Chapter 24 of 32 · 3643 words · ~18 min read

CHAPTER XXIII

THE FOURTH BATTALION.—THE HISTORY AND PRESENT DESIGNATION OF THE COMPANIES.

THIS Battalion was formed on the 1st January, 1771, by drafting six companies from the Battalions already in existence, which were thus reduced from ten to eight companies, and by the formation, in addition, of two new companies. At the same date, eight companies of invalids were formed from the men on out-pension, two of which were attached to each Battalion, but were not borne upon the effective strength. These eight companies were consolidated in 1779 in one invalid battalion, with a regular staff, and effective companies were raised for the other battalions, in their stead.

On its first formation, the companies of the 4th Battalion were very weak, consisting each of 1 Captain, 1 Captain-Lieutenant, 2 First Lieutenants, 2 Second Lieutenants, 2 Sergeants, 2 Corporals, 4 bombardiers, 8 gunners, 52 matrosses, and 2 drummers. The staff of the Battalion consisted of a Colonel-Commandant, a Lieutenant-Colonel, a Major, an Adjutant, a Quartermaster, and a Chaplain. Colonel Ord, the first Colonel-Commandant, had greatly distinguished himself in North America in 1759 and 1760; and it was a happy coincidence that he should receive the command of a battalion whose services in that country were destined to be so brilliant. These services will receive more appropriate mention in the chapters connected with the American War of Independence, and with the gallant officer who commanded it during that war, General James Pattison.

But two of the companies received special marks of distinction which deserve to be mentioned. One, No. 1 Company, now No. 4 Battery, 7th Brigade, was singled out after the battle of Vaux, in 1794, for its gallant conduct during the day, and the whole Army was formed up to see it march past the Duke on the field of battle. Another company, No. 10, received a special mark of distinction for its gallantry during the second American War, and more especially at the capture of Fort Niagara. By General Order of 7th October, 1816, it was permitted to wear on its appointments "in addition to any badges or devices which may have been hitherto granted to the Royal Regiment of Artillery" the word "Niagara." This company subsequently fell a victim to change and reduction. It was reduced in January, 1819, after a service of forty years, having been one of the two companies formed in 1779 to replace the invalid companies of the Battalion. It was reformed at Woolwich on the 16th August, 1848; and on the 3rd November in that year it became No. 6 Company of the 12th Battalion. In 1859, when the Brigade system was introduced, it became No. 9 Battery of the 6th Brigade; on the 1st April, 1865, it was transferred to the 12th Brigade as No. 8 Battery; and on the 1st February, 1871, by reduction, it ceased to exist as such. It is a matter of regret that the pruning-knife should be applied to the companies which have a distinctive history.

The 4th Battalion afforded a precedent—although not a happy one—for the Brigade system as applied to the Royal Artillery. It was the only battalion which ever went on service with its head-quarter staff. Experience soon proved that it would have been better to leave that appendage—as was customary—at Woolwich. The Battalion letter-books teem with complaints as to clothing, recruiting, and pay, which might have been obviated by having at home the usual battalion officials, whose duties were connected with these details. With the companies detached over the American continent, and the head-quarters virtually imprisoned in New York, the confusion was endless, and the natural results excite a smile as the student reads of them. For the officials at the Board of Ordnance exercised the same paternal interference over the distant staff, as if they had been in Woolwich. The time occupied by correspondence across the Atlantic, rendered necessary by the stupidity and the curiosity of the Ordnance officials, told heavily against the comfort of the companies, and the peace of mind of their Captains. The circumlocution between London and New York, New York and all the stations on the continent where detachments of the Battalion were stationed, and back again to the Tower, was at once ludicrous and irritating. And the trouble caused by the absence from England of those who would have interested themselves in procuring suitable and creditable recruits cannot be realized save by those who have waded through the letter-books of the period. The companies were fettered to a beleaguered head-quarters, which in its turn was tied and bound to a distant department, nor was allowed the slightest independence of

## action. The result may easily be imagined. Questions which could have

been decided in a few minutes, if those interested could have met, grew every day more complicated and unwieldy by the correspondence at long and uncertain intervals in which the Board of Ordnance revelled.

The services of the companies will now be given, in the same manner as those of the other battalions. There are few lists more noble than that of the military operations in which No. 1 Company was engaged. The battery—No. 4 of the 7th Brigade—whose history this is, may well be proud of such noble antecedents. The revival of these may prove a means of awakening a pride in its ranks which will be the strongest aid to discipline, the most powerful incentive to progress.

The succession of Captains of the various companies, as far as the somewhat mutilated records on this point will admit, will also be given, down to the time when the nomenclature of the companies was changed, since which date, so recent, no difficulty will be found in continuing the lists.

No. 1 COMPANY, 4th BATTALION, Now "4" BATTERY, 7th BRIGADE.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Battles, Sieges, and other Military operations in which this Company has been engaged. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1775 Battle of Bunker's Hill. 1776 Siege of Boston. 1776 Battle of Brooklyn, and capture of Horan's Hook. 1776 Occupation of New York. 1776 Battle of White Plains. 1776 Capture of Fort Washington and Fort Lee. 1776 Expedition against Charleston. 1777 Operations in the Jerseys under Lord Cornwallis. 1777 Affair of Westfield: defeat of Americans. 1777 Battle of Brandywine: ditto. 1777 Occupation of Philadelphia. 1777 Battle of Freehold Court: defeat of Americans. 1777 Capture of Savannah, and defeat of American General Howe— detachments only present. 1779 Capture of Stoney Point on the Hudson. 1779 General Matthews' successful raid in Virginia. 1780 Capture of Charlestown, and operations in North Carolina. 1781 Detachments were present at Yorktown when Lord Cornwallis capitulated. 1793 Expedition to the Netherlands under H. R. H. the Duke of York: present at Siege and Capture of Valenciennes. 1793 Affair of Lincelles. 1793 Siege of Dunkirk. 1793 Affairs of Lannoy and Marchiennes. 1794 Severe engagement at Vaux. (The Company thanked in General Orders, and marched past the Duke on the field of battle.) 1794 Affairs of Cateau and Landrecy. 1794 Retreat from Lannoy, &c. 1794 Engagement of 22nd May. This Company was specially thanked by H.R.H. the Duke of York. 1794 Retreat to Bremen. This Company was continually engaged, and suffered great loss. 1799 A small detachment of the Company accompanied the Expedition to the Netherlands. 1807 Siege of Buenos Ayres. 1811 Battle of Albuera. 1813 Battle of Vittoria. 1813 Battle of the Pyrenees. 1814 Passage of the Gave de Menton, near Villa Franca. 1814 Battle of Orthes. 1814 Battle of Toulouse. 1814 Various affairs with the Americans in Canada during 1814. 1839 Disturbances in Canada. This Company performed the Winter March to Quebec.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── List of Captains who have successively commanded the Company, as far back as can be traced, down to introduction of Brigade System, in 1859. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1786 Captain W. O. Huddlestone. 1790 Captain Thomas Trotter. 1795 Captain John Burton. 1804 Captain James Hawker. 1812 Captain Stewart Maxwell. * * * * * 1824 Captain William Butts. 1824 Captain Thomas Cubitt. 1832 Captain Frederick Arabin. 1837 Captain R. S. Armstrong. 1846 Captain Hugh Manley Tuite. 1854 Captain Charles Taylor Du Plat. 1856 Captain M. B. Forde.

No. 2 COMPANY, 4th BATTALION, Now "6" BATTERY, 3rd BRIGADE.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── List of Captains who have successively commanded the Company, as far back as can be traced, down to introduction of Brigade System, in 1859. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * * * * * 1786 Captain John Lemoine. 1791 Captain William Collier. 1795 Captain J. A. Schalch. 1801 Captain Charles Godfrey. 1805 Captain William Hall. 1806 Captain P. Durnford. 1806 Captain Charles C. Bingham. 1812 Captain P. M. Wallace. * * * * * 1828 Captain J. A. Chalmers. 1835 Captain A. MacDonald. 1840 Captain Thomas O. Cater. 1840 Captain George James. 1848 Captain Thomas Elwyn. 1850 Captain A. J. Taylor. 1852 Captain A. H. Graham. 1857 Captain W. W. Barry.

No. 3 COMPANY, 4th BATTALION, Now "8" BATTERY, 2nd BRIGADE.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── List of Captains who have successively commanded the Company, as far back as can be traced, down to introduction of Brigade System, in 1859. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * * * * * 1786 Captain F. M. Keith. 1790 Captain J. H. Yorke. 1796 Captain George Koehler. 1797 Captain W. Wilson. 1802 Captain Edward Hope. 1803 Captain W. Scott. 1812 Captain W. R. Carey. 1815 Captain E. C. Wilford. 1817 Captain James Addams. 1825 Captain E. T. Michell. 1835 Captain Thomas Dyneley. 1837 Captain W. Elgee. 1846 Captain Henry S. Tireman. 1847 Captain S. P. Townsend. 1849 Captain St. John T. Browne. * * * * *

No. 4 COMPANY, 4th BATTALION, AFTERWARDS "8" BATTERY, 1st BRIGADE. _Reduced 1st April, 1869._

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Battles, Sieges, and other Military operations in which this Company has been engaged. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1775 Battle of Bunker's Hill. 1776 Siege of Boston. 1776 Battle of Brooklyn, and Capture of Horan's Hook. 1776 Occupation of New York. 1776 Battle of White Plains. Specially thanked in General Orders. 1776 Capture of Forts Washington and Lee. 1776 Expedition against Charlestown. 1777 Operations in the Jerseys under Lord Cornwallis. 1777 Affairs of Peek's Hill and Westfield. 1777 Battle of Brandywine, and occupation of Philadelphia. 1778 Evacuation of Philadelphia by British, and defeat of Americans at Germantown. 1778 Battle of Freehold Court. 1778 Detachments present at Capture of Savannah. 1779 Detachments present at Capture of Stoney Point on the Hudson. 1779 Ditto during General Matthews' raid in Virginia. 1780 Capture of Charlestown, and operations in North Carolina. 1793 Expedition to Flanders under H.R.H. the Duke of York: present at every engagement during the Campaign, and specially mentioned in General Orders. 1808 Present with the Army in Portugal until the Battle of Corunna, when it returned to Gibraltar. 1839 Canadian Rebellion. 1856 Expedition to Crimea, but arrived a few days after the fall of Sebastopol.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── List of Captains who have successively commanded the Company, as far back as can be traced, down to introduction of Brigade System, in 1859. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * * * * * 1786 Captain W. Houghton. 1790 Captain F. Laye. 1797 Captain B. Young. 1804 Captain Hon. W. H. Gardner. 1805 Captain F. Smith. * * * * * 1823 Captain Thomas Cubitt. 1826 Captain William Butts. 1829 Captain John Dowse. * * * * * 1841 Captain R. L. Cornelius. 1844 Captain W. Y. Fenwick. 1844 Captain Henry Poole. 1848 Captain William Fraser. 1850 Captain A. G. Burrows. 1855 Captain J. F. E. Travers.

No. 5 COMPANY, 4th BATTALION, Now "B" BATTERY, 9th BRIGADE.

_N.B._—A detachment of this Company embarked on board Lord Nelson's fleet from Barbadoes to assist in working the guns.

1809-1810 Capture of Martinique and Guadaloupe. 1815 Occupation of Paris. 1842 to Engaged at Cape of Good Hope in the operations against the 1848 insurgent Boers and Kaffirs. 1855 Siege of Sebastopol.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── List of Captains who have successively commanded the Company, as far back as can be traced, down to introduction of Brigade System, in 1859. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * * * * * 1786 Captain Charles Wood. 1787 Captain George Abson. 1792 Captain Ashton Shuttleworth. 1795 Captain Robert Hope. 1802 Captain W. Wilson. 1804 Captain W. Payne. 1805 Captain W. Millar. 1805 Captain Charles Younghusband. * * * * * 1823 Captain G. C. Coffin. * * * * * 1836 Captain E. Sheppard. 1837 Captain J. M. Stephens. 1840 Captain G. G. Palmer. 1841 Captain Henry Pallisser. 1848 Captain W. H. Elliot. 1855 Captain G. H. L. Milman.

No. 6 COMPANY, 4th BATTALION, Now "1" BATTERY, 6th BRIGADE.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── List of Captains who have successively commanded the Company, as far back as can be traced, down to introduction of Brigade System, in 1859. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * * * * * 1783 Captain R. Lawson. 1793 Captain J. Wilson. 1794 Captain J. Bradbridge. 1797 Captain H. Framingham. 1804 Captain George Skyring. 1811 Captain W. Morrison. * * * * * 1826 Captain P. Faddy. * * * * * 1839 Captain R. Kendall. 1845 Captain George Markland. 1852 Captain H. P. Goodenough. * * * * *

No. 7 COMPANY, 4th BATTALION, Now "6" BATTERY, 10th BRIGADE.

_N.B._—A detachment of this Company accompanied their Captain, F. R. Chesney, in his scientific researches along the Euphrates and Persian Gulf.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── List of Captains who have successively commanded the Company, as far back as can be traced, down to introduction of Brigade System, in 1859. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * * * * * 1786 Captain Thomas Hare. 1790 Captain T. Seward. 1796 Captain C. W. Thornton. 1797 Captain E. Trelawney. 1799 Captain G. Wulff. 1804 Captain W. Caddy. 1817 Captain C. Bridge. 1817 Captain A. Bredin. 1820 Captain George Turner. 1825 Captain W. Greene. 1830 Captain F. R. Chesney. 1842 Captain D. Thorndike. 1850 Captain John Henry Lefroy. 1854 Captain A. C. Hawkins. 1855 Captain S. Robinson. 1855 Captain A. C. L. Fitzroy.

No. 8 COMPANY, 4th BATTALION, Now "E" BATTERY, 1st BRIGADE.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── List of Captains who have successively commanded the Company, as far back as can be traced, down to introduction of Brigade System, in 1859. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * * * * * 1786 Captain Patrick Ross. 1791 Captain S. Rimington. 1799 Captain James Hook. 1802 Captain E. V. Worsley. 1809 Captain J. T. Robison. 1811 Captain R. F. Cleaveland. 1819 Captain C. F. Sandham. 1822 Captain N. W. Oliver. 1826 Captain P. Walker. 1827 Captain C. Cruttenden. 1833 Captain W. B. Dundas. 1837 Captain A. O. W. Schalch. 1837 Captain R. B. Rawnsley. 1842 Captain G. Durnford. 1844 Captain J. H. St. John. 1844 Captain G. H. Hyde. 1854-55 Captain A. Oldfield. 1856 Captain W. T. Barnett.

No. 9 COMPANY, 4th BATTALION, (_Afterwards 4th Company, 11th Battalion_), Now "H" BATTERY, 4th BRIGADE.

## active part, proceeding no further than Valenciennes.

Reduced in 1819 and reformed in 1848, when it was transferred to the 11th Battalion as No. 4 Company. It served during the Crimean War, and was present at the Battle of Alma. Battle of Inkerman. and was constantly employed in carrying ammunition into the trenches.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── List of Captains who have successively commanded the Company, as far back as can be traced, down to introduction of Brigade System, in 1859. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── * * * * * 1783 Captain James Winter. 1790 Captain T. Brady. 1793 Captain R. Hamilton. 1800 Captain R. Wright. 1800 Captain W. Robe. 1806 Captain T. J. Forbes. 1808 Captain J. S. Sinclair. Reduced in 1819. Reformed in 1848. 1848 Captain W. S. Payne. 1848 Captain T. B. F. Marriott. (Transferred to 11th Battalion.) 1849 Captain W. R. Nedham. 1854 Captain J. Turner. 1855 Captain H. A. Smyth.

No. 10 COMPANY, 4th BATTALION, AFTERWARDS "8" BATTERY, 12th BRIGADE, Now "5" BATTERY, 12th BRIGADE.

## active part, remaining in garrison at Tournay.

1855 Crimea.

_N.B._—No. 8 Battery, 12th Brigade, R. A., was _nominally_ reduced on 1st Feb., 1871: but as No. 5 Battery of that Brigade was _really_ reduced, and the officers, non-commissioned officers, and men, of No. 8 Battery were transferred to No. 5, it seems just to perpetuate No. 8 Battery. The arms, books, &c., of No. 8 were also transferred to No. 5.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── List of Captains who have successively commanded the Company, as far back as can be traced, down to introduction of Brigade System, in 1859. ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1783 Captain W. Godwin. 1787 Captain B. Marlow. 1794 Captain William Borthwick. 1794 Captain George Glasgow. 1800 Captain R. Dickinson. 1806 Captain E. Curry. 1808 Captain William Holcroft. 1816 Captain Joseph Brome. Reduced in 1819. Reformed in 1848. 1848 Captain H. S. Rowan. Became 6th Company 12th Battalion in November, 1848. 1854 Captain Hamley. 1858 Captain Macdougal. 1859 Captain Boothby.

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Footnote 25:

At the capture of St. Sebastian, ten men of this Company volunteered for the storming party, and were instrumental in deciding the fate of the attack by the gallant style in which they turned two of the enemy's guns upon the garrison, driving the defenders from the works.