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THE Camerons are well
known as one of the bravest and most chivalrous of the Highland clans.
They held out to the very last as steadfast adherents to the cause of
the Stuarte, and the names of Ewen Cameron, .Donald the "gentle
Lochiel," and the unfortunate Dr Cameron, must be associated in the
minds of all Scotch-men with everything that is brave, and chivalrous,
and generous, and unyieldingly loyal.
The clan itself was at
one time one of the most powerful in the Highlands; and the regiment
which is now known by the clan name has most faithfully upheld the
credit of the clan for bravery and loyalty; it has proved a practical
comment on the old song," A Cameron never can yield."
This regiment was raised
by Alan Cameron of Erracht, to whom letters of service were granted on
the 17th of August 1793. No bounty was allowed by Government, as was the
case with other regiments raised in this manner, the men being recruited
solely at the expense of the officers. The regiment was inspected at
Stirling in January 1794, and at the end of the same month its strength
was raised to 1000 men, Alan Cameron being appointed Lieutenant-Colonel
Commandant. The 79th was at first designated the "Cameronian
Volunteers," but this designation was subsequently changed to
"Cameron Highlanders."
The following is the
original list of the officers of the 79th:-
Major-Gommandant—-Alan
Cameron.
Major—George
Rowley.
Captains.
Neil Campbell.
Donald Cameron.
Patrick M’Dowall.
George Carnegie.
Captain-Lieutenant
and Captain—Archibald Maclean.
Lieutenants.
Archibald Maclean.
Colin Maclean.
Alexander Macdonell.
Joseph Dewer.
Dunoan Stewart.
Charles MacVicar.
John Urquhart.
Ensigns.
Neil Campbell.
Donald Maclean.
Gordon Cameron.
Archibald Cameron.
Archibald Macdonell.
Alexander Grant.
Archibald
Campbell.
William Graham.
Chaplain—Thomes
Thompson.
Adjutant—Archibald
Maclean.
Quartermaster—Duncan
Stewart.
Surgeon—John
Maclean.
After spending a short
time in Ireland and the south of England, the 79th embarked in August
1794 for Flanders. During the following few months it shared in all the
disasters of the unfortunate campaign in that country, losing 200 men
from privation and the severity of the climate.
Shortly afterwards the
regiment returned to England, and landed in the Isle of Wight, in April
1795. Its strength was ordered to be completed to 1000 men, preparatory to its
embarkation for India. While Colonel Cameron was making every exertion to
fulfil this order, he received an intimation that directions had been given to
draft the Cameron Highlanders into four other regiments. This impolitic order
naturally roused the indignation of the colonel, who in an interview
["At this interview, Colonel Cameron plainly told the Duke, ‘to draft
the 79th is more than you or your Royal father dare do.’ The Duke then said,
‘The King my father will certainly send the regiment to the West Indies.’
Colonel Cameron, losing temper, replied, ‘You may tell the King your father
from me, that he may send us to hell if he likes, and I’ll go at the head of
them, but he daurna draft us,’ -
a line of argument which, it is unnecessary to add, proved to the Royal Duke
perfectly irresistible. Jameson’s Historical
Record.] with the commander-in-chief deprecated in the strongest
terms any such unfeeling and unwise proceeding. His representations were
successful, and the destination of the regiment was changed to the West
Indies, for which it embarked in the summer of 1795. The 79th remained in
Martinique till July 1797, but suffered so much from the climate that an offer
was made to such of the men as were fit for duty to volunteer into other
corps, the consequence being that upwards of 200 entered the 42nd, while about
a dozen joined four other regiments. The 0fficers, with the remainder of the
regiment, returned home, landing at Gravesend in August, and taking up their
quarters in Chatham Barracks. Orders were issued to fill up the ranks of the
79th, and by the exertions of Colonel Cameron and his officers a fresh body of
780 men was raised, who assembled at Stirling in June 1798. In the following
year it was ordered to form part of the expedition to the Holder, landing at
Holder Point, in North Holland, in August, when it was brigaded with the 2nd
battalion Royals, the 25th, 49th, and 92nd Regiments, under the command of
Major-General Moore. After various movements, the fourth division, under the
command of Sir Ralph Abercromby, came up, on the 2nd of October, with the
enemy, strongly posted near the village of Egmont-op-Zee. Notwithstanding the
unfavourable nature of the ground, consisting of loose sand-hills, General
Moore’s brigade made such a vigorous attack with the bayonet, that the enemy
were quickly driven from their position, and pursued over the sand-hills till
night prevented further operations. In this enterprise, Captain James
Campbell, Lieutenant Stair Rose, and 13 rank and file, were killed; and
Colonel Cameron, Lieutenants Colin Macdonald, Donald Macniel, 4 sergeants, and
54 rank and file wounded. The regiment was specially complimented for its
conduct both by the commander-in-chief and by General Moore; the former
declaring that nothing could do the regiment more credit than its conduct that
day. It embarked in the end of October, and landed in England on on the 1st of
November.
In August 1800 the 79th
embarked at Southampton as part of the expedition fitted out to destroy the
Spanish shipping in the harbours of Ferrol and Cadiz. It arrived be. fore
Ferrol on the 25th, and shortly afterwards the brigade of which the regiment
formed part, forced the enemy from their position and took possession of the
heights of Brion and Balon, which completely commanded the town and harbour of
Ferrol. Lieutenant-General Sir James Pulteney, however, did not see meet to
follow out the advantage thus gained, and abandoned the enterprise. In this
"insignificant service," as Captain Jameson calls it, the 79th had
only Captain Fraser, 2 sergeants, and 2 rank and file wounded.
On the 6th of October the
expedition landed before Cadiz, but on account of the very unfavourable state
of the weather, the enterprise was abandoned.
In 1801 the Cameron Highlanders
took part in the famous operations in Egypt, under Sir Ralph Abercromby; but
as minute details of this campaign are given in the histories of the 42nd and
92nd Regiments, it will be unnecessary to repeat the story here. The 79th was
brigaded with the 2nd and 50th Regiments, and took an active part in the
action of March 13th, in which it had 5 rank and file killed, and
Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick M’Dowall, Lieutenants George Sutherland and John
Stewart, Volunteer Alexander Cameron, 2 sergeants, and 56 rank and file
wounded.
In the general engagement of
March 21st, in which the brave Abercromby got his death-wound, the light
companies of the 79th and the other regiments of its brigade kept the enemy’s
riflemen in check in front, while the fight was raging hotly on the right. The
regiment lost one sergeant killed, and Lieutenant Patrick Ross, 2 sergeants,
and 18 rank and file wounded.
While proceeding towards Cairo
with Major-General Craddock’s brigade (to which the Cameron Highlanders had
been transferred) and a division of Turks, they had a brush on the 9th of May
with a French force, in which the 79th had Captain M’Dowall and one private
wounded. At Cairo the regiment had the honour of being selected to take
possession of the advanced gate, the "Gate of the Pyramids,"
surrendered to the British in terms of a convention with the French.
For its distinguished services
during the Egyptian campaign, the Cameron Highlanders, besides receiving the
thanks of the king and parliament, was one of the regiments which received the
honour of bearing the figure of a Sphinx, with the word "Egypt," on
its colours and appointments.
After staying a short time at
Minorca, the regiment returned to Scotland in August 1802, whence, after
filling up its thinned ranks, it was removed to Ireland in the beginning of
1803. In 1804 a second battalion was raised, but was never employed on active
service, being used only to fill up vacancies as they occurred in the first
battalion, until 1815, when it was reduced at Dundee.
In 1804 the question of
abolishing the kilt seems to have been under the consideration of the military
authorities, and a correspondence on the subject took place between the
Horse-Guards and Colonel Cameron, which deserves to be reproduced for the sake
of the Highland Colonel’s intensely characteristic reply. In a letter dated
"Horse Guards, 13th October 1804," Colonel Cameron was requested to
state his "private opinion as to the expediency of abolishing the
kilt in Highland regiments, and substituting in lieu thereof the tartan trews."
To this Colonel Cameron replied in four sentences as follows:-
"GLASGOW, 27th October
1804
‘Sir,—0n my return hither
some days ago from Stirling, I received your letter of the 13th inst. (by
General Calvert’s orders) respecting the propriety of an alteration in the
mode of clothing Highland regiments, in reply to which I beg to state, freely
and fully, my sentiments upon that
subject, without a particle of prejudice in either way, but merely founded
upon facts as applicable to these corps—at least as far as I am capable,
from thirty years’ experience, twenty years of which I have been upon actual
service in all climates, with the description of men in question,
which, independent of being myself a Highlander, and well knowing all the
convenience and inconvenience of our native garb in the field and otherwise,
and perhaps, also, aware of the probable source and clashing motives from
which the suggestion now under consideration originally arose. I have
to observe progressively, that in the course of the late war several gentlemen
proposed to raise Highland regiments, some for general service, but chiefly
for home defence ; but most of these corps were called from all quarters, and
thereby adulterated with every description of men, that rendered them anything
but real Highlanders, or even Scotchmen (which is not strictly synonymous),
and the colonels themselves being generally unacquainted with the language and
habits of Highlanders, while prejudiced in favour of, and accustomed to wear
breeches, consequently averse to that free congenial circulation of
pure wholesome air (as an exhilarating native bracer) which has hitherto so
peculiarly befitted the Highlander for activity, and all the other
necessary qualities of a soldier, whether for hardship upon scanty fare, readiness
in accoutring, or making forced marches, &c., besides
the exclusive advantage, when halted, of drenching his kilt, &c., in the next
brook, as well as washing his limbs, and drying both, as it were,
by constant fanning, without injury to either, but, on the contrary,
feeling clean and comfortable, while the buffoon tartan pantaloon, &c.,
with all its fringed frippery (as some mongrel Highlanders would have it)
sticking wet and dirty to the skin, is not very easily pulled off, and less
so to get on again in case of alarm or any other hurry, and all this time
absorbing both wet and dirt, followed up by rheumatism and fevers, which
ultimately make great havoc in hot and cold climates ; while it consists with
knowledge, that the Highlander in his native garb always appeared more
cleanly, and maintained better health in both climates than those who wore
even the thick cloth pantaloon. Independent of these circumstances, I feel no
hesitation in saying, that the proposed alteration must have proceeded from a
whimsical idea, more than from the real comfort of the Highland soldier, and a
wish to lay aside that national martial garb, the very sight of which has,
upon many occasions, struck the enemy with terror and confusion,—and now
metamorphose the Highlander from his real characteristic appearance and
comfort in an odious incompatible dress, to which it will, in my opinion, be
difficult to reconcile him, as a poignant grievance to, and a galling
reflection upon, Highland corps, &c., as levelling that martial
distinction by which they have been hitherto noticed and respected,—and from
my own experience I feel well founded in saying, that if anything was wanted
to aid the rack-renting Highland landlords in destroying that source, which
has hitherto proved so fruitful for keeping up Highland corps, it will be that
of abolishing their native garb, which His Royal Highness the Commander-in
chief and the Adjutant-General may rest assured will prove a complete
death-warrant to the recruiting service in that respect. But I sincerely hope
His Royal Highness will never acquiesce in so painful and degrading an idea
(come from whatever quarter it may) as to strip us of our native garb
(admitted hitherto our regimental uniform) and stuff us into a
harlequin tartan pantaloon, which, composed of the usual quality that
continues, as at present worn, useful and becoming for twelve months, will not
endure six weeks fair wear as a pantaloon, and when patched makes a horrible
appearance—besides that the necessary quantity to serve decently
throughout the year would become extremely expensive, but, above all, take
away completely the appearance and conceit of a Highland soldier, in which
case I would rather see him stuffed in breeches, and abolish the
distinction at once—I have the honour to be, &c.
(Signed) "Alan
CAMERON,
"Colonel 79th
or Cameron Highlanders."
"To Henry Thorpe, Esq."
The regiment remained in
Ireland till November 1805, when it was removed to England, where it did
duty at various places till July 1807. In that month the 79th formed part of
the expedition against Denmark, where it remained till the following
November, the only casualties being four men wounded, during the bombardment
of Copenhagen.
After a fruitless expedition
to Sweden in May 1808, under Lt.-General Sir John Moore, the regiment was
ordered, with other reinforcements, to proceed to Portugal, where it landed
August 26th, 1808, and immediately joined the army encamped near Lisbon.
After the convention of Cintra, the 79th, as part of Major-General Fane’s
brigade, joined the army under Sir John Moore, whose object was to drive the
French out of Spain. Moore, being joined by the division under Sir David
Baird, at Mayorga, had proceeded as far as Sahagun, when he deemed it
advisable to commence the ever memorable retreat to Corunna, details of
which have already been given. At Corunna, on the 16th of January 1809, the
79th had no chance of distinguishing itself in action, its duty being, as
part of Lt.General Fraser’s division, to hold the heights immediately in
front of the gates of Corunna; but "they also serve who only stand and
wait." The embarkation was effected in safety, and on the army arriving
in England in February, the 79th marched to Weeley Barracks, in Essex, about
10 miles from Chelmsford, where many of the men were shortly afterwards
attacked with fever, though not a man died.
["In 1809, the 79th
accomplished what no other regiment did. In January of that year they were
in Spain at the Battle of Corunna, and returned to England in February, when
700 men and several officers suffered from a dangerous typhus fever, yet not
a man died. In July they embarked 1002 bayonets for Walcheren, were engaged
during the whole siege of Flushing in the trenches, yet had not a man
wounded, and, whilst there, lost only one individual in fever—Paymaster
Baldock, the least expected of any one. During the three months after their
return to England, only ten men died, and in December of that same year
again, embarked for the peninsula, 1032 strong."—Note by Dr A.
Anderson, Regimental surgeon, p. 44 of H. S. Smith’s List of the
Officers of the 79th.]
While in Portugal, Colonel
Cameron, who had been appointed commandant of Lisbon with the rank of
Brigadier-General, retired from the personal command of the regiment, after
leading it in every engagement and sharing all its privations for fifteen
years; "his almost paternal anxiety," as Captain Jameson says,
"for his native Highlanders had never permitted him to be absent from
their head." He was succeeded in the command of the regiment by his
eldest son, Lt.-Colonel Philip Cameron.
After taking part in the
siege of Flushing, in August 1809, the regiment returned to England, and
again took up its quarters in Weeley Barracks, where it was attacked with
fever, which carried off a number of men, and prostrated many more, upwards
of 40 having to be left behind when the regiment embarked for Portugal in
January 1810, to join the army acting under Sir Arthur Wellesley.
Meanwhile a number of men of
the 79th, who had been left behind in Portugal on the retreat to Corunna,
had, along with several officers and men belonging to other regiments, been
formed into a corps designated the 1st battalion of detachments. The
detachment of the 79th consisted of 5 officers, 4 sergeants, and 45 rank and
file; and out of this small number who were engaged at Talavera de Ia Reyna
on July 27th and 28th, 1809, 14 rank and file were kiIled and one sergeant
and 27 rank and file wounded.
Shortly after landing at
Lisbon, the regiment was ordered to proceed to Spain to assist in the
defence of Cadiz, where it remained till the middle of August 1810, having
had Lts. Patrick M’Crummen, Donald Cameron, and 25 rank and file wounded
in performing a small service against the enemy. After its return to Lisbon,
the 79th was equipped for the field, and joined the army under Lord
Wellington at Busaco on the 25th of September. The 79th was here brigaded
with the 7th and 61st Regiments, under the command of Major-General Alan
Cameron.
The regiment had not long to
wait before taking part in the active operations carried on against the
French by England’s great general Wellington had taken up a strong
position along the Sierra de Busaco, to prevent the further advance of
Marshal Massena; and the division of which the 79th formed part was posted
at the extreme right of the British line. At daybreak on the 27th of Sept.
the French columns, preceded by a swarm of skirmishers, who had nearly
surrounded and cut off the picket of the 79th, advanced against the British
right, when Captain Neil Douglas gallantly volunteered his company to its
support, and opening fire from a favourable position, checked the enemy’s
advance, and enabled the picket to retire in good order. As the enemy’s
attack was changed to the centre and left, the 79th had no other opportunity
that day of distinguishing itself in action. It, however, lost Captain
Alexander Cameron ["This gallant officer commanded the picket of the
79th, and could not be induced to withdraw, he was last seen by Captain
(afterwards the late Lieut.-General Sir Neil) Douglas, fighting hand to hand
with several French soldiers, to whom he refused to deliver up his sword.
His body was found pierced with seven bayonet wounds. "—Jameson’s Records,
p. 24.] and 7 rank and file killed, Captain Neil Douglas, and
41 rank and file wounded.
After this battle, Wellington
deemed it prudent to retire within the strong lines of Torres Vedras,
whither he was followed by Massena, who remained there till the 14th of
November, when he suddenly broke up his camp and retired upon Santarem,
followed by Wellington. The French again commenced their retreat in the
beginning of March 1811, closely pursued by the British army. During the
pursuit several small skirmishes took place, and in a sharp contest at Fez d’Arouce,
the light cornpany of the 79th had 2 men killed, and 7 wounded. In this
affair, Lt. Kenneth Cameron of the 79th captured the Lieutenant-Colonel of
the 39th French infantry.
On the 2nd of May, Massena,
desirous of relieving Almeida, which Wellington had invested, took up a
position in front of Dos Casas and Fuentes d’Onor. "The English
position," says Jameson, "was a line whose left extended beyond
the brook of Onoro, resting on a hill supported by Fort Conception; the
right, which was more accessible, was at Nave d’Aver, and the centre at
Villa Formosa."
On the 3rd of May, Massena
commenced his attack upon the English position, his strongest efforts being
directed against the village of Fuentes d’Onor, which he seemed determined
to get possession of. The defence of the position was entrusted to the 79th,
along with the 71st Highlanders, with the 24th regiment and several light
companies in support, the whole commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Philip
Cameron of the 79th. During the whole of the day the enemy in superior
numbers made several desperate attempts to take the village, and indeed did
manage to get temporary possession of several parts, "but after a
succession of most bloody hand to hand encounters, he was completely driven
from it at nightfall, when darkness put an end to the conflict."
Early on the morning of the
5th of May, Massena, who in the meantime had been making dispositions for a
renewal of the contest, again directed his strongest efforts against the
position held by the 79th and its comrades. By the force of overwhelming
numbers the French did succeed in carrying the lower portion of the village,
at the same time surrounding and taking prisoners two companies of the 79th,
which had got separated from the main body. Meantime, in the upper portion
of the village a fierce and deadly contest was being waged between the
French Grenadiers and the Highlanders, the latter, according to Captain
Jameson, in numerous instances using their muskets as clubs instead of
acting with the bayonet, so close and deadly was the strife maintained.
"About this period of the action, a French soldier was observed to slip
aside into a doorway and take deliberate aim at Colonel Cameron, who fell
from his horse mortally wounded. A cry of grief, intermingled with shouts
for revenge, arose from the rearmost Highlanders, who witnessed the fall of
their commanding officer, and was rapidly communicated to those in front. As
Colonel Cameron was being conveyed to the rear by his sorrowing clansmen,
the 88th regiment, detached to reinforce the troops at this point, arrived
in double-quick time; the men were now at the highest pitch of excitement,
and a charge being ordered by Brigadier-General Mackinnon, the enemy was
driven out of the village with great slaughter. The post was maintained
until the evening, when the battle terminated, and the Highlanders being
withdrawn, were replaced by a brigade of the light division."
In these fierce contests,
besides Lt.-Colonel Cameron, who died of his wound, the 79th had Captain
William Imlach, one sergeant, and 30 rank and file killed; Captains Malcolm
Fraser and Sinclair Davidson, Lts. James Sinclair, John Calder, Archibald
Fraser, Alexander Cameron, John Webb, and Fulton Robertson, Ensigns Charles
Brown and Duncan Cameron, 6 sergeants, and 138 rank and file wounded,
besides about 100 missing, many of whom were afterwards reported as killed.
The grief for the loss of
Colonel Cameron, son of Major-General Alan Cameron, former and first colonel
of the 79th, was deep and wide-spread. Wellington, with all his staff and a
large number of general officers, notwithstanding the critical state of
matters, attended his funeral, which was conducted with military honours.
Sir Walter Scott, in his "Vision of Don Roderick," thus alludes to
Colonel Cameron’s death :-
" And what avails thee
that, for Cameron slain,
Wild from his plaided ranks the yell was given?
Vengeance and grief gave mountain-rage the rein,
And, at the bloody spear-point headlong driven,
The despot’s giant guards
fled like the rack of heaven."
[In a note to this poem,
Scott says that the 71st and 79th, on seeing Cameron fall, raised a dreadful
shriek of grief and rage "they charged with irresistible fury the
finest body of French grenadiers ever seen, being a part of Bonaparte’s
selected guard. The officer who led the French, a man remarkable for stature
and symmetry, was killed on the spot. The Frenchman who stepped out of the
ranks to take aim at Colonel Cameron was also bayoneted, pierced with a
thousand wounds, and almost torn to pieces by the furious Highlanders, who,
under the command of Colonel Cadogan, bore the enemy out of the contested
ground at the point of the bayonet."]
Wellington,—and many other
officers of high rank,— sent a special letter of condolence to the colonel’s
father, Major-General Cameron, in which he speaks of his son in terms of the
highest praise. "I cannot conceive," he says, "a string of
circumstances more honourable and glorious than these in which he lost his
life in the cause of his country."
Cameron was succeeded in the
command of the regiment by Major Alexander Petrie, who, besides receiving a
gold medal, had the brevet rank of Lt.-Colonel conferred on him; and the
senior captain, Andrew Brown, was promoted to the brevet rank of Major.
How highly Lord Wellington esteemed the
services performed by the 79th on these two bloody days, will be seen
from the following letter:—
"VILLA FORMOSA, 8th
May, 1811.
"Sirs, - I am directed by Lord
Wellington to acquaint you that he will have great pleasure in submitting to
the Commander-in-Chief for a commission the name of any non-commissioned
officer of the 79th regiment whom you may recommend, as his lordship is
anxious to mark the sense of the conduct of the 79th during the late
engagement with the enemy.
"I have the honour to be,
&c.,
(Signed) FITZROY SOMERSET.
"Major Petrie,
Commanding
"79th
Highlanders," &c.
Sergeant Donald M’Intosh
was selected for this distinguished honour, and, on the 4th of June
1811, was appointed ensign in the 88th Regiment.
The 79th did not take part in
any other engagement till the 22nd of July 1812, when it was present as part
of the reserve division under Major-General Campbell at the great victory of
Salamanca. Its services, however, were not brought into requisition till the
close of the day, and its casualties were only two men wounded. Still it was
deemed worthy of having the honour of bearing the word "Salamanca"
on its colours and appointments, and a gold medal was conferred upon the
commanding officer, Lt.-Colonel Robert Fulton, who had joined the regiment
at Vellajes in September 1811, with a draft of 5 sergeants, and 231 rank and
file from the 2nd battalion.
In the interval between
Fuentes d’Onor and Salamanca the 79th was moved about to various places,
and twice was severely attacked with epidemic sickness.
After the battle of
Salamanca, the 79th, along with the rest of the allied army, entered Madrid
about the middle of August, where it remained till the end of that month.
On the 1st of September the
79th, along with the rest of the army, left Madrid under Lord Wellington, to
lay siege to Burgos, before which it arrived on the 18th; and on the morning
of the 19th, the light battalion, formed by the several light companies of
the 24th, 42nd, 58th, 60th, and 79th regiments, commanded by Major the Hon.
E. C. Cocks of the 79th, was selected for the purpose of driving the enemy
from their defences on the heights of St Michael’s, consisting of a
horn-work and flêches commanding the approach to the castle on the right.
"The attack was made by
a simultaneous movement on the two advanced flêches, which were carried in
the most gallant manner by the light companies of the 42nd and 79th ; but a
small post, close to and on the left of the horn-work, was still occupied by
the enemy, from which he opened a fire upon the attacking party. Lieut. Hugh
Grant, with a detachment of the 79th light company, was sent forward to
dislodge him, but finding himself opposed to continually increasing numbers,
he found it impossible to advance; but being equally resolved not to retire,
he drew up his small party under cover of an embankment, and, possessing
himself of the musket of a wounded soldier, he fired together with his men
and gallantly rnaintained himself. The remainder of the company now coming
up, the enemy was driven within the works; but this brave young officer was
unfortunately mortally wounded, and died a few days afterwards, sincerely
and deeply regretted.
The two light companies
maintained the position until nightfall, when the light battalion was
assembled at this point, and orders were issued to storm the horn-work at 11
PM. A detachment of the 42nd and a Portuguese regiment were directed to
enter the ditch on the left of the work, and to attempt the escalade of both
demi-bastions, the fire from which was to be kept in check by a direct
attack in front by the remainder of the 42nd. The light battalion was to
advance along the slope of the hill, parallel to the left flank of the work,
which it was to endeavour to enter by its gorge. The attack by the 42nd was
to be the signal for the advance of the light battalion, the command of the
whole being entrusted to Major. General Sir Denis Pack.
In execution of these
arrangements, the troops at the appointed hour proceeded to the assault. The
light companies, on arriving at the gorge of the work, were received with a
brisk fire of musketry through the opening in the palisades, causing severe
loss ; they, however, continued to advance, and, without waiting for the
application of the felling-axes and ladders, with which they were provided,
the foremost in the attack were actually lifted over the palisades on each
other’s shoulders. In this manner, the first man who entered the work was
Sergeant Jobs Mackenzie of the 79th; Major Cocks, the brave leader of the
storming party, next followed, and several others in succession.
In this manner, and by means
of the scaling-ladders, the light battalion was, in a few minutes, formed
within the work; and a guard, consisting of Sergeant Donald Mackenzie and
twelve men of the 79th, having been placed at the gate leading to the
castle, a charge was made on the garrison, which, numbering between 400 and
500 men, having by this time formed itself into a solid mass, defied every
attempt to compel a surrender; in this manner the French troops rushed
towards the gate, where meeting with the small guard of the 79th, they were
enabled, from their overwhelming numbers to overcome every opposition, and
to effect their escape to the castle.
Sergeant Mackenzie, who was
severely wounded in this affair, ["Sergeant Mackenzie had previously
applied to Major Cocks for the use of his dress sabre, which the major
readily granted, and used to relate with great satisfaction that the
sergeant returned it to him in a state which indicated that he had used it
with effect."] and his small party behaved with the greatest bravery in
their endeavonrs to prevent the escape of the French garrison; and bugler
Charles Bugle of the 79th, a man of colour, was afterwards found dead at the
gate, near a French soldier, the sword of the former and bayonet of the
latter through each other’s bodies.
The front attack had in the
meantime completely failed, and a severe loss was sustained."
The enemy having opened a
destructive fire from the castle on the horn-work, the light battalion was
withdrawn to the ditch of the curtain; and strong parties were employed
during the night in forming a parapet in the gorge.
Afterwards a series of
assaults was made against the castle, with but little success. In one of
these Major Andrew Lawrie of the 79th was killed while entering a ditch, and
encouraging on the party he led by escalade; and the Hon. Major Cocks met
with a similar fate while rallying his picket during a night sortie of the
French. The death of this officer was very much regretted by Wellington, who
in his despatch of October 11, 1812, said he considered "his loss as
one of the greatest importance to this army and to His Majesty’s
service." The army continued before Burgos till Oct. 21, when, being
threatened by the advance of strong reinforcements of the enemy, it was
deemed advisable to retreat towards the frontiers of Portugal.
At the siege of Burgos,
besides the two officers just mentioned, the 79th had one sergeant and 27
rank and file killed; Captain William Marshall, Lt. Hugh Grant, Kewan J.
Leslie, and Angus Macdonald, 5 sergeants, 1 drummer, and 79 rank and file
wounded.
The regiment, with the rest
of the army, remained in cantonments till the middle of May 1813; and in
February of that year Lt.-Colonel Fulton retired from the command of the
regiment, which was assumed by Lt.-Colonel Neil Douglas, from the 2nd
battalion.
Breaking up from
winter-quarters about the middle of May, the army advanced against the
enemy, who occupied various strong positions on the north of the Douro,
which, however, were precipitately evacuated during the advance of the
British army. The enemy retired towards the north-east, in the direction of
Burgos, which the British found had been completely destroyed by the French.
In the action at Vittoria, in which the enemy was completely routed on the
21st of June, the 79th had not a chance of distinguishing itself in action,
as it formed part of Major-General Pakenham’s division, whose duty it was
to cover the march of the magazines and stores at Medina de Pomar.
At the battle of the
"Pyrenees," on the 28th of July, the 6th division, to which the
79th belonged, was assigned a position across the valley of the Lanz, which
it had scarcely assumed when it was attacked by a superior French force,
which it gallantly repulsed with severe loss; a similar result occurred at
all points, nearly every regiment charging with the bayonet. The loss of the
79th was 1 sergeant and 16 rank and file killed; Lieutenant J. Kynock, 2
sergeants, and 38 rank and file wounded. Lt.-Colonel Neil Douglas had a
horse shot under him, and in consequence of his services he was awarded a
gold medal; and Major Andrew Brown was promoted to the brevet rank of
Lt.-Colonel for his gallantry.
Along with the rest of the
army, the 79th followed the enemy towards the French frontier, the next
action in which it took part being that of Nivelle, November 19, 1813, fully
described elsewhere. Here the steadiness of its line in advancing up a hill
to meet the enemy excited the admiration of Sir Rowland Hill, and although
its casualties were few, the part it took in the action gained for the
regiment the distinction of inscribing " Nivelle" on its colours
and appointments. Its loss was 1 man killed, and Ensign John Thomson and 5
men wounded.
Continuing to advance with
its division, the 79th shared, on the 10th of December, in the successful
attack on the enemy’s entrenchments on the banks of the Nive, when it had
5 men killed, and Lt. Alexander Robertson, 2 sergeants, and 24 rank and file
wounded.
The enemy having retired to
the Gave d’Oléron, and the severity of the weather preventing further
operations, the 79th went into quarters at St Pierre d’Yurbe, and while
here, in Feb. 1814, it marched over to the seaport town of St Jean de Luz to
get a new supply of clothing, of which it stood very much in need.
In the battle of Orthes, on
February 25th, the 79th had no opportunity of taking part, but took an
active share, and suffered severely, in the final engagement at Toulouse.
Early on the morning of the
10th, the 6th division, of which the 79th, under the command of Sir Henry
Clinton, formed part, along with the 42nd and 91st regiments, constituting
the Highland Brigade of Sir Denis Pack, crossed the Garonne and the Ers at
Croix d’Orade, following the 4th division, and halted near the northern
extremity of the height (between and running parallel with the canal of
Languedoc, and the river Ers) on which the enemy was posted, strongly
fortified by entrenchments and redoubts. Arrangements were here made for a
combined attack, the 6th division, continuing its march along the left bank
of the Ers, filed by threes in double-quick time, close under the enemy’s
guns, from which a heavy cannonade of round and grape-shot was opened,
occasioning considerable loss. "The Highland Brigade of Sir Penis
Pack." Captain Jameson says, "halted about midway to the position,
formed line to the right, and proceeded to ascend the hill. The light
companies were now ordered out, and directed to conform to the movements of
the brigade, General Pack having mingled with the former, and cheering them
on. The grenadier company of the 79th was brought up as a reinforcement to
the light troops; and after a vigorous resistance, the enemy was driven to a
considerable distance down the opposite slope of the ridge. The pursuit was
then discontinued, and a slackened and desultory fire of advanced posts
succeeded.
The brigade had, in the
meantime, formed on the Balma road across the height, the light companies
were recalled, and final arrangements completed for an attack on the two
centre redoubts of the enemy’s position, designated respectively La
Colombette and Le Tour des
Augustins. The attack of the former or most advanced redoubt was assigned to
the 42nd, and. the latter to the 79th, the 91st and 12th Portuguese being in
reserve. Both these redoubts were carried at a run, in the most gallant
style, in the face of a terrific fire of round shot, grape, and musketry, by
which a very severe loss was sustained. About 100 men of the 79th, headed by
several officers, now left the captured work to encounter the enemy on the
ridge of the plateau; but, suddenly perceiving a discharge of musketry in
the redoubt captured by the 42nd in their rear, and also seeing it again in
possession of the enemy, they immediately fell back on the Redoubt des
Augustins. The Colombette had been suddenly attacked and entered by a fresh
and numerous column of the enemy, when the 42nd was compelled to give way,
and, continuing to retire by a narrow and deep road leading through the
redoubt occupied by the 79th (closely pursued by an overwhelming force of
the enemy), the alarm communicated itself from one regiment to the other,
and both, for a moment, quitted the works.
[Whilst the enemy thus gained
a temporary possession of the redoubts, Lieutenant Ford and seven men of the
79th, who were in a detached portion of the work, separated from its front
face by a deep road, had their retreat cut off by a whole French regiment
advancing along this road in their rear, when one of the men, with great
presence of mind, called out "sit down," which hint was
immediately acted on, with the effect of saving the party from being made
prisoners, as the enemy supposed them to be wounded, and a French officer
shrugged his shoulders in token of inability to render them any assistance
!"]
At this critical juncture,
Lt.-Colonel Douglas having succeeded in rallying the 79th, the regiment
again advanced, and in a few minutes succeeded in retaking, not only its own
former position, but also the redoubt from which the 42nd had been driven.
For this service, Lt.-Colonel Douglas received on the field the thanks of
Generals Clinton and Pack, commanding the division and brigade; and the
regiments in reserve having by this time come up, the brigade was moved to
the right, for the purpose of carrying, in conjunction with the Spaniards,
the two remaining redoubts on the left of the position. While, however, the
necessary preparations were making for this attack, the enemy was observed
to be in the act of abandoning them, thus leaving the British army in
complete possession of the plateau and its works. The 79th occupied the
Redoubt Colombette during the night of the 10th of April 1814.
The importance of the
positions captured by the 42nd and the 79th was so great, and the behaviour
of these regiments so intrepid and gallant, that they won special
commendation from Wellington, being two of the four regiments particularly
mentioned in his despatch of the 12th of April 1814.
The 79th lost Captains
Patrick Purves and John Cameron, Lt. Duncan Cameron, and 16 rank and file
killed; the wounded were Captains Thomas Mylne, Peter Innes, James Campbell,
and William Marshall; Lts. William M’Barnet, Donald Cameron, James Fraser,
Ewen Cameron (1st), John Kynock, Ewen Cameron (2nd), Duncan Macpherson,
Charles M’Arthur, and Allan Macdonald; Ensign Allan Maclean, Adjutant and
Lt. Kenneth Cameron, 12 sergeants, 2 drummers, and 182 rank and file. Of
those wounded, Lts. M’Barnet, Ewen Cameron (2nd), and 23 men died of their
wounds. Of the 494 officers and men of the 79th who went into action at
Toulouse, only 263 came out unwounded.
Lt.-Colonel Neil Douglas
received the decoration of a gold cross for this action, in substitution of
all his former distinctions; Major Duncan Cameron received the brevet rank
of Lt.-Colonel in the army; and the 79th was permitted by royal authority to
bear on its colours and appointments the word TOULOUSE, in addition to its
other inscriptions. As a proof, likewise, of the distinction earned by it
during the successive campaigns in the Peninsula, it was subsequently
authorised to have the word PENINSULA inscribed on its colours and
appointments.
Napoleon Buonaparte’s
abdication having put an end to further hostilities, the regiment, after
remaining a few weeks in the south of France, embarked in July 1814,
arriving at Cork on the 26th, and taking up its quarters in the barracks
there. While here, in December, its ranks were filled up by a large draft
from the 2nd battalion, and in the beginning of Feb. 1815, it set sail,
along with several other regiments, for North America, but was driven back
by contrary winds; the same happened to the expedition when attempting to
sail again on the 1st of March. On the 3rd, the expedition was
countermanded; and on the 17th the 79th sailed for the north of Ireland, to
take up its quarters at Belfast, where it remained till May, when, with all
the other available forces of Britain, it was called upon to take part in
that final and fierce struggle with the great disturber of the peace of
Europe, and assist in putting an end to his bloody machinations against the
peace of civilised nations. The 79th, having joined Wellington’s army at
Brussels, was brigaded with the 28th, 32nd, and 95th Regiments, under the
command of Major-General Sir James Kempt, the three regiments forming the
first brigade of the fifth, or Sir Thomas Picton’s division, the Royal
Scots, 42nd, 44th, and 92nd regiments forming the other brigade under
Major-General Pack.
The events from the night of
the 15th to the 18th of June 1815 are so well known, and so many details are
given in connection with the 42nd and 92nd Regiments, that it will be
sufficient here to indicate the part taken in them by the 79th. The alarm
having been rapidly spread of the approach of the French on the night of the
15th—the night of the famous ball well known to all readers of Byron,—
preparations were immediately made for marching out, and by four o’clock
on the morning of the 16th, the regiment, with its division, provisioned for
three days, was on the road to Charleroi. In the passage of Childe Harold
where Byron’s famous description of the episode preceding Quatre Bras
occurs, the poet thus refers to the Cameron Highlanders :-
"And wild and high the
‘Cameron’s Gathering‘ rose,
The war-note of Lochiel,
which Albyn’s hills
Have heard, and heard, too,
have her Saxon foes
how in the noon of night
that pibroch thrills
Savage and shrill ! But with
the breath which fills
Their mountain-pipe, so
fill the mountaineers
With the
fierce native daring which instils
The stirring memory of a
thousand years,
And Evans, Donald’s
fame rings in each clansman’s ears !"
The division halted near the
village of Waterloo to cook its provisions; but before this could be
accomplished it was ordered forward towards Quatre Bras, where it halted on
the road, at the distance of about half a mile from the enemy, from whom the
column was separated by a rising ground. After the two brigade companies had
halted for a very short time on this road the division broke off to the
left, lining the Namur Road, the banks of which were from ten to
fifteen feet high on each side. The Cameron Highlanders formed the extreme
left of the British army, and the 92nd the right of the division, being
posted immediately in front of Quatre Bras.
Scarcely had this position
been taken up, when the enemy advanced in great force, sending out "a
cloud of sharpshooters," who were met by the light companies of the
first brigade, along with the 8th company and marksmen of the 79th. These
maintained their ground bravely, despite the fearful execution done upon
them by the overwhelming numbers of the enemy’s sharpshooters, who picked
out the officers especially, and the artillerymen serving the only two guns
yet brought into action. At about four o’clock in the afternoon, the
Cameron Highlanders had the honour of being ordered forward to cover the
guns and drive the enemy from his advanced position, and gallantly did the
regiment perform the service.
"The regiment,"
says Captain Jameson, "cleared the bank in its front, fired
a volley, and, charging with the bayonet, drove the French advanced troops
with great precipitation and in disorder to a hedge about a hundred yards in
their rear, where they attempted to re-form, but were followed up with such
alacrity that they again gave way, pursued to another hedge about the same
distance, from which they were a second time driven in confusion upon their
main column, which was formed in great strength upon the opposite rising
ground. The regiment, now joined by its detached companies, commenced firing
volleys upon the enemy from behind the last-mentioned hedge, and in the
course of fifteen minutes expended nearly all its ammunition. Whilst in this
exposed situation, it was ordered to retire, which it accomplished without
confusion, although it had a broad ditch to leap, and the first hedge to
repass, when it formed line about fifty yards in front of its original
position. Being here much exposed to the fire of the enemy’s guns, it was
ordered to lie down, and it continued thus for nearly an hour, when it was
again directed to resume its first position on the road, and form in column
as circumstances might require. Eeing afterwards repeatedly threatened by
cavalry, it formed and moved forward in square, but without being
attacked."
Meantime all the other
regiments of the division were engaged; indeed, each battalion of the
British army had to sustain, in several instances separately and
independently, the whole weight of the superior French masses which bore
down upon it. The enemy, however, notwithstanding the many advantages he
had, seems to have failed in almost every attack, and the contest for that
day ended about dusk decidedly in favour of the British.
The loss of the 79th was
Captain John Sinclair, Lt. and Adjutant John Kynock, and 28 rank and file
killed ; Lt.-Colonel Neil Douglas, Brevet Lt.-Colonels Andrew Brown and
Duncan Cameron; Captains Thomas Mylne, Neil Campbell, William Marshall,
Malcolm Fraser, William Bruce, and Robert Mackay; Lieuts. Thomas Brown,
William Maddock, William Leaper, James Fraser, Donald MacPhee, and William
A. Riach; Ensign James Robertson, Volunteer Alexander Cameron, 10 sergeants,
and 248 rank and file wounded. All the field officers, according to Captain
Jameson, in addition to severe wounds, had their horses shot under them.
At dusk on the 17th the
division took up its position among some corn-fields near the farm La Haye
Salute, under cover of a rising ground, the ridge opposite to which was
lined by the enemy’s columns. The 28th and 79th formed the centre of
Picton’s division, the left of the division extending towards Ohain, its
right resting on the Brussels road.
About half-past ten on the
morning of the 18th of June, the French began to move forward to the attack,
under cover of a tremendous cannonade, spiritedly answered by the British
artillery, posted in advance of a road which ran along the crest of the
rising ground in front of the division, and on each side of which was a
hedge. Kempt’s brigade, deploying into line, advanced to this road, the
light companies and the rifles descending into the valley, and maintaining a
severe contest against overwhelming numbers. Meantime a heavy column of the
enemy’s infantry, advancing towards the right of the division, was warmly
received by the 28th; and the 32nd and 79th, following up the advantage,
each attacking the column opposed to it, a close and obstinate engagement
followed, "shedding lasting honour on Kempt’s brigade," till at
length the enemy gave way in the greatest confusion.
It was during this contest
that General Picton was killed and General Kempt severely wounded; but
although unable, from the severity of the wound, to sit on horseback, the
latter would not allow himself to be carried off the field. The column of
the enemy thus routed was shortly afterwards surrounded and taken captive by
Ponsonby’s brigade of cavalry.
Shortly after this the first
brigade, being threatened by a body of the enemy’s cavalry, formed into
squares, and soon afterwards returned to its former position on the road,
["During the formation, Piper Kenneth Mackay of the 79th, a brave
Highlander, stepped outside of the bayonets and continued to play round the
outside of the square, the popular air of ‘Cògaidh nà Sith' with
much inspiriting effect. "—Jameson’s Historical
Record.] lining the hedge nearest the enemy, where it was exposed to a
galling and destructive fire, both from the guns and sharpshooters, against
whom the light companies of Kempt’s brigade and the division rifles were
several times sent.
After falling back for a
supply of ammunition, the first brigade again moved forward, and a general
charge having been made along the whole line about seven o’clock, the
enemy gave way in all directions, pursued by the Prussians and the English
cavalry. The fifth division rested for the night near the farm of La
Belle Alliance.
The loss of the 79th was
Captain John Cameron, Lts. Duncan Macpherson, Donald Cameron, and Ewen
Kennedy, 2 sergeants, and 27 rank and file killed; Captains James Campbell,
senior, Neil Campbell ; Lts. Alexander Cameron, Ewen Cameron, Alexander
Forbes, Charles Macarthur, and John Powhog; Ensigns A. J. Crawford and J.
Nash, 7 sergeants, 4 drummers, and 121 rank and file wounded. Captain Neil
Campbell, Lts. Donald Cameron, John Powhug, and 48 men died soon afterwards.
The total number of officers and men who entered the engagement on the 16th
was 776, and out of that only 297 came out on the 18th unwounded; the loss
of the 79th exceeded by one that of any other regiment in the army, except
the 3rd battalion of the 1st Foot Guards, which was almost annihilated.
Wellington, in his despatch
of the 19th, mentions the regiment in terms of high praise; and, as in the
case of Toulouse, it was one of the only four British regiments—the 28th,
42nd, 79th, and 92nd—specially mentioned in the despatch. The distinction
of a Companionship of the Bath was conferred upon Lt.-Colonel Neil Douglas,
and upon Brevet Lt.-Colonels Andrew Brown and Duncan Cameron; Capt. Thomas
Mylne was promoted by brevet to be major in the army; and Lt. Alexander
Cameron, upon whom, from the great loss sustained in superior officers, the
command of the regiment ultimately devolved, was promoted to the brevet rank
of major for his distinguished conduct. Each surviving officer and soldier
received the decoration of the "Waterloo" silver medal, and was
allowed to reckon two additional years’ service.
The regiment, along with the
rest of the army, proceeded on the 19th in pursuit of the enemy, arriving on
July 8th at Paris, near which it was encamped till the beginning of
December. While here, on the 17th of August, at the special request of the
Emperor of Russia, Sergeant Thomas Campbell of the grenadiers, a man of
gigantic stature, with Private John Fraser and Piper Kenneth Mackay, all of
the 79th, accompanied by a like number of each rank from the 42nd and 92nd
Highlanders, proceeded to the Palais Elysee in Paris, to gratify the Emperor’s
desire of examining the dress and equipments of the Highland regiments.
Sergeant Campbell especially was most minutely inspected by the Emperor,
who, says Campbell, " examined my hose, gaiters, legs, and pinched my
skin, thinking I wore something under my kilt, and had the curiosity to lift
my kilt to my navel, so that he might not be deceived." After asking
Campbell many questions, the Emperor "requested Lord Cathcart to order
me to put John Fraser through the ‘manual and platoon’ exercise, at
which performance he was highly pleased. He then requested the pipers to
play up, and Lord Cathcart desired them to play the Highland tune ‘
Cògaidh nà Sith’ (‘war or peace’), which he explained to the
Emperor, who seemed highly delighted with the music. After the Emperor had
done with me, the veteran Count Plutoff came up to me, and, taking me by the
hand, told me in broken English that I was a good and brave soldier, and all
my countrymen were. He then pressed my hand to his breast, and gave me his
to press to mine.
In the beginning of December
1815, the 79th, as part of the Army of Occupation, went into cantonments in
Pas de Calais, where it remained till the end of October 1818, when it
embarked for England, taking up its quarters at Chichester on the 8th of
November.
After moving from Chichester
to Portsmouth, and Portsmouth to Jersey, the regiment, in May 1820, embarked
at Plymouth for Ireland, where it took part in the critical and not very
agreeable duty necessitated by the disturbed state of the country, details
of which will be found in our account of the 42nd Royal Highlanders, who
were in Ireland at the same time.
On quitting Jersey, the
"States of the lsland" transmitted to the commanding officer of
the 79th an address, praising the regiment in the highest terms for its
exemplary conduct while stationed in the island.
The 79th remained in
Ireland till August 1825, being quartered successively at Fermoy,
Limerick, Templemore, Naas, Dublin, and Kilkenny, furnishing detachments
at each of these places to the district and towns in the neighbourhood.
The regiment seems to have discharged its unpleasant duties as delicately
and satisfactorily as did the 42nd Highlanders, and to have merited the
esteem and respect of the people among whom it was stationed. On leaving
Limerick, where it was quartered for nearly two years, the magistrates
arid council presented an address to the commanding officer, Lt.-Colonel
Douglas, in which they say,:—
"The mild manners and military
deportment of the officers, as well as the
excellent discipline and moral order of the brave men whom you so well
command. are happily evinced in the general order which their uniform good
conduct has excited in this city; and we beg of you to convey to them the
expression of our highest approbation."
In April 1825, the regiment
was augmented from eight to ten companies, of 740 rank and file, and in
August, the six service companies embarked at Cork for Canada, under the
command of Colonel Sir Neil Douglas, arriving at Quebec in the month of
October, where they remained till June 1828. During this time, with the
exception of a few months in Glasgow, the dépôt companies were stationed
at various places in Ireland.
On the 24th of March 1828,
It. -General Sir R. C. Ferguson, G.C.B., was appointed colonel
of the regiment, in succession to Lt.General Sir Alan Cameron, K.C.B., who
had died at Fulham, Middlesex, on the 9th, after being connected with the
regiment for about thirty-five years.
On the 18th of June 1828, the
anniversary of Waterloo, the 79th, which in that month had removed to
Montreal, was presented with new colours, the gift of its new Colonel,
Lt.-General Ferguson. The presentation, which was performed by Lady Douglas,
took place on the Champs de Mars, in presence of a very numerous assemblage
of the elite of the inhabitants of Montreal.
The regiment returned to
Quebec in 1833, where it remained till its embarkation for England in 1836.
In the October of that year, the service companies were joined at Glasgow by
the dépôt companies, which had in the meantime been moving about from
place to place in Ireland, England, and Scotland, being stationed for most
of the time at various towns in the last mentioned country.
In September 1833, by the
retirement of Sir Neil Douglas on half-pay, Brevet Lt. Colonel Duncan
Macdougal succeeded to the command of the regiment; and on the latter’s
retirement in March 1835, he was succeeded by Major Robert Ferguson.
The regiment remained in
Glasgow till June 1837, removing thence to Edinburgh, where it was stationed
till the following June, when it proceeded to Dublin. On account of the
disturbed state of the manufacturing districts in the north of England in
1839, the regiment was ordered to proceed thither, being quartered at
various places. Here it remained till about the end of 1840, when it was
again ordered on foreign service, embarking at Deptford for Gibraltar, where
it arrived in January 1841, and where it remained performing garrison duty
till June 1848.
In April 1841, on the death
of Sir R. C. Ferguson, Major-General the Honourable John Ramsay was
appointed Colonel of the 79th, and was succeeded, on his death in July 1842,
by Lt-General Sir James Macdonell, G.C.B., whose portrait will be found on
the plate of Colonels of the 78th and 79th Regiments. Meantime, on the
retirement, in June 1841, of Lt.-Colonel Robert Ferguson, Major Andrew Brown
succeeded to the command of the regiment, but exchanged in October following
with Colonel John Carter, K.H., from the 1st Royals, who retired in June
1842, and was succeeded by Major the Hon. Lauderdale Maule.
"The monotony of a
regiment’s life at Gibraltar is well known to every corps that has had to
perform garrison duty on the Rock. This monotony falls much more heavily on
the men than on the officers of a regiment; the former, although they may
leave the garrison gate under certain restrictions, cannot pass the lines
which separate the neutral ground from Spanish territory.
A few of the more gifted,
therefore, of the 79th, during its seven years’ sojourn at Gibraltar,
tried from time to time to enliven the community by such means as were at
their command, which were slender enough, but went a long way when properly
utilised and duly encouraged. Among these, the most popular, perhaps, was
the performance of private theatricals by a small company selected from more
or less qualified volunteers; and in truth the way in which they contrived
to put small pieces of a broad farcical nature on their improvised stage,
did no small credit to their natural histrionic abilities. These
performances at first took place in the schoolroom, or such other well-sized
apartments as could be made available, and "the house" was at all
times crammed with a most appreciative audience, comprising all ranks, and
representing every corps in the garrison.
At a later period the
amateurs of the 79th having discovered their strength, and the real merits
of one or two stars (of whom more presently), engaged the town theatre, and
gave one or two performances of the national drama "Rob Roy," in a
manner which would not have disgraced the boards of many a provincial
theatre at home. The one "bright particular star" of the company
undoubtedly was a bandsman of the regiment, named C- . His role was broad
comedy, and the Liston-like gravity of his immovable features gave
irresistible point to the humour of such parts as he was accustomed to fill.
But the one special character with which he became identified in his limited
circle, nearly as completely as the late Mr Mackay was with the Edinburgh
public, was ‘‘Bathe Nicol Jarvie." Dignity of position, bluntness
of perception, dyspepsia itself, were not proof against his quaint
delineation of this well-known character.
In 1849 or ‘50 the dramatic
corps had been playing "Rob Roy" with much acceptance in an
improvised theatre at Quebec, being a large room used for public meetings
and so forth in the principal hotel there. The city is, or was, full of
Scotchmen, most of them enthusiastically national, and the performances had
been a great success. Unfortunately certain festivities, which were scarcely
included in the programme submitted to the commanding officer, followed in
connection with these entertainments, and poor C- , among others, was
not entirely proof against their seductions. The members of the dramatic
corps showed symptoms of falling into habits which could not but be
detrimental both to their own welfare and the discipline of the regiment ;
and the performances after a while had to be stopped.
Shortly after this, one fine
morning, as the commanding officer, accompanied by the adjutant and one or
two other officers, was crossing the barrack square on his way from the
orderly-room, the party encountered the unfortunate quondam Thespian in a
state of considerable elevation, between two men of the guard, who were
conveying him to durance vile. As his dim eye fell on the form of his
commanding officer, a gleam of tipsy humour for a moment lighted up his
somewhat grotesque lineaments ; John Barley-corn had, for the time,
extinguished all terrors of the august presence. "Hang a bailie I"
hiccuped pour C- as he passed the group, who were carefully ignoring his
vicinity "Hang a bailie ma conscience !" It is scarcely necessary
to say that, when brought up for judgment some four-and-twenty hours
afterwards, the unfortunate magistrate was dealt with as lightly as the code
of military discipline permitted. C— was discharged soon afterwards,
having served his time and his subsequent career was never, we believe,
traced by his former comrades of the 79th."
On leaving Gibraltar, in June
1848, the regiment proceeded to Canada, but before embarking, the officers
and men erected by voluntary subscription a handsome marble tablet, in the
Wesleyan Chapel at Gibraltar (where divine service was held for the
Presbyterian soldiers of the garrison), to the memory of those
noncommissioned officers and soldiers who died during their period of
service on the Rock. The regiment arrived at Quebec on the 27th of July
1848, and remained in Canada till August 1851, when it embarked for England,
arriving in Leith Roads at the end of the month. On disembarking the
headquarters proceeded to Stirling Castle and formed a junction with the
dépôt, while three companies were detached to Perth and three to Dundee.
Previous to embarking for
England, a highly complimentary letter was addressed to Lieutenant-Colonel
the Hononrable Lauderdale Maule, by the magistrates and council of Quebec.
" It is," says this letter, "with great pleasure that the
magistrates bear testimony to the excellent conduct of the men of your
regiment during their sojourn in Quebec, where they will be long and
favourably remembered." Here also did the officers and men of the 79th
erect, in the Scotch Presbyterian Church of St Andrew’s, a handsome marble
tablet to the memory of the non-commissioned officers and soldiers who died
during the period of service in Canada.
In February 1849,
Major-General James Hay, C.B., was appointed Colonel in succession to
Lt.-General Sir James Macdonell, appointed to the Colonelcy of the 71st
Regiment; and in December 1852, Major Edmund James Elliot succeeded to the
command of the regiment as Lt.-Colonel by the retirement of the Hon.
Lauderdale Manic on half-pay.
In February 1852 the regiment
removed to Edinburgh Castle, where it remained till April 1853, and after
spending some time at Bury, Preston, and Weedon, it joined the encampment at
Chobham in July, where it was brigaded with the 19th and 97th regiments,
under the command of Colonel Lockyer, K.H. Here the regiment remained till
the 20th of August, when the encampment was broken up, and the 79th
proceeded to Portsmouth. |
