Read Ebook: Historical Record of the Fifty-Third or the Shropshire Regiment of Foot Containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1755 and of its subsequent services to 1848 by Cannon Richard

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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 out of 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 Buffs.

In the General Orders issued by Lieut.-General Sir John Hope , congratulating the army upon the successful result of the 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, rendered necessary by the superiority which the enemy had acquired, and which had materially impaired the efficiency of the troops, many disadvantages 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 officers 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."

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF THE

FIFTY-THIRD,

THE SHROPSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT.

This regiment was raised in the south of England: its uniform was cocked hats; red coats, faced with red, lined with yellow, and ornamented with yellow lace; red waistcoats and breeches, and white gaiters. The colonelcy was conferred on Colonel William Whitmore, by commission dated the 21st of December, 1755; the lieut.-colonelcy was given to Major George Craufurd, from the thirty-fifth regiment, then in Ireland; and Captain William Arnot was nominated major.

Early in 1756 the formation of the regiment was completed, and the following officers were appointed to commissions in the corps:--

Geo. O. Kenlock. Rob. Wright. Chs. Chambre. John Manmore. Jas. Worsley. Jno. Campbell. Jno. Donellan. John Slowe. Wm. Hughes. Tho. Dyson.

Cha. L. Richards. Tho. Moore. John Wright. Geo. Massey. Lodovick Grant. Westley Groves. Dougal Ewart. Geo. C. Brown. Jas. Frognorton.

The formation of the regiment being completed, it received orders to embark for Gibraltar, and was stationed at that important fortress during the whole of the seven years' war, and remained there until 1768.

In October, 1758, Colonel Whitmore was removed to the ninth regiment of foot; and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the FIFTY-THIRD, in April, 1759, by Colonel John Toovey, from lieut.-colonel in the royal dragoons.

The regiment was relieved from duty at the fortress of Gibraltar in 1768, when it embarked for Ireland, where it was quartered during the following eight years.

In the spring of 1776 the FIFTY-THIRD and several other corps proceeded, under Major-General Burgoyne, for the relief of Quebec: this regiment embarked from Ireland on the 4th of April, arrived in Canada towards the end of May, and took part in the operations by which the American troops were driven from the confines of the British provinces. During the winter the regiment was stationed at Chambly.

The flank companies of the regiment were selected, in the spring of 1777, to form part of the force under Lieut.-General Burgoyne, who was directed to penetrate the United States from Lake Champlain to the river Hudson, and advance upon Albany, with the view of bringing that part of the country into submission to the British crown. The troops employed on this service proceeded to Crown Point in boats, and afterwards moved towards Ticonderoga, forcing the Americans to abandon that post, and pursuing them a considerable distance. Some fighting occurred, in which the British soldiers evinced great gallantry, and the companies of the FIFTY-THIRD had opportunities of distinguishing themselves. The army advanced towards the river Hudson, encountering much greater difficulties than had been expected. The country through which it marched was a wilderness; numerous obstructions had to be removed, forty bridges had to be constructed, and others repaired; but every difficulty was overcome by the cheerful perseverance of the soldiers. Their hardships were, however, daily augmented; and after passing the river Hudson, they were opposed by very superior numbers of the enemy. Several actions occurred, and British valour was conspicuous; but incessant toil and a scarcity of provisions reduced the army to 3500 men, who were environed by 16,000 Americans, and their retreat cut off. Under these circumstances a convention was concluded, by which the British agreed to lay down their arms on condition of being sent to England. The Americans afterwards violated the conditions of the convention, and detained the English soldiers some time.

Eight companies of the regiment had remained in Canada, where they were eventually joined by the flank companies, and the regiment was stationed in that part of the British dominions several years.

The American war terminated in 1782:--In the same year the regiment received instructions to assume the title of the FIFTY-THIRD, OR THE SHROPSHIRE REGIMENT, and to cultivate a connexion with that county, which might, at all times, be useful towards recruiting.

In the summer of 1789 the regiment, being then in garrison at Quebec, was relieved by the twenty-fourth foot, and embarked for England, where it landed on the 31st of August. It passed the winter at Bridgenorth, and towards the end of the year 1790 embarked on board the fleet to serve as marines, on which service it was employed a short time.

Embarking from Plymouth on the 17th of February, 1791, the regiment proceeded to Glasgow, and was stationed in Scotland during the year 1792.

In the meantime a revolution had taken place in France, and in 1793 the republicans of that country beheaded their king. They also attacked the frontiers of Holland, when a body of British troops was sent to the Netherlands to take part in the war. The FIFTY-THIRD regiment was one of the first corps selected to proceed on foreign service; it embarked from Scotland in March, and, after landing in Flanders, advanced up the country to Tournay.

The Royal authority was given for the regiment to bear the word "Nieuport" on its colours, to commemorate its distinguished conduct in the defence of that fortress.

General Elphinstone died in the spring of 1794, when the colonelcy of the regiment was conferred on Major-General Gerard Lake, from lieut.-colonel in the first foot guards.

The FIFTY-THIRD regiment had Lieutenant John Rhind, eight serjeants, two drummers, and one hundred and ninety-one rank and file killed and missing; Major Thomas Scott, Captain Thomas Brisbane, Ensign E. Pierce, one serjeant, and fourteen rank and file wounded.

In Jones's Journal it is stated:--"There never was a better opportunity of putting British valour to the test; nor could there be anything more conspicuous than the proof they gave of what highly disciplined soldiers, well led on, may be brought to do. It appears almost impossible; but it is a fact, that a single British brigade, less than six hundred men, on that great day absolutely won the battle; for had they not come up, the allies would have been beaten."

The regiment had six rank and file killed: Lieutenants Rogers and Robertson, Ensign Pierce, one serjeant, and twenty-three rank and file wounded; twelve rank and file missing.

The word "TOURNAY," displayed by royal authority on the colour of the regiment, commemorates its heroic conduct on this occasion.

The enemy afterwards acquired so great a superiority of numbers, that the British army withdrew from its position, and a series of retrograde movements brought the army to the banks of the Rhine and the Waal.

A severe frost having rendered the rivers passable on the ice, the British troops retired through Holland to Germany. The FIFTY-THIRD shared in the toil, privation, and suffering occasioned by long marches through a country covered with ice and snow: in the spring of 1795 they embarked for England, where they arrived in May.

The regiment was encamped near Southampton, where its ranks were completed by drafts from the 109th regiment; in November it embarked for the West Indies, and afterwards sailed with the armament, under General Sir Ralph Abercromby, for the conquest of the French West India Islands. The disasters which befell this fleet from storms at sea, and the number of shipwrecks which took place, are recorded in the naval history of Great Britain.

The loss of the regiment on this occasion was one drummer and twelve rank and file killed; Captain Charles Stuart, Lieutenant Richard Collins, and John Carmichael, two serjeants, forty-four rank and file wounded; one drummer and eight private soldiers missing.

The regiment was engaged in the subsequent operations for the reduction of the island, which was accomplished before the end of May; and the Royal authority was given for the word "ST. LUCIA" to be borne on the colours of the regiment, to commemorate its distinguished conduct on this service.

After the reduction of St. Lucia, the regiment was embarked for St. Vincent, where an insurrection had broken out, and the native Caribs and many French colonists were in arms against the British authority. The insurgents were speedily overcome, and the Caribs fled to the woods. The hostile spirit which these people had long shown towards the British interests, occasioned the government to resolve to remove them from the island. The measures for this purpose were attended with much harassing duty to the troops, and many skirmishes occurred; but the Caribs were eventually forced to submit. The regiment was afterwards withdrawn from the island, when it received the following communication from Major-General Peter Hunter, dated 26th November, 1796:--

"SIR,--I beg you, and the officers and soldiers of the FIFTY-THIRD regiment, under your command, will accept of my best thanks for the zeal, activity, and humanity which have been testified by you and them, on all occasions, while under my command, during the brigand and Caribbee war in the island of St. Vincent. I am also requested by the Council and Assembly of the island to communicate, not only to the officers and soldiers now serving in St. Vincent, but to all those whom I have had the honor to command since my arrival here, the sentiments that the Assembly and inhabitants of this colony entertain of the good conduct and behaviour of the troops, and to offer their warmest, most grateful, and unfeigned thanks for the eminent services the army has rendered this island."

Major-General Lake having been removed to the seventy-third regiment, he was succeeded in the colonelcy of the FIFTY-THIRD by Major-General Welbore Ellis Doyle, by commission dated the 2nd of November, 1796.

On the death of Major-General Doyle, the colonelcy was conferred on Lieut.-General Charles Crosbie, from the late Royal Dublin regiment, his commission bearing date the 3rd of January, 1798.

After remaining at St. Vincent during the years 1798 and 1799, the regiment was removed to St. Lucia in 1800.

At the peace of Amiens, in 1802, the island of St. Lucia was restored to France, when the regiment returned to England, much reduced in numbers by the climate of the West Indies.

On the arrival of the regiment in England, the men enlisted for limited service were discharged at Hilsea barracks, and in January, 1803, it marched, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Lightburne, for Shrewsbury.

The first battalion, having been completed to eight hundred rank and file, embarked at Portsmouth, on the 20th of April, 1805, for the East Indies, under the orders of Lieut.-Colonel Sebright Mawby. The fleet sailed under the convoy of His Majesty's ship "Blenheim," on the 24th of April: in the early part of August it encountered a French line-of-battle ship and a frigate, when some firing took place, but nothing serious occurred; and on the 23rd of that month it arrived in Madras roads, when the FIFTY-THIRD landed, and marched into Fort St. George, where they lost a very promising officer, Captain Henry Knight Erskine, whose death was much regretted. In October they proceeded in boats to the fertile district of Dinapore, on the right bank of the Ganges, and occupied that station, in the midst of a country abounding with grain, cattle, and sheep.

In consequence of the unhealthy state of the battalion, it was withdrawn from Dinapore, when Major-General Clarke expressed, in orders, his approbation of its conduct while under his command, and the high sense he entertained of the zeal and abilities of Lieut.-Colonel Mawby and of the officers generally. It arrived at Berhampore, a considerable station on the left bank of the Hoogly river, on the 6th of July.

General Crosbie having died, the colonelcy was conferred on Major-General the Honorable John Abercromby, by commission dated the 21st of March, 1807, the sixth anniversary of the battle of Alexandria.

In September the first battalion embarked in boats to proceed up the Ganges, when Major-General Palmer recorded, in orders, his approbation of its exemplary conduct while stationed at Berhampore. After a voyage of eleven weeks in boats up the river, the battalion landed at Cawnpore on the 29th of November, and marched into the spacious barracks on an elevated site at that place.

The first battalion was stationed at Cawnpore during the year, and was highly commended in orders for its correct discipline and excellent conduct.

The first battalion continued in the field until March, 1810, when it returned to Cawnpore. Lieut.-Colonel Mawby, the officers and soldiers, received the thanks of the Commander of the field force for their excellent conduct.

During the year 1811 the first battalion remained at Cawnpore, where Lieut.-Colonel Buckland assumed the command.

In regimental orders issued on the 3rd of February, it was stated:--"Lieut.-Colonel Mawby has not words to express his admiration of the conduct of every officer and soldier of the FIFTY-THIRD in the storm of yesterday; anything he could say on the occasion would fall very short of what they deserved, for greater bravery and perseverance never were displayed by men, and had it been possible to have carried the breach, their bravery would have done it. His feelings for the severe loss sustained by the regiment may be imagined, but cannot be expressed; it is, however, a great consolation to know that the whole army before Callinger speaks of their bravery in terms of the highest commendation."

The conduct of the storming party was also commended in orders by Colonel Martindell, who stated,--"If the difficulties which they had to surmount had been found of a nature to be overcome, the persevering energy and undaunted courage of the troops, so very admirably conspicuous, would have been crowned with that success, which their animated exertions, and steady cool bravery, so eminently deserved."

In general orders by the government it was stated, "His Lordship in Council cordially unites in the sentiments of admiration expressed by His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, of the exemplary exertions, zeal, and persevering courage manifested by Lieut.-Colonel Mawby, FIFTY-THIRD regiment, and the brave officers and men acting under his command."

Lieut.-Colonel Mawby particularly reported the gallant conduct of Serjeant-Major Thomas Clarke, of the FIFTY-THIRD regiment.

In consequence of the difficulty experienced in the reduction of Callinger, Major Piercy, who commanded the five companies of the regiment left at Cawnpore, received orders to proceed as rapidly as possible to join the besieging army; but before he arrived, the garrison had surrendered. The cool determined bravery of the officers and soldiers of the FIFTY-THIRD, at the storming of the breach, had produced a great impression on the defenders of the fortress, who declared to their commander, that they would not stand a second assault: the Killedar, therefore, was forced to capitulate and deliver up the fortress.

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