The History of the 2nd Dragoons: "Royal Scots Greys"
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Title: The History of the 2nd Dragoons: "Royal Scots Greys"
Author: Edward Almack
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF THE 2ND DRAGOONS: "ROYAL SCOTS GREYS" ***
THE HISTORY OF THE
SECOND DRAGOONS
"Royal Scots Greys"
[Illustration: Lady Butler
"Scotland for Ever."
By kind permission of the Artist, and by arrangement with the
proprietors of the Copyright, Messrs. S. Hildesheimer & Co. Ltd.]
THE HISTORY OF THE
SECOND DRAGOONS
"Royal Scots Greys"
BY
EDWARD ALMACK, F.S.A.
_With Forty-four Illustrations_
LONDON
1908
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
+Aberdeen University Library+, per +P. J. Anderson+, Esq.,
Librarian
+Edward Almack+, Esq., F.S.A.
Mrs. +E. Almack+
+E. P. Almack+, Esq., R.F.A.
Miss +V. A. B. Almack+
Miss +G. E. C. Almack+
+W. W. C. Almack+, Esq.
+Charles W. Almack+, Esq.
+Army & Navy Stores+, Ltd., London, S.W.
Lieut.-Col. +Ashburner+, late Queen's Bays
His Grace The +Duke of Atholl, K.T.+, etc., etc.
+C. B. Balfour+, Esq.
+G. F. Barwick+, Esq., Superintendent, Reading Room, British
Museum
Lieut. +E. H. Bonham+, Royal Scots Greys
Lieut. +M. Borwick+, Royal Scots Greys
Messrs. +Bowering & Co.+, Booksellers, Plymouth
Mr. +W. Brown,+ Bookseller, Edinburgh
Major +C. B. Bulkeley-Johnson+, Royal Scots Greys
Messrs. +Cazenove & Son+, London, W.C.
Major +Edward F. Coates+, M.P., Tayles Hill, Ewell, Surrey
Major +W. F. Collins+, Royal Scots Greys
+W. J. Collins+, Esq., Royal Scots Greys
Capt. +H.R.H. Prince Arthur of Connaught, K.G., G.C.V.O.+, Royal
Scots Greys
The Hon. +Henry H. Dalrymple+, Lochinch, Castle Kennedy,
Wigtonshire
+Cyril Davenport+, Esq., F.S.A.
+J. Barrington Deacon+, Esq., Royal Western Yacht Club, Plymouth
Messrs. +Douglas & Foulis+, Booksellers, Edinburgh
+E. H. Druce+, Esq.
Second Lieut. +Viscount Ebrington+, Royal Scots Greys
Mr. +Francis Edwards+, Bookseller, London, W.
+Lord Eglinton+, Eglinton Castle, Irvine, N.B.
Lieut. +T. E. Estcourt+, Royal Scots Greys
Capt. +R. D. Fordyce+, Royal Scots Greys
Mr. +H. G. Gadney+, Bookseller, Oxford
The +Galignani Library+, Booksellers, Paris
+J. Hamilton+, Esq., Houldsworth, Castlebank, Lanark, N.B.
Second Lieut. +E. J. Hardy+, Royal Scots Greys
Lieut. +S. J. Hardy+, Royal Scots Greys
Capt. +Claudius Shirley Harris+, 90, Woodstock Road, Oxford
Capt. The Hon. +A. M. Henley+, 5th Lancers, York
+Walter Johnson+, Esq., Armcliffe Hall, Northallerton
Mr. +G. P. Johnston+, Bookseller, Edinburgh
+Percy R. Laurie+, Esq., Royal Scots Greys
Capt. +W. E. Lawrence+, Royal Scots Greys
Major +A. Lawson+, Royal Scots Greys
Major The Hon. +R. H. Lindsay+
Capt. and Adj. +W. Long, D.S.O.+, Royal Scots Greys
Lieut. +C. J. A. Maberly+, 5th Lancers
Mrs. +N. Maberly+, 14 The Avenue, Clifton, Bristol
Messrs. +Macniven & Wallace+, Booksellers, Edinburgh
Lieut. +W. M. Duguid McCombie+, Royal Scots Greys
Capt. +Geo. Middleton+, Royal Scots Greys, Wilderness, Kelmarsh,
Northampton
Col. +A. D. Miller+, D.S.O., Royal Scots Greys
+W. R. Mitchell+, Esq., 68, Washington Place, New York, U.S.A.
Lieut. +A. R. Moncrieff+, Royal Scots Greys
Second Lieut. Hon. +F. C. Montgomerie+, Royal Scots Greys
+Alexander Moring+, Esq.
+Clement O. E. Nicholson+, Esq., late Royal Scots Greys
+H. Stafford O'Brien+, Blatherwyche Park, Wansford,
Northamptonshire
+Cecil W. Otway+, Esq., Royal Scots Greys
Second Lieut. +H. D. Pender+, Royal Scots Greys
Lieut. +F. A. U. Pickering+, Royal Scots Greys
+J. J. Readman+, Esq.
Messrs. +Robson & Co.+, Booksellers, London, W.
The Right Hon. The +Earl of Rosebery, K.G.+, etc., etc.
Capt. Hon. +A. J. M. St. Clair+, Royal Scots Greys
Mrs. +Sanderson+, "Glenlaggan," Parton, N.B.
Major-General +H. Scobell, C.B.+, Commander 1st Cavalry Brigade,
Aldershot
Capt. +A. G. Seymour+, Royal Scots Greys
The +Signet Library+, Edinburgh
Col. +Smythe+, of Methven
+J. M. F. Sprot+, Esq., of Riddell, Roxburghshire, Lieut. Royal
Scots Greys
+John Stansfeld+, Esq., late Capt. Royal Scots Greys, Dunninald,
Montrose
Capt. +F. Swetenham+, Royal Scots Greys
+Toronto Public Library+
Capt. +H. B. Towse+, Royal Scots Greys
Col. +F. J. A. Wallace+, Arrandale, Ayre, N.B.
Lieut.-Col. +Welby+, M.P., 26, Sloane Court, Chelsea, S.W.
Col. +Coventry Williams+, late Royal Scots Greys
Second Lieut. +J. M. Wilson+, Royal Scots Greys
+A. B. Winch+, Esq., Royal Scots Greys
[Illustration: "+Ane Account deu be Thomas Dalzell of bins for his
fathers funerall, to George Porteous the 2 of Sept 1685.+"]
PREFACE.
In bidding farewell to this book before publication, I am most anxious
to thank with hearty sincerity all those who, as past or present
officers and friends of this historic regiment, have helped my
efforts. There are two names above all that I must most particularly
record--(i.) that of Colonel Coventry Williams, lately commanding
the Greys, who has helped in so many details, though I can only
particularly refer readers to pages 291, 292 and 293. Colonel Williams
is the half-brother of Captain Williams, a portrait of whom, as he
stands by his charger, I have been able to include in this volume, and
who, as named by Kinglake (quoted on page 78), brought the Greys out
of action at Balaclava. There, too, Kinglake refers to the anonymous
officer whose Crimean recollections are given on pages 80 to 84. That
officer has since died, and so, too, has Russell, the famous _Times_
correspondent, with whom he was exchanging affectionate greetings.
(ii.) In the next place I must record my gratitude to Major Lindsay,
who has shown the keen instinct native to the noble house of Crawford.
His grandfather opened his famous record with this quotation from
"Schir David Lyndesay of the Mont allias lyoun herauld king of Armes":--
"Who that antique stories reads
Consider may the famous deeds
Of our nobil progenitours;
Which should to us be right mirrours,
Their virtuous deedis to ensue,
And vicious living to eschew."
The fact is that to hold the King's commission in the Royal Scots Greys
inspires a host of chivalrous thoughts and memories. Picture the simple
pride shown in the laconic words quoted on page 293, "Greys, from your
right number off ten!" and see pages 52 to 74. Here are letters from
Francis Charlton Kinchant, who received his commission on 18th January,
1815, and was killed at Waterloo. After writing to a friend accounts
describing how zealously he was learning to practise the art of war,
he goes on: "The regiment is without doubt the best and the most crack
cavalry corps in the service. I don't think there is a private in it
under 5 feet 11 inches." The next personal allusion, describing the
uniform of the corps, is to his own father: "Our dress altogether is
extremely rich and consequently costs lots of money. The Court dress
coat alone is 40 guineas. It is covered with lace from head to foot.
The jackets are handsome, but they cost £15. 15. each. Every other
part of the equipment is equally as expensive. In fact we make a most
dashing appearance. I should like much to meet the old Buck at Bath or
Clifton. I do not think he would know his hopeful son."
It is interesting to identify the noble Colonel James Gardiner, killed
at Preston Pans, as an officer in the Greys. Of course the regiment has
always held a peculiarly interesting position. For instance, it does
not join the ordinary rota for foreign service. It shares with a very
few the privilege of having a special honorary Colonel-in-chief.
Before writing of Sir Thomas Dalyell, the first colonel of the
regiment, I wish to thank most cordially Mrs. Cornwall Dalyell of
The Binns, who most kindly allowed photographs to be taken of the
manuscripts of (and relics pertaining to) Sir Thomas Dalyell himself.
Thomas Dalyell or Dalzell, of Binns, was born about 1599, and seems
to have taken part in the Rochelle expedition in 1628, as captain in
the Earl of Morton's regiment. In 1640 he was serving under Major
Robert Monro at Aberdeen. He accompanied Monro in his expedition to
Ireland, 8th April, 1642, having obtained a commission as colonel to
command 2,500 men. On 6th May, 1651, he was appointed by the King as
General-Major of Foot, and fought at Worcester on 3rd September. He
was taken prisoner and committed to the Tower, but escaped to the
Continent. In March, 1654, he appeared off the northern coasts of
Scotland, and helped in the rebellion in the Highlands in that year.
Although a reward and free pardon were offered to anyone who would
give him up, dead or alive, he again escaped to the Continent, and
received from Charles a special letter of thanks, dated Cologne, 30th
December, 1654. On 19th July, 1666, he was appointed Commander-in-chief
in Scotland. Captain Crichton wrote of him: "He was bred up very hardy
from his youth; he never wore a peruke, nor did he shave his beard
since the murder of King Charles the First. He died on Sunday evening,
23rd August, 1685."
E. A.
ERRATA.
P. 76. _For_ "India" _read_ "Brighton, 1841, Exeter, 1842 and
1843."
P. 84, last line. _Add_ Middelburg, 1904.
P. 102, l. 22. _For_ Capt. C. B. Bulkeley Johnston _read_ Capt.
C. B. Bulkeley-Johnson.
P. 226, l. 18. _For_ 1844 _read_ 1848.
P. 292, sixth line from foot. _For_ "charged on a trout" _read_
"changed on a trout."
P. 293, l. 7. _After_ "Greys, from your right number off!" _add_
"ten." (_Note._--See a variant of this story on p. 82.)
(See also _Addenda_ to List of Officers Past and Present, on p.
261.)
[Illustration: +A Letter to General Dalzell dated 30th December, 1654,
wholly in the King's own hand.+]
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I
The title Dragoon--the beginning of the Royal Scots Greys (royal
warrants of 1672 and 1678)--the state of Scotland in 1678--warrants
appointing officers, 1678--order relating to three Independent Troops
of Dragoons--appointment of the Duke of Monmouth, 1679--appointment
of Thomas Dalzell, 1679--memoirs and experiences of Captain John
Crichton--murder of the Archbishop of St. Andrews--battle of
Bothwell Bridge--desperate fight in Airs Moss--warrant of Charles
II. regimenting six troops and establishing Royal Scots Greys,
1681--warrant of establishment, 1681--commission of Lord Charles
Murray, and of Thomas Dalzell as colonel, 1681--Creighton's account
of the coming of William III.--Creighton's imprisonment in the
Tolbooth--establishment of the regiment at accession of James II.
and William III.--the Greys proceed to Flanders, 1694--take part
in the campaigns of Marlborough, siege of Venloo, Stevenswaert,
Ruremond, Liege--brilliant rescue of treasure from French troops
by the Greys--their gallant capture of the enemy's post at
Schellenberg--the Greys take part in the battle of Blenheim, a cavalry
victory--contemporary account from Hare's journal.
CHAPTER II
The siege of Landau, 1704--British camp visited by the King of the
Romans--battle of the river Geet--Sir Walter Scott's praise of the
regiment--victory of Ramillies--the Greys defeat the Regiment du Roi at
Autreglize--strange history of "Mother Ross," a famous Amazon, wounded
as a trooper of the Greys at Ramillies--desperate battle of Malplaquet,
signal bravery of the Greys--battle of Oudenarde--exploit of the
Greys at Pont-à-Nache--sieges of Aire and Saint-Venant--end of the
campaign--fresh campaign in French Flanders--siege of Bouchain--French
sue for peace, 1712--Treaty of Utrecht, 1713--question of precedence,
1694--Greys rank as Second Dragoons, 1713--Greys take part in putting
down the Rebellion of the Old Pretender--and defeat Jacobites at
Strachell--Greys reviewed at Hounslow by George II.--suppression of
Kentish smugglers, 1737--Greys encamped in Windsor Forest--reviewed by
George II. on Kew Green--arrive at Dover--_British Military Journal_,
1799--heroism of the Greys at Dettingen--and Fontenoy--Greys capture
the White Standard--campaign in Flanders.
CHAPTER III
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748--short-sighted reduction of the Greys'
numbers--the brigade fire the shipping at St. Malo--Greys take part
in the capture of Cherbourg--notes from a Regimental Order Book,
1759--defeat of the French under Marshal Broglio at Zierenberg--account
of the battle in the _London Gazette_, 1760--surprise and complete
success of the night attack--signing of peace, 1763--Greys return
to England, and are reduced as usual!--Greys reviewed by George
III.--Greys during the French Revolution, 1793--war declared
against England by the Convention, 1793--siege of Valenciennes,
Dunkirk--magnificent charge of Greys at the battle of Tournay--return
to England--the folly of reduction again!--war with France, 1803--Greys
take part in the procession at Nelson's funeral--return of the Greys
to Scotland, 1807--the Greys reviewed by the Prince Regent, King of
Prussia, and Czar of Russia, in Hyde Park, 1814--Napoleon returns to
France, 1815.
CHAPTER IV
Records relating to Colonel Hamilton (originally James
Anderson)--account of Colonel Hamilton's heroism when wounded at
Waterloo--story of Colonel Hamilton (James Anderson) from _Good
Words_, 1866--letters by Cornet Kinchant before Waterloo, also letters
describing his death by treachery in the battle, and the vengeance
taken by Sergeant Ewart of his troop--great gallantry and success of
Sergeant Ewart--his capture of a French Eagle--extracts from a Waterloo
Journal, by Lieutenant A. J. Hamilton--copy of a letter from Lieutenant
A. J. Hamilton, written from the camp, near Mons--letter from Cornet
Clape, of the Greys, a week after the battle--letter from Lieutenant
Macmillan, Adjutant of the Scots Greys, at the battle of Waterloo,
giving an account of the part played at Waterloo by the Scots Greys.
CHAPTER V
Greys return to England, 1816--and are reduced in numbers, 1816 and
1821--Greys attend on George IV. in Scotland--Greys inspected by
Queen Adelaide, 1830--the Crimean campaign, account from the Historic
Register of the Second Dragoons, describing the Greys' action at
Balaclava--account given by Kinglake--account from the _Illustrated
London News_ of 1854--charges of the Light and the Heavy Brigade.
CHAPTER VI
Crimean campaign, _continued_--account written by a Crimean
officer of the Greys--decision to invade the Crimea--Greys embark
for Constantinople--French and British fleets in the harbour of
Sebastopol--victory of the Alma--Greys as the advanced guard of
the allied forces--Burgoyne's suggested plan of attack--the flank
march--Sir Edward Hamley's account, 1855--circumstances of the battle
of Balaclava sifted--the battle not merely 'a dash and a ride'--Sir
E. Hamley and the Heavy Brigade--subsequent home movements of the
regiment, 1857-1906.
CHAPTER VII
The Boer War--account taken from the Historical Records of the Royal
Scots Greys, 1899-1902--the Greys embark at Glasgow, 1899--the Greys
hold the line of the Orange River, December, 1899--messages from
the Queen--action at Koodoosburg--relief of Kimberley--the Queen's
telegram--Greys march to Paardeburg--Cronje's surrender--1st Squadron
Australian Horse attached to Greys--Greys take key of Boer position
at Bloemfontein--surrender of Bloemfontein--relief of Ladysmith--Army
Order by Lord Roberts--Greys march to relief of General Broadwood's
column at Sannah's Post--Greys take part in general advance of the
army to Pretoria--Greys dislodge enemy at Kalkheuvel Pass--Greys help
to release prisoners at Watervaal--reverse at Commando Nek--great
captures made by the Greys at Barberton--address by General French at
Ermelo--farewell order by General French--Greys take enemy's position
at Reit Kuil--Greys take part in holding the railway--lists of Greys'
casualties in 1900--engagement at Naauwpoort Hill--Greys cover
return of convoy at Kaalbult--Greys march to Johannesburg--farewell
address by General Gordon--operations under Lieut.-General
French in Eastern Transvaal against General Botha--engagement at
Boschman's Kop--Greys march to Vereeniging--crossing of the Assegai
River--telegram from the Commander-in-Chief to General French--Greys
capture guns--engagements at Idalia and Reitvlei--Boers attack Greys'
rearguard at Mooifontein, but are repulsed--regiment remounted
at Witbank--enemy engaged at Vierfontein, Straffontein, and Van
Dyks Post--enemy repulsed at Rustenburg--captures at Kleinfontein,
Brakspruit, and Vlaksplaats--continued sniping--successful ambush at
Wagons-pad Spruit--engagement at Damhoek--Greys protect S.A.C. building
blockhouses--Greys rush Boer laager at Schaap's Kraal--crossing of
the Buffalo River--many horses lost from exposure--Greys take part in
relief of Colonel Benson's column near Standerton--telegram from Lord
Kitchener--rearguard attacked at Rooipoort--captures at Tweefontein,
Wilmansrust, and Middelkraal--Greys take part in capture of Boers,
including Major Pretorius (Staats artillery), at Roodebloem--further
captures by Greys--losses of Greys in action at Klipfontein--list of
Greys' casualties in 1901--capture of Boers at Straffontein--losses of
Greys in action at Leeuwkop--Greys take part in drives at Balmoral,
Vlakfontein, Heidelburg, etc.--Peace signed--lists of Greys' casualties
in 1902 and during campaign.
+Uniform and Arms+
General Dalzell's action in obtaining cloth for uniforms--other
details of uniform, 1683-1704--inventory of clothes and accoutrements,
1706--regulation of George II. relating to the Greys' uniform,
1751--further changes, 1759-1788 (bearskins, 1768)--account of articles
of cavalry equipment furnished to recruits, 1803-1807--order to cut
hair short, 1808--changes in 1811 and 1812, badge of an eagle displayed
on the guidons--"Waterloo" added to guidons and grenadier caps to
commemorate the battle--changes in 1846 (officers' bearskin cap with
white hackle feather), 1864, and 1894.
CHAPTER VIII
Composition of the Greys at their first recorded muster in 1683, from
the original Roll in Edinburgh--pay of the regiment--account of money
paid by the Greys' Quartermaster in 1688, from an original document of
the Greys--List of Officers, past and present.
APPENDIX
Extracts from orders of the Scots Greys' Troop Orderly Book--notes
of Inspection Returns, from the Record Office--a notable prayer,
commending the Greys to favour--copies of two holograph letters of
Charles II. relating to Thos. Dalzell, and translation of General
Dalzell's Russian commission, furnished by Captain Lindsay--entry
from the original MS. in the General Register House, Edinburgh,
1685--extract from "Papers connected with the Royal Scots Dragoons,"
1696--1704-6 (two letters from General Dalzell)--extract from order in
Record Office, 1684--muster-roll, 1702-3--account of the Waterloo Ball,
from reprint in the _Globe_, 1906--extract from pamphlet, "Military
and Biographical Notices of the Fallen Heroes," 1815--extract from
contemporary pamphlet relating to cavalry losses at Waterloo--letter
of William Knox, 1759--anecdotes of the Greys--song, "The Bonnie Scots
Greys," by A. C. E. Welby--inscription on mural tablet in memory of
Lieut.-Colonel Sir Thomas Pate Hankin, Kt.--extract from letter written
by the Hon. Charles Hamilton to his brother, during the Westphalian
campaign--notes on Creichtoun's Memoirs, and on General Dalyell, by J.
B. Dalzell, Esq.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
_Facing Page_
"+Scotland for Ever.+" By kind permission of the Artist, and by
arrangement with the proprietors of the copyright, Messrs. S.
Hildesheimer & Co., Ltd. _Frontispiece_
Facsimile of "Ane Account deu be Thomas Dalzell of Bins for his
Fathers funerall, to George Porteous the 2 of Sept 1685" ix.
Facsimile of a letter to General Dalzell, dated 30th December, 1654,
wholly in the King's own hand xiii.
"Generall Thomas Dalyell who served Charles the Second King of
Great Brittaine as Major Generall of his Army at the Battle of
Worcester and thereafter being taken prisoner by the Rebells after
long imprisonment made his escape out of the Tower of London
went to Muscovie where he served the Emperor of Russia as one
of the Generals of his Forces against the Polanders and Tartars
till the year 1665 when he was recalled by King Charles the second
and thereafter did command His Majesties Forces at the defeat of
the Rebells at Pentland Hills in Scotland and continued Lieutenant
Generall in Scotland when His Majestie had any standing
Forces in that Kingdom till the year of his death 1685 in the
Raigne of our present Soveraigne James the second of Great
Brittaine" 1
Facsimile of Charles II.'s Commission, dated 19th July, 1666,
appointing "Generall Thomas Dalzell 'Captaine' of a Troupe of
Horse" 2
Facsimile of Charles II.'s Commission, dated 19th June, 1679,
appointing "Generall Thomas Dalzell 'Lieutenant Generall' over
all the Forces within our ancient Kingdome of Scotland" 6
Facsimile of Charles II.'s Commission, dated 11th November, 1681,
appointing "Lieutenant Generall Thomas Dalzell 'Colonell' of a
Regiment of Dragoones to be formed out of the three Companies
of Dragoones already standing in that our Kingdome" 8
Facsimile of Warrant of Charles II., granting "certain revenues to
Thomas Dalzell as Lieutenant Generall in command of the
Forces in Scotland" 16
Facsimile of James II.'s Commission, dated 30th March, 1685,
appointing "Generall Thomas Dalzell 'Lieutenant Generall' over
all our Forces within our ancient Kingdome of Scotland" 18
Facsimile of Warrant of William and Mary, 1692, confirming the title
"Our Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons" 20
His Excellency, John, Earl of Stair 21
Facsimile of "Signatures of Colonel Agnew's Troop, for receipt of
Bountie Monie for Campaigne of 1704" 29
Field Marshal John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair, K.T. Born 1673;
died 1747. From the painting at Lochinch 30
Grenadier Cap of the Scots Greys, 1743, preserved in the Museum of
the United Service Institution 36
Farm Buildings, Lochinch, Castle Kennedy, Wigtonshire. The farm
buildings were used as barracks by the Scots Greys under
command of John, Earl of Stair 36
Charles Ewart, Sergeant in the Scots Greys, carrying off the Eagle
belonging to one of the most distinguished divisions of the
French Infantry at the Battle of Waterloo 60
The Grave of Ewart, who captured the Eagle at Waterloo 61
Facsimile of "Muster Role of Waterloo Men 2nd (or R.N.B.)
Regiment of Dragoons." Rouen, 11th September, 1815 64, 65
Facsimile of "Signatures of Officers present of the 2nd (or R.N.B.)
Regiment of Dragoons entitled to share of Prize Money granted
for the Waterloo Campaign." Canterbury, 29th May, 1817 69
Hoof of a Charger of the Greys at Balaclava 76
Captain Toosey Williams 78
Memorial to the Memory of Fallen Heroes of the Royal Scots Greys,
Edinburgh 85
From a Coloured Drawing in the British Museum, dated 1742 136
General Dalzell's Comb 139
General Thomas Dalzell's Dagger and Spoon 140
An Officer of the Royal Scots Greys, about 1834. From a rare print
kindly lent by Messrs. Robson & Co. 141
An Officer in Levée Dress, Crimean period 142
Anitchkoff Palace, St. Petersburg, 2nd of February, 1895--The
Emperor of Russia accepting the Picture, presented by the
Officers, of H.I.M. as Colonel-in-Chief marching past at
the head of the Regiment 155
Colonel Clarke 173
John, Earl of Craufurd 176
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Thomas Hankin, present with the Greys at
Waterloo 201
Lieutenant-Colonel Hippisley 205
Lieutenant-Colonel James Charles Maberly 220
Lord Charles Murray, 1st Earl of Dunmore 227
H.I.M. the Emperor of Russia, Colonel-in-Chief of the Scots Greys 229
General Nugent 230
Colonel Sanderson 241
Colonel H. J. Scobell 242
The Right Honourable John, Earl of Stair 246
Colonel Wallace 255
Lieutenant-Colonel Welby 256
Lieutenant-Colonel Coventry Williams 258
Regimental Standards 282
_Colonel-in-Chief_
+His Imperial Majesty Nicholas II., Emperor of Russia+
_Colonel_
Major-General A. S. M. Browne
_Lieutenant-Colonel_
Coventry Williams
_Major_ (_2nd in command_)
A. D. Miller
_Majors_
C. B. Bulkeley-Johnson
W. F. Collins
A. Lawson
_Captains_
Hon. R. H. Lindsay
A. G. Seymour
Hon. A. J. M. St. Clair
F. Swetenham
R. D. Fordyce
W. Long
[1]H. B. Towse
G. G. Middleton
W. E. Lawrence
[1]H.R.H. Prince Arthur of Connaught
_Lieutenants_
W. McC. Duguid McCombie
Hon. A. M. Henley
C. R. Pawson
F. A. U. Pickering
S. J. Hardy
J. M. F. Sprot
[1]A. R. Moncrieff
[1]E. H. Bonham
[1]P. R. Laurie
[1]M. J. C. S. Johnstone
[1]A. B. Winch
_Second Lieutenants_
[1]M. Borwick
[1]T. E. Estcourt
[1]J. J. Readman
E. J. Hardy
J. M. Wilson
[1]Viscount Ebrington
_Adjutant_
Capt. W. Long
_Riding Master_
G. Parker (Hon. Captain)
_Quarter Master_
T. M. Ross (Hon. Lieutenant)
[1] This list is taken from the June Army List and checked with that
for July, 1907. The officers marked with an asterisk are those who
joined while the book was passing through the press.
[Illustration: Generall Thomas Dalyell who served Charles the Second
King of Great Brittaine as Major Generall of his Army at the Battle
of Worcester and thereafter being taken prisoner by the Rebells after
long imprisonment made his escape out of the Tower of London went to
Muscovie where he served the Emperor of Russia as one of the Generals
of his Forces against the Polanders and Tartars till the year 1665 when
he was recalled by King Charles the second and thereafter did command
His Majesties Forces at the defeat of the Rebells at Pentland Hills
in Scotland and continued Lieutenant Generall in Scotland when His
Majestie had any standing Forces in that Kingdom till the year of his
death 1685 in the Raigne of our present Soveraigne James the second of
Great Brittaine.]
HISTORICAL RECORDS
OF THE
ROYAL SCOTS GREYS.
CHAPTER I.
In writing this record of the history of the Royal Scots Greys I have
aimed at giving scenes and characters as exactly as possible. I have,
therefore, used contemporary language without any modern editing. The
book will contain particulars relating to every officer who has ever
held a commission in the Regiment.
Before describing the origin of this famous Regiment, it will be well
to refer briefly to the title Dragoon. It will be noticed that in
the early official warrants, Horse, Foot, and Dragoons, are always
three distinct forces. The Dragoon was nearly allied to the Mounted
Infantryman, who, in modern times, has evoked such great public
interest. A captain was usually described as appointed to command, not
a troop, but a company.
On the breaking out of the war with Holland in 1672 a regiment of
Dragoons was raised; the pay was at a lower rate than the Horse, and
the men were armed as Infantry, except that a limited number carried
halberds instead of pikes, and the others muskets and bayonets, and a
few in each troop had pistols.
The warrant, dated 2nd April, 1672, requires that the new force--
"shall be armed out of our stoares remaining within Our office of
the Ordinance as followeth; that is to say, three corporalls, two
serjeants, the gentlemen at armes, and twelve souldiers of each
of the said twelve Troopes, are to have and carry each of them
one halbard, and one case of pistolls with holsters; and the rest
of the souldiers of the several Troopes aforesaid, are to have
and to carry each of them one matchlocke musquet, with a collar
of bandaliers, and also to have and to carry one bayonet or great
knife. That each lieutenant have and carry one partizan, and that
two drums be delivered out for each Troope of the said Regiment."
By warrants dated 21st May, 1678, two independent troops of Dragoons
were raised, their respective Captains being John Strachan and John
Inglis.
This was the beginning of the Royal Scots Greys.
On 23rd September, 1678, Viscount Kingstoun was commissioned to be
Captain of "a new company of Dragoons appointed by us to be forthwith
levyed."
Four days later, Francis Stuart, of Coldingham, was appointed
Lieutenant of this new company.
On July 24th, 1679, Francis Stuart became Captain of this new company
in succession to Viscount Kingstoun who resigned.
By Royal Warrant on the 25th of November, 1681, three troops were
ordered to be added to the three already raised, and the whole six
formed into a regiment. See page 13.
The following extract relates to the state of Scotland and proposed
increase of forces there. (State Papers--Scotland--Warrant Books, vol.
iv., folio 370):--
"CHARLES R.
"Right trusty and welbeloued Cousins and Councellors.--Wee greet
you well. After full and satisfactory information from the
Lords commissionated by you here, of what has been done by you
in our Service, Wee doe againe approve of your proceeding, and
thank you for your care, assuring you of our favour, assistance,
and protection, upon all occasions; and for the more effectual
prosecution thereof, wee find it necessary to signify to you,
and by you to our people there, that wee are firmly resolved to
owne and assert our authority, so as may equally encourage you
and discourage all such as by seditious Practices endeavour in
aspersing you to lessen our Prerogative: And finding by good
information that the Phanaticks there, expecting encouragement from
such as oppose you, and taking advantage of the present juncture of
affaires here, have of late with great insolence flocked together
frequently and openly in ffield conventicles those Rendevouses of
Rebellion, and haue dared to oppose our fforces, though wee neither
heed nor doe fear such insolent attempts, yet from a just care of
our own authority, and a kindnesse to our good subjects there, we
haue thought fit to order that some more fforces may be trained;
and for that effect wee haue commanded the Lords of our Treasury to
take an effectuall course for providing what money wee shall find
necessary for raising and maintaining those Troopes at our charge,
And wee expect from you an exact and speedy Account of what number
and quality of Troopes may be necessary there upon this occasion;
to the end wee may direct commissions, and give such other orders
as wee shall find requisite. For doing whereof this shall be your
Warrant, and so wee bid you heartily ffarewell.
"Given at our Court at Whitehall the 7th day of May 1678, and of
our Reigne the 30th."
[Illustration: +Charles the Second's Commission dated 19th July, 1666+,
Appointing "Generall Thomas Dalzell 'Captaine' of a Troupe of
Horse, to be raised by you for Our Service, in the Regiment whereof
Lieut.-Generall Drumond is Colonell."]
Directed on the back thus:--
"To our right trusty and welbeloved Cousins and Councellors ... our
Privy Councell of our ancient Kingdome of Scotland."
The very next warrant makes John Strachan Captain of one of "ye two
companies of Dragoons to be forthwith leavied." It was followed under
the same date by others, one making John Inglis Captain of the other
company, one making John Lauder Lieutenant of Strachan's company, and
another making William Cleland Lieutenant of Inglis's company. Then
followed still two more, one appointing John Livingston Ensign in
Strachan's and the other, Henry Dundas, Ensign under Inglis.
"CHARLES R.
"Charles the Second by yᵉ grace of God king of Scotland, england,
france and Ireland Defender of yᵉ faith &c. to our trusty and
welbeloved John Strachan greeting: Wee reposing speciall trust and
confidence in your Loyalty, Courage and good Conduct, doe by these
presents constitute and appoint you to be Captaine of one of yᵉ two
Companies of Dragoones appointed by us to be forthwith leavied for
our service in our ancient Kingdome of Scotland, which Company is
to consist of one hundred men besides officers. You are therefore
carefully to discharge the Duty of a Captaine by exercising yᵉ said
Company in Armes, both Officers and soldiers, and keeping them in
good order and Discipline. And wee doe hereby command them to obey
you as their Captaine, and you likewise exactly to observe and
follow all such Orders and Directions as you shall from time to
time receive from Us, our Privy Councell, the Commander in chiefe
of our fforces in that our Kingdome now or for the time being,
or any other your superiour officer, according to the Rules and
Discipline of Warre, in pursuance of yᵉ trust which wee doe hereby
repose in you.
"Given at our Court at Whitehall the 21th day of May 1678--and of
our Reigne the 30th year."
The following order relates in part to the _three Independent Troopes
of Dragoones_. (War Office Miscellany Orders, vol. v., folio 179):--
"Whereas his Majesty hath thought fitt to order the immediate
Raiseing of three Regiments of Horse consisting of eight Troopes
each Regiment, and sixty men in each Troope besides Officers: as
also three Regiments of Foot consisting of four Companyes each
Regiment, and one hundred men in each Company, besides officers;
and one Regiment of Dragoons consisting of eight Troopes, and
eighty men in each troope, besides officers, _and three other
Independent Troopes of Dragoons_, of the like number; and three
Troopes of Horse Granadiers, consisting of eighty men in one of the
Troopes, and sixty men in each of the other two Troopes, besides
officers.
"You are to pass and allow the said Regiments, Troopes and
Companies, according to the directions following.
"The first muster of any of the troopes of Horse is to be from the
officers first produceing twenty or more good men well mounted to
be mustered, and the following musters shall be upon produceing
five men with their Horses till the whole Troope be compleated. The
officers are to be allowed and enter into Pay from their said first
muster of Twenty.
"The foot are to be mustered as any of them are raised, and the
officers of each Company are to be allowed from the time they
muster twenty.
"The first muster of every Troope of Dragoones, is to be upon the
officers produceing twenty-five good men suitably mounted, and the
officers then are to be allowed, and the following musters shall
be of eight men with their Horses till the troope be compleated.
The first Muster of the Horse Granadiers is to be upon produceing
thirty men well mounted and the officers then to be allowed, and
the following Musters to be in the same manner as those of the
Dragoons. The field officers of each Regiment are to be allowed
from the first muster of their respective Companies, and you are to
pay the staff officers from the time appointed for the Regiment to
Rendezvous.
"Given at the Court at Whitehall this 11th day of June 1679.
"+Monmouth.+
"To Henry Howard, Esqre., Commissary General of the Musters."
The next is of varied interest, giving the Duke of Monmouth supreme
command, and urging to be kept informed by "flying packets." (Vol. v.,
page 156.)
"Whitehall, 11th June, 1679, at Midnight.
"May it please your Lordship I am commanded by his Majesty to
acquaint you that in pursuance of his Resolution to send some
Supplyes from hence to you for suppressing the Rebellion now
amongst the Phanaticks in the West of Scotland, he hath ordered
a Regiment of ffoote to be presently embarqued to goe by Sea to
Barwick together with cannon and ammunition sufficient, and his
Majesty has ordered two Regiments of ffoote more to be presently
leauied, the one to be commanded by the Lord Cavendish and the
other by the Lord Gray of Wark, as also three Regiments of Horse
under the command of the Duke of Monmouth, Duke of Albemarle,
the Lord Gerard, Together with eight hundred Dragoons, There is
likewise three troopes of Granadiers, and these last are to march
towards Scotland to-morrow. The King has also thought fit to name
the Duke of Monmouth Generall to command all his fforces so long as
his Grace shall remaine in Scotland. His Majesty by this Expedition
will be at the charge of upwards of five hundred pounds sterline
a day, which is more than £150,000 sterline by year if they
continue so long. And seeing the King has so early provided for
the preservation of his royall government and your common safety,
he has just reason to expect that in the meantime you will bestow
your utmost care and diligence as far as possible to suppresse that
vile Rebellion. His Majesty presseth much that frequent flying
packets may be sent at least every other day that he may know all
things that pass, and that they may bear large and exact accounts.
All which by his Majesty's command is signified to your Lordship
by my Lord, your Lordships most humble and most faithfull servant,
+Lauderdale+.
"To the Right Honᵇˡᵉ· The Earl of Rothes, Lord high Chancellor of
Scotland. To be communicated to the remnant Lords and other of his
Majesty's most honourable Privy Councell of that Kingdome."
The next relates to the rebellion, and to the appointment of "Thomas
Dalzell to be Lieutenant General of all His Majesty's forces in that
his ancient kingdome." (Vol. v., folio 167.)
"Whitehall, 19ᵗʰ June, 1679.
"May it please your Lordships. It was yesterday in the evening
that your Letter of yᵉ 15ᵗʰ instant (by a flying Packett) came
to my hand, and I did immediately waite on the King with it, who
after his reading it was pleased to declare that he was very well
satisfied with your recommending Generall Thomas Dalzell to be
Lieutenant Generall of all his Majesty's Forces in that his ancient
Kingdome, and gave me a command for Preparing his Commission for
that purpose; wherein I would lose no time, for it was ready this
morning for his Royall hand, and he was graciously pleased to
signe it, as you have it now hereinclosed. His Majesty is also
exceedingly well pleased with the march of his fforces last Munday
against the Rebells, and with the extraordinary care and diligence
that have appeared in all your consultations and actions since the
first notice you had of the breaking out of this Rebellion, which
he hopes (by the blessing of God, and the continuance of your
faithfull endeavours) will be soone crushed. It was likewise a
great satisfaction to his Majesty to know that you were resolved
to send fflying Packetts frequently for he has a very earnest
desire to be informed as often as possible, of the transactions
there, during the continuance of this Rebellion. Your Lordships may
be pleased to send this Letter to the Duke of Buccleugh, and this
commission to the Lieutenant Generall with all speed.
"I am My Lords, ...
"+Lauderdale+.
"To Earl Rothes...."
Folio 168 contains the Commission.
All the foregoing are from documents in the Record Office.
The next extracts are picked from the British Museum copy of a rare
autobiography, "The Memoirs of Captain John Crichton, written by
Himself." Printed in the year 1731. The peculiar interest of the words
that follow is that they were written wholly as the experiences of one
of the first officers of the Greys.
Whereupon Mr. Francis Stuart, grandson to the Earl of Bothwell, a
private gentleman in the Horse-Guards, like myself, and my intimate
acquaintance, was sent for, in haste, by the General; because the
Council of Scotland was then writing to the King that his Majesty would
be pleased to grant commissions to those persons whose names were to be
sent up to London that very night. Mr. Stuart gave me notice of this:
whereupon, although I was not sent for, I resolved to go up with him to
Edenborough, and solicit for myself.
The General: "Wha' the Deel sent for you up?" I answered that I hoped
his Excellency would now make good his promise of preferring me ... the
General stood my firm friend, and although the sons and brothers of
Lords and Baronets and other persons of quality solicited to be made
Lieutenants and Cornets, in these new raised Troops, yet the General
in regard to my services, prevailed with the Council that I might
be appointed Lieutenant to Mr. Stuart, who was then made Captain of
Dragoons.
Soon after this, the Archbishop of St. Andrews was murdered by the
Laird of Hackston and Balfour, assisted by four poor weavers.
[Illustration: +Charles the Second's Commission dated 19th June, 1679.+
Appointing "Generall Thomas Dalzell 'Lieutenant Generall' over all the
Forces within our ancient Kingdome of Scotland."]
The Council finding the Rebels daily increasing in their
numbers ... his Majesty sent down the Duke of Monmouth ... to be
Commander-in-chief.... General Dalziel refused to serve under him,
and remained at his lodgings in Edenborough, till his Grace was
superseded, which happened about a fortnight after.... The General
Officers ... desired his Grace to let them know which way he designed
to take to come at the Enemy, the Duke answered, it must be by Bothwell
Bridge. Now the bridge lay a short mile to the right of the King's
Army, was narrow, and guarded with 3,000 of the Rebels, and strongly
barricaded with great stones; but although the Officers were desirous
to have passed the river, by easy fords, directly between them and
the Rebels and to march to their main body on the moor, before those
3,000, who guarded the bridge, could come to assist them; yet the Duke
was obstinate, and would pass no other way than that of the bridge.
Pursuant to this preposterous and absurd resolution, he commanded
Captain Stuart (whose Lieutenant I was) with his troop of Dragoons,
and 80 Musqueteers, together with four small Field-pieces, under
cover of the Dragoons, to beat off the party at the bridge. The Duke
himself, with David Lesly and Melvill, accompanyed us, and ordered
the Field-pieces to be left at the Village of Bothwell, within a
musquet-shot of the bridge. When the Duke and his men came near the
bridge, the Rebels beat a parly, and sent over a Laird, accompanied
with a Kirk Preacher.... While this Parly lasted, the Field-pieces
were brought down and planted over against the bridge, without being
perceived by the Rebels. The messengers ... they would not lay down
their arms unless their conditions were granted them; whereupon the
Dragoons and Musqueteers fired all at once upon those who guarded the
bridge, and the Field-pieces played so warmly, that some hundreds of
the Rebels were slain; the rest flying to the main body on the moor.
The Duke, as soon as he had commanded to fire, retired into a hollow
from the enemies' shot; ... and continued there till the action was
over. Then Captain Stuart ordered the Musqueteers to make way for the
Horse, to pass the bridge, by casting into the river the stones which
had been placed there to obstruct the passage over it; but the army
could not pass in less than five hours; and then marched up in order of
battle towards the enemy, who waited for them on the moor, confiding in
the superiority of their numbers. Clavers commanded the Horse on the
right, and Captain Stuart the Dragoons on the left. The Field-pieces
were carried in the centre of the Footguards, while the rest of the
Officers commanded at the head of their men; and the Duke, after the
enemy was beaten from the bridge, rode at the head of the Army. Upon
the first fire, the Rebel Horse turned about.... Sir John Bell, Provost
of Glasgow as soon as he saw the Rebels fly, rode into the town; from
whence, in a few hours, he sent all the bread he could find, together
with an hogshead of drink to each troop and company in the Army, out of
the cellars of such townsmen as were found to be abettors or protectors
of the Rebels.
The Pursuers were no sooner returned, and the whole action over, than
General Dalziel arrived at the camp from Edenborough, with a commission
renewed to be Commander-in-Chief, which he received that very morning
by an Express....
[Illustration: +Charles the Second's Commission dated 11th November,
1681.+
Appointing "Lieutenant Generall Thomas Dalzell 'Colonell' of a Regiment
of Dragoones to be formed out of the three Companies of Dragoones
already standing in that our Kingdome, and three Companies more to be
added to them."]
On Saturday morning when the army was to march to Glasgow, I desired
the General's leave to go with twelve Dragoons in search of some of
the Rebels, who might probably pass the Clyde, about Dunlatton, to
shelter themselves in the Highlands. With these Dragoons, clad in grey
coats and bonnets, I made haste down the side of the river; and about
midnight, after travelling twenty-four miles, I came to a church, and
while the soldiers stayed to refresh their horses in the churchyard,
I spyed a country fellow going by, and asked him in his own dialect,
"Whither gang ye this time of night?" He answered, "Wha are ye that
speers?" I replied, "We are your ane Foke." Upon this the fellow came
up and told me; there were 18 friends with horses at an old Castle
waiting for a boat to pass over into the Isle of Arran. I mounted the
man behind one of my Dragoons, and went towards the place; but the
Rebels not finding a boat were gone off, and the guide dismissed. There
was a great dew on the grass, which directed me and my party to follow
the track of their horses for three or four miles, till the dew was
gone off; I then enquired of a cowherd on a hill whether he saw any of
our poor Foke travelling that way; he answered that they had separated
on that hill and gone three several ways, six in a party, adding, that
in one party there was a bra muckle kerl, with a white hat on him,
and a great bob of ribbons on the cock o't. Whereupon I sent 4 of my
Dragoons after one party, 4 more after another, and myself with the
remaining 4 went in pursuit of him with the white hat.... The good man
of the house returning from putting the horses to grass in the garden
was going to shut the door, whereupon myself and one of the Dragoons
commanded him, with our pistols at his breast, to lead us to the room
where the man lay who wore a white hat. We entered the room, and before
he awaked I took away his arms, and commanded him to dress immediately;
then finding his companion asleep in the barn, I forced him likewise to
arise, and mounting them both on their own horses, came at 9 o'clock in
the morning with my two prisoners to the other Dragoons at the place
where we appointed to meet. From thence we rode strait to Glasgow,
and arrived thither about 8 in the evening, after a journey of 50
miles since we left the Army at Bothwell the day before. The man with
a white hat had turned out to be Master John King.... About a month
after I happened to dream that I found one Wilson, a Captain among the
Rebels at Bothwell Bridge, in a bank of Wood upon the river Clyde. This
accident made so strong an impression upon my mind that as soon as I
awaked I took six-and-thirty Dragoons, and got to the place by break
of day. Then I caused some of them to alight and go into the wood and
set him up, as hounds do a hare, while the rest were ordered to stand
sentry to prevent his escape. It seems I dreamt fortunately, for Wilson
was actually in the wood with 5 more of his company, as we afterwards
learned, who all seeing me and my party advancing, hid themselves in a
little island on the river among the broom that grew upon it. Wilson
had not the good fortune to escape.... I seized and brought him to my
quarters, and from thence immediately conveyed him to Edenborough,
where he was hanged; but might have preserved his life if he would have
condescended only to say, God save the King. This he utterly refused
to do, and thereby lost not only his life, but likewise an estate
worth twenty-nine thousand marks Scots. For this service, the Duke of
Queensberry, then High Commissioner of Scotland, recommended me to the
King, who rewarded me with the gift of Wilson's estate; but although
the grant passed the Seals, and the Sheriff put me in possession, yet I
could neither sell it nor let it, nobody daring, for fear of the Rebels
who had escaped at Bothwell Bridge, either to purchase or farm it, by
which means I never got a penny by the grant; and at the Revolution the
land was taken from me, and restored to Wilson's heirs....
"The winter following, General Dalziel, with a battalion of the Earl of
Linlithgow's Guards, the Earl of Airly's troop of Horse, and Captain
Stuart's troop of Dragoons, quartered at Kilmarnock in the west, 50
miles from Edenborough. Here the general one day, happening to look
on while I was exercising the troop of Dragoons, asked me, when I had
done, whether I knew any of my men who was skilful in praying well in
the style and tone of the Covenanters; I immediately thought upon one
James Gibb, who had been born in Ireland, and whom I made a Dragoon.
This man I brought to the General, assuring his Excellency that if I
had raked Hell, I could not find his match for his skill in mimicking
the Covenanters. Whereupon the General gave him £5 to buy him a gray
coat and a bonnet, and commanded him to find out the Rebels, but to
be sure to take care of himself among them. The Dragoon went 8 miles
off that very night, and got admittance into the house of a notorious
Rebel, pretending he came from Ireland out of zeal for the cause,
to assist at the fight of Bothwell Bridge, and could not find an
opportunity since of returning to Ireland with safety, he said he durst
not be seen in the day-time, and therefore after bewitching the family
with his gifts of praying, he was conveyed in the dusk of the next
evening, with a guide, to the house of the next adjoining Rebel; and
thus in the same manner, from one to another, till in a month's time
he got through the principal of them in the west, telling the General
at his return, that wherever he came he made the old wives in their
devout fits tear off their biggonets and mutches; he likewise gave the
General a list of their names and places of their abodes; and into the
bargain, brought back a good purse of money in his pocket. The General
desired to know how he had prayed amongst them; he answered that it was
his custom in his prayers to send the King, the Ministers of State,
the Officers of the Army, with all their soldiers, and the Episcopall
Clergy, all broadsides to Hell, but particularly the General himself:
"What," said the General, "did you send me to Hell, Sir?" "_Yea_,"
replied the Dragoon, "you at the head of them, as their leader....
"During the winter and the following spring I secured many of those
whose names and abodes the canting Dragoon had given a list of....
In July following, the General, by order of Council, commanded me to
go with a detachment of 30 Horse and 50 Dragoons in pursuit of about
150 rebels who had escaped at Bothwell Bridge, and ever since kept
together in a body up and down in Galloway. I followed them for 5 or
6 days from one place to another; after which, on 22nd of July, they
stayed for me at Airs Moss.... The Moss is 4 miles long from east to
west and 2 broad. The Rebels drew up at the east end, and consisted
of 30 Horse and 120 Foot. I faced them upon a rising ground with my
30 Horse and 50 Dragoons. The reason why the Rebels chose this place
to fight on rather than a plain field was for fear their Horse might
desert the Foot, as they did on Hamilton Moor, near Bothwell Bridge:
and likewise, that in case they lost the day they might save themselves
by retreating into the Moss. I placed myself on the left, as judging
that the best officer the Rebels had would command on the right. The
action began about 5 in the afternoon, but lasted not long; for I
ordered my men first to receive the enemy's fire, then to ride down the
hill upon them and use their broad-swords. They did so, and before the
enemy had time to draw theirs, cut many of them down in an instant.
Whereupon they wheeled about, and Captain Fowler, who commanded the
Rebels on the right, being then in the rear, advancing up to me, I gave
him such a blow over the head with my broad-sword as would have cleaved
his scul had it not been defended by a steel cap. Fowler turning about,
aimed a blow at me, but I warded it off, and with a back stroke cut the
upper part of his head clean off from the nose upwards. By this time
the Rebells, leaving their horses, fled to the Moss; but the Royalists
pursuing them killed about 60 and took 14 prisoners. Here Cameron,
the famous Covenanter, lost his life, and Haxton was taken prisoner,
infamous for embruing his hands in the blood of the Archbishop of St.
Andrews ... for which paricide both his hands were afterwards cut off,
and he was hanged at Edenborough. But this victory cost me very dear,
for being then in the rear I rode into the Moss after the Rebels where
I overtook a dozen of them hacking and hewing one of my men whose horse
was bogged; his name was Elliot, a stout soldier and one of Claver's
troop. He had received several wounds, and was at the point of being
killed when I came to his relief. I shot one of the rogues dead with my
carbine, which obliged the rest to let the poor man and his horse creep
out of the hole, but at the same time drew all their fury upon myself;
for Elliot made a shift to crawl out of the Moss leading his horse in
his hands, but was wholly disabled from assisting his deliverer, and
was not regarded by his enemies who probably thought he was mortally
wounded, or, indeed, rather that they had no time to mind him; for I
laid about me so fast that they judged it best to keep off and not
to venture within my reach, till it unfortunately happened that my
horse slipped into the same hole out of which Elliot and his horse had
just got. When they had me at this advantage they began to show their
courage and manfully dealt their blows with their broad-swords, from
some of which the carbine that hung down my back defended me a little.
As I was paddling in the hole, the horse not able to get out, one of
the rebels ran me through the small of the back with his broad-sword,
and at the same instant two more wounded me under the ribs with their
small ones. Then I threw myself over the head of my horse, taking
the far pistol out of the holster in my left hand, and holding my
broad-sword in my right; and as one of the villains was coming hastily
up to me his foot slipped, and before he could recover himself I struck
my sword into his skull; but the fellow, being big and heavy, snapped
it asunder as he fell within a span of the hilt. The Rebels had me now
at a great advantage. One of them made a stroak at me which I guarded
off with the hilt of the sword that was left in my hand, but the force
with which he struck the blow--and I kept it off--brought us both to
the ground. However I got up before him, clapped my pistol to his side
and shot him dead. As soon as this was done another came behind me, and
with some weapon or other struck me such a blow on the head as laid me
flat on my back, in which posture I remained a good while insensible,
the rogues taking it for granted that I was dead, scoured off.
"A little recovering my senses, I strove to lift up my head, which one
of the rogues happening to see at some distance, immediately returned,
and said in my hearing: 'God, the dog is no deed yet.' Then coming up
to me, took his sword, and putting its hilt to his breast and guiding
it with both his hands, made a thrust at my belly; but my senses were
now so far recovered that I parried the thrust with the piece of the
sword which remained still in my hand. The fellow, when he missed his
aim, almost fell on his face, for the sword ran up to the hilt in the
moss; and as he was recovering himself I gave him a dab in the mouth
with my broken sword which very much hurt him, but he aiming a second
thrust, which I had likewise the good fortune to put by, and having
as before given him another dab in the mouth, he immediately went off
for fear of the pursuers, whereof many were now returning. In this
distress I made a shift, with much difficulty and pain, to get upon my
feet, but my right leg being disabled by the wound I received from the
broad-sword, I was forced to limp by the help of the carbine, which I
made use of as a staff. I had lost my horse, for one of the rogues,
when I had quitted him in the hole, led him away through the Moss. I
recovered him about a year after from the man to whom the rebel had
sold him."
* * * * *
This next letter, from the King, taken from the Record Office, refers
to the three Independent Troops of Dragoons, and orders three more
Troops to be levied, and the whole six to be then _regimented_, thus
establishing the Royal Scots Greys:--
"CHARLES R.
"My dear and most entirely beloved Brother. Wee greet you well.
Wee have thought fit for the good of our Service to retrench all
the Companyes of ffoote of our Regiment of Guard commanded by the
Earle of Linlithgow, and likewise all the companies of the Regiment
of ffoote commanded by the Earle of Mar, as also to retrench every
one of the three Companies of Dragoons now standing. Therefore
you are to give order to Generall Thomas Dalyell, our Lieutenant
Generall, to reduce and disband six men out of every Company of the
above mentioned two Regiments of ffoote (and this ouer and aboue
any former Retrenchment made by us as to the ffoote) and forty-five
Dragoones of every one of the three Companies of Dragoones aboue
mentioned, together with one Corporall of Dragoones out of every
one of the said three Companies, and that this Retrenchment
be made upon the last day of November instant, and that these
Souldiers ffoote and Dragoones so disbanded receive pay till that
day inclusive. Wee have likewise thought it necessary for our
Service that three Companies of Dragoones be presently leavied,
each Company consisting of fifty souldiers, centinell Standers
(besides the officers' servants allowed by our Establishment), and
wee appoint each Company to haue two Sergeants, two Corporalls
and two Drummers, besides the officers commissioned by us. _Wee
haue likewise resolved that the three Companies of Dragoones
already standing so reduced with those three to be Leavied shalbe
Regimented_; and to that affect wee have commissioned our said
_Lieutenant Generall to be Colonel thereof, Lord Charles Murray to
be Lieutenant Colonell and Sir James Turner to be Major;_ and that
each of them have one Company in that Regiment. You are therefore
to give order to our Lieutenant Generall to cause these Companies
to be leauied accordingly, and to bring them as soon as can be to
a Muster; at and after which Muster they are to enter into Pay
conforme to our establishment. For doing of all which this shalbe
your Warrant, and so Wee bid you heartily farewell. Given at our
Court at Whitehall the 25 day of November 1681, and of our Reigne
yᵉ 33ᵈ year.
"By his Majesty's command,
"+Murray+.
"To our most dear and most entirely beloved Brother James Duke of
Albany and York, our high Commissioner in our ancient kingdome of
Scotland."
[Folio 515.]
"CHARLES R.
"Establishment for the Pay of his Majesty's present standing Forces
in his ancient kingdome of Scotland, according to twenty eight
dayes in each month, and for twelve months in the year."
Then are described the following; but I only give in full the
Regiment with whose history we are dealing:--
"His Majesty Troope of Guard.
"His Majesty's Regiment of ffoote Guard commanded by the Earle of
Linlithgow.
"The Regiment of ffoote commanded by the Earle of Marr.
"The Troope of Horse commanded by the Earle of Airlie, and 2 more
troopes, one commanded by the Master of Rosse, and the other by
John Graham of Claverhouse."
"The Pay of one Regiment of Dragoones consisting of Colonell,
Lieutenant Colonell, and Major, and six Companies, and for each
Company consisting of 50 souldiers, is as followeth, vizt.:
PER DIEM.
Colonell as Colonell 00 13 8
Lieutenant Colonell as such 7
Major as Major 5
Quartermaster 5
Marishall 2
Chyrurgeon and Mate 5
Aid Major 7 4
-----------
£2 5
Captaine 8s. and 2 Dragoones each 1s. 2_d._ 10 4
Lieutenant 5s., and 2 Dragoones each 1s. 2_d._ 7 4
Ensigne 4_s._, and 2 Dragoones at 1_s._ 2_d._ 5 2
Two Sergeants each 2_s._ 6_d._ 5
Two Corporalls each 1_s._ 8_d._ 3 4
Two Drummers each 1_s._ 8_d._ 3 4
Fifty Souldiers each 1_s._ 2_d._ 2 18 4
----------
£4 12 10"
After this come particulars of the gunners garrisoning Edinburgh
Castle, Stirling Castle, etc!
And lastly, the Militia, at an annual cost of £400 and occupying only
half a page in the book!
The foregoing establishment is dated 25 November, 1681, and the
following memorandum appears in the margin:--
"_Nota._--That the Originall of this establishment was written upon
a large sheet of velum in three columns; His Majesty having signed
on the middle of yᵉ top thereof, and added C:R: at the bottome of
each of the columns."
This next extract is Charles the Second's commission to Lord Charles
Murray as first Lieutenant-Colonel:--
"CHARLES R.
"Charles the Second by the grace of God, King of Scotland, England,
France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c., To our right trusty
and welbeloved _Lord Charles Murray_, greeting.
"We reposing speciall trust and confidence in your loyalty, courage
and good conduct. Have nominated, constituted and appointed, and
by these presents doe nominate, constitute and appoint you to
be Lieutenant Colonell of that our Regiment of Dragoones in our
Ancient Kingdome of Scotland, Whereof Wee have appointed our right
trusty and welbeloved Councellor Thomas Dalyell Lieutenant Generall
of all our Forces there to be Colonell: As alsoe Wee doe nominate,
constitute and appoint you to be Captain of a Company thereof.
"You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the Duty
of a Lieutenant Colonel and Captain of the said Regiment and
Company respectively by exercising the saem in armes both Officers
and Souldiers, and keeping them in good order and discipline.
And Wee doe hereby command them to obey you as their Lieutenant
Colonell and Captain, and your selfe likewise exactly to obserue
and follow all such Orders and Directions as you shall from time
to time receive from Us, our most Dear and most entirely beloved
Brother James Duke of Albany and York, our high Commissioner or our
Privy Councell of that our kingdome, our Lieutenant Generall and
Commander in Cheife of our Forces there, now or for the time being,
your Colonell or any other your superiour Officer, according to the
Rules and Dispositions of Warre, in pursuance of the trust hereby
reposed in you. Given at our Court at Whitehall the 25ᵗʰ day of
November 1681, and of our Reigne the 33ᵈ year.
"By his Maᵗⁱᵉˢ command
"+Murray+."
* * * * *
This next is the King's commission to Thomas Dalyell as Colonel of the
Regiment; it recites particulars of the founding of the Regiment:--
"CHARLES R.
"Charles the Second by yᵉ grace of God king of Scotland, England,
France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c.: To our right
trusty and welbeloved Councellor, _Thomas Dalyell_ our Lieutenant
Generall of all our fforces in our ancient kingdome of Scotland,
greeting: Whereas Wee have thought fit for the good of our Service
to order a Regiment of Dragoones to be formed out of the three
Companies of Dragoones already standing in that our kingdome,
and three Companies more to be added unto them; Wee doe now (out
of the great experience wee haue of your Loyalty, Courage, and
good conduct) Nominate, Constitute and appoint you to be Colonell
of our said Regiment of Dragoones, as also Captain of a Company
thereof. You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge
the Duty of a Colonel and Captain of the said Regiment and Company
respectively, by exercising the same in Armes both Officers and
Souldiers, and keeping them in good Order and Discipline. And wee
doe hereby command them to obey you as their Colonell and Captain,
and yourself likewise exactly to observe and follow all such Orders
and Directions as you shall from time to time receive from Us, our
most Dear and most entirely beloved Brother James Duke of Albany
and York, our high Commissioner, or our Privy Councell of that our
kingdome, in pursuance of the Trust hereby reposed in you. Given at
our Court at Whitehall the 26ᵗʰ day of November 1681, and of our
Reigne yᵉ 33ᵈ year.
"By his Majesty's command
"+Murray+."
[Illustration: +Warrant of Charles II.+,
Granting "certain revenues to Thomas Dalzell as Lieutenant Generall in
command of the Forces in Scotland."]
John Creichton, of the Massacre of Glencoe, writes:--
"McDonnal, Laird of Cappagh, in the Highlands, ... was unjustly
possessed, as most men believed, for many years, of an estate,
which in right belonged to the Laird of Mackintosh.... Soon after,
the Government ordered me to detach 60 Dragoons, with a Lieutenant,
Cornet, and Standard, and to march with Captain Streighton, and
200 of the Foot Guards against the McDonnels.... Whereupon we, who
were sent against him, continued to destroy all the houses and
corn, from the time of Lammas to the 10th of September; and then
we advanced towards the Borders, to join the Scotch army, at that
time marching towards England, against the Prince of Orange, then
intending an invasion."
[Creichton now goes on with his account of the coming of William the
Third, which is, of course, a mistake in order.]
"We arrived thither October 1st, after a march of 200 miles.... The
army did not reach London till about 25th October.... The Earl of
Airly, when he was Lord Ogleby, had attended the great Marquess of
Montrose in all his Actions, for King Charles the First and Second.
But at this time being old, it was reported that he was dead,
before the Scotch Forces went into England, to oppose the Prince of
Orange; whereupon the King had given his troop in Dundee's Regiment
to the Earl of Anandale: but the Earl having overtook the Army at
Cambridge, in their march, went on to London, and there presenting
himself before the King; his Majesty ... immediately restored his
Lordship to his Troop, ordering him at the same time to command
those 200 men who attended him down to Salisbury. When all the
Forces were arrived at Salisbury, the Earl of Dunmore, with his
Regiment of Dragoons, wherein I served, was ordered to a Pass 3
miles below the City, where I commanded the Guard that night.
"I now return to my Lord Dundee, and my Lord Dunmore. Their
Lordships acted no longer as Colonels, when they understood that
the Prince intended to place himself on the throne during his
Majesty's life.... After their Lordships were gone to Scotland, I
went to Watford, where my Lord Kilsythe, as Lieutenant Colonel,
commanded the Lord Dunmore's Regiment of Dragoons.... Major General
McCoy ordered the Lord Kilsythe to march the Regiment from place
to place till they should come to Congerton, a town in Cheshire.
Here they quartered, when the Prince and Princess of Orange were
proclaimed King and Queen of England, &c., by the Sheriff and
3 or 4 Bailiffs. It happened to be a very stormy day; and when
the Sheriff had done his Office, a crack-brained fellow, at the
head of a great rabble, proclaimed the Duke of Monmouth king, to
the great diversion of the Regiment; not believing he had been
beheaded. When my Lord Dunmore refused to serve the Prince of
Orange, Sir Thomas Levingston, of my Lord Kilsythe's family, got
the Regiment. This gentleman was born in Holland, and often used to
raise recruits in Scotland; upon which account he was well known
to the Regiment. He came down, Post, to Congerton, and at Supper,
told the officers that he was sent to know, which of them would
serve King William and which would not? Now the oath of allegiance
to that Prince, having not been offered to that Regiment, one of
the Company answered that we having sworn Allegiance to King James,
could not, in conscience and honour, draw our swords against him:
Whereupon Sir Thomas, drinking an health to King James, upon his
knees, answered that he wished he might be damned, whenever he
should command them to break that oath: and in order to ingratiate
himself further with the Regiment, added: that he would return to
London next day, for a command to march them strait to Scotland,
where their wives and friends were; and likewise to procure a
Captain's commission for me, since Sir Adam Blair, who commanded
the troop, in which I was Lieutenant, had refused to serve King
William, both which he accordingly obtained. When he returned from
London, he marched with the Regiment, directly through Berwick,
into Scotland.
"From this period, my troubles began; for I was then sent up to
Edenborough, and there imprisoned in the Tolbooth, together with my
Lord Kilsythe, Captain Levingston, Captain Murray, and Lieutenant
Murray, each of us in a separate dungeon; with orders that none
should be permitted to speak with us, except through the keyhole;
and in this miserable condition we lay for two months.... The
Council, although they could force no confession from me, or my
companions, that might affect my Lord Kilsythe, on whose estate
their hearts were much set, yet resolved to make a sacrifice of
someone among us ... the lot fell on me.... Lord Dundee, then at
Blair Castle in Athole, hearing this, wrote to the Council--that if
they hanged Captain Creichton, he would cut the Laird of Blair, and
the Laird of Pollock, joint by joint, and would send their limbs in
hampers to the Council."
The following entries are from two large folio manuscript Establishment
Books in my possession. Each volume is bound in boards covered with
fine white vellum, with gold tooling in Mearne's style.
The first opens with the Accession of James the Second; but the first
entry that concerns us is on page 63:--
"Our Will and Pleasure is that this Establishment for our Scots
Forces hereafter mentioned, do commence from the First day of
November, in the 4th year of our Reigne, and continue during their
stay in England."
* * * * *
[Illustration: +James the Second's Commission dated 30th March, 1685.+
Appointing "Generall Thomas Dalzell 'Lieutenant Generall' over all our
Forces within our ancient Kingdome of Scotland."]
REGIMENT OF DRAGOONS.
+Field and Staff Officers.+
PER DIEM. PER ANNUM
Colonel as Colonel 273 15
Lieut. Col. as Lᵗ. Col. 164 5
Major who has no troop, for himself and
servants 365
Adjutant 91 5
Chirurgeon 4_s._, and a horse to carry his
chest, 2_s._ 109 10
+One Troop.+
Capt. 8_s._, and 3 Horses 3_s._ 200 15
Lieut. 4_s._, and 2 Horses 2_s._ 109 10
Cornet 3_s._, and 2 Horses 2_s._ 91 5
Quarter Master for himself and Horse 4 73
2 Serjeants each 18_d._, and 2 for Horses 91 5
2 Drummers each 12_d._, and 2 for Horses 73
49 private soldiers at 18_d._ each per diem 1471 7 6
Two Corporals each at 12_d._, and 2_s._ for Horses 73
Five Troopes more at the same rates and
numbers £10265 12 6
------------
Total 18499 6 8
The next entry is under the 1st of May, 1689, in William the Third's
Establishment for England. On page 78 is recorded Sir Thomas
Levingston's Regiment of Dragoons.
The numbers and pay appear as before, except for these additions:--
Chaplain £134
Gunsmith 4_s._, and his servant 1_s._ 91 5
Also for each Troop are added:--
Two Hoboys each 12_d._, and 2_s._ for horses, £73; and 60 privates
in each troop. $/
The second volume begins with April, 1692, and on page 11 the
Dragoons are recorded with the same numbers and pay, as before.
The Establishment for Land Forces and Garrisons, 1694, opens on
page 75 with an interesting list of Regiments and their commanding
Officers:--Under Dragoons one entry is "Lord Tiviot's."
After the 1694 Establishment comes that for the 26th March, 1699.
On page 133, Dragoons are recorded. There is no mention of a
gunsmith. There is one "Hoboy" 2_s._ per diem.
Then on page 161 we reach the Establishment of Guards and
Garrisons, 25th April, 1700.
The Dragoon Regiments, as detailed on page 168, had only 40 private
soldiers to each troop.
The 1st of June (1702) Establishment gives the Dragoons 54 private
soldiers to a company.
The following relates to the title of the Regiment:--
William and Mary, by the Grace of God, King and Queen of Scotland,
England, France, and Ireland, Defenders of the Faith, &c., &c.
Whereas that Regiment of Dragoons to which our trusty and most
beloved Councillor, Sir Thomas Livingstone, Brigadier-General
of our Army, is Colonel, hath been formerly designed the Royal
Regiment of Scots Dragoons, and so, reposing special confidence in
the said regiment, we do, hereby, appoint and ordain the same to be
designed our 'Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons,' and we require all
general officers and others in our army so to design that regiment;
and to give the full title and honour that is due to our 'Royal
Regiment of Scots Dragoons.' Given under our royal hand and signet,
at our Court at Breda the seventh day of May, 1692, and of our
reign the fourth year.
"By His Majesty's command,
"+J. O. Dalrymple+."
On 31st May, 1694, the Regiment landed at Williamstadt, in North
Brabant, and on June 16th was reviewed by King William before occupying
cantonments near Arschot. No general engagement took place this year:
but the Regiment was twice engaged in skirmishes with the French
cavalry, and in October marched into cantonments in the villages near
Ghent. Coming out of winter quarters in April, 1695, the Regiment
proceeded to Dixmude, in West Flanders, and thence to join the Army
encamped at Arseele, and on 31st May were reviewed by King William
with the rest of the Army. During the progress of the siege of Namur
the Regiment formed part of the Army under the Prince of Vaudemont
which manœuvred so as to protect the troops employed before the town.
The Regiment was encamped a short time between Genappe and Waterloo;
it afterwards occupied, together with the Regiment of Foot of
Holstein-Ploen, an important post at Masy, and after the surrender of
the citadel of Namur marched into winter quarters in West Flanders.
[Illustration: +Warrant of William and Mary+, 1692,
Confirming the Title "Our Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons."]
[Illustration: His Excellency John Earl of Stair, Field Marshal,
General and Commander in Chief of his Majesties Forces & General of
the Hanoverian and Hessian Armies in the Service of Great Britain, His
Majesties Ambafsador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary to the States
General of the United Provinces.]
In May, 1696, they encamped near Bruges and for some months were
stationed behind the canal between Ghent and Bruges, their duty
being to observe the motions of the French Army commanded by Marshal
Villeroy, which was encamped on the opposite side of the canal. In
October they marched into winter quarters in the villages behind
Bruges. In the spring of 1697 negotiations were opened for a general
peace. They were encamped for a short time between Brussels and Aeth,
afterwards between Vilvorde and Burntbridge, on the Brussels canal; and
when the peace of Ryswick was concluded they marched to Bruges. Before
the end of December the Regiment embarked for England and landing
at Harwich early in January, 1698, marched at once to Scotland. The
establishment which, during the war, had been 8 troops and 590 officers
and men was ordered to be reduced to 6 troops and 294 officers and men.
In 1701 the accession of the Duke of Anjou to the throne of Spain
caused war to be declared again on May 15th. The two troops were again
added, and early in 1702 the Regiment embarked for Holland.
The Regiment formed part of the guard for the English artillery train
at Breda, with which it joined the allied army under John Churchill,
Earl of Marlborough.
In the autumn of 1702 the Greys were engaged in covering the sieges
of Venloo, Ruremonde and Stevenswaert. The following is taken from
those most interesting records, Marlborough's own correspondence and
despatches:--
Sutendal, 21st September, 1702. The castle of Venloo was carried by
storm last Monday, so that they hope to be masters of the town by
Sunday or Monday. My Lord Cutts commanded at one of the breaches,
and the English grenadiers had the honour of being the first that
entered the fort. We are making all preparations we can for the
attack of Ruremond and Stevenswaert, and I think no other enemy but
ill weather can hinder us from taking them.
2 October. Our batteries began to play upon Stevenswaert on
Saturday last, and continued firing without intermission till
about 10 last night, when, the besieged having abandoned the
counterscarp, and our men being ready to mount the breach, they
beat the chamade, and desired to capitulate.
9 October. On Saturday at 3 in the morning, his Excellency the
Earl of Marlborough received an express from Ruremond, that our
batteries having begun to play upon the town on Friday morning,
about 6 the same evening the besieged had desired to capitulate.
The garrison, consisting of near 2000 men, are to march out this
day, and to be conducted, with two pieces of cannon, to Antwerp. We
found in the place 30 pieces of cannon....
The Regiment was also present at the taking of Liege, on October 23rd.
Before going into winter quarters one squadron acted as a body-guard
to Marlborough in visiting Venloo and Ruremonde. The Regiment wintered
in Dutch Brabant. Before the end of April, 1703, the Regiment took the
field again and encamped near Hamont, in the province of Limburg, from
whence they marched to Lardner Heath, afterwards to Château D'Horn,
near Ruremonde, and on May 7th they reached near to Tongres. In the
meanwhile a party of English cavalry, escorting a quantity of specie
for the Army, was attacked and defeated by a detachment of French
troops, who captured the treasure. The Greys were instantly ordered
out, and dashing across the country intercepted and defeated the French
troops and returned with the specie in triumph back to camp.
Next the Regiment was sent towards Bonn, then being besieged. After the
taking of Bonn it joined the main army near Maestricht on May 21st.
The Regiment was engaged in the siege of Limburg, which fell on
September 28th.
When the famous campaign of 1704 opened Lord John Hay, son of the
Marquis of Tweeddale, became, by purchase, Colonel in succession to
Viscount Teviot.
During the operations under Marlborough on the Dutch frontiers a body
of French troops passed the Black Forest and, joining the Bavarians,
gained several advantages over the Austrians, endangering the Imperial
throne.
In April, 1704, the Greys, joined by a remount from Scotland,
marched to Bedburgh on the Lower Rhine, where they were reviewed
by Marlborough, and on May 19th began its march on that important
expedition. To keep the enemy in suspense, the troops proceeded towards
the Moselle, but on the 25th May changed their route, and marched
to Coblentz. Having crossed the Rhine and the Moselle, Marlborough
pushed forward in advance with the cavalry for the Danube, ordering
the infantry to follow. Continuing their march through the States of
Germany, the regiments crossed the Necker in the early part of June,
while the rapidity of their movements and the secrecy of their design
filled all Europe with wonder and anxiety, and the enemy appeared
confused and lost in doubt and conjecture.
The British Regiments joined the forces of the Emperor, commanded by
the Margrave of Baden, when the new line of battle was formed and the
brigade, consisting of the Royal Scots and Royal Irish Dragoons, was
posted on the left of the first line. Marlborough wishing to possess
Donawerth as a place of arms, decided to attack a division commanded by
the Count D'Arco, posted on the lofty heights of Schellenberg, on the
north of the Danube commanding the passage of that river at Donawerth,
and the Greys formed part of the force chosen for this service. After
marching, on July 2nd, through a country intersected with rivulets
and other obstacles the troops came near to Schellenberg. At 6 in the
evening the attack was ordered, and the British infantry going forward
with firm and resolute step assaulted the entrenchments, while the
Greys and other cavalry moved forward in support. In a few moments a
storm of bullets assailed the ranks of the Bavarians, and the thunder
of the British fire echoed in the valley below. The post was valiantly
defended, and a fierce fight had gone on for some time when the Greys
were ordered to dismount, form as infantry, and assault the trenches.
The regiment instantly obeyed, and led by its gallant Colonel, Lord
John Hay, advanced boldly to the attack and mixed fiercely in the
conflict. At this instant the enemy gave way on all sides, and the
cavalry rushing forward sabred many as they fled towards the Danube;
whilst the Count D'Arco, and other officers escaped by crossing the
river.
The post won and the enemy's baggage, artillery, and many standards
captured, the Royal Scots Dragoons remounted. The Regiment lost in
the action Captain Douglas and 7 men killed, two officers, and 17 men
wounded. Donawerth was occupied on the following day.
The next great event to refer to is the Battle of Blenheim, in the
valley of the Danube, fought on August 13th. The following words are
Sir Edward Creasy's:--"Like Hannibal, Marlborough relied principally
on his cavalry for achieving his decisive successes, and it was by his
cavalry that Blenheim, the greatest of his victories, was won. The
battle had lasted till five in the afternoon. Marlborough had now 8,000
horsemen drawn up in two lines, and in the most perfect order for a
general attack on the enemy's line along the space between Blenheim and
Oberglau. The infantry was drawn up in battalions in their rear, so as
to support them if repulsed and to keep in check the large masses of
the French that still occupied the village of Blenheim.
"Tallard now interlaced his squadrons of cavalry with battalions of
infantry, and Marlborough, by a corresponding movement, brought several
regiments of infantry and some pieces of artillery to his front line
at intervals between the bodies of horse. A little after 5 Marlborough
commenced the decisive movement, and the allied cavalry, strengthened
and supported by foot and guns, advanced slowly from the lower ground
near the Nebel up the slope to where the French cavalry, 10,000 strong,
awaited them. On riding over the summit of the acclivity the allies
were received with so hot a fire from the French artillery and small
arms that at first the cavalry recoiled, but without abandoning the
high ground. The guns and the infantry, which they had brought with
them, maintained the contest with spirit and effect. The French fire
seemed to slacken; Marlborough instantly ordered a charge along the
line. The allied cavalry galloped forward at the enemy's squadrons,
and the hearts of the French horsemen failed them. Discharging their
carbines at an idle distance they wheeled round and spurred from the
field, leaving the nine infantry battalions of their comrades to be
ridden down by the torrent of the allied cavalry."
The Greys lost several men and horses wounded but none killed.
Extracts from a journal of the 1704 campaign kept by Mr. Hare, chaplain
to the Duke, and afterwards Bishop of Chichester:--
"Being thus resolved to attack the enemy, they gave orders that
the Army should march before break of day, and range itself in
order of battle upon the plain, between Grenhiern and Orklau. The
whole army as it was now (Brigadier Baldwyn and several other
parties not being yet come in) consisted of 66 Battalions and 160
Squadrons on the right wing, under Prince Eugene, there were the
seven Danish and eleven Prussian Battalions, which were all the
Foot his Highness had under his command; he had also 74 Squadrons
composed of the Imperial and Prussian Troops, with those of Swabia,
Franconia, Wurtemberg, and other Troops of the Empire.
"On the left wing against Marshal Tallard were 48 Battalions (viz.)
14 English, 14 Dutch, 7 Hessian, and 13 of Hanover, Luxembourg,
Zell, and Swiss; also 86 Squadrons (viz.) 14 English, 22 Danes, and
18 Dutch, 7 Hessian, and 25 of Lunenbourg, Hanover, and Zell. This
Army marched directly towards the enemies (which were then about 4
miles distant) before break of day in the following order.
"The Imperial Army filed off to the right in 4 columns (viz.) two
of Infantry and two of Cavalry. The Infantry marched to the right
of the Cavalry upon a rising ground, close by a wood which came
down to the River Kessel before mentioned. The two lines of Cavalry
marched to the left of them; the English and Dutch army filed off
also in 4 such Columns, having on their right the 2 Columns of
the Imperial Cavalry, and on their left the villages of Dapsheim,
Schwening and the Danube. Major General Wilkies and Brigadier Rowe,
with 9 Battalions that were left in Dapsheim, to maintain that post
all the last night, now marched to the left of all by themselves,
next the Danube. The Imperial Artillery followed the Infantry of
that wing, and the English and Dutch artillery and Pontoons marched
through the villages of Erlinghoffen, Dapsheim and Schweingen; and
all the baggage was sent back to Rittingen near Donawert, where it
was to be drawn up till further orders.
"His Grace caused the whole Army to halt, and then detached 11
Battalions out of both lines of the left wing to be joined to the
9 already detached under Major General Wilkie near the Danube. The
whole twenty were to be commanded by the Lord Cutts, and under him
Major General Wilkies and St. Paul, and Brigadier Ferguson, Rowe
and Hulson. Major General Wood and Brigadier General Ross were
ordered with 15 squadrons of Dragoons to sustain the Lord Cutts.
These Battalions and squadrons being joined with the other nine,
made a ninth column which marched upon the left of all, by itself,
next the Danube, the Lord Cutts being ordered with this detachment
to attack the village of Blenheim, which joined to that River.
"This being done the Army moved forwards, His Grace and Prince
Eugene advancing before all, with some squadrons of the Grand
Guard to take a view of the enemy; they discovered their advanced
parties before 6 in the morning, which parties as our squadrons
came up retired by degrees into their camp. About 7 our Generals
stood and took a full view of the enemies' camp upon a rising ground
over against Overklau, on our side the Rivulet; it continues to run
in two Branches till within a few paces before it falls into the
Danube, the meadows between them being soft and marshy. One of the
Branches had two mills upon it, at both which there was an easy
passage over the Rivulet.
"His Grace saw all this very plainly at half-a-mile distance, but
he was more particularly informed of the nature of this ground by
Major General Nazemere, of the King of Prussia's troops, who had
been wounded the year before in the defeat of Count Styrum by the
Elector of Bavaria and Monsieur Dupon upon the very place. All this
while, the morning being a little hazy, the enemy might think we
had only little parties abroad and not know that our whole Army was
in motion. However it was they lay quiet in their camp, and two
deserters from them gave his Grace a particular account how their
troops were encampt.
"Our Columns began to appear a little after 7 in the morning, both
officers and soldiers advancing very cheerfully and shewing a firm
and glad countenance and persuading themselves of a victorious day.
"All this while the village of Blenheim had been incessantly
attacked by the Lord Cutts, who having found it impracticable to
enter that place sword in hand, as the enemy were posted, had
altered his method and attacked with his fire only. The first
of his lines (which was posted near the enemy's entrenchments)
continually discharged in Platoons, and the other lines relieved
this and each other successively.
"Notwithstanding all which it held out still, and now gave work
to all our Infantry. For the moment that our Cavalry had beaten
that of the enemy and cleared the field of them, General Churchill
marched both the lines of Foot and laid them upon this village
in two different places, so that it was now quite surrounded and
there was no getting out of it but through the Danube, and to
prevent their escaping that way the Queen's Regiment (commanded
by Brigadier Webb) took possession of a little Barrier the enemy
had made to cover their retreat and was posted to the right of
all fronting to the street which led down to the Danube. By this
means several hundreds of the enemy endeavouring to get of that way
were made Prisoners by that Regiment which besides this service,
has the consideration due to it, that the Horses belonging to the
dismounted Regiments of French Dragoons were at their Piquets close
by this Regiment, yet there was not a man stirred out of his rank
to take one of them but they all fell a booty to other soldiers.
Prince George's Regiment (commanded by Colonel Byton) was posted
next the Danube to the left, on the other side of the Town; so
that all those of the enemy which came out that way were either
taken prisoners, killed, or forced into the Danube; some of them
endeavoured to break out in two other places of the village, _but
Major-General Wood (who was left with only the Lord John Hayes's
Regiment of Grey Dragoons)_ perceiving it immediately advanced
towards them, and taking the advantage of a rising ground, amused
them, and made them believe he had more squadrons behind him and so
drew up and stopped them there.
"Brigadier Ross (who was ordered to sustain Lieutenant-General
Ingoldsby) did the like on the other side of the Town with
5 squadrons of Dragoons and 3 squadrons of Horse which
Lieutenant-General Lumley had sent from the pursuit for this
purpose; two of which he soon after sent back again, upon order
he had received from the Duke of Marlborough to bring all the
squadrons he could to the right, where the Elector was marching off.
"It was now betwixt 3 and 4 o'clock when General Churchill sent
word to the Lord Cutts that the Duke of Marlborough had beaten
the enemies Horse out of the field. He also let him know that he
himself was going to attack the same village in Flank and Rear, and
therefore desired his Lordship to make another attack at the same
time in the front, if his troops were not too much spent, or at
least to make a feint of doing it. This was effectually executed
at once on all sides. The Earl of Orkney and Lieutenant-General
Ingoldsby entered the village at two different places at the Head
of their respective Lines, but not being able to make a front equal
to what the enemy had in the village, especially in the Churchyard
which had high walls round about it, they were forced to retire.
However this, and the frequent attacks the enemy had sustained in
their front for several hours together; the damage they suffered
by our Cannon which played all the afternoon furiously upon them
within musket shot, the great disorder they were put into by a
Battery of Howitzers, whose shells set all the Barns and Houses
on fire, and especially Monsieur Clerambaut their commander
being fled and as they were told, drowned in the Danube, and
being quite surrounded, and obliged to stand another attack at
a time when they had no hopes of relief, the Cavalry which was
to sustain them, being drove quite out of the Field: all these
together put them into so great consternation, that they demanded
a cessation, which being allowed, General Churchill sent orders
to the Lord Cutts to cease attacking in the Front, and the Lord
Orkney immediately sent in Captain Abercromby his Aid du Camp on
one side as Lieutenant-General Ingoldsby did Lieutenant-Colonel
Belville of the Tell regiment of de Beial on the other side. After
a very little time their Lieutenant-Colonel returned with Monsieur
Hautefeuille and Monsieur Blansac, and the Lieutenant-Colonel's
own Brother, who was Captain in Nasseys Regiment of Dragoons, then
dismounted in the Town. The Lord Orkney had also met with the
Marquis Desnouville, who commanded the French regiment Royal and
was already made prisoner, but was suffered to go into the Town
again, upon his parole to return immediately. This he did bringing
with him to the Lord Orkney several French generals. And as they
were all capitulating, General Churchill came up and told the
French Generals that he had no time to lose, (it being now past
7 in the evening), and that if they did not lay down their arms
immediately he would renew the attack, upon this they thought fit
to submit, and they, with all their regiments, were made Prisoners
at discretion."
CHAPTER II.
The campaign of 1704 closed with the Siege of Landau, the Greys forming
part of the army covering the siege. In September, when the King of the
Romans visited the British camp, the Duke of Marlborough placed himself
at the head of the "Royal Scots Dragoons" to receive his Majesty.
The interesting incident is thus entered by Hare in his Journal:
"On 2nd of October the King of the Romans came from before Landau,
to take a view of the Army commanded by his Grace at Weissembourg.
His Grace sent Colonel Cadogan to conduct His Majesty to the left
of the Army which was drawn out in two lines for this purpose. His
Grace there received and saluted His Majesty at the head of Lord
John Hayes' regiment of Dragoons, and afterwards accompanied His
Majesty along the lines, which appeared extremely fine and gave
great satisfaction to his Majesty."
In November they marched back to Holland for the winter, and in
Guelderland were joined by another remount from Scotland.
They were withdrawn from their cantonments early in May of 1705, and
after traversing Limburg, encamped near the banks of the river Maese,
where the Duke of Marlborough assembled the army for the purpose of
proceeding up the Moselle. After a halt of two days, the cavalry
crossed the Maese, and marched to Coblenz, and thence to Juliers. After
leaving this, they crossed a barren country to Triersweiler, where
the troops encamped on May 26th. Thence the Moselle and the Saar were
crossed, and plans made for offensive warfare. This was all frustrated
by Austrian delays and German commanders' jealousies. The Duke of
Marlborough resolved therefore to return.
At midnight on June 17th the troops decamped in the midst of a heavy
rain, and the Royal Scots Dragoons, with several other regiments,
formed up to cover the retreat through a long and narrow defile. No
enemy, however, appeared to interrupt the army, and retracing their
former steps by forced marches, the Greys reached the vicinity of
Maestricht on June 30th; when the French forces in the Netherlands
instantly ceased acting on the offensive, and took refuge behind their
lines.
[Illustration: "+Signatures of Colonel Agnew's Troop, for receipt of
Bountie monie, for Campaigne of 1704.+"]
After several changes of position, the Greys and other corps were
ordered to be ready to march immediately after dark on the evening
of July 17th; and the regiment was formed on this occasion as usual
in brigade with the Royal Irish Dragoons under the command of
Brigadier-General Lord John Hay. The French lines to be taken were very
formidable, for besides the height of the rampart, and the largeness of
the ditch, they were further defended by the difficulties of the ground
over which they were to be approached; and by the river Geet, which
could not be crossed without laying bridges over it, and which was near
enough to the lines to be defended by the fire from the parapet. Our
troops continued their march throughout the night, which was extremely
dark, and at four in the morning surprised the French guards and
took the position. Scarcely had the Greys and Irish Dragoons, with a
few squadrons of horse, passed the lines, when the Marquis d'Allegre
appeared with twenty battalions of infantry and fifty squadrons of
cavalry. The Duke of Marlborough led his horse and dragoons forward,
and by an impetuous charge, broke the enemy's ranks. A short but fiery
conflict followed with varied success, and the Greys displayed their
usual spirit. Finally the enemy's squadrons were dispersed, their
standards and kettledrums were captured, and many officers and men were
taken prisoners. The enemy's infantry also suffered severely; a few
battalions however retired in a square in admirable order.
The campaign closed, and the Scots Greys marched to Dutch Brabant,
where they spent the winter.
From the archives of the Regiment:--
"Early in 1705 the sheriff (_i.e._, Sir James Agnew) parted with
his eldest son (Andrew), who at seventeen joined the army in
Flanders as a volunteer. Pleased at the idea of the boy's winning
his own spurs, he supplied him with a moderately well-filled purse,
while his mother, along with her blessing, furnished him with an
introduction to the Duke of Marlborough, as well as other letters
of introduction. Thus furnished, the youth embarked, and reached
the camp in February in safety, where he attached himself to the
'Royal Grey Dragoons.' At the mess of this distinguished corps he
met many friends from Galloway. His brother-in-law, Colonel Agnew,
was Major, whose brother Thomas was also a Captain in the regiment;
and among the subs. were the young Laird of Mochrun, George Dunbar,
as well as John Dunbar, his youngest brother. Within a few weeks
of his arrival he received, to his no small gratification, a
commission signed by the Duke of Marlborough in camp at Rastad on
the 11th of May, 1705, appointing Andrew Agnew to be cornet of that
troop in Her Majesty's Royal Regiment of Scotts Dragoons, commanded
by the Right Honourable John Hay, whereof Major Andrew Agnew is
Captain."
Then come three pages of the adventures of the Greys in the campaign in
which the said Andrew took his part. He was afterwards the famous Sir
Andrew who fought in the Rebellion of 1745, and specially noted for his
defence of Blair Castle at that time.
"Lord Mahon's History of England, Vol. I., chapter 5, page 155,
edition Murray, 1853.
"1715.
"Meanwhile the Duke of Argyle had arrived in Scotland about the
middle of September, and hastened to the camp at Stirling. He had
brought with him not a single battalion of troops, not one piece of
artillery. He had found under his command no more than 1,000 foot,
and a body of Dragoons, partly from that excellent regiment the
Scots Greys, but altogether of only 500 men."
Sir Walter Scott, in his note on Sinclair's MS., page 304, wrote:--
"The Dragoons called the Scots Greys, for many years maintained a
character greatly superior to that of an ordinary regiment. They
never gave a bounty exceeding a crown, and were recruited from
a class of persons greatly superior to those who usually enter
the army, such as the sons of decent farmers and tradesmen, who
felt a vocation for the army. No ignominious punishment was ever
inflicted, and a criminal who had merited such was previously
transferred to another regiment."
[Illustration: "+Field Marshal John Dalrymple, Second Earl of Stair,
K.T.+"
+Born, 1673. Died, 1747.+
_From the Painting at Lochinch._]
Early in May, 1706, they left their winter quarters, and after crossing
the plains of Limburg and the rich valleys of Liege, they on May
20th joined the army encamped at Bilsen, and afterwards marched to
Borchloen. On May 23rd a detachment of the Greys, and several squadrons
of horse, were ordered to march towards Mont St. André, and were soon
after followed by the army in eight columns. There was a thick fog,
but the cavalry pushed on until they gained the heights near Mierdorp,
when through the misty dawn they espied a few of the enemy's cavalry
crossing the plains of St. André, and soon the fog lifting, the French
army was discovered in position at Ramillies. Advancing into the plains
of Tandrinœuil, the Allies prepared for action, the Queen's Horse, the
Greys, and the Royal Irish Dragoons, with Churchill's and Mordaunt's
regiments of infantry, being posted on the heights of Foulz on the
right of the line. About 1·30 in the afternoon the Allies began heavy
artillery fire, which was quickly answered by the enemy, and the action
became general. For some time the troops on the heights on the right
were only spectators, but Marlborough, seeing that an attack made by
the Dutch and Danish cavalry on the French Household regiments, Gens
D'Armes, Gardes du Corps, and others, was not succeeding, ordered his
right wing to advance. Churchill's and Mordaunt's regiments descended
first, and meeting three battalions of French infantry, drove them into
a morass, where most of them were killed or captured. At the same time
the Queen's Horse, the Greys, and the Irish Dragoons galloped through
the morass, crossed the high ground beyond it, and attacking the
enemy's left, routed the French cavalry, and cut several battalions of
infantry to pieces. The Greys charged into the village of Autreglize,
overthrew and sabred the infantry in the streets. Coming out of the
village, they encountered the famous French regiment du Roi, which
at once surrendered and delivered up its colours and arms to the
victorious Dragoons.
The contemporary account in the "London Gazette" was as follows:
"The horse of their left wing seemed to make a stand to gain time
for their foot to retire, but were charged so quickly and with so
much bravery by the English, that they entirely abandoned the foot,
and our Dragoons pushing into the village of Autreglize, made a
terrible slaughter. The French King's Own regiment of foot called
the regiment du Roi, begged for quarter, and delivered up their
arms and colours to Lord John Hay's Dragoons (the Greys)."
In connection with the battle of Ramillies, some account must be given
of a woman, Christian Davies, or Mother Ross, who served as a trooper
in the Greys until, fighting at Ramillies, her skull was fractured, and
her sex afterwards discovered.
In 1740 appeared a book of nearly 200 pages, purporting to record her
life and adventures; also in 1893 she was included in a volume called
"Women Adventurers," published by T. Fisher Unwin. The account of her
given in the D. N. B. seems excellent. Presumably she was brave, but
she seems to have been a very coarse woman. Born in Dublin in 1667,
she married Richard Welsh. He, without her knowledge, was in some way
forced to enlist in a foot regiment, and wrote letters to his wife
which never reached her. At last she heard of his being in the army,
and so disguised herself as a soldier to go in search of him.
She enlisted in Captain Tichborne's company of foot as Christopher
Welch. In a skirmish before the battle of Landen she was wounded, and
in the next year--1694--taken prisoner by the French, but exchanged.
At her own wish she was now allowed to join the Greys, and continued
so until after the peace of Ryswick. On the renewal of war in 1701
she went back to Holland and re-enlisted in the Greys. She fought at
Niuwegen, Venloo, Bonn, and in most of the engagements of the campaign,
till at the battle of Donauwerth she received a ball in the hip,
which caused a temporary retirement into hospital. The ball was never
extracted, but Christian was again under arms in time to share in the
spoil after Blenheim. While forming one of a guard to some prisoners
taken in that battle, she again saw her husband after a separation of
thirteen years. She lost no time in revealing her identity to him; but
so enamoured was she of camp life that she extracted a promise from
Welsh that he would pass himself off as her brother. After Ramillies
she, of course, had to cease to be a trooper, but she still continued
to live in camp, and accompanied her husband as his acknowledged wife.
In 1709 Richard Welsh was killed at Malplaquet. Christian herself found
his body, and her lamentations were so extravagant as to excite the
open commiseration of a Captain Ross, whence it is said she gained the
sobriquet of Mother Ross, by which she was known for the rest of her
days. Although grieving so that for a whole week she refused to touch
food, she married Hugh Jones, a grenadier, within three months. In 1710
Jones was killed at the siege of Saint-Venant. In 1712 she returned to
England, was presented to Queen Anne, and awarded a life pension of a
shilling a day. She afterwards went to Dublin and married a soldier
named Davies. She died on July 7th, 1739, and, at her own request, her
body was interred among the pensioners in Chelsea burying ground, and
three grand volleys were fired over her grave.
After this great victory at Ramillies, on Whit Sunday, May 23rd, 1705,
the Greys were occupied in covering the successful sieges of several
fortified towns in Flanders, and in the autumn the British troops went
into quarters in Flanders, excepting the Royal Scots Greys and Irish
Dragoons, who proceeded to Holland.
Early in the spring of 1707 the Greys went to Spanish Brabant, and
encamped near the banks of the little river Sienne. In this year the
Acts of Parliament were passed for the Union of the crowns of England
and Scotland, and from that time the Greys were designated "The Royal
Regiment of North British Dragoons."
The army was assembled at Brussels, and afterwards encamped near
Weldert. The year passed off very quietly; but Richard Cannon found
some record of a sharp fight between twenty-five troopers of the Greys
sent out to cut forage and thirty French musketeers, the result alleged
being fourteen Frenchmen killed and the rest taken.
On July 11th, 1708, the Greys were engaged in the important battle of
Oudenarde, and this battle, with the story of the events preceding it,
is full of interest, but would be out of place in this record of one
particular regiment.
After this the Regiment formed part of the covering army, and was
employed in escorting provisions and ammunition to the troops laying
siege to Lisle, the capital of French Flanders. After Lisle had fallen
to the Allies, the Greys were sent into winter quarters in Flanders.
The winter proved extremely severe, and a considerable number of men
and horses are said to have been frozen to death.
In 1709 the Greys formed part of the troops covering the siege and fall
of Tournay; but the event of the year was the battle of Malplaquet,
fought on September 11th, 1709. The Greys were brigaded with the Royal
Irish Dragoons, under Brigadier-General Sybourg. They were posted near
the centre of the Allied Army to sustain the attacks of the infantry
and protect the artillery, and for some time were only spectators
of the fierce storm of battle which raged on all sides; at length,
however, they were ordered to file through a wood in their front, and
charge. Scarcely had the brigade emerged from among the trees before it
encountered a line of French cavalry; these squadrons were, however,
soon dispersed, but they were instantly succeeded by a new line of
champions, consisting of a number of squadrons of the French household
cavalry, clad in armour, and advancing in firm array. Richard Cannon
has described how the Greys and Irish Dragoons met these foaming
squadrons with signal bravery, but were driven from their ground by
superior numbers. The two regiments soon rallied, and being joined
by several corps of horse, returned to the charge; yet such was the
resolution displayed by the French troopers that it was not until the
third charge that they were driven from the field. The two victorious
regiments were specially thanked by the Duke of Marlborough. The Greys
lost about thirty killed and wounded.
The regiment was afterwards employed in covering the siege of Mons,
the capital of Hainault, and after the surrender of Mons marched into
winter quarters at the little town of Tiel.
Malplaquet was a desperately hard-fought battle. Not for the first or
last time in our history, an important battle was nearly lost through
the imbecile action of the authorities at home in failing to support an
able general abroad.
In Coxe's "Marlborough," large paper edition, Vol. III., page 90, we
find the following:--
"In considering the consequences of this eventful day, we cannot
but applaud the foresight of Marlborough, who before the opening of
the campaign had so earnestly pressed for a powerful augmentation
of troops. He was conscious that the French were prepared to make
their final effort in the Netherlands, and that he should have to
contend with a far greater force than he had yet encountered. The
battle proved that his calculations were well founded, and that an
additional number of 10,000 men on that eventful day would have
more contributed to the advancement of peace, than all the efforts
of the ablest negotiators in Europe. The Allies, indeed, remained
masters of the field; but the laurels of their two great commanders
were deeply tinged with blood, and the result of the campaign was
far from being commensurate with the sacrifice of so many valuable
lives."
Of the springing valour displayed by the enemy on the day of
Malplaquet there can be no question, and a distinguished French officer
wrote to a correspondent at the time:--
"The Eugenes and Marlboroughs ought to be well satisfied with us
during that day; since till then they had not met with resistance
worthy of them. They may say, with justice, that nothing can stand
before them; and, indeed, what shall be able to stem the rapid
course of these two heroes, if an army of 100,000 of the best
troops, posted between two woods trebly entrenched, and performing
their duty as well as any brave men could do, were not able to stop
them for one day? Will you not then own with me, that they surpass
all the heroes of former ages?"
Early in 1710 the regiment was joined by a remount of 100 men and
horses from Scotland, and marching from its cantonments, encamped on
high ground near Tournay. In the afternoon of April 20th it was again
on the march, and formed part of the First Division of the Allied
Army which forced the enemy's fortified lines at Pont-à-Vendin on
the 21st, and encamped at night on the plain of Lens; and afterwards
helping in covering the siege of Douay, a strong town on the river
Scarpe, and finally was stationed at Pont-à-Nache. While here, the Duke
of Marlborough, by special commission from Queen Anne, invested its
Colonel--the Earl of Stair--with the Order of the Thistle.
On May 10th the enemy made a sudden sally from Fort Scarpe to take
the bread waggons going to the Allies; but reaching Pont-à-Nache,
their career was suddenly stopped by a squadron of the Greys, and two
squadrons of the Royal Irish Dragoons, who came sweeping up the plain
at full gallop, and routing the enemy in an instant, chased them with
heavy loss under the cannon of the fort. Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell,
of the Royal Irish Dragoons, who commanded the three squadrons, was
wounded in the pursuit.
After the fall of Douay, the Greys crossed the country of Artois to the
banks of the river Bietres; and encamped before Bethune, which was at
once besieged. They were subsequently occupied in escorting military
stores up the country, and after the taking of Bethune, they were
occupied with the sieges of Aire and Saint-Venant. The surrender of
Aire ended the campaign.
Early in May, 1711, the army assembled in French Flanders, and
encamped, first at Warde, and next on the plain of Lens. After
manœuvring skilfully, Marlborough succeeded in forcing the enemy's
lines by the causeway at Arleux, crossed the Scheldt, and besieged
Bouchain. In all this the Greys took part. After the fall of Bouchain,
the army retired into winter quarters.
In 1712 the French sued for peace, and the Greys marched from the
frontiers of Picardy into Flanders, staying there until the signing of
the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. They then returned to England at the
close of eleven years of hard war service.
A satisfactory change now took place in the official status of the
Greys. In 1694, when many English, Irish, and Scots regiments were
serving in the Netherlands, King William commanded a board of general
officers to assemble and decide upon the rank of the several corps.
This board gave precedence to the English regiments, and the Scots
and Irish were only allowed to take rank in the English army from the
date of their first arrival in England, or from the date when they
were first placed on the English establishment. There being three
regiments of English Dragoons raised previous to 1688, when the Royal
Scots Dragoons were first placed upon the English establishment, this
regiment consequently obtained rank as Fourth Dragoons only.
But in 1713, when Queen Anne had ordered another board of general
officers to assemble to decide upon the rank of several newly-raised
regiments, proof was adduced that the Royal Scots Dragoon crossed the
Border and entered England in June, 1685, when there was only one
regiment of Dragoons on the English establishment.
This was taken into consideration, and after some delay the Scots Greys
obtained the rank of Second Dragoons.
Regiments were not, however, distinguished by numerical titles before
the reign of George the Second.
In 1713 the regiment was increased to nine troops.
The Greys were next occupied in quelling the Rebellion of the Old
Pretender, and here they won special distinction.
In 1719 the Jacobites, aided by Spain, made another attempt on
Scotland, but were routed on June 10th at Strachell. Three troops of
the Greys under Major Robinson were engaged.
[Illustration: +Grenadier Cap of the Scots Greys+, 1743.
Preserved in the Museum of the United Service Institution.]
[Illustration: +Farm Buildings--Lochinch, Castle Kennedy, Wigtonshire.+
The Farm Buildings used as Barracks by the Scots Greys under command of
John Earl of Stair. The Terraces at Lochinch were constructed by him
during the period the Greys were quartered there, and it is recorded
that the men of the regiment did the work.]
In April, 1721, reduced on account of peace to 207 men, the regiment
left Scotland, and was placed in cantonments in the northern counties
of England. In 1723 it returned to Scotland, and in 1725 marched into
quarters in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
Early in 1727 the Regiment was again increased to nine troops, and it
was ordered to be ready for foreign service, but no embarkation took
place. The nine troops were marched into quarters near Hounslow, and
on October 28th were reviewed on the heath by King George the Second.
They afterwards marched into quarters in Yorkshire, where the three
augmentation troops were reduced, and the numbers of the establishment
of the Regiment fixed at 309 officers and men.
In 1730 the Regiment was again in Scotland.
In 1737 it came back to England, and was chiefly busy on the Kentish
coast suppressing smugglers.
In April, 1738, the regiment marched into Dorset and Wilts, to suppress
popular riots.
In September, 1739, the Regiment was increased to 435 officers and men.
Richard Cannon pictures the regiment spending the following summer
encamped among the ancient oaks in Windsor Forest. In October it
marched into Yorkshire, but soon came south again and was quartered in
Berkshire.
Charles the Sixth, Emperor of Germany, died in 1740, and England was a
party to the Pragmatic Sanction by which the crown was guaranteed to
his daughter Maria Theresa as Queen of Hungary and Bohemia.
On the other hand, the Elector of Bavaria, as descendant of Ferdinand
the First, claimed these countries, and was supported by the French
King, Louis the Fourteenth.
On June 19th, 1742, the Greys were reviewed by King George the Second
on Kew Green, and three days later marched for Dover. A publication
called "The Champion" records:--
"On Tuesday, General Campbell's fine regiment of Scots Greys
arrived in the Borough of Southwark on their march to Dover, where
they are to embark for Flanders. They are fine hardy fellows, and
want no seasoning, and made an appearance agreeable to all but the
innkeepers."
For the two great campaigns that now followed I copy from the archives
preserved by the Regiment a
"+Note from the British Military Library or Journal,
published 1799.+
* * * * *
"This regiment frequently distinguished itself in the wars of King
William and Queen Anne, and in many actions by its own individual
prowess might justly be said to have inclined the balance in favour
of the British arms, nor was it less active in the Rebellion of
1715.
"In the battles of Dettingen and Fontenoy, the cool, intrepid and
invincible courage of this corps was eminently conspicuous.
"In the battle of Dettingen, the French were commanded by the
celebrated Marshal de Noailles, and the Allied Army by his late
Majesty King George the Second and the great Duke of Cumberland.
The French had nearly effected the utter ruin of the Allies, by
surrounding them, in order to cut off all supplies, in which case
the whole must have been reduced to the disagreeable necessity of
surrendering at the mercy of the enemy, nor could anything short
of the most unexampled heroism rescue them from the impending
danger--that heroism was not wanting. The combined troops, animated
by the presence and example of the King and Prince, little regarded
the enemy's vast superiority of numbers, while the Earl of Stair
made a vigorous charge with the cavalry, among whom were the Scots
Greys, then under the command of Sir James Campbell, an officer of
high talents in his profession, and who signalised himself on this
occasion in a manner which proved him truly worthy the command.
Unfortunately for his country and the service this meritorious
officer fell by a cannon shot the succeeding year, at the battle of
Fontenoy in 1744.
"In this battle, fought on the 30th of April, than which few have
been more bloody, the laurel was snatched from the enemy by this
corps and three others, who covered the British and Hanoverian
Infantry, under General Lord Ligonier, and that in so gallant a
manner as to render wholly abortive one of the greatest objects of
the French commander, for the timid Dutch had retreated, leaving a
wing of the Allied Army exposed to the enemy, and this, although
supported by two British battalions.
"The hazard was great and the moment more critical inasmuch as
its brave Colonel was killed and his post left defective for a
considerable time until His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland
ordered some pieces of cannon to be brought up, at the head of the
Foot Guards, which soon silenced the enemy's guns, and by exciting
universal admiration at the General's presence of mind in the midst
of such danger, the troops were roused to unusual exertions and
actually took possession of some of their batteries, although, to
effect this, they were necessarily exposed to a most terrible and
incessant cannonade. Perhaps the page of history could not produce
a parallel to the bravery of the British troops in this engagement,
who, after having stood for upwards of three hours the incessant
fire of three strong batteries, could drive the French, their
superiors in point of number, from their lines into their Camp;
who when thinned in their ranks, tired with slaughter and almost
sinking beneath their wounds, could break the same host of troops,
drive them back a second time, and at length make good a safe
retreat, at the moment when the enemy was reinforced by seven fresh
battalions."
At the risk of seeming lengthy, I must here add, without pretending to
edit it, a paragraph from Cannon's very scarce record:--
"A tremendous cannonade was followed by volleys of musketry and
charges of cavalry. The Greys supported the infantry for some
time; but at length they were led forward by their Colonel, the
chivalrous and daring Lieutenant-General James Campbell, against a
line of French Cuirassiers. Their grey horses and grenadier caps
rendered them conspicuous--their noble bearing excited admiration.
Before them appeared the enemy's squadrons, formidable in numbers,
and bright in polished armour; but undismayed by the opposing ranks
of war, the Greys raised a loud huzza, and rushed at speed upon
their steel-clad opponents, who were overthrown and pursued to the
rear of their own lines....
"The Greys pursued their adversaries to the banks of the river,
and captured a White Standard, with which they returned in
triumph to their own lines, where they received the expression
of the approbation of their Sovereign, who had witnessed their
gallantry.... The standard was of white damask, finely embroidered
with gold and silver; a thunderbolt in the middle, upon a blue and
white ground; motto, _Sensere Gigantes_."
The following interesting 1747 record I copy from the Manuscript Papers
now preserved by the Greys:--
"Extract from the Record Book of the Enniskilling Dragoons.
"Signed, +E. M. W. Gres+, Major.
"1747. The Duke of Cumberland arrived at the Hague on the 15th of
February. The French made some hostile movements in April. The
Allied Army were encamped near to Antwerp, their right extending
to Breschater. The army of the Allies marched 30th of June in
three columns towards Lonaken, and encamped between that place and
Ghenck. The French corps of the Count de Clermont occupied the high
ground from Tongress to Tonggrebech. His Royal Highness the Duke of
Cumberland and Marshal Bathiani resolved to take possession of the
camp of Bilsen. On the 2nd of July an action was fought between
Tongress and Bilsen, near Maestricht, called the battle of Keselt
or of Lafeldt, or Vol. The British cavalry charged and broke the
enemy's first line, and afterwards when His Royal Highness was with
them, charged a second time and broke the enemy again; hereupon the
enemy made a desperate effort on the centre of the Allies; their
squadrons penetrated and divided the army.
"At this juncture the British cavalry, led on by Sir John Ligonier,
charged the French with so much success that they overthrew all
before them, but too eager in pursuit of the enemy, received a
sharp fire from the Foot, which they had posted in a hollow way and
some hedges, to favour the flight of their horse, by which they
suffered a good deal; they dispersed, however, that Foot and some
fresh squadrons which the enemy had sent down upon them, but was
all in vain whilst the army was divided in two.
"His Royal Highness, therefore, called the Cavalry off and sent
word to the Marshal that he should retire towards Maestricht, and
would move towards Velt Wesel and Lanaken to favour his Retreat.
This done, he retired the left wing slowly and in good order,
bringing off all the heavy field artillery. His Royal Highness gave
the greatest commendation to His Majesty's British and Electoral
troops, of which there was not a squadron or Battalion which did
not charge and beat the enemy more than once. The Scots Greys,
the Duke's, Rothe's, the 6th Inniskilling, and Sir Robert Rich's
Dragoons, gave the French cavalry a prodigious overthrow and took
several standards.
"The Brigade of Scotch and Irish in the French service fought
desperately, and would have taken the Duke of Cumberland prisoner,
had not Sir John Ligonier come up with a party of cavalry and
thereby saved His Royal Highness.
"The Allies took five standards and seven pair of Colours. In this
Battle the Regiment suffered severely. The allies passed to the
eastern side of the Meuse immediately after the Battle of 2nd of
July. Encamped at Gronfelt. The French laid siege to Bergen Op Zoom:
"Several sallies and skirmishes. In August the Allies moved nearer
to Liege. The French had their left towards Tongress and their
right towards Liege.
"Bergen Op Zoom taken by the French 16th September.
"In October the troops went into winter quarters on the Dutch
Frontier in the neighbourhood of Breda.
"The Duke of Cumberland and General Ligonier arrived in England
13th November.
"20th November five regiments of Foot embarked at Gravesend for
Flanders."
[The latter part of the foregoing extract is curiously worded; but I
have made no alterations.--E. A.]
CHAPTER III.
The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle was signed on October 7th, 1748, and the
Greys returned to England, and were stationed at Leicester, Coventry,
and Warwick. By the usual mean and miserable policy, or want of any
policy, the Regiment was at once reduced to 285 officers and men!
(In time of peace, always take care not to be prepared for war.) In
December, 1749, the Regiment went into quarters in Kent, and was
employed on revenue duty on the coast. In 1750 they were in Sussex and
Devon, and in 1751 in Dorsetshire. The Regiment marched into Lancashire
in the spring of 1753; with detached troops in Somersetshire, where
it was stationed during the following year; and in the spring of
1755 proceeded to Northampton and other towns in that part of the
kingdom. Complications now coming to a point about British and French
possessions in North America, the Regiment's establishment was made up
to 357 of all ranks, and very soon a light troop was added, in the same
way as light companies had been added to regiments of infantry.
In the summer of 1755 the Greys occupied quarters in Herefordshire and
in the winter months were dispersed in cantonments in Kent. In the next
spring they marched into Surrey, and afterwards into Dorsetshire, and
in June encamped with several other corps near Blandford.
In April, 1757, they went into cantonments in Essex, staying there four
months, and then going into Suffolk. In October four troops proceeded
to Newmarket.
An expedition was now made ready for a descent on the coast of France,
and the "light troop," commanded by Captain Francis Lindsay, was
ordered on this service.
The following is from the "Weekly Journal," 23 May, 1758:--
"The nine troops of Hussars (Light Dragoons) belonging to the nine
regiments of cavalry, are now preparing to go upon this expedition.
The flower of these Hussars is the troop commanded by Captain
Lindsay, quartered at Maidenhead, where they have been practising
the Prussian exercise, and for some days have been digging large
trenches and leaping over them, also leaping high hedges with broad
ditches on the other side. Their Captain on Saturday last, swam
with his horse over the Thames and back again; and the whole troop
were yesterday to swim the river."
On June 5th, 1758, the Brigade landed on the coast of France about nine
miles from St. Malo, and on the 7th set fire to the shipping in St.
Malo.
The troops having succeeded in this, now came home again.
In August the Greys light troop formed part of another expedition which
captured Cherbourg. After returning to England the light troop was
quartered in towns on the coast of Sussex.
The Greys were among the troops sent to Germany under the command of
Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick in the year 1758, at which time the Duke
of Argyle commanded the Regiment. These troops landed at Embden on the
20th of July and were headed by the Duke of Marlborough and the Lord
George Sackville.
Still did their gallantry and good conduct preserve to them the high
opinion which the Regiment had so justly merited in every conflict to
which its squadrons were exposed.
The following notes are from a volume (belonging to the Regiment)
lettered outside
"+Regimental Orders+, 1759."
Inside:--
"Copied from an old Regimental Order Book in possession of R. B.
Wardlaw Ramsay, Esqre., of Whitehill, Laeswale.
"+Piershill Barracks.+
"+Edinburgh+
"+1873.+
"+Tule+, 8 January 1759
"+Weaver+ 12 January
"+Wever+ 19 January
"The Major recommends it to the commanding officers of Troops,
that before they clear their men, they will stop from each man
for a pair of new shoes to carry into the field with them, as he
apprehends those they have will be wore out before that time.
"+Wever+, 22ⁿᵈ January
"A stiver to be stopped from each man for having his hatt cocked,
which the Major hopes the men wont be against paying as it is for
their own advantage.
"+Wever+, 25 January.
"The Troops to send the Bread waggons for their Hatts and Gloves on
Monday next, and no man to presume to alter the Cock, otherwise it
will be done over again, and he be obliged to pay every time it is
not in shape.
"+Tule+, 6 January
"George. Farrier of Captain Douglas's Troop to be sent to Head
Quarters to cock all the New Hats.
"The men not to dispose of their old Hats, as they will serve for
the Nosebags.
"+Wever+ 27 January
"+Engern+ 21 March 1759
"+Neider Meiser+ 22 "
"+Ober Velner+ 24 "
"+Rangershausen+ 26 "
"+Hanven+ 27 " Tuesday
(Buff caps sold here)
"+Herschfeld+ 28 "
"+Grebenan+ 29 "
"+Affhausen+ 30 "
"+Ofhausen+ 1 April, Sunday
" " 4 "
" " 5 "
" " 6 "
" " 7 "
" " 8 " Sunday
" " 9 "
"+Richlos+ 10 "
"+Heldenbergen+ 12 "
(13th fighting.)
"+Wendroken Camp+ 14 "
"+Waryenburn+ 15 April 1759
"+Bergesernesde+ 17 April
"+Neidierbessingen+ 18 "
(19th fighting.)
"+Alsfelt+ 20 "
"+Gabersdorff+ 22 " Sunday
"+Neidzuren+ 27 " Friday
"+Neiderzueren+ 29 April 1759
"+Steinhausen+ 17 May
"+Beringbrocet+ 19 "
"+Beren Broick+ 21 "
"+Gronenberg+ 26 "
"+Werle Camp+ 7 June.
" " " 9 "
"It is Lord George Sackville's orders that for the future, the
officers and men of the Cavalry carry their swords upright, with
the hilt resting on the Right Pistol, that the Regiment march by
Sub-Divisions, and the officers strictly keep their posts. These to
be standing orders for the whole British cavalry for the future.
"+Toest Camp+ 11 June
"+Aurnchte Camp+ 13 "
"+Brink Camp+ 15 "
"+Overhagen Camp+ 19 "
"+Ritberg Camp+ 22 "
"+Marienvelt Camp+ 30 "
"+Disson Camp+ 3 July
"+Osneburg Camp+ 8 "
"+Stoltzenaw+ 15 "
"+Hilbs Camp+ 31 "
"+Petershagen Camp+ 23 "
"From the "London Gazette," Saturday, September 6th, 1760.
"+Hague+, Septr. 1st.
"By the last letters from Prince Ferdinand's Army, which are of
the 28th past, we have received information that the French under
Marshall Broglio, left their camp upon the Dymel in the night
between the 21st and 22nd, marching off by their right, and that
the Hereditary Prince crossed that river on the 22nd at the head
of 12,000 men, in order to gain the left flank of the enemy. That
the advanced troops of that corps came up with their rearguard near
Zierenberg; and that, after the light troops on each side had been
engaged with different success, the Hereditary Prince arrived in
person with the Greys and Iniskilling Dragoons, supported by the
English Grenadiers, and put an end to the affair in a quarter of an
hour, by forcing the enemy to a precipitate flight with great loss."
The "London Gazette," Saturday, September 13th, to Tuesday,
September 16th, 1760.
"Prince Ferdinand's Head Quarters at Buhne, Sept. 9.
"On the 5th past, a very considerable body of the enemy, amounting
to 20,000 men and upwards, attempted to make a general forage in
the neighbourhood of Geismar; But Prince Ferdinand, having received
previous intelligence of their design, crossed the Dymel early
in the morning of that day, and went in person with a corps of
troops to oppose them; and though His Serene Highness was much
inferior in number to the French, yet he took his precautions so
well, by occupying some advantageous heights, and placing artillery
there, that he rendered the enemy's attempt totally ineffectual,
notwithstanding a large portion of their Army was in motion to
cover the foragers.
"On the morning of that day likewise, the Hereditary Prince
(upon intelligence that the volunteers of Clermont and Dauphiné,
consisting each, when compleat, of 600 Horse and 600 foot, were
cantoned at Zierenberg; and, from the very small distance of the
French camp at Dierenberg, thought themselves in perfect security)
went from his camp at Warbourg to Maltzberg, which is not much more
than a league from Zierenberg, without seeing any of their Posts,
or meeting any of their Patroles. This made His Serene Highness
resolve on an attempt to surprise them; for which purpose he
ordered five Battalions, a Detachment of 150 Highlanders under the
command of Captain McLeon, and eight squadrons of Dragoons to be
ready to march at eight at night.
"They left their tents standing, and passed the Dymel near
Warbourg; Maxwell's Battalion of Grenadiers, the Detachment of
Highlanders, and Kingsley's Regiment, forming the Head of the
Column. These were followed by two other Battalions of Grenadiers
and by Block's Regiment. The eight squadrons of Dragoons were
Block's, the Greys, and Iniskillings. At the village of Witzen,
about a league on the other side of the Dymel, we found all the
light troops, which were under Major Bulow's command, and whose
destination was to turn the town of Zierenberg, and to take post
between it and Durenberg, in order to intercept whoever should
attempt passing to the enemy's Camp. At the entrance of a large
wood, near Maltzberg, the Greys and Iniskillings were posted.
At Maltzberg, a Battalion of Grenadiers. The other Battalion of
Grenadiers, the regiment of Block, and Block's Dragoons, were
posted at proper distances between Maltzberg and Zierenberg to
cover us, in case we had been repulsed and pursued. At a mill,
about two English miles from the town and within sight of the fires
of the enemy's grand guards, Maxwell's Grenadiers took one Road,
Kingsley's Regiment and the Detachment of Highlanders another.
When we came within less than half a mile of the Town the vedettes
of their grand guards challenged us, but did not push forward to
reconnoitre us. Our men marched in the most profound silence.
In a few minutes we saw the fires of their piquets, which they
had posted close to the Town. The noise of our trampling over
gardens gave them the alarm, and they began to fire; upon which
our Grenadiers, who had marched with unloaded firelocks (as had
been agreed on), ran on towards the town, pushed the Piquets, and
having killed the guard at the gate, rushed into the Town, and
drove everything before them. Never was a more compleat surprize.
The attack was so sudden, that the enemy had not time to get
together in any numbers, but began to fire at us from the windows;
upon which our men rushed into the houses, and for some time made
a severe use of their Bayonets. They afterwards loaded and killed
a great many of the enemy, who had mounted their horses. It was
about two in the morning when we got into the Town, and about
three the Prince ordered the Retreat, after we had taken M. de
Norman, Brigadier, who commanded the volunteers of Dauphiné, and
M. de Comeiras, Colonel of those of Clermont, with about 40 more
officers and 300 private men. The number of killed and wounded is
very considerable, from an ill-judged resistance of those who were
in the houses; but in justice to our men, it must be said that
they gave quarter to all who asked it; and there are several noble
instances of their refusing to take money from their prisoners, who
offered them their purses. General Griffin, who went into the Town
at the head of Kingsley's Regiment, received a thrust in the breast
with a Bayonet (as it is supposed from one of our own people) upon
hearing him talk French to a soldier whom he had seized, and who
would not quit his firelock, but the wound is a very slight one.
What makes this affair the more satisfactory is that it has not
cost us ten men, which is wonderful in a night attack, where we
might have expected to have lost more by our own mistaking friends
for foes.
"The behaviour of the Officers and the bravery of the Troops upon
this occasion deserve the greatest commendation. Lord George Lennox
was a volunteer in this expedition, and had his horse wounded under
him by a shot from a window. With our prisoners we brought off two
pieces of cannon, and had we had time to search the houses the
number of our prisoners would have been doubled; but as day was
coming on, and we might have been cut off from Warburg, we returned
the same way we came, and arrived there at eight in the morning of
the 6th without being at all molested."
In 1763 a treaty of peace was signed, and as early as February, 1763,
the Greys quitted Germany, and marching through Holland, embarked at
Williamstadt in North Brabant, landed at Gravesend, and proceeded to
Hereford. Soon the light troop, which had remained in England, was
disbanded, but 8 men per troop were now equipped as Light Dragoons.
The establishment was reduced to 213 men! In November the Regiment
marched to Scotland, and were stationed at Dalkeith and Musselburgh;
but soon returned South, and in 1764 were stationed at Manchester and
Warrington. In April, 1765, they marched to Worcester and Pershore. In
1766 they went to Sussex.
At this date "Drummers," who had been on the establishment from the
foundation of the Corps, were ordered to be replaced by "Trumpeters."
In May, 1767, the Regiment marched to Canterbury, and in the winter of
1768 it was in winter cantonments in Lincoln and Boston.
In 1769 they went to Scotland, returning the next year to Warwick,
Lichfield and Stratford-upon-Avon.
The greater part of 1771 was spent in cantonments in Dorsetshire and
Somersetshire. In 1772 the Regiment was stationed at Canterbury,
with detachments on coast duty in Kent. In May, 1773, it marched
into quarters at Greenwich and the neighbouring villages; and on May
22nd King George the Third reviewed the Greys,--expressing his high
admiration of the Regiment's appearance and discipline.
The newspapers of the time describe the day as particularly fine, and
allude to the great crowds assembled to witness "the martial appearance
and correct manœuvring of this gallant old corps."
The Regiment now went to Ipswich and Bury St. Edmund's, and in the
autumn extended its quarters to Norwich. In 1774 it marched to York,
and again sent detachments on coast duty. In the spring of 1775 it
marched again North, and remained in Scotland until April, 1776.
After this it spent 11 months in Lancashire. Next the Regiment went
to Worcester for a summer station, passing the autumn in Gloucester,
Tewkesbury, Pershore, and Ludlow.
In 1778, when the War of Independence broke out, no heavy cavalry corps
were sent to North America; but the establishment of the Greys was
increased by some 250 men and horses, and 48 of these were equipped as
Light Dragoons. The "light" part of the Regiment now consisted of 6
sergeants, 6 corporals, and 84 private men; and in April, 1779, these
light horsemen were incorporated, with detachments from the 7th, 15th
and 16th Dragoons, into a Regiment which was numbered 21st Dragoons.
During the summer of 1779 the Greys were encamped on Salisbury Plain,
and other Dragoon Regiments with them. In November the Regiment went
into quarters at Marlborough, Chippenham, Colne, and Malmesbury.
In the autumn of 1780 they marched into Worcestershire.
In January, 1781, two troops requisitioned by magistrates on account
of disturbances, marched to Ludlow. In June the Regiment marched into
Dorsetshire.
In 1782 the Regiment was at Durham, and in 1783 went north to Scotland.
In this year, peace having been made with the United States of America,
the Regiment's establishment was reduced to 232 all told.
In 1784 they marched south, and were stationed 11 months in Manchester.
In April, 1785, they went to Worcester.
In the summer of 1786 they occupied extensive cantonments in
Dorsetshire, and early in 1787 four troops were called in to aid the
civil power in Wiltshire. In June the Regiment marched into quarters in
Hampshire.
In April, 1788, they were in quarters near Hounslow, and thence went
to Ipswich, removing in the summer of 1789 to Nottinghamshire and
Lincolnshire. Early in 1790 the Regiment marched into Yorkshire; from
there 3 troops were soon sent to Newcastle-on-Tyne, and in September
the other 3 troops marched to Durham. In the spring of 1791 they
marched to Scotland, returning in the spring of 1792, and quartering in
Lancashire. In December, 1792, an increase of 60 men was ordered.
The French Revolution having broken out, the Regiment was, in 1793,
made up to 9 troops of 54 non-commissioned officers and men each; and
soon 4 troops were ordered to be held perfectly ready for foreign
service.
On January 20th, 1793, Louis the Sixteenth was murdered. The French
envoy was at once ordered to leave England, and on February the 3rd the
Convention declared war against England. The French attacked Holland,
and a united British and Hanoverian force, commanded by the Duke of
York, went to the help of the Dutch.
On July the 9th, 1793, 4 troops of the Greys embarked at Blackwall for
Flanders. The rest were left at Worcester, Tewkesbury and neighbouring
towns. The 4 troops landed at Ostend on July 16th, and marching towards
France joined the army laying siege to Valenciennes. After Valenciennes
had been taken, they were at first occupied in covering the siege of
Dunkirk; but this was soon abandoned, and they were next occupied near
Lisle, and made a successful charge against some French cavalry on the
heights of Cateau Cambresis. In November the 4 troops marched to Ghent.
The 5 troops remaining in England were increased to 80 men each.
In February, 1794, the 4 troops quitted Ghent for Beveren.
On April the 17th, after joining the army on the plains of Cateau, they
supported the infantry attack on the villages of Vaux and Prêmont.
At day-break on May the 10th, the army was in position on the heights
in front of Tournay, the Greys being formed in column of troops behind
the left wing. The Bays, Greys, and Inniskilling Dragoons forming one
brigade, advanced in open column of half-squadrons, with the Duke of
York at their head; on approaching the enemy they formed line under a
heavy cannonade and charged.
The following is in the Honourable J. W. Fortescue's account, Vol. IV.,
p. 249, of his splendid new _History of the British Army_:--
"At last, however, a little to the south of Willems, the battalion-guns
of the British infantry came up and opened fire, when the French, after
receiving a few shots, began to waver. The squadrons again charged,
and an officer of the Greys, galloping straight at the largest of
the squares, knocked down three men as he rode into it, wheeled his
horse round and overthrew six more, and thus made a gap for the entry
of his men. The sight of one square broken and dispersed demoralised
the remainder of the French. Two more squares were ridden down, and
for the third time the British sabres had free play among the French
infantry.... Not for eighteen years was the British Cavalry destined
again to ride over French battalions as they rode on this day; and
then Stapleton Cotton was fated once more to be present, leading not a
squadron of Carabiniers, but a whole division of horse to the charge at
Salamanca. But the 10th of May 1794 is chiefly memorable as marking the
date on which the new French infantry showed itself not unworthy of the
old."
In November, 1795, the 4 troops of Greys embarked at Bremen for England
and landed at South Shields on Christmas Eve. From here they went to
Northallerton, and in February, 1796, joined the rest of the Regiment
at Canterbury.
In July of this year the Regiment was encamped near Weymouth; in
September it went into quarters at Dorchester, Bridport, Weymouth, and
Wareham.
Late in 1797 the Regiment marched to Nottingham, Loughborough,
Leicester, and Ashby-de-la-Zouch; in July, 1798, it was encamped
in Windsor Forest, and in September went from there to Birmingham,
Coventry, and Lichfield.
In the summer of 1799 the Regiment went to Dorchester, Bridport, and
Weymouth. A ninth troop was now added, and in April, 1800, a tenth was
added. A force called the Fencible Cavalry was disbanded, and from it
81 men, with 220 horses, were drafted to the Greys.
In October, 1800, the Regiment marched to Salisbury, Southampton,
Blandford, Rumsey, and Portsmouth.
In 1801 the Greys marched to Dorchester.
Now came the inevitable policy of parsimony, and no war being on hand,
the Greys establishment was reduced to 8 troops of 29 officers, 8
quarter-masters, 28 sergeants, 8 trumpeters, and 480 rank and file,
including 10 dismounted men in each troop.
In July, 1802, the Regiment marched to Croydon, Rumsey, and Eastbourne.
The folly of reduction was now shown. War opened with France again in
1803, and the Regiment's strength was brought up to 10 troops. Its
efficiency was also promoted by adding 3 captains, and thus releasing
the field officers from the charge of troops. The establishment now
became 51 officers, 10 quarter-masters, 54 sergeants, 10 trumpeters,
and 1,000 rank and file.
In June, 1803, the Regiment marched to Canterbury, staying there nearly
two years, the period when Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France,
was hourly expected to attempt an attack on our coast.
In May of 1805 the Greys marched to Ipswich and Colchester.
On Thursday, January 9th, 1806, Lord Nelson was buried in St. Paul's
Cathedral, and two squadrons of the Greys took part in the procession
on this occasion.
Soon afterwards the Regiment marched into Yorkshire and
Northumberland; and the talk of invasion having passed off, the
Regiment was once more reduced, and the establishment became 40
officers, 10 quarter-masters, and 854 non-commissioned officers and men.
In January, 1807, the Regiment marched to Scotland. In June, 1808, the
Regiment sailed to Ireland. In June, 1809, an alteration was made by
substituting a regimental quarter-master and 10 troop sergeant-majors,
in the place of the 10 troop quarter-masters.
In 1810 the Regiment sailed from Dublin for England, and now
occupied quarters in Yorkshire and Lancashire. In the spring of 1813
the quarters of the Regiment were extended to Leicestershire and
Derbyshire. Two troops were left at Birmingham, and in December 8
troops marched to Canterbury, remaining there and at Dover, Deal, and
Hythe.
The following account relates to the review in Hyde Park before the
Prince Regent, the King of Prussia, and the Czar of Russia, on June
21st, 1814, and is from _The Times_ of Wednesday, the 23rd:--
"It is little less than impossible to keep pace in the public
journals with all the movements of the illustrious personages
now in the British metropolis, or to describe the affectionate
zeal with which they are received.... Our army has now, with
great reason, become as much our boast as our navy, and therefore
the display of its merits--of the persons, the horses, the
accoutrements, of its component parts--ought to excite as great an
interest as the exhibition of our ships of war and their equipages.
Their Majesties, we have reason to believe, were as highly
gratified by the review as British hearts could wish. A detachment
of the Greys attended the great potentates, accompanied by the
Hetman Platoff and a small detachment of Cossacks.
"They were received with the loudest shouts by the populace.
The Prince Regent, who was accompanied on one side by the King
of Prussia, and on the other by the Emperor of Russia, was
greeted with high applause. He was followed by Blucher and a most
magnificent staff, superbly attired."
In July, 1814, the Regiment was reduced to 8 troops, amounting to 584
officers and men, including 16 dismounted men for each troop. In a few
months the Regiment went into winter quarters at Bristol and Trowbridge.
Early in 1815 Napoleon was once more in France, and the Greys
establishment was again made up to 10 troops, comprising in all 946
officers and men. Six troops were to be held in readiness to go abroad,
and the other four were marched to Ipswich.
CHAPTER IV.
Before giving the several interesting contemporary records of 1815 in
possession of the Regiment, allusion must be made to the two touching
original records now belonging to the Regiment, relating to Colonel
Hamilton, the commanding officer killed at Waterloo. One is a letter
of May 15th, 1793, acquainting a Mr. Anderson that "the King had been
pleased to appoint Jamie a cornet in the Royal North British Dragoons."
The other letter is dated July 10th, 1815, and is from James Swan, 53,
York Place, Edinburgh, to Mr. McLachlane, Writer, Glasgow. The letter
records Colonel Hamilton's (son Jamie's) death.
A folio volume, lettered outside:--
"Royal Scots Greys, Waterloo, 18th June, 1815, letters, etc.,
connected with Lieutenant-Colonel Inglis Hamilton, who was killed
in action, in command of the regiment at Waterloo."
Inside is:--
"The letters in this book relating to the history of
Lieutenant-Colonel Inglis Hamilton were presented to the officers
of the Regiment, on the occasion of the celebration of the
Bicentenary of the raising of the Regiment, on the 18th of June,
1881, by the family of the late Peter Mackenzie, Esq., author of
the 'Reminiscences of Glasgow.' The papers were entrusted to the
charge of Mr. Mackenzie by the sisters of Lieut.-Colonel Hamilton.
"+John W. Hozier+, Lieut.-Colonel.
"Commanding Scots Greys."
"Royal Barracks, Dublin,
"18th June, 1881."
"This book in which the papers are now preserved, was presented by
Lieutenant-Colonel Hozier."
"Major-General Hamilton has to acquaint Mr. Anderson that he
received on Sunday night a card from Lord Amherst, acquainting him
that the King had been pleased to appoint Jamie a cornet in the
Royal North British Dragoons, at the same time his Lordship called
him James Hamilton. How this has happened he cannot say, as the
General has received no explanation, but can assure Mr. Anderson
that he gave in his name when in London to the Secretary at War
Jas. Anderson; he likewise gave in his name on Watson's return from
Glasgow, my godson James Anderson, since which he has heard little
until last night, but has wrote this day.
"If the nomination is given in and past recall, the General hopes
that Mr. Anderson will agree to it, as it must be of such advantage
to the young man. Besides, he has to acquaint Mr. Anderson that he
always intended to leave Jamie something handsome at his death, on
condition that he bore his name, and will condescend to say, if
agreed to, that the annual rent in money, bondes, or stock shall
exceed the rents of Murdiestone when the General's father changed
his name from Hamilton to Inglis, by virtue of the testator's will.
"The General wishes that Mr. Anderson will observe that this
is every day done both in North and South Britain, and was the
constant practice among the ancients. On these considerations, and
seeing it will save a thousand pounds and enable him to assist
Willie and John, which it is the General's purpose to do, he hopes
that Mr. Anderson will cheerfully acquiss."
"Murdiestone, 20th May, 1793."
The above letter bears the following most pathetic endorsement:--
"MEMOR.
"J. A.--15th May, 1793.
"A cornet 2 Dragoons.
"July 11th, '93. Parted with son James half past five o'clock
night, at Lark-hall. He was then aged 16 years and seven days. I
walked to Hamilton that night with a heart full of grief."
The following letter, addressed:--
"Mr. +H. McLachlane+, Writer, Glasgow.
"Edʳ., 53, York Place,
"10 July, 1815.
"+Sir+,--I recd. your letter of the 7th inst. and with reference
to a letter I wrote Mr. Une not knowing the address of my lamented
friend Col. Hamilton's sister, I beg leave to inform you that with
deep regret I have ascertained the intelligence of the Col.'s
death to be correct. His bravery was most gallant throughout the
18th, and he was killed giving a word of command. Several accounts
agree that latterly in the action he was seen by his men _still_
commanding with both arms shot off, holding the reins of his
charger in his teeth. This must have been momentary desperation.
I saw a letter from an officer in the Greys (Gen. Hamilton of
Dalziel's son) stating that it was ascertained that on examining
Col. Hamilton's body previous to his burial on the field of battle
he had received a shot through his heart, and Sir James Stewart
showed me a letter from Col. Clark of the Greys mentioning that the
Colonel's body had been found and had been buried."
* * * * *
The letter is signed James Swan. In the margin Major +J. W. Hozier+ has
noted:--
"Trotter, son of Mr. Trotter of Worton Hall, Edinburgh."
Inserted in this volume are the leaves from "Good Words" of September
1st, 1866, containing "Two Glasgow Stories," "By the Editor."
"1. +James Anderson.+
"About ninety years ago the 21st, or North British Fusiliers, were
engaged in the American war, and fighting at Ticonderoga.... The
Fusiliers were then commanded by Colonel Inglis Hamilton, formerly
of the Scots Greys, who inherited from a long line of ancestors the
property of Murdiestoun, in the vicinity of Glasgow.
"William Anderson, a Glasgow man of excellent character, was a
private in the 21st, and rose to the rank of Sergeant-Major. He had
born to him in America two sons, James and John, and two daughters.
Having been wounded he was discharged with a pension, and with his
family settled in the Gallowgate of Glasgow.... Colonel Hamilton,
having attained the rank of Major-General, left the service, and
with an old sister resided at his estate of Murdiestoun.
"... One day the General driving in his carriage, saw to his
surprise, Sergeant-Major Anderson playing with his children on
the opposite side of the road, and no less to the surprise and
delight of the old Sergeant, he saw his General, and felt the grasp
of his affectionate hand. The children remembered the General,
who delighted with the appearance of James, seized him in his
arms and tossed him in the air, which so charmed the boy that he
exclaimed,--Do it again, General; please give me another toss
over your head. From that day the General's heart was knit to
Jamie Anderson. He showed the greatest kindness to all the family,
educating the boys in the grammar school, and afterwards at the
University; while the girls received the best teaching which the
boarding schools of Glasgow could then afford.
"James moreover was taught riding, a pony was provided for his
daily use; and Murdiestoun became his home almost as much as
the more humble, but not less happy and contented abode in the
Gallowgate. This kindness had a purpose in it. In carrying out this
purpose, the General obtained a commission for 'Jamie' as a Cornet
in the Scots Greys. The Secretary at War assumed the boy's name to
be Inglis Hamilton....
"Years passed. The Cornet behaved like an officer and a gentleman,
and was the pride of the old General, who had the satisfaction of
seeing him become Lieutenant-Colonel of his regiment, respected and
beloved by officers and men. The General in the meantime made his
will, leaving his property to James and his heirs male....
"The General died, and according to a request written by him
and placed in his prayer book, Jamie acted as chief mourner,
accompanied by the nobility and gentry of the county."
From a small unbound volume belonging to the Regiment:--
Copies of letters written just previous to the battle of Waterloo, by
F. C. Kinchant, Cornet, 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys); also one
describing his death by treachery during the battle, and the summary
revenge taken therefor by the sergeant of his troop.
The originals are addressed to John Rose Hall, Esq., Cockshut Lydiate,
Ludlow, Shropshire, England. They are now in the possession of Mrs.
McLaughlin, step-daughter of the above-mentioned John Rose Hall.
"+Bristol+, _March 28th, 1815_.
"+My Dear Hall+,
"I fear you have again an opportunity of calling me an idle
correspondent. I have certainly delayed writing to you much longer
than I intended. In truth my time is totally occupied in drills,
&c. three times a day, an hour and a half each. I rise every
morning at six and attend at the Riding School till nine.
"I have already made great progress in the equestrian art.
"I and a brother Cornet (junior to myself) perform together.
"The method of riding is altogether different to that of the
country squires. At present we ride without stirrups, in order
that we may obtain a firm seat. We must leap the bar, ditches and
go through all the different evolutions of the field exercise, &c.
without stirrups, indeed I find I can already ride better without
their support than with it. So much for horsemanship.
"The reason I have so much drilling is I much wish to go on service
and share the honours my comrades are likely to reap.
"We are in daily expectation of receiving orders to proceed to
Flanders.
"The Regiment is without doubt the best disciplined and the most
crack cavalry corps in the service. I don't think there is a
private in it under 5 feet 11 inches, and the officers are a fine
gentlemanly set of fellows. There are only three Scotchmen among
the officers, but the privates are in general Scotch.
"The horses are all grey and in excellent condition.
"Mine is two inches too low but the colonel has passed him for a
second charger. He has desired I will get one much stronger and
higher immediately as a first charger, but where I am to find a
horse of that description I am at a loss to know.
"It is the general opinion there will be more hard fighting and
more bloodshed than in any preceding war, as that arch fellow Bony
(who has been too deep for all our wise heads) will dispute every
inch of ground with the sword.
* * * * *
"Pray have you been to Easton lately? What does the old gent say of
the present appearance of things?
"If we go on service I shall be obliged to call on him for a
further advance of cash, as I shall have to purchase many essential
though expensive articles, such as tent and tent equipage, &c., and
many other things necessary for service.
"Our dress altogether is extremely rich and consequently costs lots
of money. The Court dress coat alone is 40 guineas. It is covered
with lace from head to foot. The jackets are handsome, but they
only cost £15 15_s._ each. Every other part of the equipment is
equally as expensive.
"In fact we make a most dashing appearance. I should like much to
meet the old Buck at Bath or Clifton. I do not think he would know
his hopeful son....
"Believe me my dear John your sincerely attached friend
"+F. C. Kinchant.+"
"In great haste. Pray write soon and don't follow my example. Burn
this scrawl when read!"
(Thus ends the first letter, and let us rejoice that it was not burnt.)
"+Bristol+, _April 6th, 1815_.
"+My Dear John+,
"I have only time to tell you that we received orders yesterday to
hold ourselves in perfect readiness for foreign service.
"To-day another order arrived for the regiment to proceed to North
Fleet (about 30 miles below London) and there embark for the
Continent. It will be about seven days' march from hence to North
Fleet. The order and march came so near together that most of us
are unprovided with tents, camp equipage, canteens, &c., all
which necessaries I must order from London to meet me by the time
I arrive at North Fleet. We have been long expecting this move.
Since I joined I have not had a spare half hour. Three drills a
day on horseback and on foot I assure you did not a little fatigue
my bones. However, I trust I am now a tolerable good match for a
Frenchman.
"The Regiment is in the finest condition and in the highest spirits
and most anxious for an opportunity to distinguish itself.
"Believe me, &c.,
"+F. C. Kinchant+.
"We shall have seven days' march--the first day from hence to
Chippenham,
the next Marlbro',
" Newbury,
" Reading,
" Staines,
" Camberwell,
" Gravesend.
"In greatest haste."
* * * * *
"+Ghent+, _April 23rd, 1815_.
"+My Dear John+,
"I have taken the earliest opportunity to inform you of my arrival
as far as this place. I should have written sooner, but my time
has been most fully engaged since we landed. We are quartered for
a day or two in a village contiguous to this town, are in hourly
expectation of receiving orders to proceed to the frontiers to join
the army under the Duke of Wellington. There are an immense number
of troops daily arriving, and the united forces of the Allies, will
it is stated, in a short time amount to 900,000 men.
"We are here quite ignorant of the politics of the country. Nothing
is said of Buonaparte, but he has doubtless many adherents in
Flanders. Deserters from his army are constantly coming into Ghent.
They state that they receive neither their rations nor pay. Some of
the inhabitants seem well inclined towards the English and are what
may be termed hospitable, but adieu to English comforts.
"We embarked at Gravesend on the 15th, sailed on the 16th, and
reached Ostend on the 19th. We had a rough passage the last day and
night--the wind blowing hard right in our teeth, with snow storms.
Many of the horses were a good deal bruised, but none sustained any
material injury. We expect some hard fighting before the business
will be settled. Never was a Regiment in better condition for
service than this, both in men and appointments.
"Louis the Eighteenth is here. He keeps himself closely shut up,
and is at present in an ill state of health.
"I am, my dear John, your ever attached friend,
"+F. C. Kinchant+."
* * * * *
"+Denderhanten, near Gramont+,
"_May 21st, --15._
"+My Dear John+,
"Week after week has passed without my having the gratification of
hailing your long expected, most welcome letter. I assure you I
am most anxious to hear from you, having as yet received only one
letter from old England....
"My father has not yet replied to the letters I sent him from
Bristol, but my sister says he intends advancing the money I
applied for. I shall therefore write to him very soon on the
subject as my last bills are unpaid in London for camp equipage,
&c., and the tradesmen are continually dunning for their accounts
to be settled. Exchange between this country and England is
extremely low, only 17⅓ francs for a Bank of England £1. I shall
therefore have as little money as possible sent here. We, however,
do not expect to receive any pay for four months. The Regiment has
been here about a fortnight. It is a miserable small village, not
large enough to contain one troop. The remainder, officers and
men, are quartered at cottages in the neighbourhood. A pig-sty in
England is a palace to my quarters. Hosts of lice, bugs, fleas, and
filth of every description, abound in a most extraordinary degree
in all the habitations of these dirty vagabonds. To counteract,
however, as much as possible, the unpleasant effects of sleeping
in such a dirty hut, I have pitched my tent and sleep quite
comfortably _su Dio_, in a green field totally independent of the
above-mentioned black backed gentry.
"The men and women are very plain, with mouths that reach from ear
to ear, and are extremely ignorant. It is with great difficulty I
can make them understand my wants as few can speak French, nothing
but the Flemish is spoken among the lower classes. The only answer
I can ever obtain is "yaw," in English, "yes."
"To-morrow we are again reviewed, for the fourth time since we
landed, by the Earl of Uxbridge, who commands the English cavalry,
and on Wednesday this regiment will be inspected by the Prince of
Orange and a Prussian General. I assure you we are considered the
finest cavalry corps on the continent. Every one wishes to see us,
and all the Generals that have reviewed us, speak in the highest
possible terms of the excellent appearance and condition of the men
and horses. A Prussian General expressed a wish to see an English
Dragoon Regiment, the Greys were immediately brought forward as a
specimen. In fact we have every compliment paid us.
"A few years ago the Regiment behaved most gallantly in this
country in several actions and I think it is probable they will
distinguish themselves in this campaign, for I never saw men more
anxious for an opportunity. You may perhaps think I speak with
partiality, but I assure you what I have expressed is the real
matter of fact. We are within about 35 miles of the French army--a
day's march.
"The English army will not advance till the Russians, Cossacks,
&c., come up. There are a great number of Prussian, Hanoverian and
Belgic troops in this neighbourhood.
"I am sorry to hear old Blucher has been insulted by some Saxon
troops. He is a gallant old cock.
"Whatever the newspapers say of the increasing popularity of the
Bourbons, you have no idea how much Bonaparte is adored by the
lower order. There is scarce a house here from which there is
not one or two young men now serving in the French army, and the
deserters are by no means so numerous as the papers would persuade
us.
"The French are collecting a very large force on the frontiers. At
Lisle they have near 40,000 men, at Valenciennes and other places
they are also very strong. It is the unanimous opinion of the army
that we shall have some very hard fighting before we reach Paris.
Much will depend on the first battle. It is generally supposed we
shall advance in the course of a week and that hostilities will
commence immediately.
"I trust the next time I write to you we shall be on the road to
the French Capital.
"I am sorry to say the horse I bought in London has turned out very
bad. I shall be obliged to send to England for another. The grey
I took from Easton is a very promising horse, but is rather too
slight for my weight.
"I must now bid you adieu.
"Give my kindest regards to all the family at Cockshut.
"+F. C. Kinchant.+"
* * * * *
"_July 2nd, 1817._
"+Dear Sir+,
"In the course of a short excursion which I was obliged to make
last week thro' the lower part of Lancashire, I met at the Rectory
house, Middleton, with Dr. Hardie, a young Scotch physician of
considerable eminence in his profession at Manchester, where he
practises. The battle of Waterloo being accidentally mentioned,
Dr. H. amused myself and the rest of the party after supper with
various anecdotes of the gallantry and success of Sergeant Ewart
of the Scots Greys, who performed prodigies of valour on that day
and whose good fortune it was to be the captor of one of the three
French Eagles that were taken during the battle.
"To a remark made by one of the party that he supposed Ewart
must be very proud of the honour of having taken a French Eagle,
Dr. H. observed that he always seemed to speak of it with much
indifference, and that when once asked the name of the regiment
to which the Eagle belonged, he answered, with much sangfroid,
'The Invincible or the like.' The only exploit, Dr. H. observed in
continuance, of which Ewart appears to be proud, is the summary
revenge which he had an opportunity of taking for the death of Mr.
Kinchant, who was the cornet of his own troop.... On the morning
of the 18th, a little before 12 o'clock, the Scots Greys were
ordered to charge a body of French infantry at some distance,
which order they instantly proceeded to execute in a column of two
deep, Sergeant Ewart in this charge being the front man of Cornet
Kinchant. Ewart, on reaching the enemy, immediately singled out
a French officer, whom, from being a very expert swordsman, he
soon disarmed and was on the point of cutting him down, when Mr.
Kinchant, on hearing the officer crying out, 'Ah, mercy, mercy,
Angleterre,' said, 'Sergeant, Sergeant, spare his life, and let
us take him prisoner.' Ewart considering that moment as a period
for slaughter and destruction, and not the proper time for taking
prisoners, replied, 'As it is your wish, sir, it shall be done.'
(I ought to have said that the French officer, prior to Mr. K.'s
address to the Sergeant, had cried that he had surrendered and
was their prisoner and had dropped his sabre.) Mr. K. to whom the
French officer had delivered up his sword, addressed him in French
and ordered him to move to the rear. Ewart was preparing to proceed
in the charge when he heard the report of a pistol behind him, and
turning round, from a suspicion of some treachery, the first object
which met his eye was Mr. K. falling backwards over his horse,
apparently in a lifeless state, and the French officer attempting
to hide his pistol under his coat. Indignant at such a dastardly
act, Ewart instantly wheeled round, and was again entreated by this
villain for mercy in the same supplicating terms as before. The
only answer which he returned was, 'Ask mercy of God, for the deil
a bit will ye get at my hands,' and with one stroke of his sabre,
severed his head from his body, leaving it a lifeless trunk on the
field of battle."
[Illustration:
+Charles Ewart+, Serjeant in the +SCOTS GREYS+.
_CARRYING OFF THE_ =EAGLE= _BELONGING TO_
+ONE OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED DIVISIONS+
of the
+FRENCH INFANTRY+.
at the
BATTLE OF WATERLOO:
_Which he captured in a CHARGE made by his REGIMENT about the
middle of the Action._
_From a Contemporary Print._]
[Illustration: +The Grave of Ewart, who captured the Eagle at
Waterloo.+]
From a small volume lettered outside:--
"Extracts from a journal kept during the Waterloo campaign, by
Lieutenant Archibald James Hamilton, of the 2nd or Royal North
British Dragoons, presented to the Officers of the Royal Scots
Greys by Major John G. C. Hamilton, M.P., of Dalzell, Lanarkshire,
on the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, 1881."
* * * * *
"This is a portion of the Journal of my father, Archibald James
Hamilton, who was a Lieutenant in the Scots Greys during the
Waterloo campaign."
* * * * *
"We were quartered in small villages between Brussels and Ghent,
and chiefly in farm houses.
"I went to bed in my farm house about twelve o'clock on the night
of the 15th of June 1815, and was scarcely asleep when the trumpets
sounded the turn out: in an instant we were out of bed, the clothes
out of the washtub, and in a short time we were ready to march:
long indeed before orders came to tell us to what point our march
was to be directed. At length an order came which directed us to
proceed to Ninove, where we should receive further orders. We
were soon there: but the day was gone, and it was dark, and the
firing had entirely ceased before we reached the army, having been
repeatedly halted on the road during the day, from an apparent want
of knowing where to go, and at a time too when the French Cavalry
were charging our Infantry with considerable and unusual success.
"We encamped in a clover field for the night. A few of us went to
a village not far off, which had been completely plundered: we
there met with some soldiers of the Highland Brigade, who gave us
a most dismal account of the manner in which the French Cavalry
had attacked them on the previous day. Never having before seen
our army other than victorious, we felt rather dispirited at
these accounts, and had not Buonaparte, with his characteristic
selfishness, sent for the division which ought to have supported
Ney, and which division never fired a shot during the day, there
can be little doubt that the battle, instead of being a drawn one,
must have turned out positive, and with the aid of his cavalry,
of which we had none, Napoleon would have completely defeated the
allied troops.
"On this day Buonaparte kept his own opposed to our army,
notwithstanding he neutralized one of his whole divisions, and he
totally defeated the Russian army with a loss, according to their
own accounts, of twenty-five thousand men, as their total loss as
returned by themselves was upwards of thirty-three thousand: and
they could not at Wavre and Waterloo have lost five thousand men.
"The next morning we received orders to retire, and to cover the
retreat of the army into the lines at Mont St. Jean. The infantry
retired by the high road: the cavalry were formed in line: and the
different brigades fronted alternately to prevent the advance of
the enemy's cavalry and cannon.
"Notwithstanding the torrents of rain which fell, the French
continued to press us closely: their light cavalry charged ours
on the road and drove them back: when Lord Uxbridge, seeing them
do so, charged at the head of a regiment of the Life Guards and
completely upset them, they being unable to stand against the
superior weight of the men and horse of the household troops. At
this moment it rained in such a way as I never saw either before
or since: it rained as if the water were tumbled out of tubs:
there was also a good deal of thunder with it. Some of the hussars
that were driven in upon us were so covered with mud that it was
impossible to distinguish their features. The ground was so soft
that at every step our horses sank half way to the knees: and
in several places, in our passing over fallow land, it had the
appearance of a lake, the rain falling upon it faster than it
could either be absorbed or run off. It continued to rain and we
to retire till we halted for the night in the position of Mont St.
Jean: we were placed in bivouac at the distance of three hundred
yards from the front of a farm house which lay between us and the
village of Waterloo. The firing of cannon continued till it was
dark: but as it was on the other side of the hill we saw nothing
of what passed, hearing merely the cannonade. It continued to rain
and thunder during the whole of the night: being hungry and cold,
and wet through to the skin, we passed a most wretched night: the
ground upon which we lay was a fallow upon which it was impossible
to lie: we therefore obtained some straw at the farm house: we
found there also some wood with which we made a fire, although from
the rain it was difficult to keep it burning....
"In spite of the rain we slept pretty soundly, lying at our horses'
heads, they being formed in line, and linked together, but we were
repeatedly awoke during the night, by their taking fright at the
lightning and thunder, at the same time advancing over us! but no
one was hurt! and as the nights in the middle of summer are short,
we arose with the day break: a miserable looking set of creatures
we all were--covered with mud from head to foot--our white belts
dyed with the red from our jackets, as if we had already completed
the sanguinary work, which we were soon about to begin.
"(Sir W. Ponsonby) the General who commanded the brigade, had also
commanded our brigade in the Peninsula, and as I was the only
subaltern in it whom he knew, he asked me to be with him on the
17th and on this day also. This was just what I wished, for a man
sees more, and suffers less in action when on the Staff, than with
a regiment, being obliged in the latter case to stand still and be
shot at, while in the former he is constantly on the alert carrying
orders, and seeing and hearing everything that is going on.
"When the General appeared on the ground I joined him, his
Aide-de-Camp being at Brussels, whither the General had sent
him, not expecting the action to begin so early if at all that
day: his major of brigade and an officer who acted as _extra
Aide-de-Camp_, were however with him.
"We proceeded, after we had looked at the brigade, to the top of
the hill, leaving the brigade drawn up close at the bottom of
it. When we reached the summit we found the Duke of Richmond and
one of his sons, as amateurs in plain clothes, with a number of
officers, having their glasses on the look out for the Prussians:
but we could see nothing of them, although we were on the extreme
left of our army. Someone thought he saw a Prussian picquet at
the foot of some trees near a wood, and for a time we were all of
the same opinion--so fondly do people's hopes make things appear
in the desired light: but there was no Prussian picquet, and
the whole party seemed much dispirited. At this moment occurred
a circumstance not mentioned by any writer whose account of
the battle of Waterloo I have read: Buonaparte appeared in the
front of his troops, and the loudest cheering began on the left
of the French, and ran along their whole line. I confess that I
never before felt so disheartened: it had evidently a powerful
effect upon all present, but not one of our party said a word
about it: nor was any attempt at a reply to it made on our side,
by the troops near us: they were however chiefly Belgians, with
the Highland Brigade, and some of the other regiments, which had
suffered severely on the 16th.
"At this time we did not know whether we were to fight that day or
not: for having retired the whole of the day before, we thought as
the Prussians were not to be seen, that we should again retreat,
and seeing, or rather hearing by their shouts, that the French were
in such spirits, ours were not enlivened by the circumstance, but
the very reverse.
"However, immediately afterwards the cannonade began on the right
and increased every minute, till it was opposite to us, a gentle
breeze wafting the smoke of the French guns towards us, which
wholly prevented our seeing anything in front of us. Our brigade
continued drawn up at the bottom of the hill, and I was sent to
desire the commanding officers of the different regiments to draw
them up as close to the hill as possible, as they began to suffer
both from shells and shot, the effects of the cannonade....
"The cannonade now greatly increased, and under cover of the
smoke from both their cannon and our own, the French advanced the
division the Count D'Erbon,[2] who had by this time got close
to our infantry, who opened their fire upon them: but the enemy
much more powerful in numbers continued to push on. Our general
observing what was about to take place, immediately sent me down
to bring up the brigade with all speed. I did so: the general met
us just before we reached the summit of the hill: had we been five
minutes later, it would have been too late to have effected what
we did, as the French had charged our infantry with the bayonet,
who fled through the intervals of our squadrons, but immediately
rallying, advanced again with us to the hedge, a little way down
the hill, where they fired a volley at the French, when they were
close to each other. Our three regiments of dragoons were not quite
in line: the ---- Dragoons were on the right, and some yards in
advance, so that the general placing himself in front of them, they
charged a little before the other regiments did: the French gave
us only a partial volley, being in some disorder in consequence of
their previous exertions against our infantry, and from having no
idea of our brigade being so near at hand. We accordingly _went
right through them_: not a horse, as is usually the case, went
round from the fire, and the enemy threw down their arms.
[2] I make no attempt to alter the wording.--E. A.
"The other two regiments came up in succession, but were a little
delayed by the hedge: we again charged--the general riding along
the whole line to the left of the brigade--so that we saw the
whole three regiments charge: the result in each instance the
same--namely--the enemy throwing down their arms, and begging their
lives.
"In this conflict two eagles were taken, one by the ---- Dragoons,
and the other by ---- Dragoons.
"After passing through and killing, wounding, and making prisoners
the whole of the advanced column of the French, we ought to have
stopped and re-formed the brigade: but our men were not contented
with what they had done: they still went on. The General, his
aide-de-camp and I, got however about thirty of them collected
together, in the hope of reassembling all who remained of those
who had come on: for a great many, particularly of the officers,
had remained with the prisoners: when Colonel of the ---- Dragoons
came past us at full gallop, with about twenty men of his regiment
following him: in a second all the men which we had collected
set off in the same direction. In the hopes of stopping them we
followed and passed between the columns of the French infantry,
when their red lances closed behind us. One of the red lancers put
his lance to my horse's head, I made a cut at his arm as I passed
him; and as I did not look behind me to see whether I had struck
him or his lance, I should not have known that I had cut his arm,
had I not in recovering my sword thrown the blood on my white pouch
belt.
"On inspecting the sword, I saw that I had succeeded in wounding
the lancer and possibly thus saved my own life. My fears were, when
I saw him thrust at my horse's reins that he would shoot me with
his pistol, having heard of the red lancers sometimes doing so.
[Illustration: "+Muster Role of the Waterloo Men 2ⁿᵈ (or R.N.B.)
Regiment of Dragoons.+"
"Rouen 11th Sepʳ 1815."]
[Illustration: "+Muster Role of the Waterloo Men 2ⁿᵈ (or R.N.B.)
Regiment of Dragoons.+"
"Rouen 11th Sepʳ 1815."]
"Upon getting quite clear of the French, the first person I saw was
Captain ---- our General's extra aide-de-camp, who had lost sight
of the General some minutes before I had, and a little way before
us was Captain ---- of my regiment who had been with me in
the ---- Dragoons in Spain. He returned to his regiment to collect
his troops: and the aide-de-camp and I sought for assistance with
the view of recovering the General, and such other of our officers
and men who were in the hands of the French. I went to Lord E. R.
S. who commanded the Life Guard Brigade, and found him alone with
the exception of Lieutenant M. and Colonel Harvey of the 14th.
"Lord E. R. S. said to me, 'You see Mr. ---- I can do nothing for
you.' Upon this I went to a regiment that afterward ran off the
field altogether, and asked the Colonel in French, to advance,
and that I would show him where our General was prisoner; but he
declined moving, saying he had no orders; and he was right, as it
would have been in vain to make the attempt.
"A little further to the left, I found Sir J. Vandeleur's brigade
in column of divisions and an old brother officer of mine in the
---- Dragoons, was riding in front of the General giving him
advice. 'No orders' was again the reply to my request. I then
joined my regiment.
"After being once more in the form of a regiment, we retired
to a situation behind a wood where the enemy's shot and shells
passed over us: here the regiment, about three hundred strong, was
re-formed under the command of Colonel ----; we were then marched
up to the slaughter afresh, and placed nearly in the centre of the
enemy. On our right was the first brigade of cavalry, about the
same in number as ourselves. On each side of us were some regiments
of infantry formed in squares--some Hanoverian, some British.
"Repeatedly during the evening we retired, either by orders given,
or voluntarily after the charges were made. But whenever we were
out of the fire of the enemy we faced about and resumed our former
position.
"The infantry squares did the same, but were also brought back
to their positions; and I observed the officers in some of the
Hanoverian regiments exerting themselves to the utmost to keep
their men in order. We were twice led on by the Earl of Uxbridge,
and charged the squares of the French infantry opposed to us, but
were as often repulsed, losing about half our number every time.
"The first time we charged, the first brigade of cavalry on our
right charged at the same moment, and having received the fire of
their square of infantry before we did ours, they wheeled about and
charged as we advanced: so great was the confusion that the General
commanding them rode up against me, I being on the left of our
brigade, and he in the centre of his.
"I said 'Bad work this.' He shook his head, which I construed into
'It's all over with us.' Just as this occurred, the French square
opposite to us fired, and a great many of both brigades fell. This
reminded me of an old Scotch poacher who always waited till two
partridges 'clipt' before he fired, by clipt he meant, came so near
that their wings touched each other.
"At the conclusion of the last of these charges the Earl of
Uxbridge was shot in the leg; we saw him lifted off his horse
and carried off the field by six men, Captain H. Seymour walking
at their head. At this time the action was evidently all against
us, the enemy's infantry were steady in their squares; but their
heavy cavalry was as much reduced in number as our own: they
however sent out their skirmishers, who rode close up to us and
fired their pistols in our men's faces, who at last got in some
degree unmanageable, and fired their carbines in return over their
horses' heads at the French, and it was with some difficulty that
we prevailed upon them to put up their carbines. At this moment
one of our men was shot dead. We retired about twenty yards, the
dead man at the same time being left sitting on his tired horse,
quite upright, yet completely dead. Fearing that such a spectacle
might have a bad effect upon the men, he was taken off his horse
and carried to the rear; but I shall never forget his singular and
horrible appearance while he remained in the position in which he
was killed.
"During the evening we repeatedly retired to the bottom of the
hill, and as we supposed out of the reach of the fire of the enemy:
but even here, towards the close of the battle, we had men killed
and wounded: a pretty strong proof that the enemy had gained the
summit of the hill, and therefore crowned our position! Why they
did not advance further I cannot say; but it may be presumed that
they were without any further order, and that probably their
superior officers were killed or wounded, and the other officers
that they had fulfilled their orders having gained the top of our
position.
"As it got dusk we could plainly perceive the flashes of the
Prussian guns in the rear of the French army as we looked over it
towards the left. This may give a tolerably good idea of the time
at which the French retired: it was eight o'clock, and the victory
to all appearance was then quite undecided.
"During nine hours we had been exposed to a fire, which had, by
this time, reduced our brigade from about fifteen hundred strong in
the morning to a mere skeleton of _thirty-three officers and men_,
the number we mustered when we encamped for the night!
"It was after nine o'clock at night when the French gave way,
and our whole line advanced: we, as well as the first brigade of
cavalry, were now such mere handfuls, that, of course, we could
do nothing, but followed slowly in the rear of others. We heard
firing, but it was too dark to see anything clearly: we heard also
huzzas as the different charges were made by our light cavalry upon
the retreating enemy. We continued to advance along the right of
the road by which the French retired, and passed by many cannon and
waggons which they had abandoned, when I heard some English voices
calling out 'Are these the Dragoons?' Upon which I answered 'Yes.'
'Then' continued the voice 'here is Captain ---- of the Dragoons
badly wounded,' upon which I immediately sent one of the men of his
regiment, and one of the men of my own, with him to Brussels. I
heard nothing more of him for four years, further than that he had
got quite well, till going to visit some of my relations at * * *
in the east of Scotland, I found him quietly settled there, and in
the belief that his life had been saved by a French officer.
"When we halted for the night I was sent with a Cornet of the
regiment to the village of Waterloo to collect the stragglers, and
bring them up the next day. On my way to Brussels I overtook on the
road Captain P---- of the horse artillery, and rode with him into
the town. He was so kind as to inform a cousin of mine in the same
corps that I was safe; and thus my friends heard through him, that
I was neither killed nor wounded.
"Upon entering into a large house at Waterloo we found every room
in it filled with either the dead or the dying. I was glad to get
a chair, and sat down at a table in a large room, in every corner
of which were poor creatures groaning. The master of the house
having brought us a piece of bread and a bottle of wine, we began
to talk over the events of the day: and as he had been for years
a soldier of Buonaparte's himself, we found no lack of subjects
for conversation. After we had finished our bread and wine, which
we enjoyed very much notwithstanding the room was full of poor
wounded human beings, we retired to a hay loft for the night, which
we passed in profound repose. In the morning we saw the Belgians
completing the plunder of a number of baggage waggons, which stood
in the yard of the house. Here some of our men joined us, and my
private servant came up from the rear to look for my body, he
having been informed by two different officers of the brigade whom
he met on their way to Brussels the evening before, that I was
killed, assuring him that they had seen me lying on the field of
battle before they left it.
"I saw on
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