Historical Record of the First Regiment of Foot

The battalion passed the following night on the field. The Prussians had been attacked on the 16th of June at Ligny, and forced to retreat to Wavre; a corresponding movement was made by the Duke of Wellington, to keep up the communication with the Prussians, and the Royal Scots, retreated on the 17th of June, with the remainder of the army, to the elevated grounds in front of the village of Waterloo, where the troops passed a stormy night in the open fields, drenched with rain.

On the memorable 18th of June the battalion formed part of the reserve under the gallant Sir Thomas Picton. At the commencement of the battle, when the enemy sent forward a cloud of skirmishers, and developed his massy columns of attack, the Royal Scots, commanded by Major Colin Campbell, were instantly engaged with the legions of Napoleon. "I have great pleasure," observes an officer, who was an eye-witness, "in detailing the conduct of the gallant 3rd battalion of the Royal Scots, and though I have been present with the battalion at the battles of Busaco, Fuentes d'Onor, Salamanca, Vittoria, both stormings of St. Sebastian, the passage of the Bidassoa, &c., &c., in all which they bore a most conspicuous part, and suffered severely, I can assure you they never evinced more steadiness, or more determined bravery, than at the late battle.

"About nine o'clock on the morning of the 18th June, the battalion was attacked by the enemy, and, with very little interruption, the entire day it formed a line of skirmishers in front of the brigade.

"I have often seen the battalion engaged, but, I must confess, on this trying day, it far excelled anything I had ever witnessed; and indeed, so pleased was the late General Picton with its gallantry and good conduct, that he several times expressed it himself to the battalion in the most flattering terms."

Thus, while the thunder of 400 cannon, the roll of musketry, the occasional explosion of caissons, the hissing of balls and grape-shot, the clashing of arms, and the impetuous shouts of the combatants, produced an awful scene of carnage and confusion, the Royal Scots were seen amidst the storm of battle, boldly confronting the torrent of superior numbers, and fighting with a constancy and valour which the enemy could not overcome. Corps after corps advanced; but amidst the dense smoke which often prevented the combatants from distinguishing each other, the British colours waved triumphant, and the shout of victory rose above the din of combat. Paralyzed by the astonishing resistance of the British arms, the attacks of the enemy relaxed; the Prussians arrived on the left, to co-operate, the Anglo-Belgian army formed line, and with one impetuous charge overthrew the French host, and drove it in wild confusion from the field of battle, with the loss of its cannon and equipages. Those warlike and numerous legions, which a few hours before meditated only rapine and conquest, were mingled in utter confusion along the road, and over the fields, while the allied squadrons poured on their shattered flanks and rear, and sabred the panic-struck fugitives without mercy or intermission. Thus ended a battle, the greatest of past or present times, the importance and character of which are above the reach of sophistry or mis-statement; a battle, which may in itself be considered an era, and the story of it, serving as a monument to commemorate the national glory, will survive when the brightest historical epochs on record shall be lost amid the obscurity and confusion of ages. In the important conflicts on the 16th and 18th of June, the Royal Scots had Captain Buckley, Lieutenants Armstrong, O'Niel, and Young, Ensigns Kennedy, Robertson, and Anderson, 1 serjeant-major, 4 serjeants, and 29 rank and file, killed; Major Campbell; Brevet-Majors Arguimbeau, M'Donald, Massey, and Dudgeon; Lieutenants Rea, Ingram, Simms, Clark, Mann, G. Stewart, Alstone, Dobbs, Morrison, Miller, Lane, Black, Scott, and Adjutant Cameron; Ensigns Cooper, Stephens, and M'Kay; Quarter-Master Griffith; Volunteer Blacklin; 20 serjeants, and 275 rank and file, wounded.

The battalion advanced with the main army into France, and encamped on the 6th of July at Clichy, on the banks of the Seine, two miles from Paris, where it remained nearly four months.

1st and 4th Batts

In the meantime the 1st and 4th battalions had arrived at Portsmouth from Canada (as before stated), and the 4th having been completed to 1000 effective rank and file, by the transfer of men from the 1st, sailed for the Netherlands, to join the allied army under the Duke of Wellington; at the same time the remainder of the 1st battalion sailed for Scotland, and was stationed in Edinburgh Castle.

4th Batt

The 4th battalion having landed at Ostend, marched up the country to Paris, and pitched its tents at Clichy, where the 3rd battalion was also encamped.

3rd Batt

After the flight of Bonaparte, and the restoration of Louis XVIII. to the throne of France, rewards were conferred on the officers who had distinguished themselves during the war;122 and the honour of bearing the word "Waterloo" on its colours, was conferred on the 3rd battalion of the Royal Scots; every officer and man present at the battles on the 16th and 18th of June, 1815, also received a silver medal, to be worn on the left breast, attached by a crimson and blue riband, and the soldiers had the privilege of reckoning two years' service towards additional pay and pension on discharge.

The 3rd battalion quitted the camp at Clichy on the 29th of October to go into cantonments for the winter: it occupied successively Maule, Montmorency, and Gillecourt, and their adjacents.

4th Batt1816

During the winter the 4th battalion was ordered to return to England,123 where it arrived in the early part of 1816. From the period of its formation the 4th battalion was considered as a depôt to the other battalions of the regiment, until it embarked for Germany, in 1813. All recruits enlisted for the regiment, volunteers from the militia, and sick and wounded men sent home from foreign service with any prospect of being again fit for military duty, joined the 4th battalion; and the recruits were completely drilled before they were sent to join the other battalions.124 Peace having been restored, the battalion was disbanded at Dover on the 24th of March, 1816.

1st Batt

In February of the same year the 1st battalion marched from Edinburgh Castle to Port Patrick, where it embarked for Ireland, and remained in that country nearly ten years.

3rd Batt1817

The 3rd battalion, forming part of the army of occupation in France, marched from Gillecourt in January, 1816, and went into garrison at Valenciennes. It quitted this place in March, 1817, and proceeded to Calais, where it embarked for England, and landed at Dover on the 24th of the same month. It shortly afterwards marched to Canterbury barracks, where it was disbanded on the 24th of April, 1817.

1st and 2nd Batts

The regiment was thus reduced to its former establishment of TWO BATTALIONS; and the men of the 3rd battalion having been transferred to the 1st and 2nd battalions, His Royal Highness the Prince Regent was pleased to grant permission to the 1st and 2nd battalions to bear the words "Busaco," "Salamanca," "Vittoria," "St. Sebastian," "Nive," "Peninsula," and "Waterloo," on their colours, in commemoration of the distinguished services of the 3rd battalion of the regiment, as before narrated.

2nd Batt

In the meantime the 2nd battalion had continued actively employed in the East Indies against the Pindarees, and these barbarous hordes being composed entirely of horsemen, the services of the corps were of an arduous and trying nature; traversing extensive districts by forced marches, passing rivers and thickets, and attempting to surprise these bands of plunderers, were duties calculated to exhaust the physical powers of Europeans when performed under an Indian sun.

While the Royal Scots were engaged in these services, several of the native princes prepared to wage war against the British. Their designs were partly discovered and disconcerted by the Marquis of Hastings. Hostilities, however, followed, and the battalion was called upon to engage in the contest. The eight battalion companies formed part of the second division under the command of Brigadier-General Doveton; and the flank companies were destined to form part of the 1st division of the army of the Deccan, under Lieut. – General Sir Thomas Hislop, Baronet.

The battalion was stationed at Jaulnah; from whence the flank companies marched on the 11th of October, 1817, under the command of Captain Hulme, with two regiments of native cavalry, and four guns, to join the head-quarters of the 1st division, and arrived at Hurda on the 22nd. The battalion companies quitted Jaulnah on the 15th of October, under the command of Brevet Lieut. – Colonel Fraser, (Lieut. – Colonels N. M'Leod,125 and Neil M'Kellar having the command of brigades,) and arrived, with the remainder of the 2nd division, its train of elephants, camels, and horses, at Meiker, on the 23rd. From this place the Royal Scots were detached, with the battering train, down the Berar Ghats, with the design of taking part in the reduction of Asseerghur, an important fortress, belonging to a native sovereign named Scindia; but the order was suddenly countermanded, and the division was directed to proceed to Nagpore, the capital of the Mahratta territories, an attack having been made on the British force at that place. The division proceeded for this station without delay; and the Royal Scots, following by forced marches, rejoined the head-quarters on the 7th of November, at Oomrouttee. From this place Brigadier-General Doveton pushed forward with the Royal Scots, and part of his division, and having encountered excessive fatigue, by constant marching, arrived on the 12th in the vicinity of Nagpore, where he was joined by the remainder of the division on the following day. In the meantime the British troops at this place had taken post on two strong eminences near the residency, on which attacks had been made by the Rajah's forces, and one of the eminences had been carried by a great superiority of numbers; but the other, though attacked, had been maintained.

On the arrival of Brigadier-General Doveton's division, the Rajah was inclined to come to terms, and he at length agreed to surrender his guns and disperse his troops; but the treachery he had already evinced induced the Brigadier-General to dispose his troops in order of battle when he advanced to take possession of the guns. The troops were accordingly formed in the following order: – Two regiments of native cavalry and six horse artillery six-pounders on the height; on its left Lieut. – Colonel M'Leod's brigade, composed of a wing of the Royal Scots, four regiments of native infantry, and the flank companies of another native regiment; Lieut. – Colonel M'Kellar's brigade, consisting of a division of the Royal Scots, a regiment of native infantry, and a detachment of horse artillery with four guns; on its left was Lieut. – Colonel Scot's brigade, of a division of the Royal Scots, a regiment of native infantry, and a detachment of foot artillery with sappers and miners, and two guns; a reserve of native infantry supported the line, and the principal battery of the artillery was posted in the rear of Lieut. – Colonel M'Leod's brigade. On the left of the position was an enclosed garden; beyond it the Nagah Nuddee; a small river ran from thence past the enemy's right; and three parallel ravines, terminating in the bed of the river, crossed the space between the infantry and the enemy; but in front of the cavalry, and on their right, the country was open. The enemy's position was masked by irregularities of the ground and clusters of houses and huts, and a thick plantation of trees, with ravines, and a large reservoir. On this ground the Rajah had formed an army of 21,000 men, of which 14,000 were horse, with seventy-five guns. Such was the ground on which the battle of Nagpore was fought. Beyond the river lay the city, from the walls of which the movements of both armies could be perceived.

The Rajah had agreed, after much procrastination, to surrender his guns at noon on the 16th of December; and the British force was put in motion to receive them. The first battery was taken possession of without opposition; but on the troops entering the plantation, the enemy treacherously opened a sharp fire of musketry on them. The action then commenced. The columns deployed. The brigades under Lieut. – Colonels M'Leod and M'Kellar carried the enemy's right battery with great gallantry, and afterwards drove the right wing from its ground. The other batteries were also carried, and the supporting troops routed, and the enemy was driven from all his positions, and pursued a distance of five miles. The enemy's camp equipage, 40 elephants, and 75 guns were captured; and the Royal Scots added to their former honours that of standing triumphant in the interior of India, over an immense superiority of numbers of the enemy. The battalion lost on this occasion 9 rank and file killed, and 26 wounded.

After this success the siege of the city of Nagpore was commenced. The troops which defended this place, consisting of about 5000 Arabs and Hindoostanees, insisted upon extraordinary terms; and these not being granted, they resolved on a desperate defence. On the 23rd of December a breach was made at the Jumma Durwazza gate, and an assault on the place was resolved on. One company of the Royal Scots, under the command of Lieutenant Bell, with five of native infantry, and a proportion of sappers and miners, were allotted for this service; and two other companies of the Royal Scots, under the command of Captain H. C. Cowell, were destined to attack the city at another gate; and the remaining five companies were kept for the protection of the batteries.

At half-past eight o'clock on the morning of the 24th of December the signal was given, when the storming party, rushing from the trenches, gained the breach, but were instantly assailed by a heavy fire of matchlocks from the adjoining buildings; at the same time the British troops were unable to injure their numerous antagonists, either by the fire of musketry or coming to close quarters. The Arabs, thus sheltered behind walls, each marked with fatal aim, and with impunity, his destined victim; and their fire under these circumstances is destructive at distances beyond that where European musketry is considered effective. Lieutenant Bell, of the Royal Scots, a most promising officer, who had served with the 3rd battalion during a great part of the war in Spain, was killed while gallantly leading his men to the attack; and the breach being found untenable, the troops were ordered to withdraw. The other storming parties succeeded in gaining the desired points; yet their positions were also untenable, and they were ordered to retire.

On the following day the Arabs renewed their offer to surrender; and their terms being acceded to, they marched out of the city on the 1st of January, 1818, and were allowed to go where they pleased, with the exception of proceeding to Asseerghur. The loss of the Royal Scots in the attack on Nagpore was 1 lieutenant (Bell) and 10 rank and file killed, with 2 serjeants and 49 rank and file wounded.

Brigadier-General Doveton, in his despatch to the Commander-in-Chief in India, stated – "During the operation in the field of the 2nd division of the army of the Deccan under my command, the conduct of the 2nd battalion of His Majesty's Royal Scots, under the immediate command of Lieut. – Colonel Fraser, has been invariably such as to entitle that valuable corps to my highest approbation and applause; and more particularly in the action with the enemy's army at this place on the 16th ultimo, their gallantry, steadiness, and good conduct were most exemplary."

Thus, whether Europe, Asia, Africa, or America be the scene of conflict, the conduct of the Royal Scots appears to have been uniformly the same; and the gallantry displayed by the 2nd battalion on this occasion was rewarded by the royal permission, dated the 29th of March, 1823, to bear the word "Nagpore" on its colours.

In the meantime the two flank companies, commanded by Captain Hulme, had been engaged in several movements with the 1st division of the army of the Deccan, and passed the Nerbuddah in flat-bottomed boats on the 30th of November. On the 8th of December the division arrived at Peepleea, and after four marches encamped in the vicinity of Oojain, a short distance from Maheidpoor, where the army of Mulhar Rao Holkur, one of the coalesced Mahratta powers against the British interests in India, was assembled. After various fruitless negociations, the division advanced against the enemy on the morning of the 22nd of December; and as the troops were crossing the ford of the Seeprah river they were exposed to a powerful and concentrated cannonade. About half a mile beyond the river stood the army of Holkur; and after passing the stream Brigadier-General Sir John Malcolm advanced with two brigades of infantry to attack the enemy's left and a ruined village situated on an eminence near the centre. The companies of the Royal Scots formed part of this force; and in the action which followed they evinced their native valour in a signal way. The enemy's left was brought forward in anticipation of the attack, and a destructive fire of grape shot was opened on the British; yet, encouraged by the example of Sir John Malcolm and Lieut. – Colonel M'Gregor Murray,126 the Royal Scots rushed forward in the face of this tremendous fire; the enemy's infantry were driven from their position, and the village and batteries were carried at the point of the bayonet; the enemy's artillerymen were resolute, and stood their ground until they were bayoneted. While the Royal Scots were victorious at their point of attack, the enemy's right was overpowered; his centre gave way on the appearance of a brigade ascending from the river; and his troops, occupying a position where his camp stood, also fled on the advance of a British force to attack them. Thus the army of Mulhar Rao Holkur was routed; and in a general order, dated the 23rd of December, the Commander-in-Chief of the army of the Deccan observed – "The undaunted heroism displayed by the flank companies of the Royal Scots in storming and carrying, at the point of the bayonet, the enemy's guns on the right of Lieut. – Colonel Scot's brigade, was worthy of the high name and reputation of that regiment. Lieutenant M'Leod fell gloriously in the charge, and the conduct of Captain Hulme, Captain M'Gregor, and of every officer and man belonging to it entitles them to his Excellency's most favourable report and warmest commendation."

The loss of the Royal Scots on this occasion was Lieutenant Donald M'Leod, 1 serjeant, and 7 rank and file, killed; Lieutenants John M'Gregor and Charles Campbell, 4 serjeants, 1 drummer, and 27 rank and file, wounded. In commemoration of the valour evinced by these two companies the battalion obtained the royal permission to bear the word "Maheidpoor" on its colours.

18182nd Batt

Arrangements having been made for the pursuit of Holkur, the troops advanced on the 28th of December, and on the 30th formed a junction with part of the Bombay army, under the command of Major-General Sir William Keir Grant, at Taul. Advancing from thence on the following day, the troops encamped in the beginning of January, 1818, at Mundesoor, and soon afterwards, Holkur's government having been brought to submission, the presence of the 1st division of the army of the Deccan being no longer necessary in this part of India, it marched southward. On the 22nd of January it crossed the Seeprah river, on the 24th it reached Oojain, where it halted until the 28th. On the 30th it was at Indoor; on the 13th of February it recrossed the Nerbuddah, and proceeding in the direction of the Taptee, encamped on the left bank of that river on the 27th, in the vicinity of Talnere, a town and fortress belonging to Holkur, formerly the capital of the sultans of the Adil Shahy dynasty, in the fifteenth century, which, it had been agreed, should be delivered up to the British government, but which, unexpectedly, opened a fire upon the advanced part of the division. A summons was sent to the Killedar, who commanded the garrison, warning him of the consequences of resistance; and, no answer being returned, a battery was brought to bear on the fort, which silenced the enemy's fire in a few hours, but not before several casualties had occurred from the well-directed fire of matchlocks from the walls. On a further examination of the fort, one of the outer gates was discovered to be in a ruinous state; and the flank companies of the Royal Scots and of the Madras European regiment, were placed under the orders of Major Gordon, of the Royal Scots, for the attack of the gate. The garrison offered to capitulate; and an unconditional surrender was demanded without delay; but, the evening being advanced, it was suspected the enemy would attempt to escape during the approaching darkness, and the storming party advanced up to the gate. A passage for single files between the walls and the frame of the outer gate was discovered, and no opposition being offered, the storming party and pioneers entered: they subsequently passed the second gate, and at the third were met by the Killedar and some natives. Lieut. – Colonel Conway, the Adjutant General to the army, with Lieut. – Colonel M'Gregor Murray, had entered with the storming party, and they passed through the third and fourth gates; but at the fifth and last gate they were stopped, though the wicket was opened. A hurried conversation about terms of surrender now took place; and Colonel Murray, concluding that there was an urgent necessity for establishing such a footing as would secure eventual success should the enemy hold out, entered by the wicket with Major Gordon and three grenadiers of the Royal Scots, but refrained from drawing his sword, to show he had no intention of breaking off the parley. Five persons only had passed the wicket when the enemy fell upon them, and in a moment laid them all dead, excepting Colonel Murray, who fell towards the wicket covered with wounds. The enemy attempted to close the wicket, but were prevented by a grenadier, private Sweeny, of the Royal Scots, who thrust his musket into the aperture: Lieut. – Colonel M'Intosh and Captain M'Craith forced the wicket open, and it was held in this state while the captain was with one hand dragging Colonel Murray through, and with the other warding off blows with his sword. A fire was then poured in through the wicket, which cleared the gateway sufficiently for the grenadiers of the Royal Scots, under Captain M'Gregor, who formed the head of the storming party, to enter, and the fort was carried by assault, but at the expense of the captain's life. The garrison was put to the sword, and the Killedar was hanged on the same evening. The Royal Scots had Major Gordon, Captain P. M'Gregor, and 3 private men killed; Lieutenant John M'Gregor (brother to the captain),127 and 3 rank and file, wounded. The conduct of the Royal Scots on this occasion was spoken of, in general orders, in terms of commendation; and the intrepidity and courage of Major Gordon and Captain M'Gregor were especially noticed.

In the meantime, the 2nd division of the army of the Deccan, with which the eight battalion companies of the Royal Scots were serving, had been withdrawn from Nagpore, and proceeded (22nd January) towards Ellichpoor. In the early part of February, detachments from the division captured the two strong hill-forts of Gawelghur and Narnullah. The division was afterwards encamped at Ootran; in March it proceeded to Copergaum, and on the 17th of that month encamped on the left bank of that noble river the Godavery, near Fooltaumba; at the same time the 1st division was encamped on the opposite bank of the river. Here the 2nd division resumed its former designation of the Hyderabad division. Two flank and three battalion companies of the Royal Scots were directed to proceed to Hyderabad; and the remaining five companies continued in the field with the force under Brigadier-General Doveton. These companies were commanded by Lieut. – Colonel Fraser, and on his appointment to the command of a brigade, by Captain Joseph Wetherall,128 the next officer in seniority.

The division was engaged in operations against Peishwah Bajee Rao (one of the Mahratta confederacy), who, with an army of cavalry said to amount to 20,000 men, studiously avoided a conflict with the British field force, and sought to accomplish his object by sudden marches and surprises. Information having been received of an intended attack of this chief on the cantonments of Jaulnah, the Hyderabad division, with which were three companies of the Royal Scots, commanded by Captain Wetherall (the other two companies remaining at Fooltaumba), proceeded seventy-two miles in two forced marches, and before the remaining thirty miles were accomplished, the Peishwah had proceeded in another direction. After a short halt, the division continued the pursuit of the flying enemy, encountering many difficulties while traversing parts of the country which had never before witnessed the presence of a British army, and using the most indefatigable exertions, it frequently occurring that the troops occupied the ground which Bajee Rao had left on the preceding day. After a circuitous route, having performed forty-one marches in forty days, at the hottest period of the year, during which time the division had only two halts, the troops returned for supplies to Jaulnah, where they encamped on the 11th of May. In this difficult service the European soldiers had not evinced any want of physical power; they had performed their marches cheerfully, and their only complaint was not being able to overtake the flying enemy. After a halt of two days, the division again resumed the chase of its flying foe, and continued the pursuit until the Peishwah surrendered himself to the British government, when it returned to Jaulnah.