year.

On the 2nd of January, 1797, the regiment was inspected by Major-General Clarke, who issued the following general order:—

The regiment remained in the cantonment of Wallajohabad until the month of October, when orders were issued for its return to Europe. It was accordingly drafted, giving five hundred men to the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Regiments, and then marched from Wallajohabad, under the command of Colonel Baird, to Madras, and immediately embarked on board of Indiamen for Great Britain. The fleet sailed from Madras Roads on the 17th of October, and was at sea during the remainder of the year. A few days previous to its embarkation the following order was published:—

This high testimonial of the approbation of the Civil Government was accompanied by the following mark of commendation from the Commander-in-Chief:—

Early in January, 1798, the fleet arrived at the Cape of Good Hope, where the commanding officer of the regiment, Colonel Baird, was detained upon the Staff, having been appointed Brigadier-General. After remaining a few days in Table Bay, the fleet sailed, and reached St. Helena in February, where it was detained three months, waiting for a convoy.

The fleet sailed on the 1st of May from St Helena, without a convoy, and in July, in consequence of contrary winds, was compelled to put into Cork Harbour. It sailed from thence for the Thames, and on the 13th of August the regiment disembarked at Woolwich, where it remained for a few days, and then re-embarked in smacks for Leith. After landing, the regiment proceeded to Stirling. As a mark of indulgence, a general leave for two months was granted to the officers and men of the Seventy-first, to enable them to visit their friends and families after the long absence from their native country. At the expiration of this period, the whole assembled at Stirling, with the addition of a few recruits[4]. Immediately afterwards, the whole of the officers and non-commissioned officers, with the exception of the Staff, and a few at head-quarters, were sent out to recruit for the regiment.

Very few of the men remained who had originally formed the regiment; of the officers, the following were still in the regiment:—

Colonel Baird,
”    Dalrymple,
Major Lindsay Robertson,
Brevet-Major Borthwick,
”         Gorrie,
Captain D. Ross,
”    Hugh Cuthbert,
”    Roderick McKenzie,
”    Hugh McKenzie.

During the year 1799, the head-quarters remained at Stirling, and the recruiting went on but slowly.

In May, 1800, the strength of the regiment amounted to about 200 rank and file, when a route arrived changing the quarters to Paisley, but soon after the march an order arrived for its proceeding to Ireland. In June the regiment reached Portpatrick, and crossed immediately to Donaghadee, from whence it marched, under the command of Colonel Dalrymple, to Newry, and in a few days afterwards was removed to Dundalk.

In July the regiment received 600 volunteers from the Scotch Fencible Corps serving in Ireland, and remained at Dundalk until the close of the year, when a route for Dublin was received. At this period, Colonel Dalrymple was appointed Brigadier-General, and the command of the regiment devolved on Brevet Lieut.-Colonel John French.

On the 6th of December Major Denis Pack was promoted from the Fourth Royal Irish Dragoon Guards to be Lieut.-Colonel in the Seventy-first Regiment, in succession to Lieut.-Colonel the Honourable John Lindsay, who retired from the service.

The regiment, early in the year 1801, marched from Dundalk to Dublin, and occupied the barracks in the Palatine Square. On the 24th of April, Lieut.-Colonel Pack joined, and assumed the command of the regiment.

In March, 1802, in which month the Peace of Amiens was concluded, the regiment proceeded from Dublin, and was quartered in the county of Wicklow. The corps was so divided, that at Arklow, the head-quarters, there were only two companies. In this situation it continued for the remainder of the year.

The regiment proceeded in March, 1803, in three divisions, to Ballinasloe, where it remained for a few days, and afterwards marched to Loughrea.

Major-General Sir John Francis Cradock, K.B., was appointed Colonel of the Seventy-first Highlanders on the 6th of August, 1803, in succession to General the Honourable William Gordon, who was removed to the Twenty-first Royal North British Fusiliers.

The regiment continued at Loughrea, but the light company was detached to Limerick to join a light battalion which was being formed at that place. Captain Sinclair died during this year, and the officers of the regiment caused a stone to be erected over his grave bearing the following inscription:—

In May the regiment proceeded from Loughrea to the county of Limerick; the head-quarters being stationed at Rathkeale, one detachment at Newcastle, another at Tarbert, and a third at Askeaton.

While the regiment was stationed in Ireland, war had recommenced with France, and Bonaparte having made preparations for invading Great Britain, additional measures of defence to those of the former year were adopted by the Government; and under the “Additional Force Act,” passed on the 10th of July, 1804, a second battalion was added to the Seventy-first Regiment, which was to consist of men to be raised for limited service in certain counties of North Britain. The second battalion was formed at Dumbarton in October, to the command of which Lieut.-Colonel Lord George Beresford was appointed. Its establishment was fixed at 23 sergeants, 22 drummers, 20 corporals, 1,380 privates.

In March, 1805, the first battalion, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Pack, proceeded to Bandon, in the county of Cork, and was stationed at that place until July, when it marched to Cork, and immediately afterwards to Monkstown, where it embarked in transports, having been selected to form part of a secret expedition under its former commander, Major-General Sir David Baird.

In the beginning of August the embarkation was completed, and on the 5th of that month the fleet sailed, convoyed by three 64-gun ships, two frigates and gun brigs, under the orders of Commodore Sir Home Popham; and on the 28th of September the fleet, after a very boisterous passage, arrived at Madeira.

On the 3rd of October the fleet left Madeira, and on the 12th of November arrived at St. Salvador, in the Brazils, where an opportunity was afforded of refreshing the men, landing the sick, and procuring some horses for the cavalry.

The fleet again put to sea on the 28th of November, and directed its course towards the Dutch Colony of the Cape of Good Hope, then in possession of the Batavian Government, which was united with France in hostility to Great Britain.