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HISTORICAL RECORD

THE TWENTIETH,

THE EAST DEYONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT;

CONTAININO

AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE EEGIMENT
IN 1688,
AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
TO 1848,

COMPILED BY
RICHARD CANNON, Esq.,
ADJtTTANT-GENEEAL's OFFICE, HOKSE GCAKDS,

ILLUSTRATED WfTH PLATES.

LONDON :
PARKER, FURNIVALL, & PARKER,
30, CHARING CEOSS.
MDCCCXLVIIl.

CONDON: PRINTED BV W. OLOWES AND SONS, STAUFOID STBEET,
FOR HFM majesty's STATIONEBT OFFICE.

GENEHAL OEDEES.

HORSE-GUARDS,
1st January, 1836,
His Majesty has been pleased to command that,
with the view of doing the fullest justice to Regi
ments, as well as to Individuals who have dis
tinguished themselves by their Bravery in Action
with the Enemy, an Account of the Services of
every Regiment in the British Army shall be pub
lished under the superintendence and direction of
the Adjutant-General ; and that this Account shall
contain the following particulars, viz. : —
¦  The Period and Circumstances of the Original

Formation ofthe Regiment ; The Stations at which it
has been from time to time employed ; The Battles,
Sieges, and other Military Operations in which it has
been engaged, particularly specifying any Achieve
ment it may have performed, and the Colours,
Trophies, &c., it may have captured from the
Enemy,  The Names of the Officers, and the number of

Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates Killed or
Wounded by the Enemy, specifying the .place and
.Date ofthe Action.

11 GENERAL ORDEKS.
 The Names of those Officers who, in con
sideration of their Gallant Services and Meritorious
Conduct in Engagements with the Enemy, have
been distinguished with Titles, Medals, or other
Marks of His Majesty's gracious favour.
 The Names of all such Officers, Non-Com
missioned Officers, and Privates, as may have
specially signalized themselves in Action.
And, The Badges and Devices which the Regi

ment may have been permitted to bear, and the
Causes on account of which such Badges or Devices,
or any other Marks of Distinction, have been
granted. By Command of the Right Honorable
GENERAL LORD HILL,
Commanding-in- Chief.

John Macdonald,
Adjutant- General.

( iii )

PEEFACE.

The character and credit of the British Army must
chiefly depend upon the zeal and ardour by which
all who enter into its service are animated, and
consequently it is of the highest importance that any
measure calculated to excite the spirit of emulation,
by which alone great and gallant actions are achieved,
should be adopted.
Nothing can more ftiUy tend to the accomplishment
of this desirable object than a full display of the noble
deeds with which the Military History of our country
abounds. To hold forth these bright examples to
the imitation of the youthful soldier, and thus to
incite him to emulate the meritorious conduct of those
who have preceded him in their honorable career,
are among the motives that have given rise to the
present publication.
The operations of the British Troops are, indeed,
announced in the " London Gazette," from whence
they are transferred into the public prints: the
achievements of our armies are thus made knqwn at
the time of their occurrence, and receive the tribute
a 2

IV PREFACE.
of praise and admiration to which they are entitled.
On extraordinary occasions, the Houses of Parliament
have been in the habit of conferring on the Com
manders, and the Officers and Troops acting under
their orders, expressions of approbation and of thanks
for their skill and bravery ; and these testimonials,
confirmed by the high honour of their Sovereign's
approbation, constitute the reward which the soldier
most highly prizes.
It has not, however, until late years, been the prac
tice (which appears to have long prevailed in some of
the Continental armies) for British Regiments to keep
regular records of their services and achievements.
Hence some difficulty has been experienced in obtain
ing, particularly from the old Regiments, an au
thentic account of their origin and subsequent services.
This defect will now be remedied, in consequence
of His Majesty having been pleased to command
that every Regiment shall, in future, keep a full and
ample record of its services at home and abroad.
From the materials thus collected, the country
will henceforth derive information as to the difficulties
and privations which chequer the career of those who
embrace the military profession. In Great Britain,
where so large a number of persons are devoted to
the active concerns of agriculture, manufactures,
and commerce, and where these pursuits have, fbr so

PREFACE.

long a period, being undisturbed by the presence of
war, which few other countries have escaped, com
paratively little is known of the vicissitudes of active
service and of the casualties of climate, to which,
even during peace, the British Troops are exposed in
every part of the globe, with little or no interval of
repose. In their tranquil enjoyment of the blessings which
the country derives from the industry and the enter
prise of the agriculturist and the trader, its happy
inhabitants may be supposed not often to reflect on
the perilous duties of the soldier and the sailor, ^ — on
their sufferings, — and on the sacrifice of valuable life,
by which so many national benefits are obtained and
preserved. The conduct of the British Troops, their valour,
and endurance, have shone conspicuously under great
and trying difficulties ; and their character has been
established in Continental warfare by the irresistible
spirit with which they have effected debarkations in
spite of the most formidable opposition, and by the
gallantry and steadiness with which they have main
tained their advantages against superior numbers.
In the official Reports made by the respective Com
manders, ample justice has generally been done to
the gallant exertions of the Corps employed; but
the details of their services and of acts of individual

Vl PREFACE.
bravery can only be fully given in the Annals of the
various Regiments.
These Records are now preparing for publication,
under his Majesty's special authorityj by Mr.
Richard Cannon, Principal Clerk of the Adjutant
General's Office ; and while the perusal of them can
not fail to be useful and interesting to military men
of every rank, it is considered that they will also
afford entertainment and information to the general
reader, particularly to those who may have served in
the Army, or who have relatives in the Service.
There exists in the breasts of most of those who
have served, or are serving, in the Army, an Esprit
de Corps — an attachment to everything belonging
to their Regiment ; to such persons a narrative of
the services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove
interesting. Authentic accounts of the actions of
the great, the valiant, the loyal, have always been
of paramount interest with a brave and civilized
people. Great Britain has produced a race of heroes
who, in moments of danger and terror, have stood
" firm as the rocks of their native shore :" and when
half the world has been arrayed against them, they
have fought the battles of their Country with un
shaken fortitude. It is presumed that a record of
achievements in war, — victories so complete and sur
prising, gained by our countrymen, our brothers.

preface. Vll
our fellow citizens in arms, — a record which revives
the memory of the brave, and brings their gallant
deeds before us, — will certainly prove acceptable to
the public. ,
Biographical Memoirs of the Colonels and other
distinguished Officers will be introduced in the
Records of their respective Regiments, and the
Honorary Distinctions which have, from time to
time, been conferred upon each Regiment, as testify
ing the value and importance of its services, will be
faithfully set forth.
As a convenient mode of Publication, the Record
of each Regiment will be printed in a distinct num
ber, so that when the whole shall be completed, the
Parts may be bound up in numerical succession.

INTRODUCTION

THE INFANTEY.

The natives of Britain have, at all periods, been
celebrated for innate courage and unshaken firmness,
and the national superiority of the British troops
over those of other countries has been evinced in
the midst ofthe most imminent perils. History con
tains so many proofs of extraordinary acts of bravery,
that no doubts can be raised upon the facts which
are recorded. It must therefore be admitted, that
the distinguishing feature of the British soldier is
Intrepidity. This quality was evinced by the
inhabitants of England when their country was
invaded by Julius Csesar with a Roman army, on
which occasion the undaunted Britons rushed into
the sea to attack the Roman soldiers as they de
scended from their ships ; and, although their dis
cipline and arms were inferior to those of their
adversaries, yet their fierce and dauntless bearing
intimidated the flower of the Roman troops, in
cluding Csesar's favourite tenth legion. Their arms
consisted of spears, short swords, and other weapons
of rude construction. They had chariots, to the

x introduction
axles of which were fastened sharp pieces of iron
resembling scythe-blades, and infantry in long
chariots resembling waggons, who alighted and
fought on foot, and for change of ground, pursuit
or retreat, sprang into the chariot and drove off
with the speed of cavalry. These inventions were,
however, unavailing against Csesar's legions : in
the course of time a military system, with dis
cipline and subordination, was introduced, and
British courage, being thus regulated, was exerted
to the greatest advantage ; a full development of
the national character followed, and it shone forth
in all its native brilliancy.
The military force of the Anglo-Saxons consisted
principally of infantry: Thanes, and other men of
property, however, fought on horseback. The
infantry were of two classes, heavy and light.
The former carried large shields armed with spikes,
long broad swords and spears ; and the latter were
armed with swords or spears only. They had also
men armed with clubs, others with battle-axes and
javelins. The feudal troops established by William the
Conqueror consisted (as already stated in the Intro
duction to the Cavalry) almost entirely of horse ;
but when the warlike barons and knights, with their
trains of tenants and vassals, took the field, a pro
portion of men appeared on foot, and, although
these were of inferior degree, they proved stout
hearted Britons of stanch fidelity. When stipen
diary troops were employed, infantry always con
stituted a considerable portion of the military force ;

TO THE INFANTRY. XI
and this arme has since acquired, in every quarter
of the globe, a celebrity never exceeded by the
armies of any nation at any period.
The weapons carried by the infantry, during the
several reigns succeeding the Conquest, were bows
and arrows, half-pikes, lances, halberds, various
kinds of battle-axes, swords, and daggers. Armour
was worn on the head and body, and in course of
time the practice became general for military men
to be so completely cased in steel, that it was
almost impossible to slay them.
The introduction of the use of gunpowder in the
destructive purposes of war, in the early part of the
fourteenth century, produced a change in the arms
and equipment of the infantry-soldier. Bows and
arrows gave place to various kinds of fire-arms, but
British archers continued formidable adversaries ;
and, owing to the inconvenient construction and im
perfect bore of the fire-arms when first introduced,
a body of men, well trained in the use of the bow
from their youth, was considered a valuable acqui
sition to every army, even as late as the sixteenth
century. During a great part of the reign of Queen Eliza
beth each company of infantry usually consisted of
men armed five different ways ; in every hundred
men forty were " men-at-arms" and sixty " shot ;"
the " men-at-arms" were ten halberdiers, or battle-
axe men, and thirty pikemen ; and the " shot" were
twenty archers, twenty musketeers, and twenty
harquebusiers, and each man carried, besides his
principal weapon, a sword and dagger.

xu INTRODUCTION
Companies of infantry varied at this period in
numbers from 150 to 300 men ; each company had
a colour or ensign, and the mode of formation re
commended by an English military writer (Sir John
Smithe) in 1590 was : — the colour in the centre of
the company guarded by the halberdiers ; the pike
men in equal proportions, on each flank of the
halberdiers : half the musketeers on each flank of
the pikes ; half the archers on each flank of the mus
keteers, and the harquebusiers (whose arms were
much lighter than the muskets then in use) in equal
proportions on each flank ofthe company for skirmish
ing.* It was customary to unite a number' of com
panies into one body, called a Regiment, which
frequently amounted to three thousand men: but
each company continued to carry a colour. Nume
rous improvements were eventually introduced in the
construction of fire-arms, and, it having been found
impossible to make armour proof against the muskets
then in use (which carried a very heavy ball) without
its being too weighty for the soldier, armour was
gradually laid aside by the infantry in the seven
teenth century : bows and arrows also fell into dis
use, and the infantry were reduced to two classes,
viz.: musketeers, armed with matchlock muskets,

A company of 200 men would appear thus :

20 20 20 30 2 0 30 20 20 20
Harquebuses. Archers. Muskets. Pikes. Halberds. Pikes. Muskets. Aichers. Harquebuses.
The musket carried a ball which weighed .^^th of a pound ; and the
harquebus a ball which weighed j^th of a pound.

TO THE infantry. XUI
swords, and daggers ; andpikemen, armed with pikes
from fourteen to eighteen feet long, and swords.
In the early part of the seventeenth century
Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, reduced the
strength of regiments to 1000 men. He caused the
gunpowder, which had heretofore been carried in
flasks, or in small wooden bandoliers, each contain
ing a charge, to be made up into cartridges, and
carried in pouches; and he formed each regiment
into two wings of musketeers, and a centre division
of pikemen. He also adopted the practice of form
ing four regiments into a brigade ; and the number
of colours was afl;erwards reduced to three in each
regiment. He formed his columns so compactly that
his infantry could resist the charge ofthe celebrated
Polish horsemen and Austrian cuirassiers ; and his
armies became the admiration of other nations. His
mode of formation was copied by the English,
French, and other European states ; but so great
was the prejudice in favour of ancient customs, that
all his improvements were not adopted until near a
century afterwards.
In 1664 King Charles II. raised a corps for sea-
service, styled the Admiral's regiment. In 1678
each company of 100 men usually consisted of 30
pikemen, 60 musketeers, and 10 men armed with
light firelocks. In this year the King added a com
pany of men armed with hand-grenades to each of
the old British regiments, which was designated the
" grenadier company." Daggers were so contrived
as to fit in the muzzles of the muskets, and bayonets

xiv introduction
similar to those at present in use were adopted about
twenty years afterwards.
An Ordnance regiment was raised in 1685, by
order of King James IL, to guard the artillery, and
was designated the Royal Fusiliers (now 7th Foot).
This corps, and the companies of grenadiers, did
not carry pikes.
King William III. incorporated the Admiral's
regiment in the second Foot Guards, and raised
two Marine regiments for sea-service. During the
war in this reign, each company of infantry (ex
cepting the fusiliers and grenadiers) consisted of 14
pikemen and 46 musketeers; the captains carried
pikes ; lieutenants, partisans ; ensigns, half-pikes ;
and Serjeants, halberds, Afler the peace in 1697 the
Marine regiments were disbanded, but were again
formed on the breaking out of the war in 1702.*
During the reign of Queen Anne the pikes were
laid aside, and every infantry soldier was armed
with a musket, bayonet, and sword ; the grenadiers
ceased, about the same period, to carry hand gre
nades ; and the regiments were directed to lay aside
their third colour : the corps of Royal Artillery was
first added to the Army in this reign.
About the year 1745, the men of the battalion
companies of infantry ceased to carry swords ; during
* The 30th, 31st, and 32nd Regiments were formed as Marine corps
in 1702, and were employed as such during the wars in the reign of
Queen Anne. The Marine corps were embarked in the Fleet under
Admiral Sir George Rooke, and were at the taking of Gibraltar, and
in its subsequent defence in 1704 ; they were afterwards employed at
the siege of Barcelona in 170S,

to the infantry, XV
the reign of George II. light companies were added
to infantry regiments ; and in 1764 a Board of
General Officers recommended that the grenadiers
should lay aside their swords, as that weapon had
never been used during the Seven Years' War. Since
that period the arms of the infantry soldier have been
limited to the musket and bayonet.
The arms and equipment of the British Troops have
seldom differed materially, since the Conquest, from
those of other European states ; and in some respects
the arming has, at certain periods, been allowed to
be inferior to that of the nations with whom they
have had to contend ; yet, under this disadvantage,
the bravery and superiority of the British infantry
have been evinced on very many and most trying
occasions, and splendid victories have been gained
over very superior numbers.
Great Britain has produced a race of lion-like
champions who have dared to confront a host of
foes, and have proved themselves valiant with any
arms. At Crecy King Edward III,, at the head of
about 30,000 men, defeated, on the 26th of August,
1346, Philip King of France, whose army is said to
have amounted to 100,000 men ; here British valour
encountered veterans of renown : — the King of Bo
hemia, the King of Majorca, and many princes and
nobles were slain, and the French army was routed
and cut to pieces. Ten years afterwards, Edward
Prince of Wales, who was designated the Black
Prince, defeated, at Poictiers, with 14,000 men,
a French army of 60,000 horse, besides infantry,
and took John I., King of France, and his son

XVI introduction
Philip, prisoners. On the 25th of October, 1415,
King Henry V., with an army of about 13,000
men, although greatly exhausted by marches, pri
vations, and sickness, defeated, at Agincourt, the
Constable of France, at the head of the flower of
the French nobility and an army said to amount to
60,000 men, and gained a complete victory.
During the seventy years' war between the United
Provinces of the Netherlands and the Spanish mo
narchy, which commenced in 1578 and terminated
in 1648, the British infantry in the service of the
States-General were celebrated for their uncon
querable spirit and firmness;* and in the thirty
years' war between the Protestant Princes and the
Emperor of Germany, the British Troops in the ser
vice of Sweden and other states were celebrated for
deeds of heroism.f In the wars of Queen Anne^
the fame of the British army under the great
Marlborough was spread throughout the world;
and if we glance at the achievements performed
within the memory of persons now living, there is
abundant proof that the Britons of the present age
are not inferior to their ancestors in the qualities

* The brave Sir Roger Williams, in his Discourse on War, printed
in 1590, observes : — " I persuade myself ten thousand of our nation
would beat thirty thousand of theirs (the Spaniards) out ot the field,
let them be chosen where they list." Yet at this time the Spanish
infantry was allowed to be the best disciplined in Europe. For
instances of valour displayed by the British Infantry during the
Seventy Years' War, see the Historical Record of the Third Foot or
Butfs. t 'Vide the Historical Record of the First, or Royal .'Regiment of
Foot.

to the infantry. xvii
which constitute good soldiers. Witness the deeds
of the brave men, of whom there are many now
surviving, who fought in Egypt in 1801, under the
brave Abercromby, and compelled the French army,
which had been vainly styled Invincible, to eva
cuate that country ; also the services of the gallant
Troops during the arduous campaigns in the Penin
sula, under the immortal Wellington; and the
determined stand made by the British Army at
Waterloo, where Napoleon Bonaparte, who had
long been the inveterate enemy of Great Britain,
and had sought and planned her destruction by
every means he could devise, was compelled to
leave his vanquished legions to their fate, and to
place himself at the disposal of the British Govern
ment. These achievements, with others of recent
dates in the distant climes of India, prove that the
same valour and constancy which glowed in the
breasts of the heroes of Crecy, Poictiers, Agincourt,
Blenheim, and Ramilies, continue to animate the
Britons of the nineteenth century.
The British Soldier is distinguished for a robust
and muscular frame, — ^intrepidity which no danger
can appal, — unconquerable spirit and resolution, —
patience in fatigue and privation, and cheerful obe
dience to his superiors. These qualities, — united with
an excellent system of order and discipline to regu
late and give a skilful direction to the energies and
adventurous spirit of the hero, and a wise selection
of officers of superior talent to command, whose
(presence inspires confidence, — have been the leading
causes ofthe splendid victories gained by the British
b

xvm introduction
arms,* The fame of the deeds of the past and
present generations in the various battle-fields where
the robust sons of Albion have fought and conquered,
surrounds the British arms with a halo of glory ;
these achievements will live in the page of history to
the end of time.
The records of the several regiments will be found
to contain a detail of facts of an interesting character,
connected with the hardships, sufferings, and gallant
exploits of British soldiers in the various parts of the
world, where the calls of their Country and the com
mands of their Sovereign have required them to
proceed in the execution of their duty, whether in

* "Under the blessing of Divine Providence, His Majesty ascribes
the successes which have attended the exertions of his troops in Egypt to
that determined bravery which is inherent in Britons ; but His Majesty
desires it may be most solemnly and forcibly impressed on the consideration
of every part of the army, that it has been a strict observance of order,
discipline, and military system, which has given the full energy to the
native valour ofthe troops, and has enabled them proudly to assert the
superiority of the national military character, in situations uncommonly
arduous, and under circumstances of peculiar diflBculty." — General
Orders in 1801.
In the General Orders issued by Lieut.-General Sir John Hope (after
wards Lord Hopetoun), congratulating the army upon the successful result
ofthe Battle of Corunna, on the 16th of January, 1809, it is stated : — " On
no occasion has the undaunted valour of British troops ever been more
manifest. At the termination of a severe and harassing march, ren
dered necessary by the superiority which the enemy had acquired, and
which had materially impaired the eflSciency of the troops, many disad
vantages were to be encountered. These have all been surmounted by
the conduct of the troops themselves ; and the enemy has been taught,
that, whatever advantages of position or of numbers he may possess, there
is inherent in the British oflBcers and soldiers a bravery that knows not
how to yield, — that no circumstances can appal, — and that will ensure
victory, when it is to be obtained by the exertion of any human means,"

to the infantry. xix
active continental operations, or in maintaining colo
nial territories in distant and unfavourable climes.
The superiority of the British infantry has been
pre-eminently set forth in the wars of six centuries,
and admitted by the greatest commanders which
Europe has produced. The formations and move
ments of this arme, as at present practised, while
they are adapted to every species of warfare, and to
all probable situations and circumstances of service,
are well suited to show forth the brilliancy of military
tactics calculated upon mathematical and scientific
principles. Although the movements and evolutions
have been copied from the continental armies, yet
various Improvements have from time to time been
introduced, to ensure that simplicity and celerity by
which the superiority of the national military cha
racter is maintained. The rank and influence which
Great Britain has attained among the nations of the
world have in a great measure been .purchased by
the valour of the Army, and to persons who have the
welfare of their country at heart the records of the
several regiments cannot fail to prove interesting.

h 2

THE TWENTIETH, OR
THE EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT,
BEARS OK THE REGIMENTAL COLOUR
THE WORD "MINDEN;"
IN COMMEMORATION OF ITS DISTINGDISHED SERVICES AT THE BATTLE OF MINDEN,
ON THE 1st AUGUST, 1759 ;
THE WORD "EG MONT-OP-ZEE,"
IN TESTIMONY OP ITS CONDUCT WHILE SERVING WITH THE ARMY IN HOLLAND
IN 1799 ; AND OF ITS BRAVERY AT THE BATTLES OF EGMONT-OP-ZEE
ON THE 2nP and 6tH OCTOBER, 1799 ;
THE WORD " EGYPT," WITH THE " SPHINX,"
AS A MEMORIAL OF ITS SERVICES DURING THE CAMPAIGN IN EGYPT IN 1801 ;
THE WORD "MAIDA,"
ILLUSTRATIVE OP ITS GALLANTRY IN THAT BATTLE ON THE 4tH JULY, 1806 ;
AND THE WORDS
" VIMIERA," "COKUNNA," "VITTORIA," "PYRENEES," "ORTHES,"
"TOULOUSE," AND "PENINSULA,"
COMME.MORATIVE OP ITS MERITORIOUS SERVICES IN THE PENINSULA
PROM 1808 TO 1814.

TWENTIETH,
OR THE
EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT,
CONTENTS
OF THE
HISTORICAL KECOKD.

Year Introduction,
1688 Formation of the Eegiment, , . . ,
 Sir Robert Peyton appointed to the colonelcy .
 Stationed in Devonshire ....
1689 Colonel Gustavus Hamilton appointed to be
Colonel, in succession to Sir Robert Peyton
resigned .....
 Embarked for Ireland ....
1690 Engaged at the Battle ofthe Boyne
 Advanced against Athlone .
 Employed in the first siege of Limerick .
1691 Engaged with the Rapparees
 at the capture of Ballymore
 at the capture of Athlone
 at the victory of Aghrim
  ' — at the capture of Galway
 at the siege and capture of Limerick
 Termination of the War in Ireland

1692 Remained on duty in Ireland until 1702
1700 Death of Charles II. , King of Spain

xxvi CONTENTS,
YEAR
1701 Death of James II,, late King of England
 Recommencement of hostilities with France
1702 Death df King William III. .
 Accession of Queen Ahne
 Declaration of War with France and Spain
 • Embarked from Ireland for the Isle of Wight
 • Proceeded on an Expedition to Cadiz under the
orders of the Duke of Ormond .
 Embarked for the West Indies
1703 Stationed at Jamaica , , . ,
1704 Returned to Ireland . , . ,
1706 Appointment of Lieut.-Colonel Newton to be
Colonel, in succession to Major-General
Gustavus Hamilton , , . , -
1707 Embarked from Ireland for Portugal , . -
1709 Engaged with the enemy in the Alemtejo , 8
1710  in the capture of Xeres de los Cabaleros 9
1711  in the capture of several places in
Spanish Estremadura , . , . -
1712 Suspension of hostilities . , , . -
1713 Proceeded to Gibraltar , , . . -
1714 Appointment of Lieut.-General Meredith to be
Colonel, in succession to Major-General
Newton ,,,.., -
1719 Appointment of Colonel William Egerton to be
Colonel, in succession to Lieut.-General Me
redith ,.,.,. -
1727 Engaged in the defence of Gibraltar against
the Spaniards , , . . . 10
1728 Embarked from Gibraltar and proceeded to
Ireland ..,,,. —
1732 Colonel the Earl of Effingham appointed to be
Colonel, in succession to Colonel Egerton . —
1737 Appointment of Lieut.-Colonel Eichard St.
George to be Colonel, in succession fo the
Earl of Effingham .... 

CONTENTS. xxvii
TEAR PAGE
1740 Appointment of Lieut,-Colonel Alexander Rose
to be Colonel, in succession to Colonel St,
George . . , , , . 11
 Appointment of Lieut,-Colonel Thomas Bligh
to be Colonel, in succession to Colonel Rose — ¦
1741 Embarked for England , , . . —
1742 Commencement of the War of the Austrian Suc
cession . , , , ,
 Regiment embarked for Flanders .
1743 Marched into Germany
 • Engaged at the Battle of Dettingen
 Returned to winter-quarters in Flanders . . 12
1744 Marched to the vicinity of Lisle .
1745 Advanced to the relief of Tournay
 Engaged at the Battle of Fontenoy
 Returned to England to resist the invasion of
Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender 13
 Marched into Lancashire .... —
 Engaged in the Siege of Carlisle , , , —
1746 Proceeded to Scotland , . , . —
 Engaged in the Battle of Culloden . . —
 Appointment of Lieut.-Colonel Lord George
Sackville to be Colonel, in succession to
Brigadier-General Bligh , , , , 14
1747 Encamped near Fort Augustus . , . —
1748 Re-embarked for Flanders , . , . —
 Termination of hostilities, and Treaty of Peace
concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle , . , —
 Embarked for England . , . . —
1749 Appointment of George Viscount Bury to be
Colonel, in succession to Lord George Sack
ville .....•• —
1751 Regulations issued by King George II. respect
ing the Colours, Clothing, &c. ... —
1755 Appointment of Colonel Philip Honey wood to
be Colonel, in succession to Viscount Bury . 15

CONTENTS,

1756 Appointment of Lieut,-Colonel William Kingsley
to be Colonel, in succession to Colonel
Honey wood . . . . , . 15
 Recommencement of War with France . . —
 Regiment augmented to Two Battalions . . —
1757 Employed on an Expedition against Rochfort,
and in the capture of the Isle of Aix , , —
1758 The Second Battalion formed into a distinct
corps, and numbered the Sixty- Seventh re
giment ...... 16
 Regiment embarked for Germany ... —
 Engaged in harassing services, and went into
winter-quarters at Munster ... —
1759 The Battle of iJfmrfew . , , . 17
 Authorized to bear the word " Minden " on the
colours, &c. . , . . . . 18
1760 Attack of the enemy on the Heights of Warbourg 19
 at the town of Zeirenberg , 20
 in the town of Wesel . —
1761 Engaged at Kirch-Denkern .... 21
1762  at Groebenstien and Wilhelmsthal . —
 Capture of Cassel . , , , . 22
1763 Peace concluded at Fontainebleau ... —
 Returned to England , . . , , —
 Embarked for Gibraltar .... —
1 769 Returned to England . , . . , —
 Appointment of Colonel Bernard Hale to be
Colonel, in succession to Lieut.-General
Kingsley ...... —
1773 Appointment of Major-General Honourable G.
L, Parker to be Colonel, in succession to
Major-General Hale , . . , 
1774 Embarked for Ireland ..... 23
] 775 Commencement of the American War . . 
1776 Embarked for Canada

CONTENTS, xxix
"*» PA8I!
1777 Proceeded from Lake Champlain to Ticonderago,
and thence to Skenesborough ... 23
 Advanced to Hudson's River ... 24
 Engaged at Still-Water . . . . _
 Surrendered at Saratoga .... 25
 Returned to England ..... 
1782 Directed to assume the County Title of East
Devonshire Regiment, in addition to its Nu
merical Title ..... 
 Appointment of Major-General William Wyn-
yard to be Colonel, in succession to Lieut.-
General Honorable G. L. Parker . . 26
1783 Proceeded to Ireland ..... 
1789 Appointment of Major-General West Hyde to
be Colonel, in succession to Lieut.-General
Wynyard ...... —
 Embarked for Nova Scotia .... —
1792 Revolutionary principles had extended to the
French West-India Islands , . . —
1793 Regiment embarked for St, Domingo . . —
1794 Proceeded to Jamaica ..... —
1795 Engaged in conquering the Maroons ¦ . 27
,1796 Returned to England  —
1797 Appointment of Major-General Charles Leigh
to be Colonel, in succession to General
Hyde  —
1799 Formed into Two Battalions in consequence of
Volunteers from the Militia ... 28
 Embarked for Holland . . , . —
 Engaged with the enemy at Crabbendam . —
 on 19th September , 29
 at Egmont-op-Zee on
the 2nd and 6th October ... 30
 Returned with the Army to England . . —
1800 Embarked for Ireland . , , . . —

xxx

CONTENTS.

] 800 Proceeded against Belle Isle
¦  Embarked for Minorca ....
1801  for Egypt 
 Landed at Alexandria . , . . .
¦  Surrender of Alexandria, and the expulsion of
tbe French from Egypt ....
¦  Received the Royal Authority to bear the word
Egypt and the Sphinx on its Colours, &c, .
 ¦ Embarked for Malta .....
1802 The Second Battalion reduced
¦  • The possession of Malta retained .
 New Colours presented by Lieut,-Colonel Ross
1805 Embarked from Malta and proceeded to Naples
1806 Re-embarked and proceeded to Sicily
 Embarked for Calabria
 Advanced and joined the Army on the Plains of
Maida , . . . .
 Victory of Maida ....
•  Authorized to bear the word " Maida " on its
Colours , . . . .
 Province of Calabria delivered from the French
 Returned to Sicily ....
1807 Resistance of Portugal to the decrees of Napo^
leon ,,.,..
 Embarked from Sicily for Gibraltar
 • Returned to England . . , ,
1808 Embarked for service in Portugal .
 Battle of Vimiera ....
 Authorized to bear the word " Vimiera " on its
Colours . . , , .
 The Convention of Cintra took place, and Por
* tugal relieved from the power of France
 Marched from Portugal into Spain
 .Joined the Army under Lieut.-General Sir
John Moore ...

PAQE 3031

32

83

34

35

36

37

38

39

CONTENTS, xxxi
VKAR PAGE
1 809 Arrived with the Army at Corunna and engaged
with the enemy , , , . . 40
 Authorized to bear the word " Corunna " on its
colours ...,,, —
 Embarked for England . . . , —
 Embarked with the Expedition to the Scheldt , —
 Returned with the Armament to England . —
 Appointment of Lieut.-General Sir John Stuart
to be Colonel, in succession to Lieut.-General
Leigh ,,,..,, 41
1810 Embarked for Ireland , , . , —
1812  for Corunna, and from thence pro
ceeded to Lisbon , , , . . —
1813 Engaged at the Battle of Vittoria . , . 42
 Authorized to bear the word " 'Vittoria " on its
colours ,...,, —
 Pursued the French army to the Pyrenees . —
 Lieut.-Colonel Wauchope appointed to succeed
Major-General Eobert Eoss in command of
the Eegiment . . , , . 43
 Engaged with tlie enemy in the Pyrenees . —
 Authorized to bear the word " Pyrenees " on
its colours ,,.,., 45
 Engaged at the Siege of St, Sebastian , . —
 at the Battle of Nivelle , , . 46
1814  • Battle of Orthes . , , —
 Authorized to bear the word " Orthes " on its
colours .,..., 47
 Engaged at Toulouse , , . . . 48
 Authorized to bear the word " Toulouse " on
its colours .,,.., —
 Termination of the War , , , . —
 Autliorized to bear the word " Peninsula " on
its colours ,,,..• —
 ¦ Marched to Bordeaux, and embarked for Ireland —

xxxii CONTENTS,
TEAR PAOE
1814 Appointment of Lieut.-General Sir William
Houstoun to be Colonel, in succession to
Lieut.-General Sir John Stuart , . 48
1818 Eeviewed at Dublin with other regiments by
the Grand-Duke Nicholas, now Emperor of
Eussia .,,... 49
1819 Embarked for St. Helena . . . . —
1820 Eelieved the 66th regiment in the custody of
Napoleon Buonaparte . , . . —
1821 Furnished a guard to attend his funeral to the
place of interment ..... —
1822 Embarked from St. Helena for Bombay . . —
1824 Proceeded to Cannanore .... 50
1825 Eeturned to Bombay ..... —
1837 Embarked for England . . . . —
1838 Proceeded to Canterbury, and thence to the
Tower of London . . . . . 51
 New Colours presented by Field-Marshal the
Duke of Wellington ' , , . . —
1840 Embarked for Ireland , , , , 55
1841 Formed into Six Service and Four Depot Com
panies  —
— — Service Companies embarked for Bermuda —
Depfit Companies remained in Ireland . —
1842 Appointment of Lieut.-General Sir James S,
Barns to be Colonel, in succession to
General Sir William Houstoun . . — •
 Augmentation ofthe Eegiment to Two Battalions —
 Second or Eeserve Battalion embarked from
Ireland for Bermuda ; the Dep6t Company
moved to the Isle of Wight ... —
1847 The First and Eeserve Battalions embarked
from Bermuda to Nova Scotia, and thence
removed to Canada . , , . 56
1848 Conclusion . , , , . 57

CONTENTS,

xxxm

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS

TWENTIETH, OR EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT
OF FOOT,

1688 Sir Eobert Peyton 
1689 Gustavus Hamilton (afterwards Viscount Boyne)
1706 John Newton .
1714 Thomas Meredith
1719 William Egerton
1732 Francis, Earl of Effingham .
1737 Eichard St, George .
1740 Alexander Eose
 Thomas Bligh .
1746 Lord George Sackville
1749 George, Viscount Bury
1755 Philip Honeywood
1756 William Kingsley
1769 Bernard Hale .
1773 The Hon, George Lane Parker
1782 William Wynyard
1789 West Hyde
1797 Charles Leigh .
1809 Sir John Stuart, K.B,, Count of Maida
1815 Sir William Houstoun, G,C,B.
1842 Sir James Stevenson Barns, K,C,B,

616263 6465
66 6768 69

70
72

CONTENTS,

APPENDIX.

PAGE

Memoir of Major-General James Wolfe . . 73
Killed at Quebec on 13th September, 1759.
Memoir of Major-General Egbert Eoss , . 75
Killed at Baltimore on 12th September, 1814.
List of Battles, Sieges, and Actions during the Penin
sular War from 1808 to 1814 , . 77

PLATES.
Colours of the Eegiment ... to face 1
Costume of the Eegiment ... ,, 60
Monument erected to Major-General Ross , , 76

THE TWENTIETH,

THE EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT.

TWJEJ^ITIETM midJlIMEHT €)¥ J3)'(])I

¦FOR CANNONS MILlTART RECOR0&

HISTORICAL RECORD

THE TWENTIETH,

EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT.

The Prince of Orange landed, with a Dutch army, on 1688
the coast of Devonshire, on the 5th of November, 1 688,
to enable the nobility and gentry to assert the rights
of the constitution in parliament, against the tyrannical
proceedings of King James II. ; the Prince afterwards
marched to Exeter, and a number of persons, from all
ranks of society, joining his standard, his Highness
issued commissions to Lord Mordaunt, Sir Robert
Peyton, and Sir John Guise, to raise regiments of foot
for his service : troops of horse and companies of foot
were also raised by other gentlemen. The corps raised
by Sir Robert Peyton has been retained in .the
service to the present time, and now bears the title of
the TWENTIETH REGIMENT OP FOOT.
After the flight of King James to France, and the 1689
elevation of the Prince and Princess of Orange to
the -throne, in February, 1689, many of the persons,
who had joined the Prince's standard, returned to
their homes, and the regiment was reduced to six
companies ; but when it was found necessary to send-

2 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
1689 an army to Ireland, to deliver that country from the
power of King James, the regiment was augmented to
thirteen companies. Sir Robert Peyton withdrew from
active service, and was succeeded by Colonel Gustavus
Hamilton, — a zealous Protestant, who had quitted the
service of King James in Ireland,
The Regiment was recruited to its establishment in
time to accompany the second division of the army,
commanded by Marshal Duke Schomberg, to Ireland,
where it arrived soon after the capture of Carrickfergus,
and was placed in garrison at that fortress,
1690 After passing the winter in garrison, the regiment
took the field in the spring of 1690, and joined the
army commanded by King William III., who advanced
to the banks of the Boyne, where the French and Irish
troops, commanded by King James, took up a position
to prevent the passage of the river.
At the battle of the Boyne, on the 1st of July, the
regiment had an opportunity of evincing its determined
zeal and valour in action, under the eye of its Sovereign ;
Colonel Gustavus Hamilton was at the head of the
regiment, which was conspicuous for its gallant bearing
during the action ; and its Colonel was afterwards
honoured with the title of Viscount Boyne. Its loss
was limited to a ie.'^ private soldiers killed and
wounded. After this victory the regiment advanced with the
army to Dublin, from whence it was detached, under
Lieut.-General Douglas, against Athlone; but this
place was found too strongly garrisoned, and King
James's troops in that quarter'too numerous, to admit
of its capture being accomplished by so small a force :
the regiment afterwards rejoined the army under
King William, and was employed in the siege of

THE EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 3
Limerick. This fortress was attacked by storm, on 1690
the 26th of August, without success ; five days after
wards the siege was raised, and the army went into
winter quarters.
During the period that active field operations were 1 691
suspended, detachments had frequent rencounters with
bands of armed Roman Catholic peasantry, called Rap
parees ; and in June, 1691, the regiment joined the
army commanded by General de Ginckell (afterwards
created Earl of Athlone), under whom it served at the
capture o^ Ballymore, which place surrendered after a
short resistance.
The regiment served at the siege of Athlone ; and
at the capture of that place by storm, on the 1st of
July, its commanding officer. Colonel Gustavus
Hamilton, highly distinguished himself at the head of
the grenadiers who led the assault. This was a very
desperate service, and the troops engaged evinced much
intrepidity and valour.
After the capture of Athlone, the army advanced
against the French and Irish forces commanded by
General St. Ruth ; and the twentieth regiment had
the honor to contribute towards the gaining of the
decisive victory at Aghrim, on the I2th of July. On
this occasion the regiment attacked the enemy's left,
and drove King James's soldiers from the first and
second lines of hedges : its progress was afterwards
obstructed by gardens and fences ; but it pressed upon
the enemy, and was subsequently removed to support
the cavalry at the pass near the castle of Aghrim,
Eventually the opposing army was driven from the
field with severe loss, including its commander. General
St. Ruth, who was killed by a cannon-ball,
b2

4 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
1691 The regiment had six soldiers killed and nine
wounded on this occasion.
From Aghrim the regiment marched with the army
to Galway, which fortress surrendered after a short
resistance. The wreck of King James's army took refuge in the
city of Limerick, which was again besieged, and the
TWENTIETH regiment was employed in this service
until the surrender of the place, in September, which
event terminated the war in Ireland, and established
the authority of King William in that country.
1692 After the termination of hostilities in Ireland, the
Twentieth regiment continued on duty in that country
until the commencement of the War of the Spanish
Succession in 1702.
1700 The decease of Charles IL, King of Spain, without
issue, occurred on the 1st November, 1700, and he be
queathed his crown to Philip, Duke of Anjou, second
son ofthe Dauphin of France. Louis XIV,, in violation
of existing treaties, accordingly endeavoured to procure
the accession of his grandson, the Duke of Anjou, to
the throne of Spain, in opposition to the claims of
Charles, Archduke of Austria, the second son of Leopold,
Emperor of Germany,
1701 On the 16 th September, 1701, the decease of
James II, occurred at St, Germains, and his son
(known in England as the Pretender) was proclaimed,
by order of Louis XIV., King of England, Scotland,
and Ireland, under the title of King James III. This
indignity to the British Sovereign and Nation, added
to the contemplated union of the crowns of France and
Spain, aroused the feelings of the people ; and King
William concluded an alliance with the Emperor of

THE EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 5
Austria, and the States- General, against Louis XIV,, 1701
which was termed " The Grand Alliance," the principal
objects of which were to procure the Spanish Nether
lands as a barrier for the Dutch, and to prevent France
and Spain being united under the same Prince,
The French monarch sent a body of troops to take
possession of the Spanish Netherlands, and detaine d
1 5,000 Dutch, who formed the garrisons of the barrier-
towns, in virtue of a previous convention with Spain,
which was concluded at the peace of Ryswick, in 1697,
King William III. immediately adopted active measures
for augmenting the army and navy, and sent thirteen
British battalions to Holland to assist the Dutch against
the advance of the French army towards their frontiers.
Active measures were thus in progress, when the 1702
decease of King William occurred on the 8th March,
1702, and his successor. Queen Anne, resolved to carry
into effect the views of her predecessor. War was ac
cordingly declared against France and Spain on the 4th
May following, and additional forces were sent to
Flanders, the Earl of Marlborough being appointed to
command the British, Dutch, and auxiliary troops.
The TWENTIETH regiment was not destined to share
in the victories of the Duke of Marlborough, triumphs
then unequalled since the days of Crecy and Agincourt ;
but in the early part of 1702, an expedition having
been resolved upon by the British Government against
the port and city of Cadiz, the twentieth regiment
was withdrawn from Ireland to take part in that en
terprise, and proceeded to the Isle of Wight in June
1702, where it embarked on board of four transports,*

* Embarkation return of Brigadier-General Gustavus Hamilton's
regiment, 1st July, 1702. The

6 historical record of the twentieth, or
1702 The fleet was commanded by Admiral Sir George Rooke,
and the troops were under the orders of General the
Duke of Ormond. The armament arrived before Cadiz
in the middle of August ; a landing was effected ; St.
Catherine's Fort was forced to surrender, and Port St.
Mary's was taken possession of; but the expedition
proved not of sufficient force to capture Cadiz, which
was found much stronger, and better garrisoned, than
was expected ; and the soldiers returned on board the
fleet. The twentieth was one of the regiments selected to
proceed to the West Indies, and it sailed on this service
on the 24th of September, with a division of the
royal navy under Commodore Walker.
1703 Extensive preparations were made for the attack of
the French and Spanish settlements in the West Indies ;
and the Earl of Peterborough was nominated to the
command of the armament to be employed in this
service ; but the design was afterwards abandoned.
1704 The regiment sustained some loss from the climate
of Jamaica, where it was stationed a short time, and.

On board the
Jamesand Sarah.

The Colonel's company 62 men 1 On board the
The Lieut.-Colonel's company 52 , , J Berwick.
The Major's company 51
Captain Ward's company 51
Weighton's company 51
John Hamilton's company 51 , , i On board the
Ashe's company 51 , , > Friend's Adven-
Fredk. Hamilton's company 49 , , J ture.
Parker's company 52 men ¦,
St. Clair's company 49 , , I On board the
Wightman's company 51 , , ( Nicholas.
Lord Lambert's company 49 , , J
Geokge Whitbhead, Lieut.-Colonel,
N.B. One of the soldiers of Captain St. Clair's company proved
to be a female. Bibl. Harl., 7025,

the east DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 7
afterwards returning to Europe, was quartered in Ire- 1704.
land in 1704 and 1705,
On the 1st of May, 1706, Major-General Hamilton iyo6
was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment by
Lieut.-Colonel John Newton, from the foot guards.
In the meantime efforts were continued to be made by jitq?
Great Britain, Holland, and Portugal, to place Archduke
Charles of Austria on the throne of Spain, by force of
arms; but the allied army was defeated at Almanza, in
April, 1707 ; and the frontiers of Portugal were attacked
by a division of the enemy. The fifth, twentieth,
thirty-ninth, and a newly-raised regiment, commanded
by Colonel Stanwix, embarked from Cork on the 22nd
of May, 1707, and landing at Lisbon, advanced up the
country and joined the army commanded by the Mar
quis of Montandre, when the enemy ceased to act on
the offensive, and retreated. The four British regiments
halted at Estremos, during the summer heats, and
afterwards encamped in the valley of the Caya, near
Elvas, having detached parties on the flanks to prevent
the enemy making incursions into Portugal; in No
vember they went into quarters in the frontier towns.
Again taking the field in the spring of 1708, the 1708
regiment was encamped between Elvas and Campo
Mayor, where the British division was increased to six
regiments by the arrival of two corps from England.
The army in the Alemtejo was commanded by the
Marquis of Fronteira, and the services of the troops
were limited to defensive operations.
In the summer of 1709, the regiment served on the ] 709
frontiers of Portugal, under the Earl of Galway, On
the 7th of May, the French and Spaniards, under the
Marquis of Bay, marched in the direction of Campo
Mayor, when the Portuguese generals resolved, contrary

8 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
1709 to the advice of the British commander, to pass the
Caya and attack the enemy. This resolution was
carried into execution ; but the Portuguese were soon
routed and their guns captured. The British division
arrived at the moment, repulsed the enemy, and re
captured the guns; but the leading brigade pressed
forward too far, was surrounded, and made prisoners.
The second brigade, consisting of the fifth, twentieth,
thirty-ninth, and Lord Paston's regiments, made a de
termined stand against the enemy's reiterated attacks,
until the Portuguese infantry had retired, and then
withdrew, fighting, from the field. The heroic stand
made by this brigade against the multitudes of the
enemy by which it was assailed ; — its undaunted bear
ing while making the retrograde movement, — the cool
and deliberate resolution with which it faced about,
from time to time ; — and its steady fire, which punished
the temerity of its pursuers, who fell by hundreds upon
the field, exhibited a noble spectacle of war, which im
pressed the enemy, and also the Portuguese, with a
sense of British courage and magnanimity. The
brigade having effected its retreat, with the loss of one
hundred and fifty men killed and wounded, passed the
night at Arronches. The twentieth regiment ac
quired great honor by its distinguished gallantry on
this occasion ; it was employed in the Alemtejo during
the remainder of the campaign, and passed the winter
in cantonments on that frontier.
lYlO The regiment again took the field in the spring of
1710, but the army was weak in numbers, and unequal
to any important undertaking. In the autumn it
crossed the Guadiana river, and on the 5th of October
the twentieth, and two other regiments, stormed the
town of Xeres de los Cabaleros, under the orders of

THE EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT, 9
Brigadier-General Stanwix ; but at the moment when 1710
the attack commenced by escalading the works near St.
Catherine's Gate, the governor sent proposals to sur
render : the soldiers were stopped in their victorious
career, and the garrison was made prisoners of war.
During the campaign of 1711, the twentieth regi- 1711
ment formed part of the army which assembled at
Olivenza, passed the Guadiana by a pontoon bridge at
Jerumenha, and captured several small places in
Spanish Estremadura. The discovery of a secret treaty
in progress between the Court of Lisbon and the enemy
occasioned some change to be made in the policy of the
British Government.
The regiment remained in Portugal during the year 1712
1712. In the autumn, a suspension of hostilities was
proclaimed, which was followed by a treaty of peace,
concluded at Utrecht in the following year.
By the peace of Utrecht, the fortress of Gibraltar, 1713
which had been captured by an English and Dutch
force in 1704, was ceded to Great Britain, and the pro
tection of this important place was confided to the
fifth, thirteenth, and twentieth regiments, which
corps proceeded thither from Portugal, in 1713, and
were stationed at that fortress several years.
Major-General Newton died in 1714, when King 11714
George I. conferred the colonelcy of the twentieth
regiment on Lieut.-General Thomas Meredith, who
had previously commanded the twenty-first regiment.
This officer died in 1719, and was succeeded by Colonel 1719
William Egerton, from the thirty-sixth regiment.
The crown of Spain had relinquished its claim on 1726
Gibraltar with reluctance, and beheld with jealousy a
British garrison posted on the rocky shore overlooking
Andalusia. Having resolved to engage in war with
Great Britain, an army was assembled in the winter of

10 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
1726 1726, to commence hostilities with the siege of this im
portant fortress, which gave the twentieth regiment
an opportunity of adding to its honors the proud
distinction of a successful defence of Gibraltar.
1727 On the 21 st of February, 1727, the garrison of
Gibraltar opened its fire on the besieging army, and
from that day the storm of war raged around the rocks,
on which that fortress was situated, with increasing
violence, until the thunder of a hundred cannon and
mortars, and the fire of small-arms, became almost in
cessant during the day-time, and was partially continued
throughout the night. The twentieth, and other
regiments in garrison, defended their post with great
gallantry, and inflicted so severe a loss upon the be
sieging army, that the Spaniards gave up all hope of
being able to recapture the place. In the early part of
June the fire of the besieging army slackened ; and on
the 18th of th9,t month hostilities ceased. Thus were the
twentieth, and other corps in garrison, victorious;
and the valuable fortress of Gibraltar was preserved to
Great Britain,
1728 In April, 1728j the regiment embarked from Gibral
tar, and proceeded to Ireland, in which country it ar
rived in May.
1732 Colonel Egerton commanded the regiment thirteen
years, and died in 1732 ; he was succeeded by Lieut.-
Colonel Francis, Earl of Effingham, from the first troop
of horse grenadier guards.
1737 The Earl of Effingham was removed to the second
troop of horse grenadier guards, in June, 1 737 : when
King George II. promoted Lieut,-Colonel Richard St.
George to the colonelcy of the twentieth regiment
from the seventh horse, now sixth dragoon guards.
1740 Colonel St, George commanded the regiment three
years, and was removed, in May, 1740,' to the eighth

the east DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 11
dragoons; he was succeeded by Lieut.-Colonel Alex- l74o
ander Rose, from the fifth royal Irish dragoons ; this
officer was removed, in December following, to the
twelfth dragoons, and Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Bligh,
from the sixth horse, now fifth dragoon guards, was
promoted to the colonelcy ofthe twentieth regiment.
In 1741 the regiment was withdrawn from Ireland, 1741
and stationed in South Britain.
The Emperor Charles VI. of Germany, the last 1742
male heir of the house of Austria, having died on the
20th of October, 1740, hostilities commenced on the
Continent in consequence of the Elector of Bavaria and
the King of France combining to deprive the Arch
duchess Maria-Theresa, the Queen of Hungary, of her
hereditary dominions, which had been guaranteed to
her, as the daughter of the late Emperor, by the Edict
known as " the Pragmatic Sanction."
The British monarch supported the claims of the
house of Austria, and the twentieth regiment formed
part of the force sent to Flanders, in the summer of
1742, under Field-Marshal the Earl of Stair. _^
After passing several months at Ghent, the regi- 1743
ment marched for Germany, in the early part of 1743 :
it was encamped at Hochst, and afterwards at Aschaf-
fenburg, and on the morning of the 26th of June
commenced its march for Hanau, with the army com
manded by King George II. The French, having
crossed the river Maine, took up a position near the
village of Dettingen, to oppose the march, and in the
battle which followed on the 27th of June, the twen
tieth regiment had an opportunity of again distin
guishing itself under the eye of its Sovereign. On this
occasion the British infantry evinced great gallantry ;
and the French were overpojvered and driven from the
field with severe loss. The loss of the twentieth

12 historical record of the twentieth, OR
1743 regiment was limited to a few private soldiers killed
and wounded.
After this victory the army continued its march to
Hanau: it subsequently crossed the Rhine, and was
employed in West Germany, but returned to Flanders
for winter quarters.
1744 The regiment served the campaign of 1744, with
the army commanded by Field- Marshal Wade : it was
encamped some time on the banks of the Scheldt, and
afterwards penetrated the French territory to the
vicinity of Lisle ; but no general engagement occurred.
1745 Leaving its winter quarters in the spring of 1745,
the regiment advanced with the army commanded by
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, for the
relief of Tournay, which fortress was besieged by an
immense French army, under Marshal Count de Saxe.
The enemy formed for battle in a fortified position at
the village of Fontenoy, which was occupied by a
considerable force.
On the morning of the llth of May, the formidable
position, occupied by the superior numbers of the
enemy, was attacked, and the British infantry evinced
that heroic bravery, for which that arme of the service
had become conspicuous, and forced the enemy's
position ; but being exposed to a destructive cross-fire,
in consequence of the Dutch having failed in their
attack on the village of Fontenoy, and Brigadier-
General Ingoldsby not having captured a battery in
the wood of Barri, the British regiments, which had
forced the enemy's position, were ordered to retire.
The attack was repeated, with the same results;
British valour was conspicuous, but the failure of the
Dutch rendered a retreat necessary, and the army with
drew to Aeth,
The twentieth regiment had Lieut.-Colonel Gee,

the east DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 13
one Serjeant, and twenty-seven rank and file killed; 1745
Captains Meyrac and Maxwell, Lieutenants Boutchiere
and Vickers, Ensign Hartley, one serjeant, and thirty-
four rank and file wounded.
From Aeth the army removed to the plain of
Lessines ; and the regiment was afterwards employed
in defensive operations ; but the enemy had so great
a superiority of numbers, that the Duke of Cumber
land was unable to prevent the loss of several towns in
Austrian Flanders,
While the army was in Flanders, Charles Edward,
eldest son of the Pretender, raised his father's standard
in the Highlands of Scotland, and being joined by
several clans, he made a desperate effort to overturn
the existing government, and to establish his father's
pretensions. The twentieth regiment was ordered
to return to England : it arrived in the river Thames
on the 4th of November, and afterwards marched
to the borders of Lancashire, under General Ligo-
nier. The regiment was subsequently employed
in the pursuit of the Highlanders, on their retreat
from Derby, and was also employed in the siege of
Carlisle, when the rebel garrison agreed to surrender,
and Brigadier-General Bligh, Colonel ofthe twentieth
regiment, with a body of infantry, took possession ofthe
place on the 30th December.
In January, 1746, the royal army in Scotland sus- 1746
tained severe loss at the battle of Falkirk, and the
twentieth regiment was ordered to march to North
Britain ; it arrived at Edinburgh in February, and
afterwards embarking from thence, proceeded to
Aberdeen, where it arrived on the 25th of March.
Having joined the royal army under the Duke of
Cumberland, the regiment served at the battle of
Culloden on the 16th of April : on this occasion, it was

14 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
1746 posted in the second line, under Major-General Huske.
One of the corps in the front line beng assailed by a
force of superior numbers, the twentieth were moved
forward to its support. The rebels were overpowered
and pursued from the field with severe loss. This
victory proved decisive ; the attempts of the Pretender
were frustrated, and the fugitives from the field
sought, by concealment, to escape the punishment due
to their crimes.
Four men only of the twentieth regiment were
killed : Lieutenant Trapaud and seventeen soldiers
wounded, Brigadier-General Bligh was removed to the twelfth
dragoons, and the colonelcy of the twentieth regi
ment was conferred on Lieut.-Colonel Lord George
Sackville, from the twenty-eighth foot.
After the victory at Culloden, the regiment was sta
tioned some time at. Perth, and was employed in
searching for arms, and in executing measures of neces
sary severity against the clans which had been guilty
1747 of rebellion. In the summer of 1747, it was encamped
near Fort Augustus under Major James Wolfe.
1748 Meanwhile hostilities had been continued on the
Continent, and, in 1748, the regiment re-embarked for
the Netherlands ; but the war was soon after terminated
by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, and the twentieth
regiment returned to Great Britain.
1749 Lord George Sackville was removed to the twelfth
dragoons, and was succeeded by George Viscount Bury,
afterwards Earl of Albemarle, by commission dated the
1st of November, 1749.
1751 In the warrant of King George II., dated 1st of
July, 1751, for establishing uniformity in the clothing
and colours of the several regiments of the regular
army, the facings of the twentieth regiment were

the east DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 15
directed to be of pale yellow. The First, or the King's 1751
Colour, to be the Great Union ; the Second, or the Regi
mental Colour, to be of pale yellow silk, with the union
in the upper canton ; in the centre of the colours, the
Number of the regiment, in gold Roman characters,
within a wreath of roses and thistles on the same stalk,
surmounted by the Crown. The uniform of the regi
ment, at this period, was cocked hats bound with white
lace ; scarlet coats faced and turned up with yellow,
and ornamented with white lace ; scarlet waistcoats and
breeches, and white gaiters reaching above the knee.
Colonel Viscount Bury was removed to the third 1755
dragoons, and the lieut.-colonel of the third dragoons.
Colonel Philip Honeywood, was promoted by King
George II. to the colonelcy ofthe twentieth regiment,
on the 8th of April, 1755.
Colonel Honeywood was removed to the ninth 1756
dragoons, in 1756, and Colonel William Kingsley was
promoted to the colonelcy of the twentieth regiment
from lieut.-colonel of the third foot guards.
The encroachments of the French on the Ohio, and
in Nova Scotia ; the non-evacuation of certain islands
in the West Indies, as stipulated by the treaty of Aix-
la-Chapelle, and the invasion of Minorca, caused war
to be recommenced with France, on which occasion
the TWENTIETH regiment was augmented to two bat
talions. In the summer of 1757, the regiment was employed 1757
in an expedition against Rochfort, under the orders of
Lieut.-General Sir John Mordaunt. The twentieth
were commanded by Colonel Kingsley, and formed in
brigade with the third, eighth, twenty-fifth, and fiftieth
regiments. The fleet sailed in the early part of Sep
tember ; on the 23rd of that month the Isle of Aix,
situate on the western coast of France, between Oleron

16 historical RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
1758 and the continent, was captured, and the forts were
destroyed; but unfavourable weather prevented the
attack on Rochfort taking place ; and the troops re
turned to England.
The second battalion was formed into a distinct regi
ment, which was numbered the sixty-seventh, and the
colonelcy was conferred on Lieut.-Colonel James Wolfe,
of the twentieth regiment, by commission dated the
21st of April, 1758, who was killed at Quebec on the
13th of September, 1759.*
The regiment was selected to proceed to Germany,
to join the allied army in that country, under Prince
Ferdinand of Brunswick ; it embarked from Gravesend
in July, landed at Embden on the 3rd of August, and
advancing up the country, joined the army before the
end of the. month. During the remainder of the cam
paign the regiment was engaged in many harassing
services, and towards the end of November it went into
quarters at Munster, situate in an agreeable country
on the river Aa,
1759 In the summer of 1 759, the French monarch sent an
army into Germany so very superior in numbers to
the allies, that the British troops were obliged to re
treat from the country which had been recovered from
the enemy in the preceding year. The French army,
commanded by Marshal de Contades, took possession
of Minden, and occupied a strong position near that
city. Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick manoeuvred;
he detached one body of troops under his nephew, the
Hereditary Prince of Brunswick, and appeared to leave
another exposed to the attack of the whole of the oppos
ing army. The destruction of this corps was resolved
upon by the French commander, and he put his army
¦* See Appendix, page 73,

THE EAST DEVONSHIRE EEGIMENT OF FOOT. 17
in motion during the night between the 31st of July 1759
and the 1st of August. While the French were on
the march, Prince Ferdinand moved forward in eight
columns ; and as the leading division of the enemy at
tained the summit of some high ground, it was sur
prised at discovering, instead of a few weak corps, the
allied army formed in order of battle. Thus, the
French suddenly found themselves under the necessity
of fighting a battle on unfavourable ground. The
twelfth, twenty-third, and thirty-seventh British regi
ments, followed by the twentieth, twenty-fifth, and
fifty-first, under Major-General Waldegrave and Major-
General Kingsley, and flanked by two battalions of
Hanoverian foot guards and the regiment of Harden-
burg, supported by three battalions of Hanoverians
and a battalion of Russian foot guards, advanced to
attack the left wing of the French army, where Mar
shal de Contades had posted the Mite of his cavalry,
the carabineers and gendarmes. The twelfth, twenty-
third, and thirty-seventh, led the attack in gallant
style : as they moved forward, the enemy's artillery
opened a tremendous fire, and the French carabineers
advanced to charge the British infantry, A volley
from the leading regiments smote the charging squad
rons; many men fell; the survivors reined up their
horses, wheeled about, and retired ; their artillery re
commencing its fire, as the horsemen cleared the front.
The Hanoverian brigade came up on the left of the
British regiments. Soon, another line of French
cavaliers, gay in splendid uniforms, and formidable in
numbers, came forward, the soldiers shouting and
waving their swords ; but they were struck in mid-
onset by a tempest of bullets from the British regi
ments, broken, and driven back with severe loss.

18 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OK
759 Pressing onward with a conquering violence, the
British brigades became exposed to the fire of the
enemy's musketry ; but nothing could stop them ; ele
vated by success, and confident in their own prowess,
they followed up the advantages they had already
gained, and drove the French cavalry out of the field.
Two brigades of French infantry endeavoured to stem
the torrent of battle, but they were broken and dispersed.
A body of Saxon troops made a show of coming down
upon the British regiments ; but they were soon put
to flight. The enemy's line gave way, a general con
fusion among the French regiments followed, and the
numerous legions of France were driven from the field,
with the loss of forty- three pieces of cannon, ten pair of
colours, seven standards, and many officers and soldiers.
The regiment was commended in general orders for
gallant conduct ; and its Colonel, Major-General Kings-
ley, in whose brigade it served, was particularly men
tioned. It was afterwards honored with the Royal
Authority to bear the word " Minden " on its colours,
to commemorate its heroic behaviour on this occasion.
Captains Joseph Frearson, Walter Stewart, and
William Cawley, Lieutenants Edward Brown, and
George Norbury, Ensign John Crawford, one serjeant
and seventy-nine rank and file, were killed ; Captains
Charles Grey, John Parr, and Alexander Tennant,
Captain-Lieutenant David Parry, Lieutenants Luke
Nugent, John Thompson, George Denshire, and W.
Bosswell, Ensigns N. Irwin, William Dent, and William
Renton, twelve Serjeants, and two hundred and twelve
rank and file wounded.
The severe loss sustained by the regiment at the
battle of Minden, occasioned Prince Ferdinand to give
directions, on the 2nd of August, in general orders,

THE EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 19
that " Kingsley's Regiment of the British line, from nsg
its severe loss, will cease to do duty ;" but the surviving
officers and soldiers were animated with zeal for the
service, and a praiseworthy esprit de corps led them
to solicit to be permitted to take every duty which
came to their turn, and, on the 4th of August, it
was stated in general orders, — " Kingsley's Regi
ment, at its own request, will resume its portion of
duty in the line,"
Pursuing the broken remains of the French army,
the allies captured a number of prisoners, and recovered
possession of a great extent of territory which had been
seized by the French : several skirmishes occurred, and
both armies continued in the field after a severe
winter had commenced.
The regiment was engaged in the movements of the 1760
campaign of 1760, and took part in several skirmishes.
On the 13th of July the French divisions under
General de Muy were attacked in their position on the
heights of Warbourg; the British infantry was several
miles from the field when the action commenced, and
they hurried forward with so much zeal, on a hot
summer's day, that many men dropped on the march,
and several died from over-exertion. The French
retreated across the river Dymel, before the British
regiments of foot could arrive at Warbourg, The
grenadier company of the twentieth regiment,
being in advance, was sharply engaged, and highly
distinguished itself: it had two Serjeants and thirteen
rank and file killed ; Captain Tennant, three Serjeants,
and thirty-five rank and file wounded.
After the retreat of the enemy, the regiment was
encamped near Warbourg, and it formed part of a
detachment commanded by the hereditary Prince of
r 2

20 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
1760 Brunswick, which crossed the Dymel, on the night of
the 5th of September, to surprise the French corps
stationed in the town of Zierenherg, The noise of the
troops crossing gardens and hedges alarmed the enemy's
guard ; the gates, were, however, forced, — the guards
overpowered, and the British soldiers entered the town :
the hereditary Prince, and General Griffin, entering at
one of the gates at the head' of the twentieth regi
ment of foot. Some sharp fighting took place in the
streets ; many of the enemy were killed ; forty French
officers and three hundred soldiers were made prisoners ;
two pieces of cannon were captured ; and early in the
morning the British retired to the camp at Warbourg
with their prisoners.
On the 1st of October, the regiment was detached
from Warbourg, towards the Lower Rhine, and formed
part of the separate corps, under the hereditary Prince
of Brunswick, who invested the town of Wesel in the
duchy of Cleves. A numerous French force advanced
to raise the siege, and encamped behind the convent of
Campen; on the evening of the 14th of October, the
hereditary Prince advanced to surprise the enemy's
camp in the night : but it was found necessary to
dislodge a corps which occupied^the convent, and this
occasioned some firing, which alarmed the French camp,
when the soldiers immediately formed for battle. The
hereditary Prince attacked the French army before
daylight, and the twentieth regiment was engaged
in a desperate musketry fight fof many hours ; it was
opposed to very superior numbers, and the French had
the advantage of a wood. The fire of musketry was
continued from five in the morning until nine at night,
when the Prince, finding it impossible to force the
<enemy out of the wood, ordered a retreat.

THE EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 21
The regiment had one serjeant and twenty-two rank 1760
and file killed ; Captain Grey, Lieutenants Nugent,
Pringle, and Powers, five Serjeants, and one hundred
and twenty-six rank and file wounded ; Lieutenants
Boswell and Bailey wounded and taken prisoners ; —
forty-nine rank and file prisoners, who were nearly
all wounded.
The siege of Wesel was raised, and the regiment
repassed the Rhine, and was cantoned in the princi
pality of Hesse.
In February, 1761, the regiment was engaged in a 1761
general attack on the enemy's winter quarters: the
march was made during snow-storms and frosty
weather, several magazines were captured, and a great
extent of country recovered ; but the allies were after
wards forced to withdraw.
Again taking the field in June, the regiment was
employed in several manoeuvres ; and in the middle of
July it was in position near the Asse and Lippe rivers,
in Prussian Westphalia, The position occupied by the
division under the Marquis of Granby, at Kirch-
Denkern, was attacked on the 15th, and again on the
16th of July; and the French were defeated with loss.
The TWENTIETH regiment had a few private soldiers
killed and wounded on this occasion.
The twentieth were afterwards engaged in opera
tions on the Dymel: in November they marched into
the electorate of Hanover, and were engaged in a skir
mish near Eimbeck, where some sharp fighting occurred.
In June, 1762, the regiment was engaged in opera- 1762
tions in the bishopric of Paderborn, and, on the 24th
of June marched to attack the French troops under
Marshals d'Estrees and Soublse, encamped at Groeben
stien, The movement was conducted with so much
address, that the French were surprised in their camp.

22 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
1762 and being attacked in front, flank, and rear, they
retreated in confusion, leaving their equipage behind :
one French division was surrounded in the woods of
Wilhelmsthal, and forced to surrender,
A series of successful operations, in which the
TWENTIETH regiment was actively engaged, followed
this victory. The enemy was forced to quit several
strong posts, and the allied army took Cassel. These
events were followed by a treaty of peace ; preliminary
articles having been agreed upon at Fontainebleau, a
suspension of hostilities took place, and the regiment
went into quarters in the bishopric of Munster.
During these campaigns, the twentieth regiment
had acquired great reputation for its heroic gallantry
on all occasions; its Colonel, Lieut.-General Kings-
ley, — also Lieut.-Colonel 'John Beckwith, and Major
John Maxwell, had particularly distinguished them
selves.
1763 Having received the thanks of Parliament for its
conduct during the war, the regiment, mustering
twenty-seven officers, and seven hundred and six non
commissioned officers and private soldiers, commenced
its march through Holland, to Williamstadt, where it
embarked for England, in February, 1763. Immedi
ately after its arrival in England, it proceeded to
Gibraltar, the scene of its former triumphs, where it
was stationed six years.
1769 Having been relieved from duty at the fortress of
Gibraltar, the regiment returned to England in 1769.
Lieut.-General Kingsley died this year, and was
succeeded by Colonel Bernard Hale, from the lieut.-
colonelcy of the third foot guards.
1773 Major-General Hale was appointed lieut.-governor of
the Royal Hospital at Chelsea, in 1773 ; when King
George III. appointed Major-General the Honorable

the east DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT, 23
George Lane Parker, from major in the First Foot 1774
Guards, to the colonelcy ofthe twentieth regiment.
In 1774 the regiment embarked "for Ireland, where
it was quartered nearly two years.
While the regiment was stationed in Ireland, the 1775
British colonies in North America commenced their
struggle for Independence ; hostilities commenced in
the spring of 1775 ; and during the following winter
Quebec was besieged by a body of Americans.
Early in the spring of 1776, the twentieth 1776
regiment embarked from Ireland for the relief of
Quebec. On the arrival of reinforcements at that for
tress, the Americans raised the siege and made a preci
pitate retreat ; they were afterwards driven from the
various posts which they occupied in fJanada, and
forced back to the United States with Ipss. After
taking part in these services, the twentieth regi
ment was stationed at Isle aux Noix, where it passed
the winter.
In the spring of 1777, the regiment was selected to 1777
form part of an expedition, under Lieut.-General
Burgoyne, designed to penetrate the revolted provinces,
from Lake Champlain, to Albany, and thus open a
considerable extent of country, to enable the royalists
to declare their principles. To engage in this service,
the twentieth regiment, commanded by Lieut.-
Colonel John Lind, embarked on board the flotilla, and
after a pleasant voyage along Lake Champlain, landed
at Crown Point, from whence it advanced to invest
Ticonderago ; but the Americans quitted the fort
without attempting to stand a siege. Again embarking
on board ofthe flotilla, the regiment moved along the
lake, and about three o'clock on the afternoon of the
6th of July, the ninth, twentieth, and twenty-fl^st
regiments landed near Skenesborough, and ascended the

24 historical record of the twentieth, OR
1777 mountains to get behind a fort, occupied by the
Americans at that place ; but as the three regiments
ascended the hills, the Americans set fire to their fort,
and fled with such precipitation, that only thirty
of their number were made prisoners. Another party
of the enemy was pursued towards Castletown, and
being overtaken, a sharp fight ensued, in which the
Americans sustained severe loss
On the 8th of July, the twentieth were detached,
with two field-pieces, towards. Fort Anne, to support
the ninth regiment, which was attacked near that
place by very superior numbers of the enemy.
As the army advanced, the Americans retreated,
without hazarding an engagement; but the country
being a wilderness, many obstructions had to be re
moved. It was found necessary to construct forty new
bridges, and to repair others : one made of log-work
crossed a morass two miles in extent. These diffi
culties were overcome with alacrity, and on the 30th
of July the army advanced to the banks of Hud
son's River, where it was obliged to halt some time
in consequence of the difficulty of procuring pro
visions, and the soldiers began to experience great
hardships. The river was crossed in the middle of
September, and on the 19th and 20th of that month
some fighting occurred near Still- Water, Speaking of
the action on the 20th, Lieut.-General Burgoyne,
stated in his public despatch, " About three o'clock
" the action began, by a very vigorous attack on the
" British line, and continued with great obstinacy until
" after sunset, the enemy being constantly supplied
" Avith fresh troops. The stress lay upon the twen-
" tieth, twenty-first, and sixty-second regiments,
"'most parts of which corps were engaged near four
" hours without intermission."

the east DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT, 25
The twentieth had Lieutenants Lucas, Cook, and 1777
Oblns killed ; also several private soldiers killed and
wounded, Lieut.-Colonel John Lind was wounded in
two different actions; Major Auckland, Captain
Farquhar, Lieutenants Wemyss and Stanley, and En
sign Connell wounded.
The British troops passed the night on the field of
battle ; but the American Indians, who formed part of
the army, and who had been prevented plundering to
the extent they wished, withdrew. Thus weakened
in numbers, Lieut, -General Burgoyne continued to
confront the enemy, whose augmented forces soon
rendered it necessary for him to retreat. Some changes
of position and skirmishing occurred, in which British
valour was conspicuous ; but the circumstances of the
army soon became desperate. Incessant toil, and a
scarcity of provisions, had reduced the army to three
thousand five hundred men able to bear arms, and these
were invested by sixteen thousand Americans, under
General Gates. Under these circumstances, the British
agreed to lay down their arms at Saratoga, on condition
of being sent to England, and of not serving again in
North America during the war. The articles of the
convention of Saratoga were, however, violated by the
Americans, and the soldiers were detained in the
United States,
The regiment having been liberated from restraint, 1781
returned to England in 1781.
In the following year, a letter dated the 3Ist of 1782
August, 1782, contained His Majesty's directions, that
the regiment should be designated the twentieth,
or the East Devonshire Regiment, in order that
a connexion might be cultivated between the regiment
and that county, with a view of promoting the success
of the Recruitinp; Service.

26 historical record of the twentieth, or
1782 Lieut.-General the Honorable George Lane Parker,
having been removed to the twelfth dragoons, the colo
nelcy of the regiment was conferred on Major-General
William Wynyard, from lieut.-colonel of the third foot
guards,
1783 In 1 783 the regiment proceeded to Ireland, where
it was stationed six years.
1 789 On the 1 2th of March, 1789, Lieut.-General Wynyard
was succeeded in the colonelcy by Major-General West
Hyde, from the lieut.-colonelcy of the first foot guards.
In June of this year the regiment embarked for
Nova Scotia, and after landing at Halifax, was stationed
in North America several years,
1792 In the meantime, a revolution had broken out in
France, and was attended with circumstances of pecu
liar violence and outrage. Republican principles were
also become dangerously prevalent in the French West
India Islands, and a number of settlers at the island
of St. Domingo solicited protection from the British
government, against the inhabitants of colour, whose
violence threatened to involve the colony in all the
horrors which usually attend democratical outrage.
Under these circumstances the twentieth regiment
was removed from Nova Scotia, in 1792, to the West
1793 Indies ; and it was afterwards stationed at St. Domingo,
in one of the districts which had placed themselves
under the protection of the British government.
1794 From St. Domingo the regiment proceeded to Ja
maica, where some alarm had been occasioned by the
hostile conduct of a people inhabiting the interior of
the island. These persons were the descendants of the
Spanish slaves, who, when the island was captured by
Great Britain, fled to the mountains, where they lived
in savage independence, and were called Maroons.
Being possessed of muskets and other weapons, and

the east DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT, 27
joined by many English slaves, the Maroons commenced 1794
hostilities against the British inhabitants, and the
TWENTIETH regiment was engaged in a series of diffi
cult services, and in some skirmishes, to bring the
hostile Maroons to submission. Several men were
killed and wounded on these services, and, on the 25th
of March, 1795, the regiment lost its commanding 1795
officer, Lieut.-Colonel David Markham, who was killed
while leading a body of troops to the attack of some of
the enemy's defences. The Maroons were afterwards
forced to submit, and were removed from the island.
The regiment remained at Jamaica until March, 1796
1796: during its stay at that island, and at St. Do
mingo, it lost many officers and soldiers from disease.
The officers were. Major Charles Boyd ; Captains Wil
liam Farquhar, Thomas Story, and Robert Dobson;
Captain-Lieutenants John Eccles and Richard Bate
man ; Lieutenants Peter B. Ravenscroft and Edward
Blennerhassett ; Ensigns George Bloomer and Edward
H. Thorpe ; and Adjutant A. L. Wynyard.
The regiment, reduced in numbers to six officers
and seventy non-commissioned officers and soldiers,
landed at Plymouth, from whence it marched to Exeter,
under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Forbes Cham
pagne. On the decease of General Hyde, the colonelcy of 1797
the regiment was conferred on Major-General Charles
Leigh, from the eighty-second foot, by commission
dated the 2nd of March, 1797.
The regiment remained in England recruiting its 1799
numbers, until the summer of 1799, when it received
orders to join the expedition to Holland, under His
Royal Highness the Duke of York. At this period of
the war, the soldiers of the English militia corps were

28 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
1799 permitted to extend their services to the line, and
when the twentieth arrived at Canterbury, the regi
ment was joined by eighteen hundred excellent soldiers,
volunteers from the militia regiments of the counties
of York, Lancaster, Stafford, Derby, Devon, Cornwall,
Cambridge, Chester, &c. From Canterbury the regi
ment proceeded to the camp at Barham Downs, where
it was divided into two battalions ; the first was com
manded by Lieut.-Colonel George Smith ; the second
by Lieut.-Colonel David Clephane ; and these officers
devoted themselves with so much assiduity to bring
the two battalions into a state of fitness for active
service, that the regiment was ready for embarkation
in a few days, and sailing to the Helder, landed on the
coast of Holland on the 28th of August ; the men had
to wade through the water from the transports to the
shore, under circumstances of great difficulty. The
two battalions of the twentieth were formed in
brigade with the sixty-third regiment, under Major-
General Don : previously to the arrival of the Duke of
York, the army was commanded by Lieut.-General Sir
Ralph Abercromby.
Immediately on landing, the regiment formed in
position on the sand-hills a few miles from Helder
Town, and afterwards removed to Zype Dike, and was
posted near the village of Crabbendam. On the 10th
of September, the French and Dutch made a deter
mined attack on the positions occupied by the British
troops ; they were repulsed at Einigenbrug by a
battalion of the twentieth regiment ; they assaulted
the entrenchments raised upon the dike at Crab
bendam ; but the twentieth regiment defended this
post with great gallantry, under the eye of Sir Ralph
Abercromby, who stated in his public despatch — " The

THE EAST DEVONSHIRE EEGIMENT OF FOOT. 29
" two battalions of the twentieth regiment posted at 1799
" Crabbendam, did great credit to the high reputation that
" regiment has always borne,"
The first battalion had Lieut,-Colonel Smith (who greatly
distinguished himself), Major Ross, Captain Powlett, Lieuts.
Colborne, Des Veoux, and Hamilton, and Adjutant South,
wounded ; the second battalion had Captain-Lieutenant
Adams, wounded. The two battalions had five men killed,
sixty-one wounded, and eighteen missing. The command of
the first battalion devolved on Brevet LIeut,-Colonel Philip
Bainbrigge, the senior major.
Additional troops arrived from England, and His Royal
Highness the Duke of York having assumed the command,
the army moved forward on the 19th of September in four
columns ; that on the left (in which was the twentieth)
under General Sir Ralph Abercromby, advanced to Hoorne,
and captured its garrison. This put the French position in
considerable peril, 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 aban
doned, Hoorne was evacuated, and His Royal Highness
withdrew his army to its former position on the Zuype.
On the 2nd of October another attack was made ou the
enemy, and the points where this well-fought battle, which
lasted from six in the morning until six at night, was prin
cipally contested, were from the sea-shore in front oi Egmont-
op-Zee, extending along the sandy desert, or hills, to the
heights above Bergen. The two battalions of the twen
tieth, and the sixty-third regiment, fprmed a brigade in
the division under Sir Ralph Abercromby, which, after
driving the French along the sea-shore, and sand-hills,
attacked the enemy near Egmont-op-Zee; the brigade
marched into Egmont-op-Zee on the 3rd, the enemy having
abandoned it in the morning. The regiment had fifty
soldiers killed and wounded ; also Captain Powlett and En
sign Milnes wounded.
The word " Egmont-OP-Zee " was placed, by royal
33027. ••-

30 HISTOBIOAL KECOKD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
1799 authority, on the colours of the regiment, to commemorate
its gallant conduct on this occasion.
On the 6th of October an action was brought on acci
dentally, in consequence of the Russians having pushed
forward their piquets to occupy certain posts facing the
French position between Beverwyck and Wyck-op-Zee,
where they were attacked by the enemy iu great force. Sir
Ralph Abercromby advanced to support the Russians with
the reserve of his corps, of which the twentieth formed a
part. A severe action was then commenced, and was main
tained with great obstinacy until night, when the enemy
retired.* Thus ended the second battle of Egmont-op-Zee.
The first battalion had Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Bainbrigge,
Brevet Major Campbell, and Ensigns Fa veil and Mc Curry
killed; Captain Newman, Lieutenant Maxwell Close, and
Ensign Humphreys, wounded: the second battalion had
Captains Maister, Wallace, and Torrens, Lieutenant Steevens
and Ensign Drewry wounded. The loss in non-commis
sioned officers and soldiers amounted to one hundred and
seventy-one killed, wounded, and missing. Captain Manley
Power succeeded to the command of the first battalion on
the death of Lieut.-Colonel Bainbrigge, his promotion as
major being dated 7th October 1799.
These efforts for the liberation of Holland not being
seconded by the Dutch people, the British army was .em
barked for England. The twentieth regiment was after
wards stationed at Ashford in Kent.
1800 In January and February, 1800, the regiment proceeded
to Ireland, and was stationed at Cork, where it received
volunteers from several corps of Irish militia. In June, it
embarked with a small expedition against Belle Isle ; the
attack on that place having been abandoned, the regi
ment landed on the Island of Houat, where it was encamped
a few days, and afterwards proceeded to the Island of
* Some of the companies on the right of the first battalion of the twentieth charged
into the enemy's line, and were mixed with the French at the close of the evening ;
Captain Chalmers mentioned to the present General Lord Seaton, who was then a
Lieutenant in the first battalion, that he had in hands a French Gfeneral for a short
time.

the east DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 31
Minorca, where it remained ten months. The light l&OO
companies of both battalions formed part of a flank
battalion under Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Ross of the
regiment. While at Minorca, the soldiers, who had
been engaged on condition of not being sent out of
Europe, volunteered to extend their services.
Meanwhile Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercromby 1801
had proceeded with a British armament to Egypt, to
force the French " Army of the East " to evacuate
that country. A landing was effected on the 8th of
March, and British valour was triumphant in three
engagements: on the 21st of March, Sir Ralph Aber
cromby was mortally wounded, and the command
devolved on Lieut.-General (afterwards Lord) Hutchin
son, who advanced up the country to attack Cairo.
Reinforcements were ordered to join the British army
in Egypt ; and on the 24th of June the twentieth
regiment embarked from Minorca for that country : both
battalions arrived in Aboukir Bay on the 23rd of July,
and landing on the following day, took post on the east
side of Alexandria ; they were formed in brigade with
the Ancient Irish Fencibles. Lieut.-General Hutchin
son having returned from Cairo, resolved to press the
siege of Alexandria with vigour, and on the 17th of
August the twentieth regiment supported an attack on
the exterior works, when several batteries were captured.
On the 22nd of August the regiment embarked in
boats, on the inundations, and joined the troops under
Major-General Coote, on the west side of Alexandria.
Major-General Coote was anxious to advance his
batteries, and occupy a ridge within six hundred yards
of Fort Des Bains, and on the night of the 25th of
August the first battalion of the twentieth, com
manded by Lieut.-Colonel Smith, supported by a small
party of the twenty-sixth dragoons under Lieutenant

32 historical record of the twentieth, or
1801 Kelly, and the second battalion of the twentieth,
under Lieut.-Colonel Clephane, advanced to attack
the enemy's outposts stationed there. The first
battalion stormed the heights without firing a shot,
bayoneting all the French who resisted, and taking a
number of officers and soldiers prisoners. The French
General resolved, if possible, to recover the ground ; a
heavy fire of musketry and artillery was opened against
the heights, and a chosen body of French veterans
rushed forward to assault the post; but the first
battalion of the twentieth repulsed the attack with
distinguished bravery, and maintained the ground it
had so gallantly won, for which service it was thanked
in orders by Major-General Coote.
Batteries were immediately constructed, and pre
parations made to envelope Alexandria in a storm of
fire, which the French General, Menou, could not hope
to resist ; but hostilities ceased soon afterwards by the
surrender of the garrison, and Egypt was delivered from
the power of Bonaparte, whose boasted projects of
conquests in the East were thus defeated. On the
2nd of September, the flank companies of the twen
tieth regiment took possession of Forts Triangular
and Des Bains : this proved a gratifying and animating
occurrence ; the triumph of the British arms was flom-
plete, a powerful enemy was humbled, and the soldiers
felt all their tolls and combats rewarded by the advan
tages acquired by their country.
For its conduct on this service, the regiment re
ceived the thanks of Parliament, the approbation of its
Sovereign, and the Royal Authority to bear on its
colours the word " Egypt," with the " sphinx," to
commemorate its gallant conduct. The officers were per
mitted to accept of gold medals from the Grand Seignior.
The French army having been removed from Egypt,

the east DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 33
the TWENTIETH regiment embarked for Malta : the 1801
health of the officers and soldiers suffered much in
Egypt. After performing quarantine at Malta the
regiment landed, and the health of the men improved.
A treaty of peace was concluded in 1802, when the 1802
establishment of the regiment was reduced to one bat
talion ; the limited-service men and the invalids of
both battalions were embarked for England and dis
charged. Lieut.-Colonel George Smith was removed to the
eighty-second regiment, and previous to his departure
from Malta, he was presented with a valuable sword,
by Lieut.-Colonel Robert Ross and the officers of the
TWENTIETH regiment, accompanied by an address, ex
pressive of their high estimation of his character, and
regret at his departure.
The regiment was quartered at Vittoriosa, and some
preparations were commenced, which indicated the
design ofthe British Government to evacuate the island ;
but the Maltese were anxious to remain under the pro
tection of Great Britain ; and the conduct of Napoleon
Bonaparte, First Consul of France, was of so ambiguous
a character, that the peace of Europe was again inter
rupted, and the British retained possession of Malta.
In May, 1803, the regiment marched from Vittoriosa, 1803
to the beautiful city of Valetta, where a p air of new
colours were presented to it in September by Lieut.-
Colonel Ross,
The regiment was stationed at Malta during the
period a powerful French army was held i n readiness
for the invasion of England by Napoleon Bonaparte,
who, in the following year, was crowned Emperor 1804
of France and King of Italy; and in the autumn
of 1805 he led his army into Germany to crush 1805

34 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
1805 the confederacy forming against his interests. From
the commencement of the war with England, Naples
was occupied by French troops ; but at this period
a treaty of neutrality was concluded between France
and Naples ; the French troops were withdrawn, and
the King of Naples was bound not to admit the fleets
or armies of any power at war with France into
his ports or territories. While the war in Germany
was undecided, the twentieth regiment embarked
from Valetta, and proceeded with the expedition,
under Lieut.-General Sir James Craig, to Naples,
where the British troops were permitted to land, and
the twentieth regiment was quartered at Nocera ; it
was reviewed on the sands by the King of Naples, who
expressed his admiration of the appearance and dis
cipline of the British corps. A Russian armament also
arrived at Naples.
The Emperor Napoleon being triumphant in Ger
many, he seized the moment of victory to denounce
vengeance against the King of Naples for permitting
a British and Russian armament to enter his ports and
land on his shores ; and on the morning after signing
the treaty of Presburg, Napoleon issued a proclamation,
declaring that " the Neapolitan dynasty had ceased to
reign." This was followed by the march of a numerous
French army, under Joseph Bonaparte, to take possession
of Naples : the Russians retired, leaving the Court to its
fate ; the British were too few in numbers to defend
the kingdom, and they re-embarked; but they took
possession of the island of Sicily, which they retained
in the interest of the Neapolitan dynasty.
1806 The twentieth regiment withdrew from Naples
in January, 1806, and arrived in the harbour of
Messina in February. The King and Queen took up

the east DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 35
their residence at the city of Palermo, situate in a bay 1806
on the northern coast of Sicily.
The Neapolitans submitted to the dictates of the
Emperor Napoleon, who issued a decree conferring the
crown of Naples on his brother Joseph, when the city
of Naples was illuminated, and the nobles were eager
to show their attachment to their new Sovereign,
The French assembled a body of troops in Calabria,
and made extensive preparations for the invasion of
Sicily; and Major-General Stuart, commanding the
British troops in Sicily, formed the design of penetrat
ing Calabria, and attacking the French division under
General Regnier. The twentieth regiment was
ordered to embark in small vessels, and proceed to the
coast of Calabria, to make a diversion in favour of the
main army ; it accordingly embarked from its stations
on the coast of Sicily ; on arriving at Messina, it
was removed on board of transports, and sailed for St,
Euphemia, where the troops under Major-General
Stuart had effected a landing. The regiment arrived
in the bay of St, Euphemia about two o'clock on the
morning of the 4th of July, and its commanding officer,
Lieut.-Colonel Robert Ross, having learnt that the
army had advanced, and was likely to be engaged, he
caused the regiment to disembark, under the incon-
veniencies of a heavy surf, and to follow the army as
speedily as possible. Hurrying forward, part of the
distance at a running pace, the regiment arrived at
the plains of Maida during the action between the
British and French armies. As the regiment approached
the left of the line, a numerous body of French cavalry
was seen advancing to- charge that flank; Lieut.-
Colonel Ross observed the movement, and throwing
the twentieth into a small cover on the enemy's
d2

36 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
1806 flank, caused so heavy ahd well directed a fire to be
opened upon the French-horsemen, that the attempt was
completely disconcerted, Major-General Stuart de
tailed this gallant and successful action of the twen
tieth in his public despatch, and added, — " This was
" the last struggle of the enemy, who, astonished and
" dismayed by the intrepidity with which they were
" assailed, began precipitately to retreat, leaving the
" field covered with carnage." ¦ • ¦ " Our victorious
" infantry continued the pursuit of the routed enemy
" as long as they were able ; but as the latter dis-
" persed in every direction, and we were under the
" necessity of preserving our order, the trial of speed
" became unequal. The total loss occasioned to the
" enemy by this conflict, cannot be less than four
" thousand men. When I oppose to the above our own
" small comparative loss (forty-five killed, two hundred
" and eighty-two wounded). His Majesty will, I hope,
" discern in the fact, the happy effects of that
" established discipline, to which we owe the triumphs
" by which our army has been so highly distinguished,"
The loss of the battalion companies of the regiment
was limited to a few private soldiers killed and
wounded : the flank companies sustained a more
severe loss ; they were formed in grenadier and light
infantry battalions, and were distinguished for their
gallantry throughout the day. Captain McLean,
commanding the light infantry company, was mortally
wounded. For its distinguished conduct on this occasion, the
regiment received the thanks of Parliament, the appro
bation of its Sovereign, and the Royal Authority to bear
the word "Maida" on its colours. Major-General
Stuart was rewarded with the dignity of a Knight of

THE EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 37
the Bath, and was cre'ated Count of Maida by the 1806
King of Naples. Commanding officers of regiments
received each a gold medal.
Following up the advantages acquired by the victory
of Maida, the British captured several forts and
magazines, and the province of Calabria was delivered
from the power of France. After taking part in the
movements connected with these successes, the regi
ment returned to Messina, and was placed in canton
ments along the coast, from that place to the Faro
lighthouse. In November, a company of Sicilians
was added to the regiment, which marched in the
same month to Mellazia,
At this period of the war, Napoleon attempted to 1807
enforce his decrees for the destruction of British com
merce, and he called upon the Court of Portugal to
seize upon, and confiscate, all the property of British
subjects in Portugal: this being refused, he sent a
numerous army, under Marshal Junot, to take posses
sion of Lisbon. At this juncture, Lieut.-General Sir
John Moore sailed from Sicily, with a few regiments,
to support the Portuguese government ; and the
TWENTIETH regiment was one of the corps employed in
this service; it embarked from Sicily in October, 1807;
one of the transports was wrecked, but the regiment
did not sustain any loss ; the soldiers returned on
shore, embarked on board of another ship, and arrived
at Gibraltar in the beginning of December. It was
soon afterwards ascertained, that the Court of Portugal
had fled to the Brazils, and the French troops had
seized on Lisbon and other important towns. Under
these circumstances the regiment sailed for England,
and arrived at Portsmouth before the end of the
month: the Sicilian company attached to the

38 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
1807 TWENTIETH was soon afterwards transferred to the
Sicilian regiment.
1808 The Portuguese and Spaniards rose in arms against
the tyrannical conduct of Napoleon, and a body of
British troops was sent to their aid under Lieut.-
General Sir Arthur Wellesley, who landed in Portugal
and commenced operations against the French. The
TWENTIETH regiment was selected to reinforce the
army in Portugal, and embarking from Landguard Fort
in the month of July, 1 808, arrived off" the mouth of
the river Tagus on the I9th of August, At midnight
seven companies and a half landed, under the command
of Lieut.-Colonel Campbell, and joined the army in
position at Vimiera ; they formed part of the brigade
commanded by Brigadier-General Aeland. The ship
containing the head-quarters of the regiment, under
Lieut.-Colonel Ross, drifted from the coast, and did
not return until the following day.
At seven o'clock on the morning of the 21st of
August a cloud of dust was observed beyond the nearest
hills, and soon afterwards the French army, com
manded by Marshal Junot, was seen advancing to give
battle. A sternly contested action, among rugged
rocks and broken grounds, followed ; and during the
fight the TWENTIETH attacked the enemy's flank with
great gallantry. British valour was triumphant, and
the French sustained a decisive repulse. The word
" Vimiera" on the colours of the regiment commemo
rates its distinguished conduct on this occasion. Its
loss was limited to Lieut. Brooks killed ; Lieut. Hogg
and five soldiers wounded.
The convention of Cintra, and the deliverance of
Portugal from the power of France, followed the victory
at Vimiera. Previous to the departure of the French

THE EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 39
troops, four hundred men of the regiment, under Lieut.- 1808
Colonel Ross, crossed the Tagus, and marched to the
fortress of Elvas. They were received in the Alemtejo
with lively emotions of joy, by all classes of the
Portuguese, and experienced much kind treatment.
On arriving at Elvas, the French garrison was relieved,
in order to its return to France.
Portugal being thus delivered, the British govern
ment directed a body of troops to advance into Spain,
under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, in order to co
operate with the Spanish patriots in their resistance
to the power of France. To take part in this service
the regiment marched from Elvas on the 28th of
October, and arrived at Salamanca on the 18th of
November ; the army afterwards advanced, and menaced
the French troops under Marshal Soult. Napoleon
had, however, passed the Pyrenees with a powerful
army, defeated, destroyed, and dispersed the undisci
plined multitudes of Spanish patriots, and entered
Madrid in triumph. The destruction of the army of
Britons who ventured to menace his lines, and were
the only troops in Spain capable of resisting his veteran
legions, was resolved upon by the Emperor, and for this
purpose he directed against them an immense body of
troops : but Sir John Moore, with his characteristic
energy and skill, withdrew towards the coast, and
escaped the schemes of his adversary. The twentieth
regiment shared in the privations and sufferings
produced by a long and difficult march, exposed to
snow-storms, and pursued by an enemy of very superior
numbers ; the regiment formed part of the reserve, and
was usually employed in the rear-guard, which occa
sioned it to undergo a great extent of fatigue, from the
difficulty of bringing up the baggage on many occa-

40 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OB
1808 sions; and it had several skirmishes with the French
advance-guard,
1809 In January, 1809, the army arrived at Corunna, and
obtained some repose after its excessive fatigues. The
troops took up a position, a short distance from the
town, to await, the arrival of shipping, and on the 16th
of January the fierce attacks of the superior numbers
of the enemy were repulsed by British valour, and a
victory was gained which reflected lustre on the
English arms : but the troops had to regret the loss
of their Commander, Lieut.-General Sir John Moore,
who was mortally wounded during the action.
The word " Corunna " is inscribed on the colours
of the regiment, by Royal Authority, to commemorate
its gallant bearing on this occasion.
After the victory at Corunna, the troops embarked
for England ; the twentieth regiment landed at
Portsmouth, and marched from thence to Colchester,
where it received five hundred volunteers from the
militia. In July the regiment marched to Dover, from whence
it embarked with the expedition to the Scheldt, under
General the Earl of Chatham, designed to effect the
destruction of the French shipping and arsenal. The
twentieth formed part ofthe reserve, commanded by
Lieut.-General Sir John Hope, and landed on North
Beveland in the beginning of August, Some delay
occurred in carrying out the object of the expedition,
and a very fatal fever broke out among the troops,
which thinned the ranks. The delay had given time
for the enemy to remove the shipping higher up the
river, and to make preparations for a determined
resistance. Under these circumstances the armament
returned to England. The twentieth landed at

THE EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 41
Harwich in the middle of September, and marched to 1809
Colchester, much reduced in numbers, the survivors still
suffering from disease.
Lieut.-General Leigh was removed to the third
foot, or the Buffs, in December, 1809, and was suc
ceeded by Lieut.-General Sir John Stuart, Count of
Maida, from the seventy-fourth regiment.
In June, 1810, the regiment embarked at Harwich 1810
for Ireland, and landing at Monkstown, marched from
thence to Kinsale.
The regiment occupied various quarters in Ireland, igij
during the year 1811, and the first nine months of
1812, In the meantime, the contest in Portugal and Spain 1812
had been continued, and the twentieth regiment,
having been selected tojoin the allied army commanded
by the Marquis of Wellington, embarked from Cork on
the 12th of October, and sailed to Corunna, where it
landed on the 28th of October. Information having
been received of the retreat of the allied army from
Burgos, the regiment re-embarked and sailed to Lisbon,
where it landed in the middle of November. After
reposing in quarters in convents at Lisbon one month,
the regiment commenced its march up the country,
under Lieut.-Colonel Ross, and halting at St. Jao-de-
Pisquera, was formed in brigade with the seventh and
twenty-third fusiliers, under Major-General Skerrett,
and attached to the fourth division under Major-
General G. Lowry Cole.
Augmented in numbers, improved in organization, iglS
and confident in the superior abilities of its leader, the
allied army took the field in May, 1813, and com
menced operations against the enemy. The twen tieth
regiment formed part of the force under Lieut.-General

42 historical record of the twentieth, or
1813 Sir Thomas Graham, which passed the Douro within
the Portuguese frontier, proceeded through the pro
vince of Tras-os-Montes, and passed the Esla river,
afterwards following the retreat of the enemy on
Valladolid, and subsequently on Burgos. The French
destroyed the castle of Burgos, and fell back behind
the Ebro, The twentieth regiment moved with its
division to the left, traversed a mountainous and
difficult tract of country, previously deemed imprac
ticable for an army, and passed the Ebro near its
source; the French army fell back to a position in
front of Vittoria.
On the morning ofthe 21st of June, the allied army
advanced to attack the enemy's positions, and the
twentieth regiment had the honour to take part in
the complete overthrow of the legions of Napoleon,
and in the capture of the whole of the enemy's cannon
and baggage ; in commemoration of which event, the
regiment received the Royal Authority to add the word
" Vittoria " to the honorary inscriptions on its
colours. Its loss was limited to a few private soldiers
killed and wounded.
The twentieth was one of the regiments which
continued the pursuit of the broken remains of the
French army to the Pyrenean Mountains, and after
halting a short time in one of the passes, withdrew
and formed part of the blockading force before Pam
peluna, Colonel Robert Ross, who had commanded the
regiment with distinction many years, and had been
previously presented with a valuable sword by the
officers, as a token of the high estimation in which
they held his military and social virtues, was, on the 4th
of June, 1813, promoted to the rank of Major-General,

the east DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT, 43
and was appointed to the staff of the army in the 1813
Peninsula, with which he served until the termination
ofthe war with France in 1814.*
Major-General Ross was succeeded, as commanding
officer of the twentieth, at the blockade of Pampeluna,
by Lieut.-Colonel Wauchope. Having been relieved
before Pampeluna by a Spanish force, the regiment
again penetrated the Pyrenees, and halted in front of
Roncesvalles. Marshal Soult, having reorganized the French army,
advanced to raise the blockade of Pampeluna, and
attacked the British posts in the mountains early on
the morning of the 25th of July. On this occasion the
regiment ascended the heights of Roncesvalles at day
break, and proceeding to the ridge of Arola, the right
wing halted at the foot ; but the left wing, and a regi
ment of Brunswickers, ascended to the summit, the
light company and Brunswickers taking post in front
in skirmishing order. The skirmishers were driven
in by a very superior force of the enemy ; the right
wing was ordered to ascend and support the left; but
Major-General Ross, finding it impossible to maintain
the ridge, ordered the regiment to descend. Captain
George Tovey covered the movement, with his com
pany, with great gallantry, but he lost many soldiers.
A position at the foot of the ridge was maintained
throughout the day.
The regiment had Adjutant Buiat, two Serjeants,
two corporals, and ten private soldiers killed ; Major
William Wallace and Lieutenant P. Walker died of
their wounds ; Captain James Bent, Lieutenants Wil
liam Crokatt, D. A. Smith, Forbes Champagne, R. C.
• See Appendix, page 75.

44 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OB
1813 Oakley, and J. Thompson, two Serjeants, five corporals,
and ninety-eight soldiers wounded; twelve soldiers
missing. Having buried the Adjutant under the colours, with
military honours, the regiment retreated during the
night, and a series of retrograde movements -brought
the regiment into position in front of Pampeluna,
where it had the honour to take part in repulsing the
fierce attacks of the enemy on the 28th of July, and in
inflicting severe loss on the French veterans, by whom
the post, which the regiment occupied, was assaulted.
Its loss on this occasion was. Captain M. Mc.Kenzie and
eighteen private soldiers killed ; Captains John Murray
and Edward Jackson, Lieutenants R. L. Lewis, P. Bain
brigge, Charles Conner, and Thomas Falls, two Ser
jeants, four corporals, and seventy-seven rank and file
wounded. The enemy was repulsed in his attacks ; his positions
were afterwards forced ; and he was pursued through
the mountains towards France. The twentieth
regiment overtook the enemy's rear, was engaged in
several skirmishes, and captured a number of prisoners ;
part ofthe division cut off a quantity of baggage.-
On the 2nd of August, the regiment ascended the
heights of Echalar, and rendered aid to Major-General
Barns's brigade, which drove two French divisions
from those formidable heights. The twentieth regi
ment had to regret the loss of its commanding officer,
Lieut.-Colonel Wauchope, who fell mortally wounded
on this occasion : he had commanded the twentieth,
during the actions in the Pyrenees, with great reputa
tion. The loss of the regiment, from the 29th of July
to the 2nd of August, was, Ensign Wrixon and one
soldier killed; Lieut.-Colonel Wauchope died of his

the east DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 45
wounds ; Lieutenants Rottons, Lutyens, and Fitz- 1813
ger aid, six Serjeants, three corporals, and twenty -two
soldiers wounded.
The gallant bearing of the regiment during the
several actions in the mountains, procured the com
mendations of the Marquis of Wellington, in his public
despatches, and the Royal Authority to inscribe the
word " Pyrenees " on its colours.
Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Steevens assumed the com
mand of the corps, which encamped at Lezaca, and he
conferred the first colour-badges on ten of the most
meritorious Serjeants,
Meanwhile the siege of St. Sebastian was being
carried on by the troops under Lieut.-General Sir
Thomas Graham, and two captains, two Serjeants, one
drummer, and eighteen private soldiers of the regi
ment volunteered to take part in storming that fortress,
which took place on the 31st' of August; the regiment
moving in brigade to divert the attention of the French
army, which was anxious to gain an opportunity to
relieve the besieged fortress. At the capture of St.
Sebastian, the twentieth regiment had Captain Alexan
der Ross, one serjeant, and two' private soldiers killed ;
Captain John Murray and one serjeant wounded.
The regiment was in position during the day, and oc
cupying an advantageous post for observation, the
Marquis of Wellington was. present with it, watching
the movements of the enemy.
The regiment resumed its post at Lezaca. The
corps at Roncesvalles and Maya stood in a commanding
situation, and the British General resolved to place his
left in an equally, menacing position, by dispossessing
the enemy of some strong ground on the right of the
Bidassoa, the key of which was a steep mountain

46 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
1813 called La Rhune. The attack commenced on the 7th
of October, when the twentieth regiment marched to
support the light division, at the attack of the fortified
pass of La Vera. The regiment did not sustain any
loss; and on the following day it encamped on the
mountain La Rhune.
Advancing from La Rhune, the regiment took part
in the battle o£ Nivelle on the 10th of November, and
assisted at the capture of a redoubt, occupied by the
fifty- eighth French regiment, which surrendered.
Seven days afterwards, the regiment marched to
Ascain, and on the 8th of December it received orders
to advance on Bayonne.
The passage of the Nive was effected on the 9 th of
December, and some fighting occurred on the four fol
lowing days : the twentieth regiment co-operated in
the movements, but did not sustain any loss. On this
occasion the regiments of Frankfort and Nassau quitted
the French service, and presented themselves at the
lines of the twentieth regiment ; they were im
mediately sent to the rear to be embarked for Germany.
The allied army went into quarters until the severity
of the weather was abated.
1814 The twentieth regiment was stationed at Ustaritz;
but advanced two marches in the beginning of January,
1814, to support the third division: on the 7th of
January the regiment returned to Ustaritz, from
whence it proceeded, seven days afterwards, to Ascau-
gues. Lieut.-Colonel Steevens proceeding to England
on leave of absence, the command of the regiment
devolved on Major J. Bent.
Operations were re-commenced in February, and the
twentieth regiment took part in the movements
which preceded the battle of Orthes on the 27th of

the east DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT, 47
February. On the morning of that day, the regiment 1814
marched a considerable distance, making a detour to
gain the enemy's right at St. Beas, Two regiments of
the brigade were extended in skirmishing order, and
the TWENTIETH covcrcd the division guns. A Portu
guese brigade proceeded to the relief of the fusiliers ;
but was driven back with severe loss, and one Portu
guese regiment gave way on the road; when the
TWENTIETH Were ordered, by Major-General Cole, to
recover the lost ground. Major-General Ross being
wounded, the command of the brigade devolved on
Colonel Ellis of the twenty-third fusiliers, who directed
the TWENTIETH to rescrvc their fire, and charge, with
three cheers. The command was gallantly obeyed,
and the regiment drove back a strong column of the
enemy at the point of the bayonet ; but becoming
exposed to the French artillery, the regiment sustained
severe loss. The seventh division came up at the
moment of the charge, and the sixth regiment afforded
the TWENTIETH an opportunity of rallying and cap
turing two of the French guns. After a contest of
some hours' duration, the enemy was driven from his
position, and pursued with severe loss.
The regiment had its commanding officer. Major
James Bent, also Captain J. D, St, Aurin, Ensign
James Murray, and six private soldiers killed ; Captains
John Murray, Robert Tilford, and D. A. Smith, Lieu
tenants Charles Cannon and E, L. Godfrey, three
Serjeants, two corporals, and ninety-three soldiers
wounded : Captain George Tovey taken prisoner.
The word " Orthes" is inscribed on the colours, by
Royal Authority, as a testimony of the gallantry of the
regiment on this occasion.
Following the rear of the French army, the regiment

48 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
1814 performed many long marches, and was engaged in the
attack of the enemy's fortified positions at Toulouse,
on the 10th of April. On this occasion it took part in
the assaults ofthe French redoubts, and in the capture
of the heights ; its loss was limited to nine rank
and file killed and wounded. Its bearing during the
action was rewarded with the word " Toulouse " on
its colours.
In a few days after this victory, the British army
saw the cause, in which it was engaged, triumphant
over all opposition ; Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated the
throne of France, and the Bourbon family was restored.
The word " Peninsula " was added to the honorary
inscriptions on the colours of the regiment, to comme
morate its distinguished conduct.
After reposing a few weeks in quarters, the regiment
marched to the vicinity of Bordeaux, where it was
reviewed by the distinguished commander, Field-
Marshal the Duke of Wellington, under whose orders
it had fought and conquered for the good of Europe ;
and embarking for Ireland, landed at Cork in July,
and marched from thence to Waterford, where its
numbers were reduced to a peace establishment, and
Lieut.-Colonel Steevens resumed the command.
1815 On the decease of Lieut.-General Sir John Stuart,
Count of Maida, the colonelcy was conferred on Lieut.-
General Sir William Houstoun, K.C.B., from the
second garrison battalion, by commission dated the 5th
of April, 1815. This officer furnished the regiment
with a pair of new colours, bearing the honorary
inscriptions acquired by its gallantry during the war
which had terminated so gloriously to the British
arms. Some disturbances having occurred in the county of

THE EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 49
Tlpperary, the regiment marched to Templemore in 1.815
May of this year.
In the springof 1816 the regiment marched to Sligo 1816
and Boyle, where it was stationed during the year 1817, 1817
and furnished numerous parties in various places in the
country, for the prevention of illicit distillation.
After calling in its detachments, the regiment 1818
marched to Dublin, in June, 1818, and was reviewed in
brigade with the royals, fiftieth, and ninety-second
regiments, by the Grand- Duke Nicholas, now Emperor
of Russia.
In January, February, and March, 1819, the regiment 1819
sailed in divisions from Cork for the island of St.
Helena, under the orders of Lieut.-Colonel Samuel
South. Arriving at St. Helena in June, the regiment
was stationed at James' Town, and furnished several
detachments. From James' Town the regiment marched to Dead- 1820
wood, in 1820, and relieved the sixty- sixth, in the
duties connected with the surveillance of Napoleon Bona
parte, in exile at St. Helena. This celebrated per
son died on the 5th of May, 1821, and was buried i821
with the military honours due to a general officer.
Twelve grenadiers of the twentieth regiment were
selected to bear his remains to the place of interment.
Twenty-one years afterwards, his remains were removed
to France, and honored with a public funeral, which
was conducted with great magnificence.
After the funeral of Napoleon Bonaparte, the regi
ment was removed to Francis Plain, where Lieut.-
Colonel James Ogilvie assumed the command.
In 1822 the regiment was removed from St. Helena to i822
Bombay, and, after occupying the town barracks a short
time, was stationed on the island of Colaba; Lieut.-

50 historical record OF the twentieth, OR
1832 Colonel Ogilvie commanding the garrison of Bombay,
and Major John Hogg the regiment.
1824 After occupying quarters at Colaba until April, 1824,
the regiment embarked for Cannanore, where Lieut.-
Colonel John Foster Fitzgerald, C.B., assumed the
command.
1825 Returning to Bombay in March, 1825, the regiment
afterwards proceeded to Poona ; and in November the
left wing, mustering four hundred rank and file, under
Brevet-Major Tovey, proceeded on field service to
Kolapoor; but rejoined the regiment in February,
1826 1826. In October following Lieut.-Colonel Henry
Thomas, C.B., assumed the command ofthe regiment.
1827 In September, 1827, the light company proceeded
on field service to Kolapoor, and returned in January,
1828 1828.
1829 Having been relieved, by the sixth regiment, from
duty at Poona, in February, 1829, the regiment re
turned to the island of Colaba.
1830 The regiment was stationed at Colaba until January,
1831 1831, when it was removed to the cantonment of
Belgaum.
1832 During the years 1832, 1833, 1834, 1835, and 1836,
the head-quarters of the regiment were stationed at
Belgaum, where it received numerous detachments
from England.
1836 The period having arrived for the return of the
regiment to England, upwards of four hundred men
volunteered to remain in India, and were trans
ferred to other corps in September, 1836.
1837 The regiment proceeded to Vingorla, where it em
barked for England in January, 1837, and arrived
at Deal in May following: it afterwards proceeded
to Canterbury under the command of Colonel Thomas,

THE EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 51
upon whom the important duty of recruiting and 1837
organizing the regiment, as well as reforming the
interior economy, and establishing its discipline, de
volved : this was the more arduous on account of the
whole of the effective non-commissioned officers having
volunteered for service in India, — a difficulty his per
sonal influence enabled him to surmount, by obtain
ing the required aid from some of the most distin
guished regiments in the service. His exertions, and
the success attending them, called forth the unquali
fied approbation of Lord Hill, the General Commanding
in Chief.
From Canterbury the regiment moved to the Tower 1838
of London in March 1838; and on the 28 th of June
following, being the senior regiment of the line, was
stationed at Buckingham Palace, upon the occasion of
Her Majesty's Coronation, and had the special honor
and gratifying duty of receiving Her Majesty upon
Her departure to and from Westminster Abbey.
At the request of Colonel Thomas, His Grace the
Duke of Wellington did the regiment the honor to
present it with New Colours.
The following is an accurate account of the cere
mony which distinguished thart interesting occasion : —
"On Saturday, the 7th July, 1838, Field-Marshal
" His Grace the Duke of Wellington, High Constable
" of the Tower of London, presented new colours to
" the TWENTIETH regiment, quartered in that fortress,
" in the presence of a large assemblage of the nobility
" and magistrates of the county. A considerable
" number of ladles were also present on the oc-
" casion. " The ceremony commenced at one o'clock, in the
"¦ Broad Walk of the Tower, when, after his Grace had
e2

52 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
1838 " inspected the regiment in line, it marched past in
" slow time, and formed square ; at half-past two
" o'clock the Field Marshal, attended by the General
" Commanding in Chief, Lord Hill, Generals Lord
" FitzRoy Somerset, Sir Lowry Cole, Sir Thomas
" Bradford, Sir William Anson, Sir Charles Dalbiac,
" and several officers of rank, advanced to the centre,
" when, after the Chaplain had consecrated the colours,
" the Noble Duke addressed the regiment in terms of
" the highest eulogy, recapitulating its services from
" so distant a period as the battle of Minden, to its
" latest victory on French ground at Toulouse, He
" had personally, he said, witnessed part of its
" career, and had seen no regiment in a higher state of
" conduct and discipline. With all the wisdom and
" kindness of a parent, he impressed on the young
" men who surrounded him, the necessity of military
" subordination ; three or four hundred well-disciplined
" soldiers, he said, would achieve almost anything ;
" while ten times that number, if irregular and un-
" disciplined, were feeble in comparison ; a mere
" tumultuous mob, easily dispersed and subdued.
" Order was as essential in barracks as in families ;
" without it there could, be neither comfort nor well-
" doing'; it was even more essential, by reason of their
" greater numbers and more important duties. After
" complimenting, in the highest terms, the commander
" of the regiment. Colonel Thomas, his Grace expressed
" his full confidence that the colours now presented to
" the TWENTIETH, regiment would never receive from
"¦ those young soldiers the slightest stain ; but that
" under their new flag they would emulate, and, should
" occasion call, equal the glory of its predecessors,
" After a short visit to the Ordnance Map Office,

THE EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 53
" his Grace returned to the marquee, where he re- 1838
" ceived the acknowledgments of Colonel Thomas, for
" the high and honorable testimony borne to the
" regiment and to himself. The most brilliant,
'* perhaps, of its services had been performed under
" the immediate observance of his Grace, whose illus-
" trious hands had now placed in their charge these
" splendid symbols of royal favor and national con-
" fidence; — ' Symbols,' said the gallant veteran, ' which,
" exciting to increased zeal and devotion, bring back
" to our memories that electrical cheer, " Here he is
" himself!" when. In the most awful and trying mo-
" ments, the presence of their great leader had given
" to every heart assurance of victory.'
'" No man,' said Colonel Thomas, 'can understand
" as well as does your Grace the moral effect of that
" esprit de corps, which would seem to adhere to some
" regiments in particular ; that it has long been cha-
" racteristic of the twentieth is shown by the
" Minden Rose, transmitted fresh and unsullied through
" all its banners, and now, by your own hand, entwined
" with the laurel.' — Assuring his Grace that the of-
" ficers and men of the twentieth would ever consider
" this auspicious ceremony a pledge of their constancy
" to defend the colours now confided to them by their
" Sovereign, through his illustrious hands. Colonel
" Thomas, in the name of the regiment, proffered to the
" Duke his grateful and respectful acknowledgments.
" To this address his Grace was pleased to reply^
" expressing regret, that while enumerating the ser-
" vices of the twentieth he had not more particularly
" adverted to those of its gallant commander. He had
" omitted to bring with him a record which he had
" prepared thereof, most of which were in the same

54 historical record of the twentieth, OR
1838 " fields and in the same divisions as the twentieth.
" ' But,' said his Grace, ' he wears on his breast the
" approbation of his Sovereign, and from my own
" knowledge I say, that Colonel Thomas has well
" merited his rewards and honors. From the senior
" to the junior officer present, if they wish to obtain
" eminence or distinction in their profession, I earnestly
" recommend his example, which will lead them
" onward in the same glorious career.'
" The Duke proceeded to observe, that although he
" might have been supposed to speak too highly of the
" TWENTIETH, he had, as Constable of the Tower,
" received the most favorable reports of the regiment,
" which had now been for some months stationed there,
" and notwithstanding the various local temptations, to
"¦ which so many of its young lads had been exposed,
" its good discipline and attention to duty had been
" exemplary ; and, said his Grace, ' from my own
" recollection I can state, that of the many dis-
" tinguished regiments which I have had the honor to
" command, this, the best and most distinguished, is
" well entitled to all the praise which I can bestow
" upon it.' Regretting that his obligations prevented
" a longer stay, his Grace then took leave, declaring
" that he should always feel happy to promote the
" interests of the British army, and to assist, by his
" presence and advice, any meeting for the support
" and advancement of its discipline."
In July the regiment proceeded to Weedon, and in
November the head-quarters were established at Man
chester,
1839 Leaving Manchester in June, 1839, the head
quarters were stationed at Stockport during the suc
ceeding twelve months.

THE EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 55
In June, 1840, the regiment marched to Liverpool, 1840
where it embarked for Ireland, and landing- at Dublin,
was stationed at that city until December.
The regiment marched from Dublin to Athlone, 1841
where it was stationed until April, and afterwards
proceeded to Limerick, It was divided into six
service and four depot companies, preparatory to pro
ceeding on colonial service.
Colonel Henry Thomas, who was distinguished by
a long and meritorious performance of the duties of
.commanding officer, was honored with a medal and
two clasps for commanding a light battalion at the
battles of Nivelle, Orthes, and Toulouse, and had been
nominated a Companion of the Bath, — was succeeded
in the lieut.-colonelcy of the regiment by Major
William Nelson Hutchinson.
The service companies embarked from Cork in Sep
tember, and arrived at the Island of Bermuda in No
vember. The depot companies were stationed at Fermoy.
On the decease of General Sir William Houstoun, 1842
Bart., G.C.B. G.C.H., the colonelcy of the regiment
was conferred on Lieut.-General Sir James Stevenson
Barns, K.C.B., from colonel commandant ofthe second
battalion of the rifle brigade, by commission dated the
23rdof April, 1842.
In consequence of the augmentation of certain corps,
in April, 1842, the twentieth regiment was ordered
to be separated into two battalions, — the six service
companies abroad being termed the Jirst battalion, and the
depot, augmented by the two additional companies, being
styled the reserve battalion. The depot accordingly
received two hundred and sixty volunteers from other
corps, and, after being organised into a battalion for

56 HISTOBIOAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
J 842 foreign service, embarked from Cork for Bermuda, in
June, 1842,
1847 In April, 1847, the first battalion, under the command
of Lieut,- Colonel William Nelson Hutchinson, and the
reserve battalion, under Lieut.-Colonel Frederick Horn,
proceeded from Bermuda' to Nova Scotia. In September
following, the two battalions were removed to Canada,
where they continued to be stationed at the close of
184S the year 1848, to which period this record has been
extended.

the east DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 57

CONCLUSION.

The services of the twentieth regiment, as given
in the preceding pages, extend over a period of one
hundred and sixty years, from its formation in 1688 to
the present time.
The regiment commenced its career, immediately
after its formation, in arduous duties in Ireland, where
it contended against most formidable difficulties ; and
after the surrender of that part of the kingdom to the
power of King William IIL in 1691, the twentieth
was stationed in that country, m order to secure that
portion of the British dominions, and to enable His
Majesty to pursue the war against the French King in
the Netherlands.
The continental war terminated in 1697 by the
peace of Ryswick; by which the Court of France
acknowledged the sovereignty of King William III.,
and engaged to conform to the treaties which were then
concluded for the balance of power in Europe.
These treaties were, however, disregarded by Louis
XIV., on the decease of Charles IL, King of Spain, in
1700. The attempt of the King of France to procure
the accession of his grandson, the Duke of Anjou, to the
throne of Spain, and other acts of hostility, immediately
aroused the opposition of the other European powers.
King William III. took active measures to prepare
again for war, and on his sudden decease in 1702, Her
Majesty Queen Anne adopted the same course of policy
for maintaining ihe Protestant succession.
The twentieth regiment, after continuing its ser-

58 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TWENTIETH, OR
vices in Ireland until 1702, was called upon to embark
cn an expedition against Cadiz, and subsequently
against the French and Spanish possessions in the
West Indies. Returning frora the West Indies in 1704,
it was again embarked for active service, with the
army in Portugal and Sp^in, under the command of
General the Earl of Galway.
After the peace of Utrecht, in 1713, it proceeded to
Gibraltar, and was engaged in the gallant defence of
that fortress against the attacks of the Spaniards
in 1727.
In the war of the Austrian Succession, which com
menced in 1742, the twentieth was again distin
guished fof Its gallant conduct at the battles of Dettin
gen and Fontenoy.
In 1745 the regiment returned to England, and
shared in the battle of Culloden, the last attempt ofthe
Pretender to disturb the peace of the kingdom.
In the year 1759 the regiment proceeded to Germany,
and served with the army under the command of the
Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, where it gained, with
five other British regiments,* the highest honors on
account of the successful battle of Minden. It also
participated in the battle of Warbourg, and in the other
arduous contests durlncr the Seven Years' War.
In 1776 the regiment embarked to take part in the
American War of Independence.
After returning from severe and toilsome service, m
1794, against the Maroons in Jamaica, in which con
siderable losses of officers and men were sustained, the
regiment obtained, by its high character, nearly two
thousand recruits, and volunteers from the Militia, and
* The 12th, 20th, 23rd, 25th, 37th, and 5lst regiments.

the east DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 59
was formed into two battalions. It again embarked
for active service in Holland, where it was engaged In
several severe actions, particularly at Egmont-op-Zee
on the 2nd and 6th of October 1799, where, as on
former occasions, it highly distinguished itself.
In 1801, the twentieth having recruited its ranks,
was ordered to proceed to join the army in Egypt,
to aid in expelling the French from that country.
This expedition was attended with the desired
success, and the British army was triumphant.
In 1806 the twentieth formed a part of the force
under the command of Lieut.-General Sir John Stuart,
and shared in the honors acquired by the victory over
the French army on the plains of Maida, " thereby
" adding new trophies to those which the same troops
" had formerly earned, from the same enemy, on the
" sandy regions of Egypt."
In 1808 the twentieth was embarked for service in
Portugal, and shared In the victory of Vimiera, which
compelled the French army to quit Portugal. The
regiment formed part of the army under Lieut.-
General Sir John Moore, on Its march Into Spain, and
in the retreat to Corunna, and participated In the
repulse ofthe enemy on the 16th of January, 1809.
In July, 1809, the twentieth formed part of the
expedition to the Scheldt, from whence it returned In
September following.
In the latter part of the year 1812, the regiment
again embarked for active service, and having landed
at Lisbon, proceeded to join the army in Spain, and
had the honor of taking part in the defeat of the
French army at Vittoria on the 21st of June, 1813.
It was subsequently engaged in several severe actions
in the Pyrenees, and in the storming and capture of

60 THE TWENTIETH REGIMENT OF FOOT.
St. Sebastian. In February, 1 814, the regiment took
an active part in the battle of Orthes, and after per
forming long and fatiguing marches, was engaged in
the attack and capture of Toulouse on the 10th April,
which terminated the war with France, and compelled
Napoleon Bonaparte to abdicate the throne.
In 1819 the twentieth was selected to proceed to
St. Helena to take the duties connected with the charge
of Napoleon Bonaparte, and continued on that service
until his decease on the 5th of May, 1821.
In 1822 the twentieth proceeded to Bombay, and
continued on service in India for a period of fifteen
years. It returned to its native country in 1837, and
after nearly five years' duty at home, it embarked for
Bermuda, and subsequently for North America, on its
tour of colonial service.
This summary of the services of the twentieth
regiment shows the many and arduous duties with
which the regiment has contended on active as well as
colonial service, where its conduct has on all occasions
called forth the approbation of its commanders ; and
also that due attention has always been paid to the
rules of discipline and order, whether in contending
with an enemy in the field, where courage and firm
ness are requisite, or in the ordinary duties at home,
where an observance of the Civil Laws is necessary on
the part of the soldier, as well as the civilian.
The exemplification of these qualities of the twen
tieth regiment has been attested by the highest mili
tary authorities, and its conduct has obtained the
approbation of the Sovereign, and the confidence of the
Country. 1848.

TwjErnniE'irH miEGiiM(ET,!T .O)!;-' iK^.'-i, ,r

,i-fmn '"i/f,^/9"?^'^

'¦"^'/¦^^-•-¦QMt^^,

""V^J^Si,

FOR CAlluoiij Hli.ilARY HE:r,oKi);i

C 61 ]
SUCCESSION OF COLONELS
or
TIIE TWENTIETH, OR
THE EAST DEVONSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT.

Sir Robert Peyton,
Appointed 20th November, 1688.
Sir Robert Peyton was one of the zealous Protestant
gentlemen who joined the standard of the Prince of Orange
in November, 1688, and he was commissioned to raise a
corps of infantry for his Highness's service, which now
bears the title of the twentieth Regiment of Foot. When
the Prince of Orange was elevated to the throne. Sir Robert
Peyton withdrew from the army.
Gustavus Hamilton,
Appoittted 1st June, 1689.
Gustavus Hamilton was an officer of the army in Ireland,
in the time of King Charles II. ; and on the accession of
King James II., he was sworn a member of the privy council ;
but when the King violated the laws of the country, Gustavus
Hamilton withdrew from his Majesty's service, and joined the
Inniskilling men in their determined stand for the preservation
of their civil and religious liberties, in the winter of 1688.
He was chosen governor of Inniskilling, and commander of
the troops of horse and regiment of foot assembled at that
place, and during the contest which followed, he evinced
talent, energy, and personal bravery, gaining repeated ad
vantages over the forces of King James. King William III.
highly approved of the gallant conduct of Gustavus Hamilton,
and nominated him to the colonelcy of the twentieth regi-

62 twentieth regiment of foot.
ment. Colonel Hamilton served under King William in
1690, and evinced signal gallantry at the battle of the Boyne,
where his horse was killed under him. He served the
campaign of 1691, under General De Ginckel, distinguished
himself at the head of the grenadiers at the capture of
Athlone by storm ; and served at the battle of Aghrim, and
at the siege of Limerick. On the deliverance of Ireland
being completed, he was appointed a member of the privy
council, governor of Athlone, brigadier-general in the array,
and received a grant of some of the forfeited lands. In 1702
he served in the expedition to Cadiz, and at the capture of
the Spanish fleet at Vigo ; in 1704 he was promoted to the
rank of major-general; and in 1706 he obtained permission
to dispose of the colonelcy of his regiment. He was a member
of the privy council in Ireland, in the reign of Queen Anne,
and also in the reign of King George I. ; and in October, 1715,
he was created Bakon Hamilton of Stackallan : in 1717 he
was advanced to the dignity of Viscount Boyne. He died
on the 16th of September, 1723,

John Newton,
Appointed 1st May, 1706.
John Newton, was an officer of the foot guards, in which
corps he rose to the rank of captain and lieut.-colonel ; he
served on the Continent under the celebrated John, Duke of
Marlborough, and was promoted to the rank of colonel at the
termination of the campaign of 1703 : in 1706 he purchased
the colonelcy of the twentieth regiment ; and was promoted
to the rank of major-general in 1710, He died in 1714.
Thomas Meredith,
Appointed Ath October, 1714.
Thomas Meredith was a cavalry officer in the reign of
King William III., and serving under his Majesty in
Flanders, was promoted to the rank of captain in the Third
Horse, now Second Dragoon Guards. He was afterwards
rewarded with the rank of lieut.-colonel ; and on the augmenta
tion of the army, in the beginning of 1702, he was com
missioned to raise a corps of infantry, now the Thirty-seventh

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. 63
Foot, of which he was appointed colonel. He accompanied
his regiment to the Netherlands in 1703, served at the battles
of Schellenberg and Blenheim in 1704, and was promoted to
the rank of brigadier-general a few days after the last-men
tioned engagement. He commanded a brigade under the
great Duke of Marlborough in 1705, in the expedition up
the Moselle, and at the forcing of the French lines at Helixem.
In 1706 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, in
1707 to that of lieut.-general, and in 1710 he was appointed
to the Twenty-first Fusiliers, from which he was removed, in
1714, to the twentieth regiment. He died on the 19th of
June, 1719.
William Egerton,
Appointed 1th July, 1719.
This officer served with reputation in the wars of King
William III., and of Queen Anne. He was promoted
to the rank of polonel in 1711, nominated colonel of the
Thirty-sixth regiment in 1715, and in 1719 he was removed
to the twentieth regiment, which corps he commanded
until his decease in 1732,
Francis, Earl of Efeingham,
Appointed 22nd July, 1732.
Francis, Lord Howard rose to the rank of lieut.-colonel in
the first troop of Horse Grenadier Guards in 1731, and
succeeded to the title of Earl of Effingham in the same
year. He was appointed colonel of the twentieth regiment
in 1732, was removed to the second troop of Horse Grenadier
Guards in 1737, and to the fourth, or Scots, troop of Life
Guards in 1740. The Earl of Effingham died in 1743.

Richard St. George,
Appointed 21th June, 1737.
This officer was appointed ensign in a regiment of foot on
the 10th of May, 1689, and he served in the wars of King
William III., and also of Queen Anne. He was promoted to
the lieut.-colonelcy of the Seventh Horse, now Sixth Dragoon

64 TWENTIETH REGIMENT OF FOOT.
Guards, on the 24th of July, 1711, and performed the duties
of commanding officer of that distinguished corps twenty-five
years. In 1737 King George II. rewarded him with the
colonelcy of the twentieth regiment, from which he was
removed in 1740, to the Eighth Dragoons, He was promoted
to the rank of brigadier- general in 1743, to that of major-
general in 1744, and lieut.-general in 1747. He died on the
12th of January, 1755.

Alexander Rose,
Appointed 6th May, 1740.
Alexander Rose entered the army in May, 1704, and
served several campaigns under the great Duke of Marl
borough, In June, 1715, he was promoted to the lieut,-
colonelcy of the Fifth, the Royal Irish Dragoons, and in
May, 1740, to the colonelcy of the twentieth regiment;
from which he was removed to the Twelfth Dragoons in
December following. He died in 1743.

Thomas Bligh,
Appointed 26th December, 1740
This officer entered the army in the reign of King George
I. ; rose to the rank of lieut.-colonel of the Sixth Horse, now
Fifth Dragoon Guards, in October, 1719; and in December,
1740, was appointed colonel of the twentieth regiment of
foot. On the 27th of May, 1745, he was promoted to the
rank of brigadier-general ; was removed to the Twelfth
Dragoons in the following year, and promoted to the rank of
major-general in 1747, He was removed to the colonelcy of
tlie Second Irish Horse in December of the same year, and
was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general in 1754.
War having commenced between Great Britain and France
in 1756, Lieut.-General Bligh was appointed, in 1758, to
the command of an expedition designed to make a descent on
the coast of France, with the view of causing a diversion in
favour of the army commanded by Prince Ferdinand of
Brunswick in Germany. The fleet sailed in the beginning of
August, and in seven days arrived in Cherbourg roads. The
troops were landed, the town of Cherbourg wgs captured, the

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. 65
harbour, pier, and forts were destroyed, and the brass ordnance
brought away as trophies of this success. In September a
landing was effected on the coast of Brittany, with the view of
besieging St. Maloes, but this being found impracticable, the
troops, after marching a short distance up the country, retired,
and re-embarked at the Bay of St. Cas. The enemy advanced
in great numbers under the command of the Duke of Aguillon,
and attacking the rear of the British army, occasioned great
loss. Lieutenant-General Bligh was much censured for his
conduct on this occasion, and soon after the return of the
expedition he retired from the service.

Lord George Sackville,
Appointed 9th April, 1746.
Lord George Sackville, youngest son of his Grace the
Duke of Dorset, choosing a military life, entered the army in
1737, and was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the Twenty-
eighth Foot in 1740. His distinguished behaviour at the
head of his regiment at the battle of Dettingen, recommended
him to the notice of King George II., and his lordship was
shortly afterwards rewarded with the rank of colonel, and
appointed one of His Majesty's aides-de-camp. Continuing
to serve on the Continent, he distinguished himself at the
battle of Fontenoy, where he was shot in the breast. His
lordship was also employed, under the Duke of Cumberland,
in suppressing, the rebellion in Scotland, and was promoted,
in 1746, to the colonelcy of the twentieth foot. He served
the campaigns of 1747 and 1748, on the Continent ; and was
removed, in 1749, to the Twelfth Dragoons, from which he
was removed in 1750, to the Third Irish Horse, or Carabineers ;
he was also appointed secretary of state for Ireland. In 1757
he was removed to the Second Dragoon Guards, and appointed
lieut.-general of the ordnance, and in 1758 he was sworn a
member of the privy council. He was second in command of
the expedition to the coast of France, under Charles, Duke of
Marlborough ; also second in command of the troops sent to
Germany ; and after the Duke of Marlborough's decease, his
lordship was appointed commander-in-chief of the British
troops in Germany, under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick.
Owing to some misunderstanding with his serene highness at
P

66 TWENTIETH REGIMENT OF FOOT.
the battle of Minden, his lordship returned to England, and
was, shortly afterwards, deprived of his military employments.
He vvas endowed with extraordinary talents as a statesman,
and he filled, subsequently to this unpleasant affair, some of
the highest offices in the ai.lministration. He assumed, by act
of parliament, the surname of Germaine ; and, in February,
1782, he was elevated to the peerage by the titles of Baron
Bolebrook and Viscoont Sackville. He died in 1785.

George, Viscount Bury,
Appointed November 1st, 1749.
George, Viscount Bury, eldest son of William Anne,
second Earl of Albemarle, was appointed ensign and lieutenant,
in the Second Foot Guards, in February, 1738. In 1741 he
was appointed captain-lieutenant in the Royal Dragoons ;
but returned to the foot guards in 1743, and served as aide-
de-camp to the Duke of Cumberland at the battle of Fontenoy.
In a few days after the battle he was promoted to captain and
lieut.-colonel in the Second Foot Guards. He served at the
battle of Culloden, and being sent with the news of that
victory to court, he was nominated one of the King's aides-
de-camp. He was appointed colonel of the twentieth regi
ment in 1749, succeeded to the title of Earl or Albemarle
in 1754, was removed to the Third Dragoons in 1755, pro
moted to the rank of major-general in 1756, and to that of
lieut.-general in 1759. King George III. appointed the
Earl of Albemarle a member of the privy council, and governor
of Jersey, and appointed him to the command of the
armament which captured the valuable settlement of the
Havannah in 1762 ; where the Earl of Albemarle acquired
the reputation of a skilful general. In 1766 he was elected
a Knight of the Garter. He died in 1772.
Philip Honeywood,
Appointed Sth April, 1755.
Philip Honeywood entered the array in 1735, and in 1741
was appointed major of the Third Dragoons, with which
corps he served at the battle of Dettingen, where he evinced

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. 67
signal gallantry, received five wounds, and was left for dead
on the field of battle; but afterwards recovered. In 1745 he
served at the battle of Fontenoy ; and returning to England,
he was employed in the pursuit of the rebel Highlanders on
their retreat from Derby, and overtaking their rear-guard
on Clifton-moor, a sharp action took place, in which he was
wounded in the shoulder. In March, 1752, he was promoted
to the rank of colonel in the army ; and in 1755 King George
II. rewarded him with the colonelcy of the twentieth
regiment ; from which he was removed in May of the follow
ing year to the Ninth Dragoons. He was promoted to the rank
of major-general in May, 1758 ; and in 1759 he was appointed
colonel of the Fourth Horse, now Seventh Dragoon Guards.
During the Seven Years' War, this meritorious officer com
manded a brigade of cavalry in Germany, under the Prince
Ferdinand of Brunswick, and performed a distinguished part
in many skirmishes and general engagements ; particularly at
the battle of Warbourg, on the 31st of July, 1760, when he
led his own regiment to the charge with signal gallantry ;
the enemy was overthrown, the most dreadful slaughter fol
lowed, and many of the French were drowned in attempting to
escape across the river Dymel. In December of the same year
he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general ; and, continuing
to serve in Germany, he acquired great celebrity, and was
commended by the commander-in-chief in his public despatches.
ti>fter his return to England he was advanced to the rank of
general ; and a vacancy occurring in the colonelcy of the
Third Dragoon Guards in 1782, King George III. conferred
that appointment on this distinguished veteran.
General Honeywood was many years governor of Hull ;
he was also member of parliament for Appleby. He died on
the 20th of January, 1785,
William Kingsley,
Appointed 22nd May, 1756.
William Kingsley was many years an officer in the foot
guards, with which corps he acquired a reputation for personal
bravery and attention to duty. He was promoted to the rank
of colonel in 1750, was nominated lieut.-colonel of the Third
Foot Guards in 1752, and appointed to the colonelcy of the
t'2

68 TWENTIETH REGIMENT OF FOOT.
TWENTIETH regiment in 1756. In 1757 he served in the
expedition to the coast of France, under Lieut.-General Sir
John Mordaunt ; and was promoted to the rank of major-
general in January, 1758. He served in Germany under
Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, and highly distinguished
himself at the head of a brigade of infantry at the battle of
Minden, for which he was thanked in general orders.
He evinced signal gallantry on several other occasions : and
was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general in December, 1760.
He died in 1769.

Bernard Hale,
Appointed 3rd November, 1769.
Bernard Hale served many years in the Third Foot Guards ;
in which corps he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and
captain in 1747, to that of captain and lieut.-colonel in 1758,
and obtained the rank of colonel in the army in 1762 : in
1768 he was nominated to the lieut.-colonelcy of his regiment ;
and in the following year he was appointed to the colonelcy
of the TWENTIETH regiment, from which he was removed in
1772, when he was promoted to the rank of major-general,
and nominated lieut.-governor of Chelsea Hospital. He was
promoted to the rank of lieut.-general in 1777, and to that of
general in 1793. He died in 1797.
The Honorable George Lane Parker,
Appointed 1st May, 1773.
The Honorable George Lane Parker, second son of
George, second Earl of Macclesfield, served many years in the
First Foot Guards, in which corps he attained the rank of
lieutenant and captain in 1749 ; captain and lieut.-colonel in
1755 ; he was promoted to the rank of colonel iu 1762, and to
that of major-general in 1770 ; in which year he was appointed
second major of the regiment. In 1773 King George III.
gave him the colonelcy of the twentieth regiment, and pro
moted him to the rank of lieut.-general in 1777, In 1782 he
was removed to the colonelcy of the Twelfth Light Dragoons,
and he retained this appointment until his decease in 1791,

succession of colonels. 69
, William Wynyard,
Appointed 25th March, 1782,
The early services of this officer were in the Third Regiment
of Foot Guards, in which corps he held a commission upwards
of thirty years. He obtained the rank of lieutenant and
captain in 1754, that of captain and lieut.-colonel in 1761,
major with the rank of colonel in 1775, the lieut.-colonelcy
in 1777, and the rank of major-general in 1779. In 1782
King George III. appointed him to the colonelcy of the
twentieth regiment. He was promoted to the rank of
lieut.-general in 1787. His decease occurred on the 23rd of
January, 1789.
West Hyde,
Appointed 12th March, 1789.
This officer was appointed ensign in the First Foot Guards
on the 15th of October, 1753, and was promoted to the rank
of captain and lieut.-colonel in 1767. In 1777 he obtained
the brevet rank of colonel ; he was nominated major of his
regiment in 1778, lieut.-colonel in 1782, and promoted to the
rank of major-general in the same year. In 1789 he was
appointed colonel of the twentieth regiment ; and was ad
vanced to the rank of lieut.-general in 1793. He died in 1797.

Charles Leigh,
Appointed 2nd March, 1797.
Having been appointed ensign in the Third Foot Guards in
1764, this officer rose to the rank of captain and lieut.-colonel
in 1770; and served two campaigns in North America during
the War of Independence. In 1782 he was promoted to the
rank of colonel. He was appointed to the command of a
battalion formed of the grenadier companies of the foot guards,
in 1 793, and serving in Flanders, under his Royal Highness
the Duke of York, was with the storming party which carried
the outworks of Valenciennes, and was thanked in general
orders. He was engaged in several other serviceb during that

70 twentieth regiment OF foot.
campaign, and in the autumn was appointed to the colonelcy
of the Eighty-second regiment, then newly raised. H^ was
advanced to the rank of ma,jor-general in 1 793 ; removed to the
twentieth regiment in 1797; promoted to the rank of lieut.-
general in 1798, and to that of general in 1803 ; and removed
to the colonelcy of the Third Foot in 1 809, He was groom
of the bedchamber to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent ;
and lieut.-governor of the Isle of Wight. He died in 1815.

Sir John Stuart, K.B., K.C., Count of Maida,
Appointed 29th December, 1809.
John Stuart obtained a commission of ensign in the Third
Foot Guards in 1779, and proceeding to North America,
received a dangerous wound while serving under Earl Corn
wallis, in Carolina. On the breaking out of the war of the
French revolution in 1793, he accompanied his regiment to
Flanders, and was soon afterwards promoted to captain and
lieut.-colonel : he was engaged in numerous services, and
eventually commanded one of the battalions of foot guards
serving under his Royal Highness the Duke of York. In
1796 he was promoted to the rank of colonel. He served as
brigadier-general in Portugal ; also in the successful expedition
against Minorca, where he obtained the command of a regi
ment raised on the island, afterwards the Queen's German
Regiment, which was numbered, on the 6th of June, 1808, the
Ninty-seventh regiment, and was disbanded on the 10th of
December, 1818.
From Minorca he proceeded with the expedition to Egypt,
under Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, and evinced
talent and enterprise at the head of a foreign brigade, at the
battle of Alexandria, on the 21st of March, 1801 ; the French
Invincible standard was one of the trophies acquired by the
Queen's German Regiment. At the termination of the cam
paign in Egypt, he returned to England, from whence he
proceeded on a political mission to Constantinople; and
afterwards assumed the command of the British troops at
Alexandria; and his conduct during the period Egypt was
the scene of civil war between the Turks and 'Mamelukes
procured him the approbation of his Sovereign ; and he was
permitted to receive the Order of the Crescent from the

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. 71
Grand Seignior. On the 29th of April, 1802, he was promoted
to the rank of major-general; and in 1804 and 1805 he com
manded a brigade on the coast of Kent, in readiness to repel
the menaced French invasion. He afterwards accompanied
Lieut.-General Sir James Craig with the expedition to Naples,
and was left in command of the British troops on the island
of Sicily. The French assembled a force in Calabria, for the
invasion of Sicily, and Major-General Stuart formed the
design of cutting off the French division under General
Regnier ; the result was the Battle of Maida, where a victory
was gained which reflected great credit on Major-General
Stuart, and lustre on the British arms. The British Minister
at Palermo stated, in an official communication — " There is
" not to be found in the annals of military transactions an
" enterprise prepared with more deliberate reflection, or
" executed with greater decision, promptitude, and success,
" than the late invasion of Calabria by Sir John Stuart. I
" trust, therefore, you will not think me presumptuous, for
" venturing to add my testimony of the high sense entertained
" by this Court, of the merits of the British General, and of
" his gallant army, who, on the fertile plains of Maida, have
" added new trophies to those which the same troops had
" formerly earned, from the same enemy, on the sandy regions
" of Egypt." For his conduct on this occasion, Major-
General Stuart received the thanks of Parliament with the
vote of a thousand pounds a year for life, the approbation of
his Sovereign, and the dignity of Knight of the Bath ; he was
created Count op Maida by the King of the Two Sicilies ;
and the city of London voted him their freedom and a sword.
He was advanced to the rank of lieut.-general on the 25th
April, 1808; and on the 29th December of the following
year His Majesty King George III. conferred on him the
colonelcy of the twentieth regiment. He again distin
guished himself in defeating the designs of Murat, on whom
N9.poleon had conferred the kingdom of Naples, and who
made extensive preparations for the invEision of Sicily ; but
sustained a decisive repulse in 1810, when a French standard
was captured ; and the Count op Maida was rewarded with
the Order of St. Gennaro. Lieut.-General Sir John Stuart,
after his return to England, was appointed, on the 10th of
June, 1813, to the command of the western district of Great
Britain. He died in 1815.

72 TWENTIETH REGIMENT OF FOOT.
Sir William Houstoun, K.B,,
Appointed 5th April, 1815,
This Officer was appointed ensign in the Thirty-first regi
ment in 1781, Lieutenant in an independent company in
1782, Captain in the Seventy-seventh in 1783, and in the
Nineteenth in 1784, and he served with these corps in the
West Indies, and on the continent of Europe. In 1794 he
was appointed Major of the Nineteenth regiment, which he
commanded in Flanders ; and in 1795 he was promoted to the
lieut.-colonelcy of the Eighty-Fourth, and afterwards of the
Fifty-eighth. He served at the capture of Minorca, and in
the expedition to Egypt, where he distinguished himself on
several occasions. He commanded a brigade at the capture
of Rosetta ; served under the Captain Pacha ; and was at the
capture of Cairo and of Alexandria. In 1 802 he was pro
moted to the rank of colonel, and in 1804 to that of brigadier-
general ; he was attached eight months to the volunteer staff,
and afterwards served with brigades of the militia and line in
Great Britain and Ireland. In 1809 he commanded a division
in the Walcheren expedition ; and was promoted to the rank
of major-general in October of the same year. He was
appointed to the staff of the army in Portugal in 1810, and
commanded the seventh division at the battle of Fuentes
d'Onor, for which he received a medal ; but was afterwards
obliged to return to England in consequence of ill health.
In July, 181 1, he was appointed colonel of a garrison battalion ;
he afterwards commanded at Brighton, and subsequently in
the South- West District, as lieut.-governor of Portsmouth.
In 1814 he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general; and
in 1815 he was removed to the twentieth regiment. He
received the grand cross of the Order of the Bath ; and
Knight Grand Cross ofthe Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order.
In 1831 he was appointed Governor of Gibraltar, which he
held until the 18th of May, 1835. In 1836 he was created a
Baronet ; and in 1837 promoted to the rank of general. He
died in 1842.
Sir James Stevenson Barns, K.C.B.,
Appointed 23rd April, 1842.

( 73 )

APPENDIX.

Major-General James Wolfe,
Killed at Quebec, IZth September, 1759.
Major-Gen ebal James Wolfe, son of Lieut.-General
Edward Wolfe, was born at Westerham, in Kent, on the llth
January, 1726, and entered the army as a second lieutenant in
Colonel Edward Wolfe's First regiment of Marines, on the 3rd
November, 1741. On the 27th March, 1742, he was removed
to the Twelfth Foot, in which regiment he was promoted lieu
tenant on 14th July, 1743. He was appointed to a company
in the Fourth Foot on the 23rd June, 1744, and obtained his
majority in the Thirty-third regiment on the 5th February,
1747, The war of the Austrian Succession afforded him many
occasions to show the bravery and decision of his character :
at the battle of La-feldt, when scarcely twenty years of age,
his masterly exertions, at a critical juncture, procured his
appointment as a major of brigade, and the highest enco
miums from the great officer then at the head of the army.
He was removed to the twentieth regiment on the 5th
January, 1749, inwhich he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-
colonel on the 20th March, 1750. After the peace he culti
vated the arts of war, and introduced such exactness of disci
pline into his corps, that as long as the six British battalions*
on the plains of Minden are recorded in the annals of Europe,
so long will Kingsley's (twentieth) stand amongst the fore
most of that day. He received the brevet rank of colonel on
the 21st October, 1757, and in January, 1758, was appointed
* Twelfth, twentieth, twenty-third, twenty-fifth, thirty-seventh,
and fifty-first regiments.

74 TWENTIETH REGIMENT OF FOOT.
brigadier-general in America. He was appointed colonel of
the Sixty-seventh on the 21st April, 1758, on the second bat
talion of the TWENTIETH being constituted the Sixty-seventh
regiment. In July following he distinguished himself at the
capture of the island of Cape Breton. On his return to Eng
land he was appointed to command the important expedition
against Quebec, with the local rank of major-general. Undis
mayed by his repulse near the falls of Montmorenci, on the
31st July, 1759, he saw, in this reverse, the necessity of greater
efforts, and conceived the bold design of drawing the French
from their unassailable position by scaling the heights of
Abraham. The plan succeeded, and M. de Montcalm was
compelled to abandon his camp, and risk a battle for the pro
tection of Quebec. While bravely animating his troops on
the 13th September, 1759, he received a wound in the
wrist, and another in the breast, which rendered it neces
sary to bear him to the rear. There, roused from fainting,
in the agonies of death, by the cry of " They run I they run !"
he eagerly asked " Who run ?" and being told, the French,
and that they were defeated, he exclaimed " Then I thank
God, and die contented ;" and almost immediately expired.
He was in the thirty-fourth year of his age. Brigadier- Gene
rals Monckton and Townshend, after the loss of their comman
der, completed the victory. On the 18th September Quebec
surrendered ; and, like Gibraltar, conquered by a similar bold
exploit, has, to the present time, continued an appendage to
the crown of Great Britain. The remains of Major-General
Wolfe were conveyed to Portsmouth, and at night on the
20th November were deposited in the family vault at Green
wich. A handsome monument was erected, by order of the
House of Commons, to his memory in Westminster Abbey.

APPENDIX, 75
Major-General Robert Ross,

')

Killed at Baltimore, \2th September, 1814.
Major-Genebal Robert Ross commenced his mihtary
career, as ensign in the Twenty-fifth regiment, on the 1st
August, 1789; his promotion to the Seventh Royal Fusiliers
took place on the 13th July, 1791, and he obtained his
company in that regiment on the 19th April, 1795, On the
23rd December, 1795, he was promoted to the rank of major
in the second battalion of the Ninetieth regiment, and ex
changed to the twentieth regiment on the 5th August, 1799,
Major Ross accompanied his regiment when it received orders
to proceed with the expedition to Holland, under his Royal
Highness the Duke of York, and it landed in that country on
the 28th August, 1799. He distinguished himself in the
several actions of the campaign; and was wounded at Crabben
dam. Towards the end of the year, the British army was
withdrawn from Holland, the efforts for the liberation of that
country from the control of France not being seconded by the
Dutch people. In the year 1801, while the twentieth was
stationed in the island of Minorca, the light companies of both
battalions formed part of a flank battalion under Lieut.-Colonel
Ross, who had obtained the brevet rank of Lieut.-Colonel on
1st January, 1801. On the 24th June following, he pro
ceeded with the twentieth to reinforce the army in Egypt
under Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, and shared in
the attacks on the city of Alexandria, which subsequently
surrendered, the flank companies of the twentieth taking
possession of forts Triangular and Des Bains on the 2nd
September. Egypt, being thus rescued from the power of
Bonaparte, the twentieth regiment proceeded to Malta ; and
in May, 1803, Lieut. Colonel Ross presented the regiment with
a pair of new colours. Lieut.-Colonel Ross next distinguished
himself at the Battle of Maida, on the 4th July, 1806, on
which occasion he received a gold medal as commanding officer
of the regiment, of which he was appointed Lieut.-Colonel ou
the 21st January, 1808. Lieut.-colonel Ross embarked with
his regiment to join the army in Portugal, and was present at
the battle of Vimiera. He afterwards proceeded with the
TWENTIETH to join the troops under Lieut.-General Sir John
Moore, and was engaged at the battle of Corunna. On the

76 TWENTIETH REGIMENT OF FOOT.
25th July, 1810, he was promoted to the rank of colonel,
and in October, 1812, Colonel Ross embarked with the
TWENTIETH regiment to reinforce the army in the Peninsula
under the Marquis of Wellington, and shared ih the over
throw of the legions of Napoleon at Vittoria on the 21st of
June, 1813. Colonel Ross was on the 4th of that month
promoted to the rank of major-general, appointed to the Staff
of the Army in the Peninsula, was wounded at the Battle of
Orthes, and served with distinction to the end of the cam
paign. Major-General Ross was afterwards appointed to
the command of the British troops sent from Bordeaux to
North America, and in August, 1814, he effected a land
ing, after entering the bay of Chesapeake, and defeated the
Americans at Bladensburg, which resulted in the capture
of the city of Washington. Major-General Ross afterwards
proceeded against Baltimore, and was killed in a skirmish
before that town on the 12th September, 1814. Thus fell,
at an early age, this gallant officer ; one who, whether at the
head of a regiment, a brigade, or an army, had alike evinced
the talent of command ; who was not less beloved in his pri
vate, than enthusiastically admired in his public character, and
whose gallantry, enterprise, and devotion to the service, were
displayed throughout his military career. The officers and
soldiers of the twentieth regiment subscribed funds for the
erection of a monument to his memory in the parish church
of Rosstrevor in Ireland, in testimony of the high estimation
in which they held their former commanding officer, whose
memory they cherished with peculiar tenderness. A monu
ment has also been erected in St. Paul's Cathedral to perpe
tuate his fame and to record his services.
Note  Private Andrew Robb, who enlisted in the Twentieth regi.
ment at Preston, in Lancashire, in 1798, was present in all the battles
inscribed on the Regimental Colour, since the above period, namely
Egmont-op-Zee, Egypt, Maida, Vimiera, Corunna, Vittoria, Pyrenees,
Orthes, Toulouse, and Peninsula. He proceeded to St. Helena, with the
TWENTIETH regiment, and was one of the funeral party at the interment
of Napoleon Bonaparte in May, 1821. On his discharge from the regi
ment, he was placed, as a trusty soldier, iu charge of a monument erected
at Rosstrevor to the memory of his former commanding officer, Major-
General Ross,

S6uiil^ttJtAy

~J > ¦¦'¦
ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF MAJOR GENERAL ROSS
IN ROSTREVOR CHVRCH. I8I4.

APPENDIX. 77

The following list ofthe principal Battles, Sieges, and Actions,
which tookplace in the Peninsular War from 1808 to 1814,
was prepared by the special command of His late Majesty
King William the Fourth : —
[N.B. Honorary distinctions were granted for the nineteen actions marked thus *.]
Adjutant-General's Office, Horse Guards, 7th Nov., 1835.
1808.
Lourinha  1 5th August.
* Roleia  17th ditto.
• Vimiera  21st ditto.
* Sahagun, Benevente, &c. (Cavalry actions) , 20th and 29th December
1809.
* Corunna  1 6th January,
Passage of the Vouga  lOth May.
Grigon, Heights of  llth ditto.
Passage ofthe Douro i
and }  12th ditto.
Capture of Oporto J
Salamonde ....  16th ditto.
* Talavera  27th and 28th July.
1810.
Barba del Puerco  19th March.
Ciudad Rodrigo surrendered to Marshal Ney lOth July.
Almeida surrendered  24th ditto.
Affair on the Coa  24th ditto.
Taking up the Lines at Busaco ;. . . . 25th and 26th Sept.
* Busaco  27th ditto.
Coimbra, Capture of  8th October.
1811.
* Barrosa  5* March.
Pombal, Redinha, Casal Nova, and Fozl llth, 12th, 14th, and
d'Arronce  / 15th ditto.
Campo Mayor .  25th ditto.
Guarda  29th ditto.
Sabugal  3rd April.
01iven9a  I5th ditto.
Fuentes d'Onor  3rd and 5th May.
Badajoz, Siege of (raised 15th May). . . 8th to 15th ditto.
Barba del Puerco  llth ditto.
* Albuhera  16th ditto.
Usagre (Cavalry Action)  25th ditto.

78 TWENTIETH REGIMENT OF FOOT.
1811,
Badajoz, Second Siege (raised llth June) , 30th May to llth June,
Affair near Campo Mayor  22nd June.
El Bodon  25th September.
Aldea de Ponte  27th ditto.
Arroyo dos Molinos  28th October.
Tarifa  31st December.

1812.
Ciudad Rodrigo, Siege of (taken 19th January) 8th to 1 9th January
Badajoz, Third Siege of (taken 6th April) . 17thMai'chto6thApri].
Almaraz  I9th May.
Llerena  1 1th June.
¦Villares, Heights of  • 22nd ditto.
Forts of Salamanca (taken 27th June) , . 18th to 27th ditto.
Castrejon . ,  18th July.
Salamanca  22nd ditto.
La Serna  23rd ditto.
Eibera . .  24th ditto.
Majalahonda (Cavalry Action) .... llth August.
Occupation of Madrid  I2th ditto.
Fort Re tiro, Madrid, capitulated . . . 14th ditto.
Seville, Capture of ....... 27th ditto.
Burgos, Fort St. Michael, near . , . . I9th September.
 Siege of (raised 20th October) . . 20th Sept. to 20th Oct.
Actions on the Retreat from Burgos . . . <,„.,' ,' ,'!oct
" 1 28th, and 29th I
Puente-larga, on the Xarama .... 30th October.
Alba de Tormes  10th and llth Nov.

1813.
Castalla  13th April.
Salamanca  26th May.
Morales (Cavalry Action)  2nd June.
Tarragona, Siege raised by Sir John Murray I3th ditto.
(Hormaza  12th ditto.
"° ™f Osma  18th ditto.
¦ I Bayas  19th ditto,
Vittoria  21st ditto.
Villa Franca and Tolosa  24th and 25th ditto.
Bastan, Valley of  4th, 5th, aud 7th July,
St. Bartholomew, near St. Sebastian . . 17th ditto.
Pass of Maya  25th ditto.
Eoncevalles  25th ditto.
St. Sebastian, Assault of (failed). . . , 25th July.
Attack on General Picton's Division . . 27th ditto.

APPENDIX. 79
1813.
Pyrenees  28th July to 2nd Aug.
St. Sebastian, Assault and Capture . . . 31st August.
St. Marcial, Heights of  31st ditto.
Ordal, Passof  I2th and 13th Sept,
Bidassoa, Passage of  7th October.
 forcing Enemy's Lines .... 9th ditto.
Nivelle  , 10th November.
Nive  9th to I3th December,
1814.
Hellette  14th February,
Garris, near St, Palais, Heights of . . . 1 5th ditto.
Arrivarette ditto .... 17th ditto.
Passage of the Adour  23rd- and 24th ditto.
¦ Orthes  27th ditto.
(Aire  2nd March.
I Vic Bigorre  1 8th ditto.
Aflairs at. ,j,^j.^gg  20th ditto.
I St. Gandens  22nd ditto.
Cavalry Affair near Toulouse .... 8th April.
' Toulouse  10th ditto.
Sortie from Bayonne  14th ditto.

LONnON I PBINTZD BT W. CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFOHD STREET ,
FOB HER majesty's STATIONEHY OFFICE.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 04078 3053

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