Part 3

The British Government, having ascertained that the King of Spain had engaged to furnish powerful aid to France, felt itself compelled to consider Spain as an enemy, and accordingly issued orders for intercepting some frigates off Cadiz, which were on their way to France with cargoes of treasure: a declaration of war was consequently issued by the Court of Madrid against Great Britain on the 12th of December 1804.

The establishment of the EIGHTY-SEVENTH regiment, which had been authorised to receive men raised in certain counties of Ireland, under the Act of Parliament, dated 14th July 1804, termed the “_Additional Force Act_,” was augmented by a second battalion, of which a distinct account is commenced at page 41.[6]

[Sidenote: 1805.]

On the 10th of March 1805, a detachment, consisting of twenty-eight serjeants, fifteen drummers, and five hundred and twenty-eight rank and file, being drafts from the levy then raising in the county of Mayo by the Honorable H. E. Browne, embarked from Ireland for Guernsey, and joined the first battalion on the 15th of April following, thus considerably augmenting the effective strength of the EIGHTY-SEVENTH regiment.

[Sidenote: 1806.]

On the 2nd of November 1805, the first battalion embarked from Guernsey, and proceeded to Portsmouth.

The first battalion of the EIGHTY-SEVENTH regiment embarked at Portsmouth on the 23rd of July 1806, and proceeded to Plymouth, where it disembarked on the 6th of September following. On the 12th of that month it embarked for South America, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Sir Edward Butler; the effective numbers were, fifty-three serjeants, eighteen drummers, and eight hundred and five rank and file.[7]

[Sidenote: 1807.]

The first battalion arrived in the Rio de la Plata in January 1807, and disembarked on the 16th of that month near _Monte Video_, where it took up a position in advance, protecting the breaching batteries, it having been arranged between Brigadier-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty and Rear-Admiral Stirling to lay siege to the place. The piquets of the EIGHTY-SEVENTH, under Major Miller, were attacked by the Spaniards, who were defeated with great loss. On the 3rd of February, a practicable breach being made, the troops proceeded to storm the town, which was carried, and the citadel soon afterwards surrendered.

The EIGHTY-SEVENTH, under Lieut.-Colonel Sir Edward Butler, had three officers and sixty men killed, and three officers and eighty men wounded: total, one hundred and forty-six; strength in the field, seven hundred and eighty-eight.

_Killed._

_Captain_—Charles Beaumont. _Lieutenant_—Hugh Irwine. _Surgeon_—Wilde.

_Wounded._

_Captain_—John Evans. ” R. McCrea. _Lieutenant_—W. Boucher.

In the public thanks issued by Brigadier-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty, the regiment is thus mentioned:—

“The EIGHTY-SEVENTH, under Lieut.-Colonel Sir Edward Butler, were equally forward; and to their credit, it must be noticed, that they were posted under the great gate, to rush into the town when it should be opened by the troops, who entered at the breach; but their ardour would not allow them to wait; they scaled the walls, and _opened themselves a passage_. (Signed) “T. BRADFORD, “_Dep. Adjutant-General_.”

The EIGHTY-SEVENTH subsequently received the royal authority to bear the words “MONTE VIDEO” on the regimental colour and appointments in commemoration of the gallantry evinced in the capture of that place on the 3rd of February 1807.

On the 10th of May, Lieut.-General Whitelocke having arrived from England with reinforcements, proceeded as Commander-in-chief to prepare for the attack of Buenos Ayres. In a brilliant affair at Colonia on the 7th of June, the light company of the battalion was creditably engaged. On the 18th of June the troops embarked at Monte Video, and on the 28th of the same month landed at _Ensenada da Barragon_, about twenty-eight miles from Buenos Ayres, without firing a shot. Major-General John Levison Gower was the second in command to Lieut.-General Whitelocke, and the EIGHTY-SEVENTH were posted in the right brigade under Brigadier-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty.

In the assault of _Buenos Ayres_ on the morning of the 5th of July 1807, the EIGHTY-SEVENTH were formed by wings, the right commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Sir Edward Butler, and the left by Major Miller. The orders were to pierce by the two streets to the right of the Retiro, in performing which (in company with the Thirty-eighth regiment) they suffered very severely. In the course of this service, Lieutenant William Hutchinson, in command of Captain Frederick Desbarres’s company, took two of the enemy’s guns, turned them on the Plazo del Toro, and, after a few rounds, the enemy, to the number of fifteen hundred, surrendered to him. The thanks of Sir Samuel Auchmuty were given to Lieutenant Hutchinson for his gallant conduct upon this occasion. Serjeant Byrne also distinguished himself by his bravery. Twenty-nine pieces of artillery, with a quantity of military stores, were taken. The light company, which was detached from the regiment, was taken prisoners in the convent of St. Domingo, and remained for three days, when it was restored agreeably to the articles of the treaty.

The loss of the EIGHTY-SEVENTH on this occasion was seven officers and eighty men killed, and ten officers and three hundred and twenty men wounded: total, four hundred and seventeen; strength in the field, six hundred and forty-two; remained, two hundred and twenty-five.

_Killed._

_Capt._—David Considine. ” Noblet Johnston. ” Peter Gordon.

_Lieut._—Robert Hamilton. ” Michael Barry. _Quarterm^r._—Wm. Buchanan. _Assist.-Surgeon_—Buxton.

_Wounded._

_Major_—Francis Miller. _Capt._—Alexander Rose. ” Frederick Desbarres. ” Henry Blake. _Lieut._—James O’Brien. ” Edward Fitzgerald. ” William Crowe. ” Hen. Taylor Budd. ” Robert John Love. _Ensign_—Godfrey Green.

The evening before this attack, there was an order that the great coats and kits of the regiment should be left in the house which the commanding officer had occupied, under the charge of the Quartermaster; or, in his absence, of a subaltern officer, with the sick or lame men who could not march, as a guard for this baggage. The Quartermaster was employed on the general staff as an assistant engineer, and the tour of duty fell upon Lieutenant Michael Barry, of the grenadier company; but this high-spirited young man earnestly solicited, and obtained permission, to accompany his regiment, and was the first officer who fell the next day. No other subaltern being found willing to remain behind, the charge was entrusted to Quartermaster-Serjeant William Grady. He was the first man who joined the corps on its formation, and had been distinguished for his bravery, intelligence, and trustworthiness; his guard, inefficient as it must be, mustered somewhat more than twenty men. In front of the house there was a thick orchard, with a narrow path leading to it; upon this he placed double sentries during the night, and a piquet of half his force in the day-time. It appeared that at the further end of this orchard a mounted body of the enemy was concealed; these men had been posted in advance of the town, but being unable to return, in consequence of the British troops having got between it and their position, they determined to get into the country by this narrow pass; but when they rushed out of the orchard, they were fired upon by Serjeant Grady’s sentries, and, their leader falling, they retreated into their cover, and after several ineffectual attempts to escape in that direction, the party, consisting of two officers and seventy men, well mounted and armed, surrendered to the Quartermaster-Serjeant’s small force. Having secured their arms and ammunition, he marched the prisoners to head-quarters, and delivered them up to Major-General Gower. Two hours after he received written orders from Lieut.-General Whitelocke to return the arms, &c. to the prisoners, who were released, and not to fire upon or stop any party, whether armed or not, going into or coming out of the town. At nine o’clock the next night, upwards of five hundred mounted men came out of the town and surrounded the house, the owner of which was an officer of the party, who, in addition to national hostility, was in a state of great irritation at his house having been taken from him, and, as he stated, plundered by the advanced guard of the British army. They surrounded and made prisoners Serjeant Grady and his party, who had orders not to fire upon any armed body. They were marched into the town, and thrust into loathsome dungeons. The Serjeant was a peculiar object of revenge, because he refused to accept a commission in their service, and to drill their troops. This brave and excellent soldier was subsequently rewarded for his exemplary conduct by being appointed Quartermaster to the second battalion of the regiment. After the capture of Serjeant Grady and his party, the stores were plundered, and the baggage carried off or destroyed.

Notwithstanding the intrepidity displayed by the troops, the enterprise failed. On the morning of the 6th of July the Governor-General Liniers sent a letter to Lieut.-General Whitelocke, offering to restore the prisoners taken in the action of the preceding day, and also those made with Brigadier-General Beresford, on condition that the whole of the British forces should be withdrawn from South America, which proposals were accepted. The Lieutenant-General’s conduct subsequently became the subject of inquiry by a court-martial, and he was cashiered.

During the attack upon Buenos Ayres, a number of the Spanish and native soldiers were seen in the uniform of the EIGHTY-SEVENTH regiment; this was accounted for by a ship with the clothing for that regiment, which had been sent out from England to Monte Video, having been captured and carried into Buenos Ayres by a Spanish privateer, and the clothing had thus been distributed to the armed populace.

Subsequently to the assault on _Buenos Ayres_, the Commander of the Forces issued the following general order:—

“_Buenos Ayres, 8th July 1807._ “GENERAL ORDER.

“Volunteer Peter Benson Husband, of the EIGHTY-SEVENTH regiment, is appointed Ensign in that corps, in consequence of his very gallant behaviour on the morning of the 5th instant. (Signed) “T. BRADFORD, “_Deputy-Adjutant-General_.”

The EIGHTY-SEVENTH returned to Monte Video, after the cessation of hostilities, and was completed by volunteers from the different corps returning to Europe. On the 2nd of August the regiment embarked for the Cape of Good Hope; and on the 4th of September following it landed at Simon’s Bay, and marched to Cape Town, where it formed part of the garrison.

[Sidenote: 1808.]

[Sidenote: 1809.]

During the years 1808 and 1809, the first battalion continued to be stationed at the Cape of Good Hope.

[Sidenote: 1810.]

On the 23rd of October 1810, the first battalion embarked from the Cape, having been selected to form part of an expedition designed to co-operate with troops from India, under the command of Lieut.-General John Abercromby, in the capture of the Mauritius. A landing of the troops from India had taken place a few days before the division from the Cape, under Major-General William Cockell, had arrived. Its appearance off the island was, however,

## particularly opportune, as the French governor had previously

resolved to defend his lines before Port Louis; but when he saw the force from the Cape approach the island, he relinquished the hope of being able to make effectual resistance, and surrendered this valuable colony to the British. The battalion disembarked at Port Louis on the 1st of December, where it remained on duty, after the other regiments composing the expedition returned to their respective quarters. Captain Henry C. Streatfeild with two officers and one hundred men were embarked on board a ship of war, in advance of the expedition, and landed before the force from the Cape.

[Sidenote: 1811 to 1814.]

The first battalion continued to form part of the garrison of the island during the four following years.

[Sidenote: 1815.]

In May 1815, the first battalion at the Mauritius was directed to hold itself in readiness for active service in India, and embarked on board of transports on the 16th of June, and landed at Fort William, in Bengal, on the 3rd of August.

The light company embarked in an Arab ship, with the flank companies of the Twelfth and Twenty-second regiments, and were carried into the Gulf of Manaar; the ship being there weather-bound, the troops were landed, with the assistance of country-boats, at Calpenterre, in Ceylon, and having remained fourteen days at Point de Galle, embarked again in the Arab ship for Calcutta, where they arrived, and rejoined the regiment on the 25th of September.

On the 1st of October 1815, the first battalion of the EIGHTY-SEVENTH regiment embarked in boats, and sailed for Berhampore, where it arrived on the 14th, and again embarked and sailed for Dinapore on the 13th of November, at which place it disembarked on the 18th of December.

[Sidenote: 1816.]

The Rajah of Nepaul having broken the terms of treaty made by him with the Honorable East India Company, the battalion marched for his territories on the 15th of January 1816, and arrived at Bullvee Camp on the 24th, where it joined the army under the command of Major-General Sir David Ochterlony, K.C.B., who commanded the forces assembled on the frontiers of Nepaul; on the 3rd of February the brigades advanced by their respective routes into Nepaul, Sir David Ochterlony remaining in company with the third and fourth brigades (to the former of which the EIGHTY-SEVENTH belonged), and marched through the forest at the foot of the Nepaul Hills on the 9th. The light company of the battalion with those of the native infantry of the brigade with two guns under the command of Lieut. John Fenton, formed the advanced guard, and had a very arduous duty to perform, in carrying the guns through the forest, which was accomplished by the personal exertions of each individual. On the 10th, the third brigade arrived at Semul Cassa Pass, and at nine o’clock A. M. the light company of the EIGHTY-SEVENTH, commanded by Lieutenant Fenton, accompanied by Sir David Ochterlony, was drawn up the pass, a height of thirty feet, by the officers’ sashes, the brigade then about five miles from the pass; on the 19th it reached the village of Etoundah on the banks of the Rapti. The advanced guard again exerted themselves in opening a communication between the third and fourth brigades through the Cheria Ghanty Pass.

On the 27th of February it arrived at Muckwanpore, and on the 28th the brigade was ordered to take possession of the heights of _Sierapore_, and reconnoitre the position of the enemy. Lieutenant Thomas Lee, with a piquet of forty men of the EIGHTY-SEVENTH, and strong piquets of native infantry, under their own officers, was directed to take possession of the deserted height of Sierapore. Captain Pickersgill, acting Quartermaster-General, conducted them to their ground, where having planted them, Lieutenant Lee and twenty men of the EIGHTY-SEVENTH proceeded to reconnoitre the ground in advance: the enemy advanced to recover his position; the piquet retired, and the reconnoitering party, in danger of being cut off; had to descend a hill covered with jungle, pursued by a strong party (nearly four hundred) of the enemy, and would not have escaped but for the gallantry of two soldiers of the EIGHTY-SEVENTH, Corporal James Orr of No. 5. company, and Private Patrick Boyle of the Grenadier company, who seeing the danger of the officers, placed themselves on the pathway, and by their steadiness and fire, checked the advance of the enemy. On the officers making good their retreat, these gallant fellows retired uninjured: the corporal was promoted to the rank of serjeant at the particular desire of Major-General Sir David Ochterlony; the unfortunate habit of drinking alone prevented the promotion of the private. An action afterwards took place, in which the light company, under the command of Captain Fenton, suffered considerably. The action commenced about noon, and ceased at six o’clock P. M., leaving the British in possession of the heights for a considerable distance from Sierapore, and of one field-piece.

In this affair Lieut.-Colonel Francis Miller commanding the battalion, and Lieutenant Fenton[8] in the command of the light company (detached in the advance), particularly distinguished themselves, and received the public thanks of Major-General Sir David Ochterlony, and also of the Marquis of Hastings, the Commander-in-chief and Governor-General of India. The regiment had ten men killed, and above thirty wounded, many of whom died; the loss of the enemy was very considerable.

The Rajah, perceiving that resistance was unavailing, sued for peace, and a treaty was concluded on the 4th of March; on the 9th of that month the battalion commenced its return to Bengal, and arrived at Amowah on the 22nd of March, where it was cantoned until the 30th of June, on which day it commenced its march to Govingunge on the river Gonduck, and embarked in boats in progress to Cawnpore; on the 17th of August, the battalion arrived at Jangemowe, within a few miles of Cawnpore, but did not disembark at the latter station, until the 10th of September. About this period the battalion became very sickly from being so long confined in boats; the hospital list amounted to about four hundred and eighty, exclusive of numbers who could not be admitted for want of room. Not less than one hundred and fifty men died in this and the following month, when the cold weather coming on, in a great measure, renovated the corps.

[Sidenote: 1817.]

On the 6th of February 1817, the regiment marched from Cawnpore towards Hattrass, which fortress the Commander-in-chief had given instructions to Major-General Marshall to besiege: the division from Cawnpore arrived before Hattrass, and joined the field army, on the 20th of February.

The pettah of the fort of Hattrass having been breached, it was resolved to storm on the evening of the 25th of February, and accordingly his Majesty’s Fourteenth regiment was appointed for that duty, and the EIGHTY-SEVENTH to cover; however, the breach being found impracticable, the troops returned to their lines, but the pettah was evacuated during the night, and taken possession of on the following morning by the British troops; batteries were immediately erected against the fort, which was heavily bombarded with shells and rockets: at length the principal magazine blew up on the 2nd of March, the explosion of which was said to be distinctly heard at Meerut, nearly two hundred miles distant.

Dya Ram, Rajah of the fortress, having determined on abandoning it, most gallantly cut his way through some of the piquets of the besieging army, and effected his escape. On the morning of the 3rd of March, the right wing of the EIGHTY-SEVENTH marched into and took possession of the fortress of Hattrass, which was reduced to a mass of ruins. On the 8th of March the regiment commenced its return to Cawnpore.

In July and August the EIGHTY-SEVENTH regiment, in Bengal, was increased by a detachment of thirteen serjeants, three drummers, and two hundred and sixty-nine rank and file, men who had been transferred on the second battalion being disbanded on the 1st of February 1817.

The regiment remained at Cawnpore until the 15th of October, when it received orders to march to Secundra, where the grand army was formed under the command of the Marquis of Hastings, against the Pindaree hordes, and having remained there until a bridge of boats was completed over the Jumna, it crossed that river on the 27th, and marched to the banks of the Sind, opposite Gualior; but the grand army being, about this time, attacked by that fatal disease, the cholera morbus, compelled the Marquis, with his troops, to retire to Erich on the Bettwah: the mortality for four or five days was very great, particularly among the natives, who died in vast numbers on the road and in the villages through which the army passed. The EIGHTY-SEVENTH lost one subaltern (Lieutenant John Coghlan), three serjeants, and forty rank and file; total, forty-four, in three days. The army having in some measure recovered, his Lordship returned to the banks of the Sind, and took up a position at Lonaree, within twenty-one miles of Gualior, where Scindiah, with a powerful force, was ready to take the field, to support the Mahratta States, which had revolted.

[Sidenote: 1818.]

On the 14th of February 1818, the different divisions of the army were broken up, in consequence of peace being concluded, and the EIGHTY-SEVENTH returned to Cawnpore, at which station it arrived on the 26th of that month.

[Sidenote: 1820.]

On the 21st of October 1820, the regiment marched from Cawnpore for Fort William, by the new road, and arrived in that garrison on the 21st of December, a distance of six hundred and sixty miles.

[Sidenote: 1821.]

On the night of the 6th of September 1821, a very alarming fire broke out in the Honorable Company’s Dispensary, situated in Calcutta, and surrounded by many valuable houses. As soon as intelligence reached the fort, two captains and ten subalterns, with about three hundred men, immediately marched to the spot, and, by the greatest exertions, prevented the fire from spreading to the neighbouring houses. The strictness with which the armed party protected the property of the inhabitants, called forth their admiration, which was followed by the annexed letter from the Governor-General, the Marquis of Hastings.

“_Council Chamber, 17th Sept. 1821._ “MY DEAR SIR,

“It was a great satisfaction to me, though no surprise, to learn the zealous and meritorious conduct of the detachment of the EIGHTY-SEVENTH, employed in the endeavour to stop the fire last night. As some of the men have suffered in articles of dress, to repair that damage, as well as to reward the activity of the party, the Council has directed that five hundred rupees be paid to you, which you will please to distribute according to your opinion of claims. “I have, &c., (Signed) “HASTINGS. “_Lieut.-Colonel Miller, Eighty-seventh regiment._”

This mark of approbation from the Governor-General in Council, towards the party in general, was followed by one to the officers employed, each being presented with a piece of plate, accompanied by the following letter:

“_Council Chamber, 18th December 1821._ “SIR,

“The Most Noble the Governor-General in Council, being desirous to evince the sense which Government entertains of the laudable exertions of those officers of his Majesty’s EIGHTY-SEVENTH regiment, who were present with the detachment sent from Fort William on the occasion of the fire at the Honorable Company’s dispensary, has commanded me to transmit to you the accompanying silver cups, with a request that you will, on the part of his Lordship in Council, present one to each of the several officers named below, who are understood to have accompanied the troops on the night of the 6th of September last.”

_Captain_—George Rodney Bell. ” W. G. Cavanagh. _Lieutenant and Adjutant_—James Bowes. _Lieutenant_—John G. Baylee. ” Richard Irvine. ” Henry Gough Baylee. ” Alexander Irwin. ” George Tolfrey. ” Edmund Cox. ” John Shipp. ” Henry Spaight. _Ensign_—Lawrence Halstead.

A very handsome piece of plate, which is now in the mess, was likewise presented to the above officers by Doctor M^cWhirter, whose house adjoined the Dispensary, and which was saved by great exertion.

[Sidenote: 1822.]

In April 1822, another alarming fire occurred in Calcutta, at the cotton stores of Mr. Laprimaudage, in which a detachment of the EIGHTY-SEVENTH exerted itself in a very laudable manner, and a letter of thanks was received by Lieut.-Colonel Miller, from that gentleman, for the service rendered by the officers and men on this occasion.

In 1822 the arrival of regiments from Europe, caused the EIGHTY-SEVENTH to embark (by wings) in boats for the Upper Provinces, and on the 11th of July the right wing sailed for Dinapore, the left following on the 22nd of that month.