Part 4

Field Marshal His Royal Highness the Duke of York arrived at the Helder on the 14th of September, and, having been reinforced by a corps of twelve thousand Russians, under Lieut.-General Hermann, resolved on attacking the French position in advance of _Alkmaar_, reaching from Zuyder Zee, on the right, to Camperdown on the left, and embracing the town of Bergen. The attack was made on the 19th of September, in four columns, but the Russians having failed in holding Bergen, after having entered it in gallant style, the places, which had been acquired by the other columns, were abandoned, and His Royal Highness withdrew his army to its former position on the Zuype.

From the 20th of September until the 1st of October both armies remained within their entrenchments, strengthening their lines of defence: the French had received reinforcements, and had inundated a large tract of country on their right by cutting the sluices, thus contracting the ground of operations to six or seven miles.

The Duke of York, on the 2nd of October, made another attempt on the French position, between Bergen and _Egmont-op-Zee_. The combined attacks were made in four columns: the division under General Sir Ralph Abercromby being on the right, marched along the beach. The left of the French army was posted and concentrated about Bergen, a large village surrounded by extensive woods, through which passed the great road leading to Haarlem; between which and the sea was an extensive region of high sand-hills, impassable for artillery. Behind the sand-hills, and to the enemy’s right, through the whole extent of North Holland, lies a wet and low country, intersected with dykes, canals, and ditches.

The army advanced before daylight to attack the enemy. The NINETY-SECOND regiment was ordered to escort twenty pieces of artillery to the front, along the sea-shore. In the performance of this duty it was attacked by a column of nearly six thousand men at _Egmont-op-Zee_, where a most sanguinary conflict ensued, immediately under the eye of General Sir Ralph Abercromby.

Trusting to their superior numbers the French advanced with resolution, and fairly met the bayonets of the regiment, now commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Erskine, Colonel the Marquis of Huntly having been wounded in the charge, which completely overthrew the enemy, and preserved the guns.[8]

The French centre was supported by the town of _Alkmaar_, and General Sir Ralph Abercromby had passed Bergen in order to turn the French position at Alkmaar, to which place the NINETY-SECOND, immediately after the brilliant affair, before recorded, advanced. As the men fought hand-to-hand, the conflict was signalized by many feats of individual bravery and devoted courage.

The action was maintained with great obstinacy on both sides until night, when the enemy retired, leaving the British masters of the field of battle.

In the despatch of His Royal Highness the Duke of York, dated Zuyper Sluys, 4th of October, it was stated that, “the points where this well-fought battle were principally contested, were from the sea-shore in front of Egmont, extending along the sandy desert, or hills, to the heights above Bergen, and it was sustained by the British columns, under those highly distinguished officers, General Sir Ralph Abercromby, and Lieut.-General Dundas, whose exertions, as well as the gallantry of the brave troops they led, cannot have been surpassed by any former instance of British valour.”

The NINETY-SECOND had Captain William McIntosh, Lieutenants George Fraser, Gordon McCardy, and sixty-five rank and file killed; Colonel the Marquis of Huntly, Captains John Cameron, Alexander Gordon, John McLean, and Peter Grant, Lieutenants Norman McLeod, Charles Chad, Donald McDonald, Charles Cameron, and John McPherson, Ensigns George William Holmes, James Bent, and two hundred and eight rank and file wounded.

The gallant conduct evinced by the NINETY-SECOND on this occasion was afterwards rewarded with the Royal authority to bear the word _Egmont-op-Zee_ on the regimental colour and appointments.

His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief, in the General Order of the 5th of October, at Alkmaar, expressed “his warmest thanks for the steady persevering gallantry of their conduct in the general action of the 2nd instant, and to which he ascribes the complete victory gained over the enemy;” and, with the rest of the army, the regiment received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament.

The regiment, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Erskine, subsequently shared in the general operations of the army, but was not engaged in any very serious affair.

The gallant exertions made on behalf of the Dutch were not seconded by them; and in the meantime the French army had been reinforced. Instead, therefore, of fighting for a people who were not resolved to be free, it was decided that the British troops should be withdrawn from Holland. A convention was ultimately concluded with General Brune at Alkmaar on the 18th of October, and on the following day a cessation of hostilities was proclaimed.

The regiment marched on the 28th of October to Colenzugby, near the Helder, embarked the same day on board of His Majesty’s ships “Kent” and “Monarch,” and landed at Yarmouth on the day following. Its effective strength consisted of twenty-four serjeants, twenty drummers, and four hundred and forty-six rank and file.

During the campaign from the 27th of August to the 28th of October, the regiment sustained a loss of three officers and ninety-three rank and file, several of the wounded soldiers having died.

On the 4th of November the regiment marched _en route_ to Chelmsford, where it arrived on the 10th, and was placed in the eighth brigade, the command of which Major-General Moore assumed on the 25th of December 1799.

Here the regiment received canvas knapsacks, painted yellow, having a circle of red in the centre, in which the Crown and Thistle, with the words “_Gordon Highlanders_,” were inserted.

[Sidenote: 1800]

Napoleon Bonaparte having returned from Egypt to Paris in the previous year, had been appointed First Consul of France, and made overtures for peace; but the British Ministry, considering that the French government had not acquired sufficient stability, showed no desire to accede to the proposal.

On the 10th of April, 1800, orders were issued for the regiment to hold itself in readiness to march at the shortest notice; the first division marched on the 12th, and was followed by the others on the 14th and 15th, for the Isle of Wight, where it arrived on the 23rd of April.

The regiment, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Erskine, marched for Cowes on the 27th of May, and embarked on the same day in vessels of war. The head-quarters, and five companies in His Majesty’s ship “Diadem,” sailed on the 30th. The officers and men present with the regiment consisted of one lieut.-colonel, two majors, seven captains, sixteen lieutenants, six ensigns, six staff, thirty-six serjeants, twenty-two drummers, and six hundred rank and file.

The regiment disembarked at the Isle de Houat, on the coast of France, on the 7th of June, where it encamped, under the command of Brigadier-General the Honorable Thomas Maitland.

On the 18th of June, the NINETY-SECOND regiment embarked on board His Majesty’s ship “Terrible,” destined with others to make an attack on Belle-Isle, but which was abandoned; on the 20th the regiment disembarked, and occupied its former encampment on the Isle de Houat.

The NINETY-SECOND embarked on the 23rd of June, with other regiments for the Mediterranean, under the command of Colonel the Earl of Dalhousie, of the Second, or the Queen’s Royals, in His Majesty’s ship “Diadem,” and arrived at Port Mahon, in the Island of Minorca, on the 20th of July.

General Sir Ralph Abercromby, K.B., arrived at Minorca on the 4th of August, and took the command of the troops there assembled. The regiment disembarked on the 7th, and was inspected, on the 11th of August, by Sir Ralph Abercromby.

The NINETY-SECOND regiment embarked at George’s Town on the 30th of August, and sailed on the following day. After touching at Gibraltar, it proceeded to _Cadiz_, arrived in the bay on the 3rd of October,—and made preparations to land. The enemy, however, sent a flag of truce, but a disease was ravaging the city at the time, and the fleet quitted the coast in order to avoid infection, proceeding afterwards to Gibraltar, where it arrived on the 29th of October.

The regiment arrived at Minorca on the 6th of November, sailed again on the 21st, and anchored at Malta on the 1st of December. This island, after a blockade of two years, had been compelled by famine, to surrender in September, 1800, to Great Britain.

The British Government having resolved to effect the expulsion of the French from Egypt, an army[9] amounting to about fifteen thousand men, of which the NINETY-SECOND formed part, was assembled under General Sir Ralph Abercromby, at Marmorice Bay, on the coast of Asiatic Turkey. The regiment sailed from Malta on the 26th of December, and arrived at Marmorice Bay on the 29th. During the foregoing period, the regiment was occasionally landed for exercise and practice, as if before an enemy.

[Sidenote: 1801]

Some weeks were lost at Marmorice, in expectation of receiving reinforcements of Greeks and Turks; and the expedition did not proceed to its final destination until the 23rd of February, 1801. On the 2nd of March, it anchored in the Bay of Aboukir, eastward of Alexandria; but notwithstanding all the exertions of the navy, under Admiral Lord Keith’s orders, the necessary arrangements could not be made for landing the troops, until a week afterwards, in consequence of unfavorable weather, and other obstructions.

A landing was effected on the 8th of March; a body of French troops, supported by several batteries, awaited the arrival of their opponents, but were forced to give way in defiance of every exertion, and after severe loss on both sides.

The NINETY-SECOND, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Erskine, landed during the action, and took up a position for the night on the heights of Aboukir. The regiment mustered one lieut.-colonel, two majors, six captains, ten lieutenants, six ensigns, six staff, fifty serjeants, twenty-two drummers, and six hundred and seventy-two rank and file.

On the 9th of March, the regiment advanced about a mile further towards _Alexandria_. On the day following, it marched to the heights of _Mandora_, and remained in position, while the artillery and stores were being landed. Nothing of importance occurred this day, beyond a smart skirmish, as the enemy slowly retired.

The army again moved forward on the 12th of March, and came in sight of the enemy, who was strongly posted with his right to the canal of _Alexandria_, and his left to the sea.

About six o’clock in the morning of the 13th of March, the British army advanced to attack the enemy’s position on the heights in front of _Mandora_, the NINETY-SECOND being directed to lead the left column into action. The enemy having opened a most destructive fire from his artillery, enfiladed the column to its whole depth: orders were consequently given to deploy into line. The enemy thought this a favorable moment, and immediately advanced to the attack. The NINETY-SECOND, being in advance of the line, was exposed to a very galling fire of grape-shot, and at the same time was attacked by the 61st Demi-Brigade; the regiment, however, continued unshaken in its advance to the very muzzles of the guns, and succeeded in taking two field-pieces, and one howitzer, completely routing the enemy who defended them, and possessing itself of the right of his position. He was forced, therefore, to retire to the fortified heights of Nicopolis, under the walls of Alexandria, to which they form the principal defence from that side.

Lieut.-Colonel, afterwards General Sir Robert Thomas Wilson, in his History of the British Expedition to Egypt, stated that—

“The British had not advanced out of the wood of date trees, which was in front of Mandora Tower, before the enemy left the heights on which they had been formed, and moved down by their right, commencing a heavy fire of musketry, and from all their cannon, on the NINETY-SECOND regiment, which formed the advanced guard of the left column.” After eulogising the gallantry of the ninetieth regiment, which formed the advanced guard of the right column, Lieut.-Colonel Wilson, added:—

“The conduct of the NINETY-SECOND had been no less meritorious. Opposed to a tremendous fire, and suffering severely from the French line, they never receded a foot, but maintained the contest alone, until the marines and the rest of the line came to their support.”

The gallantry and good conduct of the regiment this day were most conspicuous, and in commemoration thereof, the NINETY-SECOND afterwards received the Royal Authority to bear the word “_Mandora_” on the regimental colour and appointments.

His Majesty’s service, and the NINETY-SECOND regiment in particular, sustained a great loss in the death of Lieut.-Colonel Charles Erskine, who was mortally wounded early in the action, when the command of the regiment devolved on Major Alexander Napier.

The following officers were wounded: Captains Hon. John Ramsay and Archibald McDonell; Lieutenants, Norman McLeod, Charles Dowle (mortally), Donald McDonald, Tomlin Campbell (mortally), Alexander Clarke (mortally), and Ronald Macdonald; Ensigns, Peter Wilkie and Alexander Cameron; twenty-two rank and file were killed, and seventy-seven were wounded.

On the 14th of March, the army occupied the position, from which the enemy was driven the day before, and the troops were employed in throwing up works. On this day, General Sir Ralph Abercromby thanked the troops for their soldier-like and intrepid conduct, in the action of yesterday, and particularised the NINETY-SECOND regiment. It may not be irrelevant to state, that he selected the regiment to furnish the guard at his head-quarters from his first landing in Egypt, to the hour of his death; and the regiment was continued by Lieut.-General (afterwards Lord) Hutchinson, on that duty, until its final departure from that country.

In consequence of the reduced state of the regiment from sickness, and the casualties of the 13th of March, it was ordered on the 20th of March (with the exception of the Commander-in-Chief’s Guard), to march at three o’clock next morning to relieve the battalion of marines at Aboukir Castle; where the following Brigade Order was issued:—

“Major-General Coote feels extreme concern, that the NINETY-SECOND regiment is ordered to march to Aboukir; he hopes they will soon return to the army, and cannot part with that corps without requesting, that the officers and men will accept his best thanks, for their attention to their duty since they have been under his command.”

About half an hour after the regiment commenced its march on the 21st of March for Aboukir, when the French forces at _Alexandria_, having been augmented by the arrival of additional troops from the interior, advanced under General Menou, to attack the British position. Major Alexander Napier, upon hearing the firing, immediately countermarched the regiment, and resumed his former station in the line, in which it was hotly engaged throughout the day: no sooner had the enemy retired from this struggle, and resigned the victory to the British army, than the army became aware of the loss it had sustained in the Commander-in-Chief, General Sir Ralph Abercromby, who received a mortal wound at the commencement of the action, but which he concealed until the battle was decided. Sir Ralph Abercromby died on the 28th of March, and was buried at Malta.

The NINETY-SECOND had Captain John Cameron, and Lieutenant James Stewart Mathison wounded; three rank and file killed; and forty-four wounded.

Orders were again issued for the march of the regiment on the following morning, provided no attack was made by the enemy, and it accordingly marched to _Aboukir_.

On the 2nd of May, the regiment marched from Aboukir for _Rosetta_, where a Turkish force joined the British; on the 5th it advanced along the banks of the Nile, and continued in motion until the 16th of June, when it arrived before _Grand-Cairo_.

The regiment moved to the right on the 21st of June, and encamped before the town of _Gizeh_; one of the gates of which place was delivered up by the French on the 28th of June.

A convention with the garrison of _Cairo_, was on the following day announced as finally adjusted, by which that place was to be delivered up to the allied army, and the French troops to be transported to France.

On the 14th of July, Lieut.-General Hutchinson communicated to the army the thanks of His Majesty, and of both Houses of Parliament, for its determined bravery at the landing, and in the actions of the 13th, and 21st of March, and concluded by a warm eulogium from himself.

The army marched, and retraced its steps towards _Rosetta_. The promotion of Major Alexander Napier to the Lieutenant-Colonelcy, in succession to Lieut.-Colonel Erskine, killed in the action of the 13th of March, was announced in a manner most flattering to the corps on the 15th of July, as will appear from the following extract of a letter from His Royal Highness the Duke of York, the Commander-in-Chief, dated—

“_Horse Guards, 30th May, 1801._

“MY LORD,

“I need not assure you how sincerely I unite with you in regretting the loss of so deserving an officer as Lieutenant-Colonel Erskine, of the NINETY-SECOND regiment. I have ever entertained too high a sense of the gallant services of that corps, not to have recommended upon this occasion, that the succession should go in the regiment, of which His Majesty has been pleased to approve.

“I am, &c. (Signed) “FREDERICK, “_Commander-in-Chief_.

“_Major-General The Marquis of Huntly._”

The regiment arrived on the heights of _Aboukir_ on the 8th of August, and on the following day marched to the same position which it had left on the 22nd of March, and encamped before Alexandria.

The brigade under the orders of Brigadier-General John Doyle, Colonel of the eighty-seventh regiment, advanced before daylight on the 17th of August to attack two redoubts, situated on the green-hill in front of the enemy’s right, which the thirtieth and fiftieth regiments were directed against, while the NINETY-SECOND was placed as a reserve, and ready to support either. This service was successfully performed with little loss to the regiment.

Troops having been sent in boats on the 26th of August to land, and break ground to the westward of _Alexandria_, the enemy this day sent out a flag of truce, and hostilities ceased; on the 2nd of September, Alexandria surrendered by capitulation, which event terminated the campaign in Egypt.

The British troops received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament, and His Majesty King George III., conferred upon the NINETY-SECOND, and other regiments, which had thus exalted the military fame of Great Britain, by the expulsion of the “invincible” legions of Bonaparte from Egypt, from whence he had expected to extend his conquests throughout Asia, the honor of bearing on their colours and appointments the “SPHINX,” and the word “EGYPT,” as a distinguished mark of His Majesty’s royal approbation of their conduct during the campaign.[10]

[Illustration: 92^{ND} REGIMENT (GORDON HIGHLANDERS.)

_For Cannon’s Military Records_

Mssr M^cDonald del^t _Madeley Lith. 3 Wellington S^t._ ]

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

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

_Lieutenant-Colonel_ Alexander Napier. _Major_ John Gordon.

_Captains._

John Cameron. | Archibald McDonell. The Hon. John Ramsay. | Peter Grant. Andrew Patten. | Patrick Gordon.

_Lieutenants._

Norman McLeod. | James Bent. Charles Dowle. | Ronald Macdonald. Donald McDonald. | James Stewart Mathison. John Forman. | Charles Straubenzie. James Lee. | William Phipps. George W. Holmes. |

_Ensigns._

Peter Wilkie. | Charles Duddingstone. William Mackay. | Alexander Cameron. Alexander Anderson. | William Logie.

_Paymaster_ Archibald Campbell. _Adjutant_ Dugald Campbell. _Quarter-Master_ Peter Wilkie. _Surgeon_ Archibald Hamilton. _Assist.-Surgeons._ { Wm. Cook. { J. R. Hume.

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

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

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

[Sidenote: 1802]

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

On the 27th of March, 1802, a definitive treaty of peace was signed at Amiens between the French Republic, Spain, and the Batavian Republic, on the one part, and Great Britain on the other. The principal features of the treaty were, that Great Britain restored all her conquests during the war, excepting Trinidad and Ceylon, which were ceded to her, the former by Spain, and the latter by the Batavian Republic. Portugal was maintained in its integrity, excepting that some of its possessions in Guiana were ceded to France. The territories of the Ottoman Porte were likewise maintained in their integrity. The Ionian Republic was recognised, and Malta was to be restored to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. The French agreed to evacuate the Neapolitan and Roman States, and Great Britain all the ports that she held in the Adriatic and the Mediterranean.

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

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

[Sidenote: 1803]

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

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