The Grand Seignior established the Order of Knighthood of the Crescent, of which the General Officers were made members; and large gold medals were presented to the field officers, captains, and subalterns. As a further proof of the estimation in which the Grand Seignior held the services of the British soldiers in Egypt, he ordered a palace to be built at Constantinople, for the future residence of the British Ambassadors.

Names of the officers of the NINETY-SECOND regiment, who received gold medals for service in Egypt.

Lieutenant-Colonel	Alexander Napier.
Major	John Gordon.
Captains.
John Cameron.	Archibald McDonell.
The Hon. John Ramsay.	Peter Grant.
Andrew Patten.	Patrick Gordon.
Lieutenants.
Norman McLeod.	James Bent.
Charles Dowle.	Ronald Macdonald.
Donald McDonald.	James Stewart Mathison.
John Forman.	Charles Straubenzie.
James Lee.	William Phipps.
George W. Holmes.
Ensigns.
Peter Wilkie.	Charles Duddingstone.
William Mackay.	Alexander Cameron.
Alexander Anderson.	William Logie.

Paymaster	Archibald Campbell.	Surgeon	Archibald Hamilton.
Adjutant	Dugald Campbell.	Assist.-Surgeons.		{ Wm. Cook.
Quarter-Master	Peter Wilkie.			{ J. R. Hume.

The regiment marched for Aboukir on the 6th of October, 1801, and embarked in ships of war, which sailed on the following day.

Upon the guard of the NINETY-SECOND, which had been doing duty at head-quarters, being ordered to rejoin, the officer commanding the regiment received a letter expressive of Lieut.-General Hutchinson’s “entire approbation of the exemplary conduct of the guard, and of Serjeant Mark in particular.”

On the 19th of October, the regiment arrived at Malta, and remained in harbour until the 15th of November, when the ships sailed for the shores of Great Britain.

The regiment arrived at Cork on the 30th of January, 1802, and remained under quarantine at Cove, until the 12th of February, when it landed and marched to Kilkenny. The effective strength consisted of one lieut.-colonel, two majors, four captains, fifteen lieutenants, five ensigns, six staff, forty-two serjeants, twenty-two drummers, and five hundred and fifty-nine rank and file.

On the 27th of March, 1802, a definitive treaty of peace was signed 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.

The regiment on the 5th of April received orders to fire a feu-de-joie, in consequence of the treaty of peace concluded at Amiens. On the 12th of April, the regiment marched from Kilkenny, and arrived at Belfast on the 28th of that month, where it remained until the 2nd of June, when it embarked for Scotland.

On the 4th of June, the regiment arrived in Scotland for the first time since it was raised, and proceeded to Glasgow.

The peace of Amiens was of short duration; it inspired no confidence of ultimate tranquillity, and both parties remained prepared to renew the contest. The chief complaint on the part of France was the non-evacuation of Malta by the British troops, and the asylum afforded to the enemies of the French government. Circumstances had, however, occurred which would have rendered the restoration of Malta to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem equivalent to ceding that island to France. Other grounds of irritation existed, and the designs of Napoleon Bonaparte to raise the power of France by an extension of territorial dominion, to which England appeared a barrier, caused the struggle to be renewed; and the contest was not settled until the final defeat of the French at the battle of Waterloo, on the memorable 18th of June, 1815, by the allied troops under the Duke of Wellington.

On the 18th of May, 1803, war was declared against France; Hanover was overrun by the French, and severed for a time from the British crown; and the First Consul ordered the arrest of all British subjects in the territories of the French and Batavian republics.

Preparations were made by the British Government to meet the emergency; the “Army of Reserve Act” was passed in June, 1803, for raising men for home service by ballot, by which a second battalion was added to the NINETY-SECOND regiment. The second battalion was to be composed from the balloted men raised in Scotland for limited service, and was placed on the Establishment from the 9th of July following.

In June, the regiment was removed from Glasgow to Colchester, and on the 1st of July it marched to Weeley, where it encamped while the barracks were being prepared, which were occupied by the regiment during the winter.

The second battalion of the regiment was formed at Weeley, on the 24th of November, 1803; officers and non-commissioned officers, with a proportion of old soldiers, being posted to it from the first battalion for the purpose of instruction. Both battalions were commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Napier.

Each battalion was to have ten companies, consisting of fifty-four serjeants, twenty drummers, two fifers, and a thousand rank and file.

At this period Bonaparte was making preparations for the invasion of England, for which purpose he collected an immense flotilla at Boulogne. The threat of invasion aroused the patriotism of the British people, and the most strenuous measures were pursued to defeat the designs of the French Ruler; volunteer and yeomanry corps were formed in every part of the kingdom, and all parties united in one grand effort for the preservation of Great Britain.

In 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 at Milan as King of Italy.

Further measures of defence were adopted by Great Britain, and the “Additional Force Act” was passed on the 14th July, 1804.

Both battalions marched to Colchester on the 24th of July, and on the 6th of August were encamped on Lexden Heath.

On the 24th of October orders were issued for the march of one captain, one subaltern, four serjeants, four corporals, and one drummer to Elgin, from the second battalion, to receive the men to be raised under the “Additional Force Act.”

Both battalions broke up from Lexden camp on the 26th of October, and marched to Weeley barracks.

Orders were received on the 25th of November for the second battalion to be held in readiness to march from Weeley barracks, and proceed by the inland navigation to Liverpool, from whence it was to embark for Ireland. The second battalion accordingly marched in three divisions, on the 29th of November and on the two following days.

The first battalion, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Napier, remained in Weeley barracks during the winter.

During the summer of 1805, the first battalion was brigaded with the forty-second, ninety-first, and ninety-fifth (Rifle) regiments. On the 2nd of September, the battalion marched from Weeley to Colchester; on the 4th of September the first battalion was ordered to hold itself in readiness for embarkation, but on the 6th of September it returned to Weeley barracks.

The first battalion marched, on the 7th of October, to Colchester with other troops, and was reviewed by His Royal Highness the Duke of York, the Commander-in-Chief, who expressed himself particularly pleased with the appearance of the battalion, which returned to its quarters at Weeley on the 18th of October.

While the French were pursuing their victorious career in Germany, they experienced great reverses from the British navy. On the 21st of October, the combined fleets of France and Spain were defeated off Cape Trafalgar; but the victory was purchased with the loss of Admiral Viscount Nelson, whose remains were honored with a public funeral at St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the first battalion of the NINETY-SECOND regiment attended the ceremony.

On the 29th of October, the first battalion marched from Weeley, and arrived at Ospringe barracks on the 6th of November; on the 26th of November it marched to Canterbury.

The first battalion marched, on the 2nd of January, 1806, to London, to attend the public funeral of Admiral Viscount Nelson, whose remains were interred, on the 9th of January, in St. Paul’s Cathedral, where a monument was erected by authority of Parliament at the public expense.

Major-General the Hon. John Hope, from the sixtieth regiment, (afterwards the Earl of Hopetoun,) was appointed by His Majesty King George III. to be colonel of the NINETY-SECOND regiment, on the 3rd of January, 1806, in succession to Major-General the Marquis of Huntly, who was removed to the forty-second, or the Royal Highlanders, on the decease of General Sir Hector Munro, K.B.

The first battalion marched, on the 11th of January, from London for Colchester, where it arrived on the 15th of that month: it marched to Weeley barracks on the 29th of May, where it remained stationary, with the exception of occasional marches to and from Colchester, for the purpose of being exercised with other brigades.

On the 3rd of February, 1807, the first battalion marched from Weeley for Harwich, with the view of checking the infection of ophthalmia, which then prevailed among the troops at Weeley. The first battalion returned to Weeley on the 27th of April.

Information having been obtained that Napoleon purposed employing the navy of Denmark against Great Britain, an armament was prepared for obtaining possession of the Danish fleet by treaty or force, on the assurance that it should be restored at the conclusion of the war with France. The first battalion was destined to share in this enterprise, and it received orders, on the 22nd of July, to be in readiness for foreign service.

The battalion, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Napier, marched for Harwich on the 26th of July, and embarked on the same day, after being inspected by Lieut.-General Sir David Baird. On the 27th a draft of one hundred and three rank and file joined from the second battalion: the effective strength of the first battalion consisted of forty-eight serjeants, nineteen drummers, and nine hundred and eighty-one rank and file.

On the 1st of August, the expedition sailed, and on the 8th anchored in the Sound near Elsineur. On the following day, Lieut.-General Harry Burrard[11] directed the army assembling in the Sound to be formed in brigades and divisions, and that the forty-third, fifty-second, NINETY-SECOND, and ninety-fifth (Rifle) regiments should compose the reserve, under Major-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, until the arrival of the Commander-in-Chief.

Lieut.-General Lord Cathcart arrived on the 12th of August, and assumed the command of the army; on the 14th the fleet sailed towards Copenhagen, and on the 16th of August the army landed at Vedeck, in Zealand, situated about half-way between Elsineur and Copenhagen, without opposition, and on the following day the regiment went into cantonments in Hassan, and Broomskoy. Its movements were various, and dependent upon circumstances during this period.

The NINETY-SECOND regiment advanced towards Roeskelde on the 26th of August, in consequence of the enemy collecting a large force at the town of Kioge and its vicinity, for the purpose of being thrown into Copenhagen, which was at this time invested by the British army.

On the 29th of August, the division under Major-General Sir Arthur Wellesley advanced to attack the Danes in their position. The NINETY-SECOND regiment, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Alexander Napier, was appointed to lead the infantry against the enemy’s camp, in which the regiment charged him, driving him out of it, and through the town of Kioge, with the loss of his artillery. The regiment had two rank and file killed, and one wounded.

On the 30th of August, the British troops marched to Osted, and went into cantonments. On this day, after expressing in orders his satisfaction at the conduct of the troops in the action of the 29th, Major-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, in particularizing those who had an opportunity of distinguishing themselves, alluded to the conduct of the NINETY-SECOND regiment, and of Lieut.-Colonel Napier, in the attack of the enemy in his camp, and to the regular and orderly manner in which the troops marched through Kioge, and formed beyond the town.

The conduct of the troops employed in the action before Kioge was thus alluded to in General Orders by Lieut.-General Lord Cathcart:—

The bombardment of Copenhagen induced the Crown Prince to listen to terms; and on the 7th of September the Danish fleet and stores were surrendered to the British government on condition of being restored, when a general pacification should take place.

The following General Order was issued to the troops on the same day:—

A detachment of grenadiers took possession of the citadel, and hostilities ceased.

The object of the expedition having been accomplished, Copenhagen was evacuated, and the NINETY-SECOND regiment marched from Osted to Roeskelde Kroe on the 23rd of September, and on the next day joined the army before Copenhagen, and went into cantonments.

The approbation of His Majesty, King George III., for the services performed during the expedition, was expressed in the following extract from a despatch, dated 16th September, 1807, addressed to Lieut.-General Lord Cathcart by Viscount Castlereagh, Principal Secretary of State for the War Department:—

Lieut.-General Lord Cathcart in communicating the above to the army under his command, on the 28th of September, 1807, added,—

On the 17th of October, the first battalion of the NINETY-SECOND regiment embarked for England in the Minotaur, Neptunis, and Iris, ships of war, and sailed on the 21st. During the passage they encountered very boisterous weather, in which the ships parted company: unfortunately the Neptunis, of ninety-eight guns (one of the captured Danish ships), with six hundred of the NINETY-SECOND regiment on board, got aground, and was totally lost. The men were landed on the island of Hewan, where they remained for fourteen days, until vessels arrived for them from England.

The men on board the head-quarter ship landed in England on the 12th of November; and on the arrival of the different detachments, orders were waiting for them to proceed to Weeley barracks. The effective strength of the first battalion at this period consisted of forty-nine serjeants, twenty-two drummers, and nine hundred and sixty-four rank and file.

The first battalion marched to Colchester barracks on the 23rd of March, 1808. Volunteers from the militia of the northern counties were, about this time, received, and taken on the strength of the second battalion, which continued in Ireland.

On the 19th of April, the first battalion of the regiment was directed to be held in readiness for immediate embarkation for foreign service, and on the 29th of April, it marched from Colchester, and embarked in transports at Harwich, under Lieut.-Colonel Napier.

The battalion sailed for Yarmouth on the 4th of May, and arrived there on the 6th, where an armament, under the command of Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, was assembling, destined to proceed to Sweden.

The armament sailed from Yarmouth on the 10th of May, and anchored off Gottenburg on the 17th. The Swedes did not show any inclination to avail themselves of British assistance on shore, consequently the troops did not disembark, but during their stay were occasionally exercised in practising to land from launches and flat-bottomed boats.

The fleet sailed for England on the 3rd of July, with orders to rendezvous at Yarmouth. A vessel, with orders from England, however, changed the place of rendezvous to the Downs, where the fleet arrived on the 20th of July, and proceeded to Spithead. A draft of seventy rank and file was received from the second battalion.

Spain was at this period the centre of political interest. Portugal, deserted by her government, and Spain betrayed, the people of each rose in arms to recover the national independence. Dissensions had arisen in the royal family of Spain, occasioned by the sway of Emanuel Godoy, who bore the title of Prince of Peace. This minister was dismissed, but the Court was unable to restore tranquillity. In this emergency, the French Emperor was solicited to be umpire; and Napoleon ultimately seized the crown of Spain, which he placed on the head of his brother Joseph, who was transferred from the throne of Naples. Europe was indignant, and Spain furious, at this usurpation. The Spaniards flew to arms, and the British government resolved to aid the Spanish and Portuguese patriots; a British army accordingly proceeded to the Peninsula in June, 1808, the command of which was held by Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley.

On the 31st of July, having received on board a fresh supply of provisions and water, the first battalion sailed for Portugal, and on the 19th of August arrived in Mondego Bay. Marshal Junot and the French army having been defeated by the troops under Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, in the battles at Roliça on the 17th, and Vimiera on the 21st of August, sued for a cessation of hostilities.

The battalion landed at Maciera Bay on the 27th of August, and the convention of Cintra was signed on the 30th of that month, by which it was stipulated that the French should evacuate Portugal.

Portugal, being thus rescued from the presence of hostile troops, orders arrived from England for Lieut.-General Sir John Moore to take the chief command of a part of the army, which was to be employed in Spain; with a notification that a force from England, under the command of Lieut.-General Sir David Baird, was to land at Corunna, and co-operate with him. The first battalion of the NINETY-SECOND regiment was immediately put in motion towards the frontiers, and arrived at Portalegre on the 11th of October, 1808.

On the 26th of October, the first battalion, being placed in the division commanded by Lieut.-General Sir John Hope, moved from Portalegre, and on the 2nd of November entered Spain, at Badajoz; marching by Merida, Truxillo, and Talavera, it arrived at the Escurial on the 22nd of November, and halted.

The enemy having pressed forward to Valladolid and Tordesillas, thereby threatening to cut off Lieut.-General Sir John Hope’s communication with the army under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, who was then at Salamanca, the battalion marched from the Escurial, on the 27th of November, across the Guadarama mountains, and moving by Villa Castin and Avila, it arrived at Alva de Tormes on the 4th of December.

The battalion advanced from Alva de Tormes towards Tordesillas, on the 11th of December, and Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, learning that the French were moving upon him from the direction of Madrid, which had by this time surrendered, while another column was advancing from the direction of Burgos, moved to the left, to form a junction with Lieut.-General Sir David Baird, crossed the Douro at Toro, and arrived at Vallada on the 21st of December. On the 24th of that month, the battalion marched by Benevente, Astorga, and Villa Franca, arriving at Lugo on the 4th of January, 1809.

The troops took up a position in front of Lugo, on the 6th of January, 1809, and remained bivouacked, in order of battle, until the 8th, when they marched in the night, and arrived at Corunna on the 11th. During these marches, in common with the rest of the army, the battalion suffered from fatigue and the severity of the weather.

On the 12th of January, the battalion was placed in position in front of Corunna; and on the 14th and 15th the women, sick men, and baggage, were embarked for England.

The British army having accomplished one of the most celebrated retreats recorded in modern history, repulsing the pursuing enemy in all his attacks, and having traversed two hundred and fifty miles of mountainous country under very disheartening circumstances, accompanied by severe privation, was not destined to embark for England without a battle.

Marshal Soult, Duke of Dalmatia, having taken up a position above the town of Corunna, made arrangements for attacking the British army as soon as the troops should commence their embarkation. The sick men, women, and baggage having been conveyed on board ship, preparations were made for embarking the troops on the 16th of January, 1809. The French instantly descended from the heights in three columns, and advanced about two o’clock to attack the British position in front of Corunna; a sanguinary action ensued, and before dark, the French were defeated in all their attacks. Lieut.-General Sir John Moore was killed; and the battle was scarcely ended, when, wrapped in a military cloak, his remains were interred in the citadel of Corunna, over which Marshal Soult, with the true feeling of a soldier, erected a monument.

This victory enabled the British troops to be embarked without further molestation. In this battle the first battalion of the NINETY-SECOND was posted towards the left of the army, on the road leading to Betanzas, and throughout the day supported its former reputation.

The NINETY-SECOND, together with the rest of the army, had not only to lament the death of Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, but also that of their own commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel Alexander Napier, who was killed at its head: the command therefore devolved on Brevet Lieut.-Colonel John Lamont, who was afterwards promoted lieut.-colonel in the regiment. Lieutenant Archibald McDonald was severely wounded on this occasion, and died shortly afterwards. Only two rank and file of the battalion were killed, and four wounded.

This army received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament, “for its distinguished discipline, firmness, and valour, in the battle of Corunna,” which were communicated to the regiment, with the following letter, addressed to the commanding officer by Lieut.-General Sir David Baird:—

The conduct of the battalion during the expedition, and its gallantry at the battle of Corunna, were rewarded by the Royal authority for the word “Corunna” to be borne on the regimental colour and appointments of the NINETY-SECOND, in common with the army employed under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore.[13]

On the 17th of January, the battalion embarked at Corunna, and on the 26th disembarked at Portsmouth, marching immediately for Weeley Barracks, where the several divisions arrived on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of February.

On the 16th of February, orders were issued that every exertion should be made to clothe and equip the regiment again for foreign service. The regiment received black painted canvas knapsacks, having the Sphinx and number on the back.

About this period, Lieut.-Colonel John Cameron joined from the second battalion, which continued in Ireland.

The first battalion marched on the 29th of June for Dover, where it arrived on the 6th and 7th of July, and was joined by two hundred and twenty rank and file from the second battalion.

During the summer of 1809 great preparations were made by the British Government for fitting out the most formidable armament that had, for a long time, issued from England. It consisted of an army of forty thousand men, commanded by Lieut.-General the Earl of Chatham, and of thirty-nine ships of the line, thirty-six frigates, and numerous gun-boats, bomb-vessels, with other small craft, under Admiral Sir Richard Strachan. The object of the expedition was to gain possession of the islands at the mouth of the Scheldt, and to destroy the French ships in that river, with the docks and arsenals at Antwerp.

On the 14th of July, the first battalion marched to Deal, and embarked in ships of war with other troops there assembled, under Lieut.-General the Earl of Chatham. The battalion, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Cameron, was placed in Major-General Sir William Erskine’s brigade, and in the division commanded by Lieut.-General Sir John Hope. The NINETY-SECOND mustered forty-four serjeants, twenty drummers, and nine hundred and seventy-four rank and file.

The expedition sailed from the Downs on the 28th of July, and landed on the 1st of August on the Island of South Beveland, near Goes, and went into cantonments in that place and Capelle. Flushing surrendered on the 15th of August; but during the siege Marshal Bernadotte had arrived at Antwerp, put the place in a posture of defence, and removed the ships higher up the river. In consequence of these preparations, the reduction of Antwerp was deemed impracticable by a Council of War, and on the 1st of September the NINETY-SECOND embarked for England.

The battalion landed at Landguard Fort near Harwich, and proceeded to Woodbridge barracks. During the time it was in South Beveland, it suffered much from fever and ague, with other diseases peculiar to that place; consequently every attention was now paid to restore the men, and to render them again fit for service.

On the 11th of July, 1810, the first battalion of the NINETY-SECOND embarked at Landguard Fort, landed at Ramsgate, and arrived at Canterbury on the 20th of that month.

The battalion was shortly afterwards destined to proceed a second time to the Peninsula, and it embarked from Deal for Lisbon on the 24th of September. Since its embarkation at Corunna, in January, 1809, great events had occurred in Spain, and the French had obtained possession of Corunna, Bilboa, and all the important places on the northern coast of that country. Saragossa, after a gallant defence, had also fallen, and Marshal Soult having overrun Gallicia, marched into the northern provinces of Portugal, and obtained possession of Oporto. The small British force which had been left in Portugal, when Lieut.-General Sir John Moore advanced into Spain, was concentrated by Lieut.-General Sir John Cradock for the defence of Lisbon.

The British Government resolved to make another effort to save Portugal from invasion, and also to assist the Spaniards in their struggle for independence. Accordingly in April 1809, Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley was sent with reinforcements to Portugal, and was appointed to the command of the British army in the Peninsula. His first object was to dislodge Marshal Soult from Oporto. The famous passage of the Douro led to the fall of Oporto, and the French Marshal was compelled to retreat. The Spanish General Cuesta having been defeated, with great loss, by the division of the French army under Marshal Victor, Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley was obliged to desist from the pursuit of Marshal Soult.

In the beginning of July, the British army advanced into Spain, and a junction being effected with General Cuesta, the combined forces occupied a strong position at Talavera. Here they were attacked on the 27th and 28th of July, 1809, and the French army, commanded by Joseph Bonaparte in person, was defeated; for which victory Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley was raised to the peerage by the title of Viscount Wellington.

After this victory it was deemed necessary to make a retrograde movement on Badajoz, information having been received that Marshals Soult, Ney, and Victor had united their forces, and were advancing to fall on the rear of the allied army.

Viscount Wellington now became occupied with the defence of Portugal. The French armies in Spain had been reinforced during the winter of 1809-10 with troops from Germany, peace having been concluded between France and Austria; and in April, 1810, the Emperor Napoleon espoused the Archduchess Maria Louisa, daughter of the Emperor of Austria.

Spain having been reduced to French domination, Napoleon resolved to subjugate Portugal, and Marshal Massena, Prince of Essling, assumed the command of the “Army of Portugal” in May. Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida were captured by the French, who were, however, gallantly repulsed at the Sierra de Busaco on the 27th of September, 1810, after which Viscount Wellington occupied the strong position of Torres Vedras, about thirty miles from Lisbon.

This was the state of affairs in the Peninsula when the NINETY-SECOND arrived in the Tagus. On the 8th of October, the battalion landed, and the necessary camp equipage, on taking the field, was immediately issued.

The NINETY-SECOND, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel John Cameron, marched from Lisbon to join the army under Viscount Wellington, then in the fortified lines of Torres Vedras, and arrived at Cruzandera on the 15th of October, where the battalion remained until the 15th of November. At this period it was attached to the first division of the army, and was brigaded with the fiftieth and seventy-first regiments, under Major-General Howard.

Marshal Massena having abandoned his position in front of the British, and retired upon Santarem, the NINETY-SECOND advanced on the 15th of November, and occupied the village of Almostal on the 19th of November, moving on the 28th to Alcantrinha, the enemy occupying a strong position at Santarem, immediately in front of the British army.

At the commencement of the year 1811, Lisbon was the point on which the interests of the British nation in foreign affairs were concentrated, and the question whether Portugal should remain independent, or become subject to France, was to be decided by the two great armies posted near Lisbon, the one for attack, the other for defence.

The difficulty of supplying his troops with necessaries in a devastated country, and the impracticability of forcing the fortified lines of Viscount Wellington, at Torres Vedras, at length compelled Marshal Massena to consult the safety of his army by a seasonable retreat.

During the night of the 5th of March, the enemy broke up from his position near Santarem, and retreated in the direction of Almeida. Viscount Wellington immediately pursued Marshal Massena by Thomar, Pombal, Redinha, and Espinhal, at each of which places some sharp affairs took place, honorable to the British arms, as well as at Sabugal on the 3rd of April, immediately after which the French continued their retreat into Spain.

The first battalion of the NINETY-SECOND regiment entered Spain on the 9th of April, and was cantoned in Albergaria, where a detachment of one lieutenant and forty-four rank and file joined from the second battalion, then in Ireland. At this period, the sixth division of the British army invested Almeida, and a force of British and Portuguese under Marshal Beresford was employed in the Alemtejo and Spanish Estremadura, which compelled the enemy to abandon Campo Mayor. Olivenza was next besieged by Marshal Beresford, and retaken on the 15th of April, after which he broke ground before Badajoz.

Marshal Massena had reached Ciudad Rodrigo on the 25th of April, and, having concentrated his forces, crossed the Agueda on the 2nd of May, and advanced towards the allied army, posted between that river and the Coa, in order to relieve Almeida. On the approach of the French, the British light division and cavalry fell back upon Fuentes d’Onor, where three other divisions were posted, and in which Viscount Wellington determined to receive the attack of the enemy.

The village of Fuentes d’Onor is situated on low ground, at the bottom of a ravine, with an old chapel and some buildings on a craggy eminence which overhang one end. In the afternoon of the 3rd of May, the enemy attacked the village with a very large force, and was repulsed with loss. On this occasion, the light company of the NINETY-SECOND distinguished itself. Lieutenant James Hill was wounded; nine rank and file were likewise wounded.

The main body of the British army was concentrated in the vicinity of Fuentes d’Onor in the course of the evening and following day. On the 5th of May, the enemy, very superior to the British in numbers, made an attack on the right of the allied position early in the morning, and also on the village, which he repeated during the day, and the action became general. Each of his attacks was successively repulsed, and towards the evening, the victory being decidedly in favour of the British, the French retired to their original position.

On this occasion, the first battalion of the NINETY-SECOND regiment, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Cameron, was stationed to the right of Fuentes d’Onor, covering a brigade of nine-pounders, and was exposed to a very heavy cannonade. The light company, and a subdivision of each of the others in its front, were warmly engaged throughout the day, and eminently distinguished themselves. Major Archibald McDonnell, who commanded them, was in consequence promoted to the brevet rank of Lieut.-Colonel. Major Peter Grant and Lieutenant Allan McNab were severely wounded; the latter died two days afterwards. The battalion had also seven rank and file killed and thirty-five wounded.

The NINETY-SECOND afterwards received the Royal Authority to bear the words “Fuentes d’Onor” on the regimental colour and appointments, in commemoration of the gallantry displayed by the first battalion in that battle.

Both armies continued in their positions during the 6th and 7th of May without any particular occurrence, and on the morning of the 8th, the rear of the enemy’s columns was seen retreating on the road towards Ciudad Rodrigo. The NINETY-SECOND still remained bivouacked near Fuentes d’Onor.

The French crossed the Agueda and left Almeida to its fate. That place was evacuated by General Brennier at midnight of the 10th of May, when the enemy blew up the works, and the greater part of the garrison succeeded in effecting its escape during the night.

On the 14th of May, the battalion returned to its former cantonments in Albergaria, where orders were received increasing its establishment to twelve hundred rank and file.

Marshal Beresford, in the meantime, was continuing the blockade of Badajoz; but receiving information that Marshal Soult was advancing from Seville to its relief, he raised the siege on the 15th of May, and having concentrated his force, marched to meet the enemy. On the following day, the battle of Albuhera was fought, and the British gained a brilliant but hard-earned victory. In the night of the 17th, Marshal Soult left Badajoz to its fate, and commenced his retreat towards Seville.

Viscount Wellington now gave orders for Badajoz to be again closely invested. To assist in these operations, the brigade, of which the NINETY-SECOND formed part, was appointed the first in the second division of the army, under Lieut.-General Rowland (afterwards Viscount) Hill, at this time in Spanish Estremadura, covering the siege of Badajoz.

The battalion, under Lieut.-Colonel Cameron, marched, on the 25th of May, from Albergaria for the Alemtejo, crossed the Tagus at Villa Velha, and the Guadiana above Badajoz, and joined the second division in front of Albuhera, on the 10th of June, about ten days after the second siege of Badajoz had been commenced. Its effective strength consisted of fifty-six serjeants, sixteen drummers, and eight hundred and twenty-five rank and file.

Marshal Marmont, with the French army of Portugal, having effected a junction with that of the south, under Marshal Soult, they advanced to relieve Badajoz; Viscount Wellington found it therefore necessary to relinquish the siege, and to withdraw the allied army across the Guadiana.

Accordingly, the second division, on the 16th of June, broke up from its bivouac in front of Albuhera, marched by Valverde, recrossed the Guadiana, and arrived at Torre do Mouro on the 20th of June, where the principal part of the British army was drawn up in position, with its right upon Elvas and the left on Campo Mayor. The division broke up from the bivouac at Torre do Mouro on the 21st of July, marched to Elvas, and on the following day went into quarters in Borba, from whence it marched on the 1st of September, arriving on the 3rd of that month at Portalegre.

Meanwhile the main body of the army, under Viscount Wellington, had crossed the Tagus and invested Ciudad Rodrigo. Towards the end of September, Marshal Marmont, having received large reinforcements, advanced to Ciudad Rodrigo, and, after a partial engagement at El Bodon on the 25th of September, Viscount Wellington withdrew his army to his former position on the Coa.

On the 7th of October, a draft of one hundred and ninety-nine rank and file was received from the second battalion.

The second battalion embarked at Belfast on the 10th of October, and arrived on the following day at Irvine in North Britain.

General Girard’s division of the fifth French corps having taken post at Caceres, Lieut.-General Rowland Hill determined to drive the enemy from thence, and on the approach of the British troops the French retired, halting at Arroyo-del-Molinos.

On the 22nd of October, the first battalion of the NINETY-SECOND marched from Portalegre to Codesiera; on the 23rd to Albuquerque; on the 24th to the Sierra de San Pedro; on the 25th to Aliseda; on the 26th to Malpartida; on the following day to Alcuesca, and bivouacked without fires about a league from Arroyo-del-Molinos. During the whole of this fatiguing march, the weather was extremely severe, with constant rain.

The British troops, under Lieut.-General Hill, marched about two o’clock in the morning of the 28th of October, towards Arroyo-del-Molinos, a village situated in a plain at the foot of a ridge of rocks rising in the form of a crescent, their approach being concealed by a thick mist with heavy rain. The French infantry were assembling outside the village to commence their march to Merida, the baggage was being loaded, and General Girard was waiting at his quarters for his horse, when suddenly the seventy-first and NINETY-SECOND regiments charged into the village, capturing much baggage and many prisoners; at the same time the twenty-eighth and thirty-fourth regiments made a detour, supported by the thirty-ninth, to cut off the enemy’s retreat.

The French formed two squares and commenced retreating. The NINETY-SECOND attacked, and broke one of the enemy’s squares, which was formed on the other side of the village, and thereby completed his overthrow.

In this brilliant affair the enemy lost all his artillery and baggage; and several officers of rank and consideration, with about fourteen hundred men, were taken prisoners. General Brun and Colonel the Prince d’Aremberg were among the prisoners. The ninth and thirteenth light dragoons, and the second Hussars, King’s German Legion, also shared in the action.

The NINETY-SECOND had Lieut.-Colonel John Cameron, Captains Donald McDonald, John McPherson, and Robert Nugent Dunbar (Brevet-Major), wounded; three rank and file were killed and seven wounded.